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Banks

Bank of America Trains to Ignore Alerts

Bank of America Bogus Alert
Bank of America Bogus Alert

As I type I’m sitting in a laundromat washing some big blankets. What prompts this entry is the alert from the Bank of America shown in the image here. So, instead of sitting in the massage chair (which is a decent deal in this laundromat), I figured I better call Bank of America because it says that if I did not look up my ID I should call them immediately.

I did just that and wasted 30 minutes of my time and ended up being trained to ignore these messages.

Here’s what went down. I called the number. There was no warning in the alert message that I need to have my debit card number or account number handy. So, I had to call back after I dug one of those numbers out of my pocket.

The phone number does not go to a dedicated security group. Instead I have to listen to all the options and then wait for someone to answer.

I tell the representative that I got an alert and am calling because I did not look up my ID. All the representative could tell me was that a Chrome browser was used for the look up.

I asked what the WAN IP# was associated with the lookup. She couldn’t tell me. (This should have been in the alert message.)

I know my WAN IP#s (plural, because I have three ISPs coming into the house and two WiFi hotspots when mobile) or can easily get them. If the WAN IP# was the main one at home then I would know there is no nefarious activity involved. Instead, this would be associated with the password reset that I did (which brings up another issue discussed below).

The first representative thought someone else in the Bank of American might be able to tell me the what the WAN IP# was for the ID lookup.

So, I am transferred to a different representative who knows nothing more than the first. “I just don’t have that information” she says.

I asked to talk with a supervisor. After holding for six minutes, I’m told none is available, but one can call me back. Ok, I gave my number and said they can call me back if it is in this century. Bank of America is not swift on returning calls.

So, what have I learned after I followed the instructions to “please contact us immediately at 1.800.933.6262”?

1. The bank does not have a dedicated security number, even though one is led to believe there might be from the alert message.

2. Bank staff does not have adequate information to properly deal with alerts.

3. The ID lookup was probably associated with the password reset I did — without an ID lookup — so the bank’s programming is sending out false alerts.

4. The Bank of America has designed a system that cosmetically makes them look good and concerned about your security, but they are not.

After not being able to determine a) if there even was an ID look up, b) if an ID lookup was associated with a password reset,  and c) if my home WAN IP# was associated with the alert I essentially wasted 30-40 minutes.

The bank gave me general comments like “maybe someone mistyped their ID” which tell’s the customer nothing and does not provide any details to help a customer relax or take action.

The big lesson from Bank of America: Ignore Bank of America alerts, because the Bank won’t help you with them anyway.

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Paypal Stupidity

Some how Paypal thinks it makes sense to put up contradictory messages. Recently I tried to purchase something and ended up with the message you see here. First telling me that I cannot pay with a credit card and then telling me that a credit card is the only option.

You would think that a company with millions or billions of dollars could hire a few people to do quality control on the screens presented to users. And of course, how does one resolve this conflict? No phone number easily found. And if you find a phone number, you wait. And then if you get a person, you talk to someone who knows nothing about what you are talking about and has no ability to see what you are seeing.

In the end, I was able to make the purchase by credit card — despite the first message telling I could not.

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Sam’s Club Cash Back Check Nearly Impossible to Cash

Sam’s Club cash back check nearly impossible to cash

Sam’s Club issues cash back checks for using the Sam’s Club credit card. Problem now, though, is that many residents are no longer able to get their cash back — unless they want to travel many hundreds of miles to a Sam’s Club.

People in the Seattle area have received cash back checks. The example here shows a date of February 9, 2018. This is a date AFTER all Sam’s Clubs in Washington state were shut down. This makes it rather inconvenient — and impossible for some — to cash, considering that the language clearly states “Your Cash Back Check can be redeemed ONLY at a U.S. or Puerto Rico Sam’s Club locations [sic].” The fact that the letter and check are issued after closing — which Sam’s Club obviously knew about in advance — and says nothing about how to redeem when there are no longer any Sam’s Clubs even remotely nearby, indicates a true customer non-service attitude. Alex Aguila should be ashamed of himself.

What a great way for Sam’s Club to issue a check and keep the money.

Comment from Sam’s Club has be requested. Any update will be posted here.

Reply #1, received 2018-02-20:

If a Member is unable to cash their Sam’s Club Credit Cash Back check due to not having a nearby club, the Member should call Synchrony Bank using the number on the back of their credit card or at 866-220-0254 to inquire about receiving one of the below forms of payout. (Agents cannot complete this action for Members.)

  • The rewards check can be applied to the account as a statement credit
  • If the account has a balance, the Rewards statement credit will be applied to the balance
  • If the account does not have a balance, Synchrony will mail a check to the Member

Sam’s Club Member Services
Bentonville, Arkansas

Reply #2, received 2018-02-20:

Last week, members who no longer have a club close to them received a note asking them to call the call center to make those funds available to them. [Wonder why this wasn’t mentioned in the letter with the check? No evidence of a follow-up note with with my sources. — BWM] They can choose to either receive a check, which can be cashed anywhere, or have the credit applied to their current credit card balance. Members with further questions about their Sam’s Club Mastercard Cash Back check or account should call the number on the back of their card for additional assistance.

CM@Walmart

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Corporate Time Wasters

Big corporations certainly seem to know how to waste people’s time. The latest is from Paypal.

The message “Sorry, something went wrong on our end. Please try again” appears when entering the email address for password recovery. This message would lead one to believe what it says. So, day after day the customer tries again and again.

The real problem is that the account is locked because of a minor issue. Rather than have a message that actually corresponds with reality, Paypal instead decides to mislead users with this bogus message about there being a problem on their end.

Here’s one more way Paypal confuses people. An email arrived to a user that included this statement:

“A direct debit you requested on or after June 19 from your U.S. bank account was rejected by the bank. A new compliance regulation requires that a physical address be available on all accounts.”

Upon reading this message one would reasonably conclude that “all accounts” refers to the bank accounts. No, according to Paypal staff “all accounts” refer to Paypal accounts. Bad writing.