I think I should...
Because a representative from Standard Chartered Bank (Visa Section) called me up as I was having my shower to ask me to make my credit card payment.
Here was how the conversation went (or something like this):
StanChart rep: Puan Nuraina Abdul Samad?
Me: Yes.
SCR: I am calling from Standard Chartered Visa. It is about your credit card XXXX (the last 4 digits). Are you making your payment today?
Me: (Startled because I can't remember the number...) er er ...aah.. mmmm.
er....I don't know whether that's the number... Why are you asking?
SCR: Are you making your payment today?
Me: er ....well..I always make my payment at the beginning of the month.
SCR: Where do you usually make your payment? Is it by cash or cheque or....
Me: I always pay at the Damansara Utama branch...by cheque through the ATM teller.
SCR: So, you will make the payment today?
Me: Today, tomorrow...Ok...ok.... wait... When was my last payment? Was it last month?
SCR: Yes...
Me: So...why are you.....(got myself together...) Excuse me ...do you now make a practice of harassing your cardholders for payment at the beginning of the month??????****&^%%$ (no...I did not swear, only in my heart).
Honestly. I thought that was not nice of Standard Chartered to be calling me for payment. It's not like a month has lapsed since my last payment. I can understand if they called me because I had defaulted (in making payments).
The guy introduced himself as someone from Standard Chartered, and he had the last 4 digits of my card correct. So, I am assuming that it was a genuine call from Standard Chartered.
Well...it is their prerogative to harass their card holders.
And that is why I am going to make a full payment to the bank for my Visa bills. I am giving up my Visa card with Standard Chartered.
So sad since I have been their cardholder since 1988.
I guess I'll be applying to CIMB.
I have held a bank account with Bank Bumiputra since forever (20-plus years). BBMB became Bumiputra Commerce and now it is CIMB.
CIMB has come up with many plans and products for its account holders. CIMB saw it fit to make me a CIMB Club member. I didn't even know I was although I had been receiving pamphlets from CIMB on this. I never took the trouble to read them. So, I had no idea what it meant until I had a casual chat with one of the officers at the bank.
During the course of our conversation, she asked me if I was interested in applying for a Visa card, for which my application (as a CIMB club member) would be automatically approved.
I politely declined because I said I already had one (Standard Chartered) and I was very happy with it.
I told her one was enough-lah. And CIMB was not the only one I turned down, given the many promotions by so many banks with regards to credit cards.
That was a few months ago....
Today, I don't think I am happy with Standard Chartered.
So, tomorrow, I will be visiting the CIMB officer to apply for a Visa card.
duhh...malu la Nuraina ha ha ha
ReplyDeletezaitgha
CIMB - Chinese Indian Malay Bank. Good choice.
ReplyDeleteSatu tindakan yang bijak.
ReplyDeleteYes Kak,
ReplyDeleteSupport the local bank first.
Adios
Donno about CIMB or the rest of the pack. But I have been faithful to MBf and they to me since 1992. And believe you me, I have had only minor skirmishes with them.
ReplyDeleteMy queries, online or otherwise, are always promptly answered, my requests for certain dispensations always cheerfully considered and usually in my favor, any disputes easily settled. No harassment.
And I'm not even one of the well heeled, ringgit spewing, up market type of consumer at all. Just your ordinary Joe.
I sometimes wish they would kick up some fuss sometime so at least I can challenge them some. But to date still disappointed at their recalcitrance.
Take care.
Good for you for being able to give up on them. Serve them right. I dont have that kind of luxury coz most of them gave up on me before I could give up on them.
ReplyDeleteIn my case, it is me who had to call Astro a few days ago. The transmission suddenly stopped while I was watching some programme (thank God it is not Sadiq and Co.), so I called them to request for immediate service reconnection. As I have not been receiving their monthly statement of account for quite sometime, I completely forgot to make the necessary payment. Wonder whether is it just me, who had not been receiving the statements of account from Astro promptly and regularly?
ReplyDeleteaMiR
nuraini,
ReplyDeletebefore you go a-calling on CIMB, i thought you would like to know that half an hour ago i got a call from 03-27237008. the caller asked when i would be making payment for my CIMB cards ! I told her that i just made an admittedly late-ish payment on the 16th november. she said yes, and how will i be making payments this time round please? sheesh !
i think that these banks have outsourced their collection service/reminder service or something. maybe they were so into giving out new cards that now they have problems getting payments and old card holders like us get harassed!
sheesh!
Seems like you've been called up by a con-team trying to get you to reveal more details about your credit card and subsequently your approval code number too.
ReplyDeleteDear Ms. Nuraina,
ReplyDeleteTwo months ago, Citibank billed me twice for the same transaction. The amount (RM111) appeared back-to-back; both have the same date of transaction.
When I called to notify Citibank about the error, I had to hold the line for so long before I could speak to a CitiPhone Officer. But it was her seemingly blase attitude--no apology; none whatsoever--that riled me. Slowly it dawned on me that customer service must be a foreign concept to her.
Looking back, I was naive to expect Citibank to rectify the error promptly. And the bank charges me RM175 annually for this kind of service? I think I too shall make a switch soon.
