BigSmooth
Lifer
So I have this MBNA Visa that I almost never use. It's just kind of a backup for emergencies.
I'm moving this week so I call up MBNA to change my address. I punch in my acct. number and SSN, and it tells me it is transferring me to the "account recovery" dept. I thought that was a little odd but I noticed my card's expiration date is 8/03, so I thought it might have something to do with that.
Anyway, I get a CSR. He asks me my name, then he says "you're still on Main Street, right"? Yes. "Is your phone number still 503-765-4321?" Yes. "OK, I am actually showing that your account had an unpaid balance which was charged off about five months ago."
WTF!?!?!
I never use this card, I tell him, there must be some mistake. I am looking at the last statement I received (from July '02) and I paid the balance in full. "Yes, I show that payment but there was a charge the following month which we never received payment for. There were finance charges and late fees for seven months, and then it was charged off."
Houston, we have a problem.
At this point, I am extremely worried that my credit rating is in trouble.
I tell him something is wrong, and I get transferred to a few more people, eventually ending up with an "Account Manager". He tells me that yes, the account was charged off. He can't tell me the exact amount of the charge or where it was made since it was >6 months ago, but he will order the microfilm so he can send me a copy of that information. The balance that was charged off is only $211 so the original charge was probably minimal. He also says they "probably" did not report an amount that small to the credit reporting agencies (thank God), but he would check to make sure.
Now comes the fun part. He asks me, "your address is 13827 Main Street, correct?"
Uh, no. It's 14827 Main Street. "Oh", he says. "Actually, there's a note here in the computer that does show that your statements were being returned to us."
Son of a... WHAT THE HELL? I've paid every single bill I've gotten from you since 1998 on time. I change my address, make one charge, and all of my statements are subsequently returned. Gosh, that might explain why I haven't paid them! Gee, you did have my correct phone number, you could have tried CALLING me to verify the address. :| Also note that the original CSR did not verify the house number, only the street.
I ask the acct. manager why no one ever tried to call me. He explains that once again the amount was so small that it probably "slipped through the cracks". Lovely.
So he gets my new address, reads it back to me, and tells me he will send a copy of the statement and I won't be responsible for the finance charges since I was not aware of the outstanding balance. That part, at least, made me happy.
I suppose if I was super-anal about every single charge I put on my credit cards, I could have avoided this. But here is what probably happened. I almost never use this card, and when we moved a year ago I probably used it on a few things because we were low on cash due to security deposits, moving costs, etc. I got the July statement thinking it had all of those charges on there, and I paid it off. There must have been one charge that missed the closing date and did not appear on that statement, which is the one that remained outstanding and got charged off. I haven't used it since so I had no reason to expect a statement.
So hopefully everything will get resolved with no damage to my credit. I'm just pissed off that they did not bother calling me for seven months despite the fact that they knew I was not receiving my statements.
Cliff's notes: MBNA got my address wrong. They show a small outstanding charge. They send me statements and they get returned to them. I never use this card so I don't realize anything is wrong. The charge builds up fees and goes unpaid for seven months, then they close my account. They never attempt to call me even though they know I am not receiving the statements and they have my correct phone number. Finally, I discover this problem and it should get resolved OK. I get pissed about their poor service and post a whiny, longwinded rant on ATOT. 😛
I'm moving this week so I call up MBNA to change my address. I punch in my acct. number and SSN, and it tells me it is transferring me to the "account recovery" dept. I thought that was a little odd but I noticed my card's expiration date is 8/03, so I thought it might have something to do with that.
Anyway, I get a CSR. He asks me my name, then he says "you're still on Main Street, right"? Yes. "Is your phone number still 503-765-4321?" Yes. "OK, I am actually showing that your account had an unpaid balance which was charged off about five months ago."
WTF!?!?!
I never use this card, I tell him, there must be some mistake. I am looking at the last statement I received (from July '02) and I paid the balance in full. "Yes, I show that payment but there was a charge the following month which we never received payment for. There were finance charges and late fees for seven months, and then it was charged off."
Houston, we have a problem.
At this point, I am extremely worried that my credit rating is in trouble.
I tell him something is wrong, and I get transferred to a few more people, eventually ending up with an "Account Manager". He tells me that yes, the account was charged off. He can't tell me the exact amount of the charge or where it was made since it was >6 months ago, but he will order the microfilm so he can send me a copy of that information. The balance that was charged off is only $211 so the original charge was probably minimal. He also says they "probably" did not report an amount that small to the credit reporting agencies (thank God), but he would check to make sure.
Now comes the fun part. He asks me, "your address is 13827 Main Street, correct?"
Uh, no. It's 14827 Main Street. "Oh", he says. "Actually, there's a note here in the computer that does show that your statements were being returned to us."
Son of a... WHAT THE HELL? I've paid every single bill I've gotten from you since 1998 on time. I change my address, make one charge, and all of my statements are subsequently returned. Gosh, that might explain why I haven't paid them! Gee, you did have my correct phone number, you could have tried CALLING me to verify the address. :| Also note that the original CSR did not verify the house number, only the street.
I ask the acct. manager why no one ever tried to call me. He explains that once again the amount was so small that it probably "slipped through the cracks". Lovely.
So he gets my new address, reads it back to me, and tells me he will send a copy of the statement and I won't be responsible for the finance charges since I was not aware of the outstanding balance. That part, at least, made me happy.
I suppose if I was super-anal about every single charge I put on my credit cards, I could have avoided this. But here is what probably happened. I almost never use this card, and when we moved a year ago I probably used it on a few things because we were low on cash due to security deposits, moving costs, etc. I got the July statement thinking it had all of those charges on there, and I paid it off. There must have been one charge that missed the closing date and did not appear on that statement, which is the one that remained outstanding and got charged off. I haven't used it since so I had no reason to expect a statement.
So hopefully everything will get resolved with no damage to my credit. I'm just pissed off that they did not bother calling me for seven months despite the fact that they knew I was not receiving my statements.
Cliff's notes: MBNA got my address wrong. They show a small outstanding charge. They send me statements and they get returned to them. I never use this card so I don't realize anything is wrong. The charge builds up fees and goes unpaid for seven months, then they close my account. They never attempt to call me even though they know I am not receiving the statements and they have my correct phone number. Finally, I discover this problem and it should get resolved OK. I get pissed about their poor service and post a whiny, longwinded rant on ATOT. 😛
