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 Customer Expierence
Posted Tue June 3, 2008 12:00 pm, by Lila B. written to Washington Mutual
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Dear CEO Kerry Killinger,
My name is Lila and I have been a Washington Mutual customer since I was 11 years old, when I first opened a savings account. Typically I have been satisfied with Washington Mutual customer service, but recently like my experiences with your company have not been very good.
I have spent the last about 6 months in India on a study abroad program. Around April in the city of Hyderabad, while on my way to another more remote part of the country, I was pickpocket and my debit card was stolen. I unfortunately did not fully realize that the card had been stolen until I was already in the far north area of India. Needless to say by the time I was able to contact my mother in the United States, through email, and her able to act on the situation, the perpetrator had already drained my account. Had I not already of had some money in Indian Rupees would I have been practically stranded in the Indian Himalayas. As soon as we could my mother and I started the claims process with Washington Mutual. I was issued an amount of provisional credit, contingent on the fact that I would have to sign an affidavit back in the United States.
Once returned to the United States I did sign and mail the affidavit. I was under the expressed impression that the provisional credit would last for at least thirty days, while the case was being examined. Unbeknownst to me the provisional credit was reversed less than seventy two hours later. I received no email, letter or phone call to inform me of this situation so I continued to use my debit card, believing the provisional credit to be true and valid.
Sunday, May 25, 2008 I decided to sign up for Wamu online banking, previously I had just tried to keep a written record of my accounts. It was then, through the online banking, that I realized my account was in the negative, mostly due to the two hundred and sixty four us dollars worth of overdrawn fee's. Then I saw that the provisional credit had been reversed, after only being issued a few days prior.
I proceeded to call the customer service to investigate the situation. The representative on the phone told me that the customer service department could not help me, that I had to call the claims department and that they were not open on memorial day weekend. She offered little consolation and absolutely no explanation. I called again on Tuesday, and after a 39 minute wait received the claims department. They gave me the run around and told me to call back on Weds. So I called back again on Weds. and had another nearly 30 minuted wait to reach the claims department.
This time I reached someone who was very friendly and reassured me the matter was being investigated, but he could not explain why the provisional credit had been reversed. He admitted it was not their policy to reverse credit before the 30 day investigation period, and not without communication to the account holder. I asked him if anything could be done about the eight thirty three dollar overdraft fee's that were a direct result of the provisional credit being reversed without my knowledge. He told me he would notate my account and transfer me back to customer service to see if they could help me. I had previously deposited four hundred and fifty dollars into my account to have it directly eaten up by the negative balance. Being transferred back to customer service was a horrible affair. No one would help me, and each person said that it was only up to the claims department to reverse the charges now. The phone call ended with me literarily in tears when the manager of customer service hung up me.
I called back again May 28th, 2008, hoping to reach him again. Although for some reason he was unavailable, I did reach another associate in the claims department who was friendly and sympathetic. I explained to her that this situation had gone on for days, and I was down to my last twenty bucks. If this situation didn't get resolved soon I wouldn't be able to pay my rent, or my bills. Although considerate and helpful, she said the issue was under review but she did not have the power to help me and none of the supervisors who could were around. I have since called several more supervisors within the claims department, and received no response.
Now it is Tuesday, June 3rd, and this issue has yet to be resolved. I am still dissatisfied with Washington Mutual's treatment regarding this issue, and I am still confused to has how it got to this point.
How can Washington Mutual claim to pride itself on customer service, and customer satisfaction when this situation clearly does not demonstrate those ideals? Even when, or if, this issue ever gets resolved I have to question my loyalty to a bank that so obviously does not respect me as a patron. People do not have to Bank. They are not entitled to our money, yet Banks seem have an attitude that customers are lowly creatures, especially customers like me who work hard all the time for the little savings we do have, and never seem to break even in our bills. Outrageous thirty three dollar overdraft charges, and money that just seems to go missing sets a person in my income bracket back about a month. The money that was in the provisional credit, and the overdraft fee's is the amount I need to pay next months rent and bills, due this week.
I would like Washington Mutual to return the provisional credit and reverse the 11 overdraft fees, which total $363. I would also like an apology for the unsatisfactory level of customer service I have received and conformation that the managers in their claims department will be talked to about this issue.
Sincerely,
Lila
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I also have had horrible customer service with WAMU. They just put a
hold on my account because they supposedly didn't have a signed MMA
agreement. We opened the account back in January and they sent us the
forms, which we filled out and sent back in, and then they sent us
checks and debit cards. Here we are in June and they decide they
don't have the forms so they put a hold on our account and return
checks and payments, meanwhile accepting deposits! I wrote checks for
wedding gifts that have been returned, not because of lack of funds,
but because of paperwork WAMU has lost! We have over $27K in WAMU and
there is no reason they should be returning $25 checks! Also the
local branch and the online bank blame each other and the "back
office". This is the WORST company I've ever dealt with!
Tara S.
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I'm sorry this is happening to you but I really need to point out that
it was not a good idea to spend a provisional credit until you are
sure the investigation will result in your favor, many times they are
not and you find yourself in a deeper hole than before.
Please consider one more thing. Overall this is a very good letter
with a few exceptions. The most glaring is in the first
paragraph.."but recently like my experiences with your company have
not been very good". Try to leave slang out of a business letter.
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I am very, very sorry that this happened to you, but I honestly don't
see how any of this is the bank's responsibility or obligation to you.
Traveling abroad, especially in parts of the world with a lot of
abject poverty (such as India), comes with risks, and you just have to
be more careful than you ever could imagine (e.g., keeping NO
valuables in pockets). When I travel abroad, I wear a small fabric
pouch around my neck, tucked under my shirt for safekeeping.
As for the repeated overdraft fees, while ideally they could/should
contact you to let you know that your provisional credit was revoked,
it is on YOU to monitor your account and not spend money that isn't
truly yours (and that provisional credit wasn't "real money" in your
account).
If the bank does help you out with this matter, that'd be awfully nice
of them, but I don't see them doing it (banks aren't in the business
of being "nice").
Consider this one very expensive, pain-in-the-butt learning lesson
that will better prepare you for life and the world. And at least you
got to live in India for six months! I've started studying Buddhism
(Buddhism + Irish temper = unknown results, but we'll see what
happens), so India is very much on my mind these days!
My only piece of relatively helpful advice: Take out a loan (from a
bank, from your mom) to pad your account and protect you from more
overdraft charges and then start rebuilding your account and get
things back in the black where they belong.
Good luck you, Lila!
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