Credit Card Fraud by Banks?

Have you ever tried calling your bank to enquire about your credit card? I called CIMB Bank Card Centre, yesterday and today, to enquire about my Credit Card Account balance.

The banks are now very technologically advanced and sophisticated. Once you call their number, a recorded message comes on. You want to speak English or Bahasa Malaysia? You want card services etc etc?

When you dial 'O' to get to a person, the recorded message immediately tells you "Our Customer Relation officers are currently assisting other customers. Please hold and you will be attended to shortly". This is repeated every minute ... ad infinitum. In Banking speak, it means "We are very busy to attend to you. Go away and disappear into the black hole in the Universe". Either 1,000,000 customers are making enquiries, or they actually have no one to answer your enquiry. What do you think?

While no one is answering your call, they provide recorded messages telling you that you can achieve your dreams by using their services. I think the banks are in the selling-to-customers-who-call business, not in the business of talking to their customers. I believe they also get a cut from the telephone companies, because when the banks keep you on the telephone by not answering you, but by getting a recording machine to pass messages to you, your time on the phone increases. You pay more for telephone charges.

After 5 minutes, I gave up. Must be millions of people making enquiries with their credit card accounts. Well, in the present financial turmoil around the world, this is a big possibility, I guess.

Actually, I believe the banks are in the business of increasing your blood pressure. Perhaps they want to know whether you are a patient customer. I think they have an award for the most patient customer.

It seems that the banks have never heard of customer service. When you attend any customer service training, you are informed that you should not let the phone ring more than 3 times ....ring ring ... ring ring ... ring ring (6 seconds?). The banks think this 6 seconds only is bad for their business. There's no time for their recorded sales messages to be heard by customers!

To me, making the customer wait 5 minutes on the line to hear recorded sales messages is cheating the customer. It is a fraud on the cutomer. For wasting his telephone expenses. For wasting his time.

The moral of the story? If you plan to telephone your banks, don't waste your precious time. Please note that they have no time for you. (Unless you owe them $1,000,000?). Instead, send a recorded message to talk to the banks' recorded messages. Or you just have 2 credit cards instead of 16. Where are the scissors?

Wishing you Success in your undertakings and Good Health and Wealth to you and your family. Take care!

P.S. I had exactly similar previous experiences with two other banks. I gave up after 5 minutes. I think the banks have the same customer service training at their training centres. Do the banks expect me to listen to their recorded messages 24 hours a day?

P.P.S. Had to call RHB Bank (one day after writing the above) because I was making an on-line purchase. Same thing happened, except that after 4 minutes, the recorded message says that their customer service agent is busy and will get back to me soon ... then the line is cut! Happened twice consecutively! What will the banks think of next?

P.P.P.S. After the failure at RHB Bank above, one hour later I called Citibank. After less than a minute responding to the answering machine ... CONGRATULATIONS! ... TO ME! ... for finally achieving success! 4 Malaysian Banks appear not to have any humans inhabiting their call centres... only recording machines! (or aliens disguised as recording machines?). 1 International Bank has a live, warm human being at the end of the phone line.

The score: Citibank 1, Malaysian Banks -4 (minus 4, also known as "the pits"). Do you recommend that I cut-up all my 16 credit cards, except Citibank's?