Ohhhh gbig mistake Stan Chart, big mistake, huge!
ReplyDeleteKak Ena: Me too I cancelled my SCB about a decade ago. The first 15 years of my working life SCB was where my salary gets banked in. Same reason - very kerek service. Now HSBC is gonna kena from me. I think Maybank ok laa Kak, so I'm switching over to MBB.
ReplyDeleteEna,
ReplyDeleteI think it'd be fair to call Std Chartered first to verify if the annoying but uncustomary call was indeed from them.
Financial institutions are very conservative. They don't change their operation styles easily.
To me this sounds like one of the MOs of credit card crime syndicates when they make their "harvests".
it may not be a con job. it may well be a genuine SCB call. HSBC does that too, it's sooo bloody annoying! I have a loan with HSBC and they have taken to sending SMSs every month, a week before the due date (even though there are no arrears) and then charging the SMS call to the a/c. How fair is that? Nobody has defaulted and they simply harass and charge that harassment to us to make more money. Jebon sungguh! The credit card, i cancelled immediately, but the loan, i have to re-finance la.
ReplyDeletebanks have been charging ridiculous fees lately. something should be done.
i should join you. for RM13 short, the bank chased me to the lubang cacing not too long ago. i bet i had to pay for their calls, too.
ReplyDeletei was the nomad of credit card at one point in time.let me reassure u it 's a waste of time changing as the services in the industry generally SUCKS big time.
ReplyDeletehahaha ...at least urs was ok. In my case Maybank issues my VISA and I was using the card for 6 months when the card was actually blocked and MBB did not know that the card was issued to me already. And later they fax my confidential data to an open fax a claimed it is ok and refused to rectify the mistake. I think I will blog that case.
ReplyDeleteSee another blunder: http://selians.blogspot.com/2007/04/bank.html
Macam nak tarik kereta pulak ya..
ReplyDeleteDear Nuraina,
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of credit cards, this was forwarded to me today, thought I should share it.
"Be sure and cancel your credit cards before you die (or after)! This is so priceless and so easy to see happening - customer service, being what it is today!
A lady died this past January, and XYZ Bank billed her for February and March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and then added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $0.00, now is somewhere around $60.00.
A family member placed a call to the XYZ Bank:
Family Member:
'I am calling to tell you that she died in January.'
XYZ Bank:
'The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply.'
Family Member:
'Maybe, you should turn it over to collections.'
XYZ Bank:
'Since it is two months past due, it already has been.'
Family Member:
So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?'
XYZ Bank:
'Either report her account to the frauds division or report her to the credit bureau, maybe both!'
Family Member:
'Do you think God will be mad at her?'
XYZ Bank:
'Excuse me?'
Family Member:
'Did you just get what I was telling you . . . The part about her being dead?'
XYZ Bank:
'Sir, you'll have to speak to my supervisor.'
Supervisor gets on the phone:
Family Member:
'I'm calling to tell you, she died in January.'
XYZ Bank:
'The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply.'
Family Member:
'You mean you want to collect from her estate?'
XYZ Bank:
(Stammer) 'Are you her lawyer?'
Family Member:
'No, I'm her great nephew.'
(Lawyer info given)
XYZ Bank:
'Could you fax us a certificate of death?'
Family Member:
'Sure.'
(fax number is given)
After they get the fax:
XYZ Bank:
'Our system just isn't set up for death. I don't know what more I can do to help.'
Family Member:
'Well, if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing her. I don't think she will care.'
XYZ Bank:
'Well, the late fees and charges do still apply.'
Family Member:
'Would you like her new billing address?'
XYZ Bank:
'That might help.'
Family Member:
'R******d Memorial Cemetery, No.xxxx, C*******y Rd, Sydney, Plot Number xxxx.'
XYZ Bank:
'Sir, that's a cemetery!'
Family Member:
'Well, what the **** do you do with dead people on your planet?'"
Kak Nuraina,
ReplyDeleteYou're not alone on this matter. Last year, I cancelled my Stand Chart visa which I held for 5 years due to their very unfriendly attitude to customer.
I hope the PR execs of all the banks named here read the comments!
ReplyDeleteNow that I have a condo and a car
(2Cs), I can't afford the credit card!
baiti,
ReplyDeletehmmmm....now...try to get a club membership! then it'll be 3Cs!
Here is a tip! Be inconsistent in your payments. They won't worry if you miss a payment or so (for my case up to 3 months!) if record shows that you are an inconsistent but sure paying client. Nothing spook them more when a regular punctual payer who missed a payment on time. Hahaha...you must have been enjoying a wonderful soul refreshing shower to be so pissed off. w9
ReplyDeletekak,
ReplyDeleteno harm getting the cimb card since youre a cimb club member. i got mine last week. all was done in less than a week. all because im a cimb club member. very convenient.
hmmm... this is bad...
ReplyDeleteDon't hesitate to take on the "big boys". I once argued (well, exchanged lots of letters) with AIG over RM19. I insisted they owed me RM19 and they kept saying no. Finally, I wrote to Bank Negara with a copy to the AIG CEO. Within a few days, I got a cheque for RM 19 (but no apology). These banks make too much money from us.
ReplyDelete