INTERNATIONAL BANKS!!!

Way back in 1995, I subscribed to their credit card service. It was master card.  I started enjoying using the card.  Every month the bank would send me a statement. The statement showed all the transactions for the previous month including payments and receipts. Our association as vendor and customer bloomed for some time. My credit limit was Rs.34, 000/-. Sometime in 1996, I applied for an enhancement of my credit limit on the basis of my salary revision. They politely refused it and requested me to write to them later.

I had taken my first lessons from the international magazine company and was keeping my file well organized, with each statement and to-and-fro correspondence.

Then in the early 1997, they advertised a new brand of card, which they called after some game. That was of the Visa franchise. I thought I am smart and applied for that card, so that I can get a separate credit limit on the new card. They were smarter and gave a combined limit of Rs.34, 000/=, for both my old card and the new card together. Then they started showing transactions on both the cards separately, on the same statement.

I felt a little embarrassed but took it in the stride. When the cards came for renewal, I just wondered why should I pay a separate annual service charge for my second card when my credit limit was the same. So I wrote a letter to them requesting to cancel one of the cards. They replied saying as soon as the balance amount of Rs.XX/= pending on the Visa card is paid, they would cancel the card.

Anyway, I paid the amount of XX and from the subsequent statement onwards the second card disappeared from the statement. I understood that the second card was cancelled. I kept using my first card (the master card) happily. I was also paying my dues diligently.

One fine morning in late 1998, I called the bank for a Tele-draft. The officer told me that my card stands cancelled. He told me that the card is cancelled because there was an unpaid due on one of my old Visa card! I told him that the Visa card was cancelled long back.

I sent a fax to their Chennai office referring to the telecon, requesting for a clarification. No reply! Next day I sent another fax referring to the telecon and earlier fax. No reply! Fourth day, I sent yet another fax, referring to all earlier correspondence. No reply! Absolute silence.

Finally I sent a letter to one of their senior manager addressed to her name, with reference and copies of all previous correspondence. No reply!

In the meanwhile I got the next monthly statement from the bank, showing my card as cancelled and asking me to contact their recovery manager. I called the recovery manager. His secretary told me he is away. I narrated the matter. She told me she will contact me the same afternoon, but did not. I again contacted her and then I got the interesting news that, the whole thing was due to some technical problem on their side.

One new habit I had started by this time was to ask for the good name of the person with whom I have a telecon, and refer to the discussion with name in the next written letter.

I got a letter from their Bangalore office showing the balance on my master card, and the minimum payable as 10%. It never told me that my card is cancelled. Ironically, the last statement told me to clear all outstanding on my card immediately. Interestingly the letter also had a sentence at the bottom, which was something like “This is a computer generated letter and hence does not need a signature". It of course did not have any signature. That was the first time I learnt that people usually sign their letter not because they wanted to own the responsibility of what is written in the letter, but because it is not generated by a computer! (Well, there are many such illogical and ridiculous concepts in our present society, which are owned as aristocracy! I am planning to write “Luxury fittings. No traffic rules” on the back of my car. That is an extension of “Air Conditioned. No hand signal”)

Coming back to the story, I sent a cheque for the minimum balance shown in their ‘computer generated letter’. I also enquired what kind of computers do they use, because the computer generated monthly statement showed that my card is cancelled with a demand to clear all the dues forthwith and the computer generated letter told me the minimum payable as 10%. Neither did the letter tell me why the usual 5% minimum payable is increased to 10%! No reply!

I had lost my patience. I found out the name and address of the CEO of the bank and wrote a detailed letter showing all the history, attaching copy of all faxes and letters, with the respective proofs of delivery.

Finally I got a letter from one of their Senior Customer Manager apologizing for all the inconvenience I was put to, offering to give me a replacement card at no extra cost. Eventually I got the card also. I thought that was the end of it!

No! Sometimes later I got a letter from their legal officer demanding me to pay the balance on the old visa card. I sent a strong letter to him with references to all the correspondences and also threatening to write to BVQI (They claim an ISO certification) if he does not get back to me assuring me the write-off of the so-called balance on the old card. A deadline also was given. He never got back to me. So I wrote to the BVQI. That is where it is.

Anyway I had learned more lessons.

Lesson 3: Always follow up with a letter to your vendor after a telephonic discussion.

Lesson 4: Note down the good name of the person you are having telecon with and mention that in the follow up letter.

-The Consumer