So, where were we? Ah yes, I'd had approximately 4 groundhog day conversations with my bank about them cancelling my card. Each time they'd say "you should've told us you were in Sri Lanka". Each time I'd reply "I think you'll find I did tell you, several times"! I think we'd got up to the day, a Wednesday, when they'd promised it would be working again. And it was, I got money out. But only enough to pay back the various folk I'd borrowed from. No matter, went back the next day and took out - zero because they'd cancelled it again.
So, that was a Thursday and I just could not face speaking to them again. Apart from anything else, I saw no point! Instead I reverted to borrowing money from friends (who, bear in mind, have only known me a matter of weeks) and transferring the money online.
Anyway being an independent type (why my name is even Indygal) and liking to have control over my own finances (take note Scotland), I decided to make a further attempt at the weekend. Apparently all cards have a ban on international use, it's an automatic thing. To get it lifted you have to inform the bank where you're going and for how long. Did that - as you know! Several times! However, the man I spoke to took pity on me and he lifted the ban altogether. "Now" he tells me "if you want the ban reinstated, you'll have to tell us. Otherwise, it can be used indefinitely right across the world"!
Well I don't remember telling them to reinstate the ban but 3 different banks out here seem to think the ban's still there.
On the phone again. "No" says the person who answers the phone "the ban's been lifted, you can use it". "Goodo" says I and off I skip to the bank, full of hope. Talk about naive! There is no bank in Galle (and there are several to choose from) that can give me money - not even 2000 rupees (a tenner). They can all tell me that I am in credit but they can't let me have any of MY MONEY!!!
I would never let something like this cast a shadow on my time out here but the Bank of Scotland has caused me a fair bit of stress and the worst thing is that it seems to be a systemic problem rather than one individual getting it wrong. Anyway I think that's enough on the Bank of Scotland for now, or ever. Just assume that for the next 2 weeks they'll cancel and uncancel my card - but I won't know because I'm not even attempting to go to the bank.
Showing posts with label Bank of Scotland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bank of Scotland. Show all posts
Tuesday, 8 April 2008
Monday, 31 March 2008
Update on my friend for life ...
Quick update on my problems with the Bank of Scotland. For those who didn't read the previous post and who can't be bothered reading it now, the summary is this:
- Told them I was coming to Sri Lanka so their fraud team wouldn't cancel my card when I started using it out here.
- Card worked for two weeks and then they cancelled it.
- Phoned them from Sri Lanka to complain. They had no knowledge of me being here so took all my details, promised it would be fine and within 24 hours card was working again.
- 6 weeks later card cancelled again.
- Groundhog day - have identical conversation where they tell me they know nothing about me being here and take all my details again. Unfortunately, it being Easter, it's nearly a week before they can fix the problem and they've no emergency procedures in place so I'm stuck in a developing country thousands of miles from home with no money.
- Wednesday last week - card working again. I'm frustrated but relieved it's all sorted out AGAIN.
So, the update is that on the THURSDAY, they cancelled it again!!! Once again I have no access to MY money. I cannot afford to spend yet more money phoning them and really, what is the point? If I have to hear the words "you should have told us you were going to Sri Lanka" one more time, I'll scream.
So, my "friend for life" the Bank of Scotland is doing nothing to help me but some of my fellow volunteers who I've been friends with for only a few short weeks are making sure I'm okay. It's not the point though. As far as my bank is concerned last week I was stranded in the Hill Country in Sri Lanka with no money and nobody to help me and they did nothing except "sympathise".
What they think I'm doing now I've no idea because they've not used any of the contact details I've provided over and over, to find out. Anyway, Thea has worked out a complicated but (hopefully) effective way for me to get money without leaving my friends short so I better go and sort that out before the BoS decide to suspend my online banking too!
Wednesday, 26 March 2008
Bank of Scotland - a friend for life?
Some time before I came to Sri Lanka, my friend Mary warned me that her card had been stopped out here because she didn’t let the bank know she was coming. I thought it sounded a bit daft and was sure I hadn’t heard that before. However, I duly went into the Bank of Scotland in Gordon St in Glasgow, waited in the queue and informed the teller. She laughed, told me to have a nice time but said she’d no idea why I was telling her this. I explained and she said no, they had no need to know. Fine.
Two weeks after getting here my card stopped working. I called the Bank at great expense, not least because their answer message says to press one if you wish to manage your existing account – but they don’t tell you that’s only if you don’t need to speak to someone. You then find they have nothing to press for: “my card has been stopped for no particular reason and I’m stranded in Sri Lanka”, and have to start the call all over again. Anyway that’s all besides the point.
When it happened two weeks after getting here, it was sorted out pretty quickly. The explanation was that I hadn’t told them I was coming to Sri Lanka. Grrrr. So, I gave them my address out here, my mobile number, my landline number, my date of leaving SL, my date for going to Singapore, my date for arriving in Glasgow, my shoe size etc etc and was promised no more problems.
Just over a fortnight ago I was in Colombo for a weekend and couldn’t use my card. I assumed it was the ATM that had the problem and ended up borrowing money from a friend – something I hate doing.
At the weekend there I went to Kandy assuming my card was fine. I tried to use it but again, something was wrong. I phoned the bank from my mobile once again costing me a pretty rupee only to be told that it MIGHT be because I hadn’t told them I was coming to Sri Lanka. Talk about Groundhog Day! “You see, you really ought to let us know before you travel abroad” I was told. I repeated my entire story, told her not only had I done it in person but I’d already been through all this 6 weeks ago on the telephone from Sri Lanka and they had all my contact details so had there been a problem, surely someone could have called me.
