WWYD - Stayed quiet or made a fuss

[AnthemLights]

I needed to do a wire transfer today.  I called the receiving bank for the account/banking information that I needed for the transfer and then I went in to my bank to fill out the papers.  My bank called me a few hours later saying that the transfer didn't go through.  Turns out the receiving bank gave me the wrong information.  So I did the whole thing again, this time with the right information and (hopefully) it will go through....although not until tomorrow.

 

It was kind of annoying....I had to run to town twice (40 miles away) to sign the transfer permission and my bank charged me 20 dollars for both attempts.

 

My husband thinks I should have made a fuss.  I don't know with who, though.  It wasn't my banks fault and I don't really know anyone at the receiving bank, except for the lady who I talked to today who gave me the erroneous information.

 

Stuff like this seems to happen to me all the time.  DH says I don't stand up for myself?  Anyhow, would you have said something?

[Spryte]

You could have asked that the receiving bank pay the $20 fee, since they gave erroneous info.

 

Why did you have to go to town twice? That stinks. I'd be miffed. They couldn't do it the second time via phone?

 

Hmmm. I don't always say something. Not sure I would have, but maybe. We are in a hotel long-term right now, and our ins co is paying for it. We checked in, and it was the tiniest room I've ever seen in the US. Two beds, with barely room to squeeze past. I called and said, hey, we've got two kids out of school for the summer (didn't go into homeschooling, TMI) and DH works from home. This won't work. They immediately put us in a two bedroom/2 bath suite. So it worked. But I felt like I pulled the princess card, you know?

Edited June 24, 2016 by Spryte

[Katy]

I don't know what he would have done differently.

[Forget-Me-Not]

I would have made a fuss. The receiving bank should have eaten that fee since the mistake was theirs. I don't think it's too late. I'd call them and provide documentation that you had to submit twice and demand a reimbursement.

[Mabelen]

I would have made a fuss. The receiving bank should have eaten that fee since the mistake was theirs. I don't think it's too late. I'd call them and provide documentation that you had to submit twice and demand a reimbursement.

Most definitely. Do this.

[AnthemLights]

Spryte, no I couldn't do it by phone the second time.  Something about not being the executive officer on the account???  I was home by the time they realized it wasn't going to work so I had to run back in.

 

I'm glad that you got bumped up on your hotel, but yeah, I wouldn't have had the nerve to ask myself.  My husband, on the other hand - he can ask for something so casually, kind of off-the-cuff, that people usually don't mind doing stuff for him.  Me, whenever I have tried, seems like it gets too confrontational.  So, I guess I don't figure it's worth the trouble.

 

Maybe I could ask DH to call tomorrow. :tongue_smilie: Especially if you think that the receiving bank should stand for it.

[marbel]

Of course the receiving bank should pay for the error.   They gave you the wrong information.

 

Call back and talk to them again.  Do you have the name of the person who gave you the information in the first place?   If not, call the same number and the same department.  Tell them what happened.  Ask them to reimburse you for the error.  

 

Don't ask your husband to do it.  If you find it hard to do things like this, it's time to stop avoiding them and start learning how to do it yourself.

 

Said kindly, by someone who used to be very timid about this stuff but learned how not to be.  :-)

[The Girls' Mom]

I would have made a fuss.  Having worked in banking for years, I would have made a stink on the spot until the fee was taken care of.  IMO, the originating bank shouldn't have charged you a second time either, but I'd have made less of a stink over that.  I would definitely call the other bank and tell them what happened.  I'll warn you though, it may be tough to get them to reimburse you if you do not have an account with them.  Cutting a check to a non-customer for a fee refund will require all sorts of red-tape to go through on their end.

[UCF612]

I would have complained then and there and nothing would have changed. I have made a stink a number of times and always to no avail. I must be really bad at it. I hope you have better luck. You definitely shouldn't have to post for the faulty info.

[Spryte]

I'm going to cheer you on, as you call today! Or your DH. I do think you should be reimbursed the fee.

 

Go, AnthemLights!

Edited June 24, 2016 by Spryte

[Xahm]

Go ahead and call the receiving bank yourself. They should pay. I'm another person who absolutely HATES calling people, but it is always okay once I call and they pick up. It's just the dread as I think about it that gets worse as I dial and listen to it ring. I know if I can avoid hanging up before they pick up, the rest will be fine. Just make sure you have the info you need right in front of you so that it can be handled without you having to call back.

