Here�s my story. On a Saturday, I tried using my ATM card to pay for some groceries. The card was rejected. I thought that, somehow, the card had been duplicated and that the bank cut off access for my own protection. I went home and immediately accessed the online banking � my accounts were emptied. I was victimized. In the following minutes, I phoned the Customer Care Service and explained the situation to a bank employee. While asking if the bank had any reason to believe that my card had been duplicated and unlawfully used, he replied that no suspicious or unlawful activity was noted on any of the accounts.
I was told to go to my local branch, change my four digits PIN and double-check the activity in my accounts to see if anything was amiss. I replied that I was looking at my online statements and everything was gone. The bank�s security technology determined that those activities were not unusual and no further action was taken. Furthermore, several other transactions were allowed, bringing the account to a minus balance. No red flag there either nor a �courtesy call� advising that an unauthorized transaction had been made.
I was put on hold and had to wait until a supervisor was available. Finally I got in touch with the supervisor. I explained my situation once again and the supervisor assured me that a formal claim will be made and a CIBC Fraud division representative will be contacting me in 2 to 4 business days. She also made a note that all pre-authorized payments, cheques, etc will not bounce back and payment will be honored. Needless to say, no CIBC representative had contacted me. Furthermore all pre-authorized payments bounced back and, of course, payment penalties followed.
On the following week I went to a local branch and opened new accounts, advised payees about my new banking info, changed cards, etc. Opening new accounts took us almost 2 hours. Frustration could be probably read from my face as the customer service representative asked me if I could evaluate her service. Another note in the file was made � 5 days after my initial call, the investigation hadn�t even started. In other words, no action was taken. I�ll have to wait for the magic call from the Fraud investigation unit. The only good think about going into the branch was to have the branch following up on my complaint. It was then when I found out that the investigation unit wasn�t even notified about potential fraudulent activity on my account and it was then when the branch first put the claim into the system on my behalf.
Next day, the Customer Service Care Centre politely advised me that I�m looking at possibly another 5 business days until somebody from the now well known Fraud Unit will contact me. That will make the initial response time of 2 � 4 business days to be somewhere between 8 to 10 business days. Is this acceptable? According to CIBC�s protocols and procedures, yes, it is. And the saga continues. My intention is not to make a blog or keep a journal. I strive to present facts the way they were. But I know for a fact that, while waiting for the Fraud unit to knock on my door, payments need to be made out of my account and late or non-payment fees will follow.
In these troubled times, the mattress is probably the best place for someone�s money. And when it comes to customer service, believe me, you haven't got any.
Great thanks to all the competent folks at CIBC.
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