I explained to her that I was in Sri Lanka, a developing country, by myself, as a volunteer with no income and I needed access to my money. This was on Friday last week and she informed me that IF it was a temporary stop because I was in Sri Lanka, they could sort it out for me but not until this THURSDAY!
Apparently every single person who could normally have helped me was on holiday for Easter. Apparently there are no emergency procedures in place to deal with what this was – an emergency. Apparently there was nobody I could talk to about it. She was very sorry but I’d have to wait and she sympathised but really, I should have informed them! Can you believe that?
It’s really not a nice feeling at all to be stranded thousands of miles from home with no money and no access to any. And I think the Bank of Scotland should be ashamed to have put me through that. I cannot believe they have no emergency procedures they can use. Luckily we had paid our transport in advance but what if I hadn’t? I really could have been stuck and although I’ve never felt in danger over here, I think I certainly would have been if I’d had to rely on the Bank of Scotland as my only “friend for life”.
Anyway I was still left with the problem that the person I spoke to last Friday didn’t know if there was a temporary stop on the card or a permanent one. The latter would have meant ten working days for a new card to be made and a further 6 for it to arrive in SL. I really would be in trouble then.
So yesterday, Tuesday, when they were all back from their holidays, I called again. Had to repeat myself over and over (what is wrong with these people?) before she understood that I needed to know whether it was a temporary or permanent stop. All she could do apparently was email the “abroad” team to ask them to re-activate the card. She couldn’t speak to them, they do not have the facility to do that. She could only email.
“And if it turns out after you’ve emailed them that it’s not a temporary stop, what will happen?” I asked.
She couldn’t answer that. She eventually said she’d speak to the fraud team to see if there was any other reason for the stop. Unfortunately my mobile ran out of credit before I got the chance to find out. So they’ve cost me a fortune, spoiled some of my time out here, let me down really badly – and now, not only do I not have money, I don’t have any credit in my phone. And no, they’ve not called me back. Nice way to treat someone who’s been your customer for 23 years!
Two weeks after getting here my card stopped working. I called the Bank at great expense, not least because their answer message says to press one if you wish to manage your existing account – but they don’t tell you that’s only if you don’t need to speak to someone. You then find they have nothing to press for: “my card has been stopped for no particular reason and I’m stranded in Sri Lanka”, and have to start the call all over again. Anyway that’s all besides the point.
When it happened two weeks after getting here, it was sorted out pretty quickly. The explanation was that I hadn’t told them I was coming to Sri Lanka. Grrrr. So, I gave them my address out here, my mobile number, my landline number, my date of leaving SL, my date for going to Singapore, my date for arriving in Glasgow, my shoe size etc etc and was promised no more problems.
Just over a fortnight ago I was in Colombo for a weekend and couldn’t use my card. I assumed it was the ATM that had the problem and ended up borrowing money from a friend – something I hate doing.
At the weekend there I went to Kandy assuming my card was fine. I tried to use it but again, something was wrong. I phoned the bank from my mobile once again costing me a pretty rupee only to be told that it MIGHT be because I hadn’t told them I was coming to Sri Lanka. Talk about Groundhog Day! “You see, you really ought to let us know before you travel abroad” I was told. I repeated my entire story, told her not only had I done it in person but I’d already been through all this 6 weeks ago on the telephone from Sri Lanka and they had all my contact details so had there been a problem, surely someone could have called me.
I explained to her that I was in Sri Lanka, a developing country, by myself, as a volunteer with no income and I needed access to my money. This was on Friday last week and she informed me that IF it was a temporary stop because I was in Sri Lanka, they could sort it out for me but not until this THURSDAY!
Apparently every single person who could normally have helped me was on holiday for Easter. Apparently there are no emergency procedures in place to deal with what this was – an emergency. Apparently there was nobody I could talk to about it. She was very sorry but I’d have to wait and she sympathised but really, I should have informed them! Can you believe that?
It’s really not a nice feeling at all to be stranded thousands of miles from home with no money and no access to any. And I think the Bank of Scotland should be ashamed to have put me through that. I cannot believe they have no emergency procedures they can use. Luckily we had paid our transport in advance but what if I hadn’t? I really could have been stuck and although I’ve never felt in danger over here, I think I certainly would have been if I’d had to rely on the Bank of Scotland as my only “friend for life”.
Anyway I was still left with the problem that the person I spoke to last Friday didn’t know if there was a temporary stop on the card or a permanent one. The latter would have meant ten working days for a new card to be made and a further 6 for it to arrive in SL. I really would be in trouble then.
So yesterday, Tuesday, when they were all back from their holidays, I called again. Had to repeat myself over and over (what is wrong with these people?) before she understood that I needed to know whether it was a temporary or permanent stop. All she could do apparently was email the “abroad” team to ask them to re-activate the card. She couldn’t speak to them, they do not have the facility to do that. She could only email.
“And if it turns out after you’ve emailed them that it’s not a temporary stop, what will happen?” I asked.
She couldn’t answer that. She eventually said she’d speak to the fraud team to see if there was any other reason for the stop. Unfortunately my mobile ran out of credit before I got the chance to find out. So they’ve cost me a fortune, spoiled some of my time out here, let me down really badly – and now, not only do I not have money, I don’t have any credit in my phone. And no, they’ve not called me back. Nice way to treat someone who’s been your customer for 23 years!
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