Frankly, I Don't Give a Damn

After receiving 3 separate phone calls requesting that I call in regards to my new US Airways credit card, I did so to find out that my account is "in arrears" and I needed to send payment immediately to avoid all sorts of dastardly repercussions. Just as there are always 3 sides to any coin (don't forget the edge, upon which a coin can balance), I called to hear US Airways side of this one.

Frankly, I'm not too hot for the idea of outsourcing customer services, but Frank was obviously sitting at a desk in India, based on my recollection of the call center featured in a recent movie, "Marigold Hotel." I had already been through the automated teller and knew that my payment due December 7 had not been received, and I was at the head of a long line of harassment if I didn't send it immediately.

However, what I knew that evidently the customer service call center employee did not know, is that I paid the bill on November 18 and it cleared my checking account on November 28. Thus, I was NOT in arrears and the phone calls could stop. Or not, if Frank is to be believed because until HE says the payment has been received and processed, it has NOT been received and processed.

It was frustrating to have him tell me to check with my bank to "find the error," and me tell him that I was online with my bank account in front of me and the check was cleared on November 28, which is according to my calendar, a full 10 days prior to the due date. Rather than slapping me with a $20 late fee and $2.40 accrued interest, he should be thanking me for being such a good customer. When it got to the point that I said to him, "You are accusing me of not telling the truth and are demanding that I get correct information from my bank, which I am telling you I am looking at on my online bank statement," it turned ugly.

When Frank told me that I was being "unreasonable and rude," I authorized him to (again) withdraw the money from my checking account IF he would take back both the $20 late fee and the $2.40 interest -- and I would not cancel the card effectively immediately.

Then I went to my banker, explained the issue, and she called the call center, eventually got a case number, then faxed a letter to US Airways directing them to reverse the additional payment and credit that amount back to me. See, she talked to David, who did a "Frank" on her, explaining that they have never received the alleged payment that cleared my checking account on November 28. My banker offered to FAX them the record of both sides of the check, including the "deposted into account" whatever on the back -- US Airways account. And FAX them she did because it seems that "the customer already made the payment" isn't in the script they use to handle customer issues. And my banker wasn't going to play the "unreasonable and rude" game with David. She wanted her bank's reputation restored as standing by its online banking services and that's what she received.

I don't know why the simplest things become so complicated, but if it involves outsourced services, I can almost guarantee that it'll be complicated regardless of the issue or services a customer calls about. I'll wait and see how long it takes to get my second payment back -- and then demand that they pay me a $20 fee and the accrued interest?

Nah, THAT would be "unreasonable and rude," wouldn't it?