Bank of America
I posted this on my Orvis in Oz journal, but so those of you who don't read that have the whole (or at least all that I'm going to post because the full story is way, way, way too long and frustrating) story:
Basically, Bank of America is only at the edge of useful and way beyond the edge of competence and effective communication.
A really, really, really long and unbelievably frustrating story relatively short, through absolutely no fault of my own, Bank of America has declared my current bank card expired and an ATM ate it, saying it would not give it back to me. Five and a half hours on Skype, my cell-phone, and a pay-phone over twenty-four hours, Bank of America is sending me a new card, arriving in three days, and they denied me access to their emergency cash services while refusing to tell me why. They answered, "I don't have any suggestions for you, sir," when I asked them point-blank how I was going to eat for the next three days, seeing as they were denying me of a service that I specifically asked about when signing up for a Bank of America account.
Basically, the many, many instances of conflicting information and refusing-me-service-and-information-for-the-sake-of-bureaucracy made me more angry than I can rightly remember ever being before. Ever.
But in the end, it works out. I found an emergency stash of cash in my room that should last me three days. I won't be able to get some supplies for school that I really should have for tomorrow, but the lecturers are pretty understanding.
So there you go. I've been through an absurd financial ordeal, but I'll be ok. I've got it all worked out and I'm back on the way to financial security.
Basically, Bank of America is only at the edge of useful and way beyond the edge of competence and effective communication.
A really, really, really long and unbelievably frustrating story relatively short, through absolutely no fault of my own, Bank of America has declared my current bank card expired and an ATM ate it, saying it would not give it back to me. Five and a half hours on Skype, my cell-phone, and a pay-phone over twenty-four hours, Bank of America is sending me a new card, arriving in three days, and they denied me access to their emergency cash services while refusing to tell me why. They answered, "I don't have any suggestions for you, sir," when I asked them point-blank how I was going to eat for the next three days, seeing as they were denying me of a service that I specifically asked about when signing up for a Bank of America account.
Basically, the many, many instances of conflicting information and refusing-me-service-and-information-for-the-sake-of-bureaucracy made me more angry than I can rightly remember ever being before. Ever.
But in the end, it works out. I found an emergency stash of cash in my room that should last me three days. I won't be able to get some supplies for school that I really should have for tomorrow, but the lecturers are pretty understanding.
So there you go. I've been through an absurd financial ordeal, but I'll be ok. I've got it all worked out and I'm back on the way to financial security.