[Lanny]

Trying to get information like that, verbally, is very chancy.  I would have tried to get the data for the Receiving Bank via an email, so it would be in "black and white".  I know you were in a hurry, so you called the Receiving Bank to get that information.   Certainly not the fault of your local originating bank.  The husband of one of my cousins *only* sends funds by bank wire transactions, because they are the safest and fastest way to get money transferred from one bank to another bank.  After we bought this lot and we were building the house, one day I sent a FAX (those were the days when we had a FAX line in our house ) to our bank in the states, asking them to transfer $ to our bank here in Colombia.  I waited a few days but out local bank said they hadn't received it.  I called the bank in the states. It was my fault.  I had not given them the full and complete Routing information.  I think the funds ended up in Santiago, Chile?  The woman in our bank in the states told me "Don't worry, I will do a Funds Back".  A day or 2 later, the funds were in our account here in Colombia.  If one sent funds via another method and something went wrong, good luck trying to get your money.  IMO, you would have a hard time trying to prove the employee in the Receiving Bank gave you the wrong information over the phone and trying to get them to reimburse you for the 2nd wire transfer probably would be a waste of your time and energy.  

[Farrar]

Honestly, I think men raise a stink because them raising a stink generally causes more people to hop on command than when women do it. 

 

I think it would have been worth it to raise a stink... your bank may still have forced you to return because of security policies, but maybe they would have given you a totally different sort of compensation - that's not uncommon in cases where a customer is unhappy with a business but the business can't give them what they want - I'm not totally sure what the bank would do - for airlines and hotels and such, they upgrade you, for stores, they give you a small gift card, but it may be the bank has a small perk they give people when something goes wrong that isn't really anyone's fault or they can't fix. And, like others said, I think calling the *other* bank to complain is much more likely to result in getting compensation for the fees. They're the ones that totally screwed up.

[Rachel]

Paying the fee twice when I didn't make the mistake is where I draw the line.

 

The worst that can happen is the bank will say no. I hate confrontation, but practice what you are going to say with confidence. It will help when you make the call. If the first person can't authorize the reimbursement, ask who can. Expect that you will be reimbursed and it's more likely to happen. Don't sound accusatory, just say "I was given the wrong routing number the first time I called, my bank charged me twice. I would like to be reimbursed for the second fee."

[heartlikealion]

Yes, I would make a fuss. I would do so as calmly as possible and ask to speak with a manager for starters I guess. Maybe the manager from the place you deal with normally could help you figure out how to handle it or do something on your behalf.

 

I don't know if faxing a signature would have been an acceptable alternative?? I would definitely remind them I was out $20 + time/gas. Not that I would expect compensation for the latter, but I'd point it out.

 

Good luck!!

 

(and if all else fails I'd ask my dh to say something LOL.)

Edited June 24, 2016 by heartlikealion

[Rachel]

Also, it's $20, to me it's worth it to make a phone call, but not worth it to spend 2 hours trying to get it back. My sister would probably spend a day trying to get it back and in the end she would. Decide how much energy you are willing to put into it ahead of time and then let it go whether you get the fee returned or not.

[OnMyOwn]

Whether I would complain or not would completely depend on how much I needed the $20 back for the first transfer. So, 10 or 15 years ago I would have been back at the first bank complaining to a manager. Now, I would not worry about it. It would not be worth the stress of the trip and the conflict.

Edited June 24, 2016 by OnMyOwn

[Ausmumof3]

They should have paid it but I struggle to make a fuss. Men are better at this because girls have to "play nice"

[marbel]

They should have paid it but I struggle to make a fuss. Men are better at this because girls have to "play nice"

 

I'm not disagreeing with you exactly, Ausmum, but the general idea about girls having to "play nice."  I see a lot of people saying that they are not good at this.

 

I spent about 20 years of my life working in customer service in some capacity.  It was the customers who 'played nice' who got things done for them, not the people who tried to intimidate or bully us.

 

Now, when I need help with something - such as getting a doubled service charge reversed because of a company's error - I get results by playing nice.  I tell the person - calmly, nicely - what happened and what I need them to do to make it right.  I always get what I want.   I've even gotten people to reverse charges that were the result of my own error - like the time I set up a credit card payment for $10,000 more than I meant to pay, and thus overdrew my bank account and bounced a few checks.  I called the credit card company and they returned the money to my bank account, gave me a do-over on the payment, and didn't charge me a late fee (even though by then the payment was a couple days late). Then I called the bank, apologized like crazy, and they cleared all the overdraft charges. 

