Question:
I just thought I'd post this for all to see, and all to share. If I'm being unreasonable, please let me know.
Monday, October 3rd, I receive the following e-mail:
Dear Brooke Vanover,
We have been closely following the devastation that Hurricane Katrina has caused in your area, and cannot imagine how difficult these times must be for you, your family, and friends.
Information about your account ending in {xxxx}
Between August 29, 2005 until November 30, 2005:
You do not have to make payments to your account
We will waive all past due and over-limit fees
We will waive all cash advance fees
We will not report any change in your credit status to the credit bureaus
Your statement will display your regular payment due dates, if you would like to continue to make your regular payments every month. However, this e-mail identifies the payment terms between August 29, 2005 and November 30, 2005 for your Capital One® credit card account.
If you have any questions or would like to update your address or phone number, please contact our customer service number listed on the back of your card or contact our general number 1-800-216-5222. Please be aware that in some instances our automated phone systems may incorrectly reflect an amount due on your account. Your statement shows a payment due of $0 and this is correct.
Watch for Future Communication
We will continue to monitor the recovery efforts in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, and will send you additional communication if the terms of Capital One’s relief efforts are extended.
Our thoughts are with you as you work to overcome the challenges that Katrina has presented. We hope that our efforts, in some small way, help to make your life a bit easier during this difficult period for you and your family.
Respectfully,
Karl Werwath
Vice President
Customer Management Services
For reasons that will be explained in the next e-mail, I was appalled when I read that. I'll let my reply e-mail elaborate:
To Whom it May Concern:
I find it funny now that CapitalOne all of the sudden cares about my being affected by Hurricane Katrina. The ONLY company that gave me any problems about my having diffuculties paying my bill was your company. When I called (and no, I don't know who I talked to) I was told that I could not be assisted since my bill was overdue. The receptionist didn't seem to get the fact that I had no electricity, therefore I had no cable, therefore I had no internet [which is how I usually pay my bill]. I also didn't have any cell phone use, nor was the mail running. So, even if I had had the funds to pay "only fifteen dollars" (as the receptionist repeated to me over and over again, like I was an idiot), I didn't have any way to get the money to your company. Just for further explanation, I explained that the hurricane hit OVER a week before my bill was do [on October 7th]. My power went out at 10:30 a.m. on August 29, and so did our phone service, and so did the mail service; so yes, my bill was overdue, because my power didn't come back on for 13 days, my phone didn't start working again for 10 days, and the mail didn't run for nearly two weeks. I also attempted to explain that I didn't cause the natural disaster, but all I was told was, "Our hands are tied. If your bill wasn't past due, then we could help you." Our hands are tied? Wow, that's really helpful. I know what it feels like to be in that position, and I reallly doubt the receptionist I spoke with has ever lived without power, clean water, gasoline, and food for 2 weeks. If she has, I can sympathize with her, even though she didn't really care what problems I was having.
After speaking to her, she let me speak to her manager (whose name I also didn't care to get, since everyone's hands were tied and no one really wanted to help me anyway). I asked this woman if she would at least take off the late fee, since a natural disaster was beyond my control. She told me she "could do that for me" quite curtly, and asked me if there was anything else she could "help" me with. But, of course, when I pulled up my statement online just now, I saw that the late fee was still on there. I'm not surprised, though, because all that seemed to matter was getting an unhappy customer off the phone by telling her anything she wanted to hear.
I'm appalled at the insensitivity I received at the hands of CapitalOne, but not surprised. This company is the only company that gave me any problems immediately after the hurricane. I'm sure I'll get some generated letter about how sorry someone is about something, but that's not what I really want. I want the late fee for September taken off my account. I cannot be held accountable for that: no phone, no electricity, no internet, and no mail service = CapitalOne does not get a payment from me. That was beyond my control. And I'll say one more thing I'm sure CapitalOne has heard hundreds of times, but not really cared about:
I will never do business with such a selfish company again, and I will make sure everyone I know, knows exactly how I was treated after the worst natural disaster in American history.
You may see that as an empty threat, but that's ok with me...at least I still have my integrity.
Sincerely,
Brooke N Vanover
So yesterday, I receive this bullshit:
Dear Brooke N.,
Thank you for contacting Capital One.
We understand that it has been an incredibly difficult time for the people
throughout the Gulf Coast.
Since regular electronic correspondence is not a secure method of
contacting us and we wish to protect the integrity of your account
information, Capital One prefers to discuss personal and account-specific
questions by telephone rather than by e-mail. We assure you that all other
electronic contact with us such as viewing your statements and making
payments is secure.
Capital One is working closely with emergency services and the US Postal
Service to identify our impacted customers. We know and understand that
our customer's mail may be undeliverable and we are working on alternate
ways to communicate with them about their needs.
We will do everything in our power to work with you on a one-on-one basis
to help you during this stressful time. In an effort to meet your
individual needs, please call our Customer Service representatives at
1-800-955-7070 to speak about your individual needs. The VRU is designed to
connect customers to the correct department, which will save you
unnecessary transfers. While the VRU may not provide an option for
customers to be connected with an associate at the beginning of the call,
the option does exist in later menus.
We look forward to assisting you.
Sincerely,
R. Samuels
eCorrespondence
Capital One Services(R)
Visit us online at http://www.capitalone.com, where you can access valuable
products and services.
Is it me, or did they miss the point? I was told she would take the late fee off of my account; I checked my account on the 5th and it was still there, and then, when I checked my e-mail that same night, I had an e-mail from Capital One telling me there were no late fees. Then why and the [expletive deleted] is there still a 29 dollar fee on my account? And why in the hell would I want to talk to anyone else on the phone there after all of the crap they gave me about their "hands being tied"? Now they care? I effing bet they do. Insensitive bastards.
Monday, October 3rd, I receive the following e-mail:
Dear Brooke Vanover,
We have been closely following the devastation that Hurricane Katrina has caused in your area, and cannot imagine how difficult these times must be for you, your family, and friends.
Information about your account ending in {xxxx}
Between August 29, 2005 until November 30, 2005:
You do not have to make payments to your account
We will waive all past due and over-limit fees
We will waive all cash advance fees
We will not report any change in your credit status to the credit bureaus
Your statement will display your regular payment due dates, if you would like to continue to make your regular payments every month. However, this e-mail identifies the payment terms between August 29, 2005 and November 30, 2005 for your Capital One® credit card account.
If you have any questions or would like to update your address or phone number, please contact our customer service number listed on the back of your card or contact our general number 1-800-216-5222. Please be aware that in some instances our automated phone systems may incorrectly reflect an amount due on your account. Your statement shows a payment due of $0 and this is correct.
Watch for Future Communication
We will continue to monitor the recovery efforts in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, and will send you additional communication if the terms of Capital One’s relief efforts are extended.
Our thoughts are with you as you work to overcome the challenges that Katrina has presented. We hope that our efforts, in some small way, help to make your life a bit easier during this difficult period for you and your family.
Respectfully,
Karl Werwath
Vice President
Customer Management Services
For reasons that will be explained in the next e-mail, I was appalled when I read that. I'll let my reply e-mail elaborate:
To Whom it May Concern:
I find it funny now that CapitalOne all of the sudden cares about my being affected by Hurricane Katrina. The ONLY company that gave me any problems about my having diffuculties paying my bill was your company. When I called (and no, I don't know who I talked to) I was told that I could not be assisted since my bill was overdue. The receptionist didn't seem to get the fact that I had no electricity, therefore I had no cable, therefore I had no internet [which is how I usually pay my bill]. I also didn't have any cell phone use, nor was the mail running. So, even if I had had the funds to pay "only fifteen dollars" (as the receptionist repeated to me over and over again, like I was an idiot), I didn't have any way to get the money to your company. Just for further explanation, I explained that the hurricane hit OVER a week before my bill was do [on October 7th]. My power went out at 10:30 a.m. on August 29, and so did our phone service, and so did the mail service; so yes, my bill was overdue, because my power didn't come back on for 13 days, my phone didn't start working again for 10 days, and the mail didn't run for nearly two weeks. I also attempted to explain that I didn't cause the natural disaster, but all I was told was, "Our hands are tied. If your bill wasn't past due, then we could help you." Our hands are tied? Wow, that's really helpful. I know what it feels like to be in that position, and I reallly doubt the receptionist I spoke with has ever lived without power, clean water, gasoline, and food for 2 weeks. If she has, I can sympathize with her, even though she didn't really care what problems I was having.
After speaking to her, she let me speak to her manager (whose name I also didn't care to get, since everyone's hands were tied and no one really wanted to help me anyway). I asked this woman if she would at least take off the late fee, since a natural disaster was beyond my control. She told me she "could do that for me" quite curtly, and asked me if there was anything else she could "help" me with. But, of course, when I pulled up my statement online just now, I saw that the late fee was still on there. I'm not surprised, though, because all that seemed to matter was getting an unhappy customer off the phone by telling her anything she wanted to hear.
I'm appalled at the insensitivity I received at the hands of CapitalOne, but not surprised. This company is the only company that gave me any problems immediately after the hurricane. I'm sure I'll get some generated letter about how sorry someone is about something, but that's not what I really want. I want the late fee for September taken off my account. I cannot be held accountable for that: no phone, no electricity, no internet, and no mail service = CapitalOne does not get a payment from me. That was beyond my control. And I'll say one more thing I'm sure CapitalOne has heard hundreds of times, but not really cared about:
I will never do business with such a selfish company again, and I will make sure everyone I know, knows exactly how I was treated after the worst natural disaster in American history.
You may see that as an empty threat, but that's ok with me...at least I still have my integrity.
Sincerely,
Brooke N Vanover
So yesterday, I receive this bullshit:
Dear Brooke N.,
Thank you for contacting Capital One.
We understand that it has been an incredibly difficult time for the people
throughout the Gulf Coast.
Since regular electronic correspondence is not a secure method of
contacting us and we wish to protect the integrity of your account
information, Capital One prefers to discuss personal and account-specific
questions by telephone rather than by e-mail. We assure you that all other
electronic contact with us such as viewing your statements and making
payments is secure.
Capital One is working closely with emergency services and the US Postal
Service to identify our impacted customers. We know and understand that
our customer's mail may be undeliverable and we are working on alternate
ways to communicate with them about their needs.
We will do everything in our power to work with you on a one-on-one basis
to help you during this stressful time. In an effort to meet your
individual needs, please call our Customer Service representatives at
1-800-955-7070 to speak about your individual needs. The VRU is designed to
connect customers to the correct department, which will save you
unnecessary transfers. While the VRU may not provide an option for
customers to be connected with an associate at the beginning of the call,
the option does exist in later menus.
We look forward to assisting you.
Sincerely,
R. Samuels
eCorrespondence
Capital One Services(R)
Visit us online at http://www.capitalone.com, where you can access valuable
products and services.
Is it me, or did they miss the point? I was told she would take the late fee off of my account; I checked my account on the 5th and it was still there, and then, when I checked my e-mail that same night, I had an e-mail from Capital One telling me there were no late fees. Then why and the [expletive deleted] is there still a 29 dollar fee on my account? And why in the hell would I want to talk to anyone else on the phone there after all of the crap they gave me about their "hands being tied"? Now they care? I effing bet they do. Insensitive bastards.