I spent 58 minutes this morning (and 22 last night) on hold with Washington Mutual while being indiscriminately transferred between various departments. At the end of the call I had talked to nine (NINE) different ‘customer service’ representatives who passed me back and forth between departments in a manner something like the following: Fraud Prevention Services, Debit Card Services, Credit Card Services, Fraud Prevention Services, Credit Card Services, Fraud Prevention Services, Debit Card Services. Of course, I had to repeat my card number, first and last name (“can you spell that?”), birthdate (one time, inexplicably, my mom’s birthdate), and Social Security number EVERY single time I was transferred (which, it occurs to me now, is a foolproof way to have your identity stolen if trying to get your account back on the way to work/class).
This all to have a hold removed for ‘suspicious account activity’ on my card which, as it happens, turned out to just be when I got drunk the other night and bought a bunch of rounds of beer. Suspicious? Hardly. ‘Suspicious’ is more like being locked out of my own bank account for 36 hours while Fraud Prevention is ‘closed,’ and then being given the middlefinger/runaround for 90 minutes by a handful of inept ‘representatives.’ I began to get ‘suspicious’ as I was being transferred for the fifth or sixth time back to the department I had originally called: How many of these people are legitimately high? How many passed eighth grade? Realistically, what are the odds I’m getting Punk’d?
I really, sincerely, hope someone from WAMU (or whatever your stupid new name is now that you were bought at the bank garage sale of ‘09) customer service reads this. Go fuck yourselves :)