 

It's really not a matter of "making a fuss" but expecting a company to make things right if they've made a mistake. 

 

Y'all who are hesitant to do it - just do it.  Write yourself a script if you have to.  Have your facts straight before you call.  If it's an email or online communication, write it out concisely.  Just state the facts of what happened, where they messed up, and what you want from them.

 

It's not hard once you get used to it.  :-)

 

[heartlikealion]

I'm not disagreeing with you exactly, Ausmum, but the general idea about girls having to "play nice."  I see a lot of people saying that they are not good at this.

 

I spent about 20 years of my life working in customer service in some capacity.  It was the customers who 'played nice' who got things done for them, not the people who tried to intimidate or bully us.

 

Now, when I need help with something - such as getting a doubled service charge reversed because of a company's error - I get results by playing nice.  I tell the person - calmly, nicely - what happened and what I need them to do to make it right.  I always get what I want.   I've even gotten people to reverse charges that were the result of my own error - like the time I set up a credit card payment for $10,000 more than I meant to pay, and thus overdrew my bank account and bounced a few checks.  I called the credit card company and they returned the money to my bank account, gave me a do-over on the payment, and didn't charge me a late fee (even though by then the payment was a couple days late). Then I called the bank, apologized like crazy, and they cleared all the overdraft charges. 

 

It's really not a matter of "making a fuss" but expecting a company to make things right if they've made a mistake. 

 

Y'all who are hesitant to do it - just do it.  Write yourself a script if you have to.  Have your facts straight before you call.  If it's an email or online communication, write it out concisely.  Just state the facts of what happened, where they messed up, and what you want from them.

 

It's not hard once you get used to it.  :-)

 

 

I agree, but I'm wondering if by play nice she meant don't do anything that might cause waves? And to some people anything that is/looks like confrontation is making waves. I hate confrontation, but in most cases I hate losing money more LOL. This scenario actually sounds pretty straight forward and easy to fix compared to some I've been in. A company delivered a bed with the wrong size bed frame. It took several emails, photos, a measuring tape and possibly more for me to explain that there was no way that frame was intended for a California King. The delivery guys tried to dismiss my concerns on day one when they set it up in the house. We didn't order locally because of prices and availability so it was a huge headache.

[marbel]

I agree, but I'm wondering if by play nice she meant don't do anything that might cause waves? And to some people anything that is/looks like confrontation is making waves. I hate confrontation, but in most cases I hate losing money more LOL. This scenario actually sounds pretty straight forward and easy to fix compared to some I've been in. A company delivered a bed with the wrong size bed frame. It took several emails, photos, a measuring tape and possibly more for me to explain that there was no way that frame was intended for a California King. The delivery guys tried to dismiss my concerns on day one when they set it up in the house. We didn't order locally because of prices and availability so it was a huge headache.

 

Ah, maybe so!  But still... why care about making waves in that situation?  It's not a personal thing.  

 

[heartlikealion]

Ah, maybe so!  But still... why care about making waves in that situation?  It's not a personal thing.  

 

 

I don't know about in this particular situation, but maybe in some cases people worry about being perceived as some annoying client/customer/patron. I've been hesitant to ask for a price adjustment just because I get this vibe that I'm going to irritate someone or be stuck waiting on the right person to handle the situation to appear.

 

[AnthemLights]

Sorry, guys, I thought this thread was dead...I wasn't getting any notifications.   :confused1:

 

I didn't call back.  I convinced myself it was only $20 and not worth the stress.  (Sorry Spryte)   :crying:

 

Maybe I do need to learn to be more assertive.  I actually don't think it would have been that hard....I didn't have written proof (as in an email), but I was trying to pay off a loan with the receiving bank and the lady said that it would work to wire the funds directly into the loan account, rather than into our checking account and then having to transfer from the checking into the loan.  We have both a checking account and a loan account with the receiving bank.  Well, then it ended up not working, because, I guess, you can't wire into a loan account, contrary to what I was told.

 

I will take all the positive encouragement and try to do better next time.   :001_unsure: