When Mastercard sent the emergency card ydy they said cash could not be drawn at an ATM, but at any bank.
Last night Mastercard supervisor Michael Monk phoned to apologise for the lack of service I had received and said I would have no problems with the card.
Today before my Italian class at 8.30 I went to a bank. They said they could not help because the card had no pin. They suggested I go to Italy’s largest bank, BNL: I went to class and in the 15 minute tea break went to BNL – AN HOUR later I left there despite the very kind asisstance of a manager who called Mastercard where I spoke with Brandon Tuggler who said it is impossible to draw cash. I told him what MOnk and Standard had assured me I could do and read 3 in the document sent with the replacement card that said “We can help you to find the location of a nearby Mastercard ATM cash machine” … he said he did not know where one was. I told him to find one.
I went to Barclays who could not help, nor could Deutche bank, I went to a total of 9 banks including Banco di Napoli, a Mastercard bank, they too could not help but still I had them speak to an Italian at Mastercard and I again spoke with Brandon.
By now it was 1pm and banks close at 1.30pm.
I told him to arrange a W Union transfer with Elise de la Rey.
I was then called from Std card division by Gcini Gasa who said she would ensure I would get a pin. This did not work because it would not accept option 5 to generate a pin.
I asked Elise to liaise with her.
She told me Jody from card division would call to assist. He never did.
In the meantime I am now feeling ill – I have a stress induced heart condition.
I completely missed my lesson today and my plans to go to Pompeii – the reason for me coming to s Italy have again been shattered because I have no cash. It is necessary for a bus ride and to enter Pompeii.
At2.35 I called Elise told her Jody had not called and wanted to know what was happening about authorising W Union to transfer money to me. She finally authorised and Brandon did this for me.
It is again too late to go to Pompeii.
I have again wasted an entire day on calls, sms and emails with Standard and Mastercard. I have missed out on my lessons.
Standard and Mastercard will pay for me to come back to Salerno and do a week of Italian lessons.
If my heart condition plays up then I have given my children info to sue the pants off Standard and Mastercard.
And of course Chartis Travel Insurance has still done sweet blow all.
I told Prenella Reddy on Monday I wanted a pin so I could use the emergency card and access internet banking. Yesterday she said I would have it this morning. I still do not have it and I want it.
Update: Alan Hales called + agreed treatment had been Diabolical’. He had reviewed all tapes + will reimburse me for trip + wasted italian lessons.
Oh Charlene – I really feel for you. This is beyond unacceptable. I am some glad that you are exposing this treatment on the web and that you get more than satisfaction. Please sleep well and keep at them
Charlene, you have my sympathy and empathy – I truly hope that this nightmare gets resolved very soon.
It seems to me that you are receiving the standard level of service to be expected when this sort of incident occurs – what makes your situation especially difficult is that you are stranded in a foreign country with no money and unable to enjoy your vacation.
I recently had my Master card cloned, and after filling out gazillions of forms and affidavits, I received a new card from Standard bank, and a credit for the fraudulent and unautorised debits and transactions (flights purchased on a Norwegian cut-price airline).
Neither Standard Bank nor SAPS were remotely interested in pursuing the perpetrators of the fraud, despite a reasonably easy and traceable chain of evidence (start with the airline traveller who used the air ticket purchased with a cloned (ie stolen) card.)
The Norwegian airline and Police stated that they would only act on a request from SAPS, not the victim (me!).
SAPS at one stage refered me to Interpol.
INTERPOL, FFS!
I contacted Interpol and when the guy at the other end had got back onto his chair and stopped laughing, he advised me that SAPS commercial division had to handle the matter.
The card companies seem to make commerical decisions and conduct risk analysis – they will not spend R2 to apprehend perpetrators if they only stand to recover R1.
…….continued
All Standard Bank had to do in your case was to stop all your cards, wire you say R20,000 to tide you over and get you back home at the end of your holiday, then sort out the new cards etc upon your return.
Of course that would have taken initiative and bold leadership, whereas the banks seem to be internal policy and rules driven.
What is the rand amount of damage that has been done to their reputation and brand as a result of your unfortunate experience being published like this?
R50,000?
R100,000?
R1,000,000 plus plus plus?
The comments on your previous blog indicate that yours is not an isolated incident – this is the sort of “servie” one can expect if one’s valuables and credit card are stolen in a foreign country.
For info, there DOES seem to be a way to get decent service from the banks, as I have received from – yes, you guessed it – Standard Bank.
Get yourself a good “personal banker”
Then treat him or her as if he or she is your personal secretary to organise all your banking admin.
Mine’s name is Judy and she is fantastic (possibly thinks that I am a cheeky, demanding SOB, but so what).
I can guarantee that Judy would have sorted your card issues out within 24 hours.
Business is all about relationships!
Gcini Gasa, hey? Oh dear…
Maybe it’s time to go back home and stop crying about it. You should have plenty of ways to get cash, or have many friends that can help you instead of depending on a bank to survive. Think outside the box.
Lessons learned?? “Cash is King”!!
Between the tight procedures of banks (money laundering), the general lack of knowledge of the average member of bank staff and the tendency to not take decisions by same staff while hiding behind the procedures and the anonymity of the call centres, a sound back up in real cash (Euro’s will do) and/or the good old traveller check.
This whole drama could have been escalated by the possibility of language problems between Italians and South African, both with their own particular accents.
Hope your second trip will be more successful. Pompei has been there for centuries and will still be there in a few months time. Good luck.
“Gcini Gasa hey?” Atlas Reader; Out of allt hose people you chose to single out an African person. This is not about race. It’s about Standard Bank’s poor servece! Oh dear! You are beyond help AR!
travellers’ cheques; don’t leave home without them. use Amex cheques; cashable at any bank or at amex.
Carlos, she’s not whinging; she’s performing a valuable service to us all; and she’s giving the banks millions of dollars of free publicity…all rotten.
The Standard & Chartered bank in Lagos once took 3 weeks to create a banker’s cheque; on S&C, Waters St. London. I went to Paris with it & the bank in Paris wouldn’t cash it (a banker’s cheque!!!!). Waters St was in New York and they didn’t know where the $$ had gone; thanks to the Embassy I was helped by their bank.
Good for you Charlene. Hope it’s solved soon.
Lovely to read full words. I have had a similar problems. One thing I have learned when requiring a service. You INSIST on being put through to the Chief. Not any lowling. No managers or supervisiors or team leaders. The chairman if possible. It worked wonders for in my dealings with Woolworths,Nedlife,Absa, Telkom to name a few.
Always remember the upper management never hears of your problems as a customer. These are kept secret as each level within a company covers their bum.
sorry for your experience, thanks for exposing this.
Imagine how many other people go throuh this but cannot tell the world like you.
Keep exposing bad service.
Now let’s start on the tsumami of stories about local banks: cancelled credit cards that continue to be used by the ones who stole them etc etc etc
I believe that banks would be better served by employees over 60 who understand the frustrations of life. If you’ve ever spoken to a bank clerk (they call them consultants) who refuses to read or refuses to follow your instructions, you’ll know the frustration.
Only someone who has paid his/her own bond for years can identify with the issues involved in debt/paying off the bond/home insurance, etc.
Charlene, the service you received was abyssmal. It created a horrifying experience and I would create almighty hell in every one of the banks concerned. But that would be once I’d returned.
Nothing in life is so bad that it cannot be made worse by the way in which you cope with it.
You really got knocked out of your confort zone there, didn’t you? What an adventure…
I meant to say: This is about Standard Bank’s poor service and it’s a good thing they are now getting the bad publicity they so need and deserve!
If you’re so unhappy Standard Bank – this isn’t the first time you’ve gone at them – why don’t you just move banks? ‘Writing’ articles like this that do as good to our minds as huffing bleach isn’t going to get you anywhere
@Duncan
Have to agree. South Africans love moaning, but won’t actually vote with their feet. Two years ago I moved my bond from Standard Bank following some very poor service. No fuss…no arguments, just got the new account sorted and left Standard Bank…for good.
Do it Charlene.
Duncan, you are as moronic as the banks claiming to offer a “service”. She obviously put her trust and faith in Standard Bank before she left not anticipating a total inability to provide the “service” which she is paying the bank for, by way of fees appearing on her statement. I’d be interested to hear how you propose she simply “change banks” when she is stuck at the other end of the planet without as much as 5c in her pocket????
About leaving one’s bank: the huge mistake we all make is assuming that because we have been with a bank for xxxx years, have always had good credit, never had debt problems, have plenty saved up with them — they will take this into consideration when we actually need the services for which we pay handsomely. I recently needed a temporary extension for ONE WEEK on my overdraft of a really small amount — much less than I earn per month, or have in my 32-day notice accounts — and ABSA refused because I’m self-employed and do my own books. So I’m changing banks. It was a wake-up call for me that banks don’t give a damn about your loyalty, or your record.
Charlene, you are doing an immense public service writing about this. Don’t you just hate it when the banks suddenly discover that you’re a journalist/writer and THEN they wake up and start jumping around? Within 24 hours of putting my ABSA saga online, they wrote to me to say “they were prepared to make an exception” in my case. Too little too late. Byt you and I are “lucky” in that we get to kick up a public stink: far too many suffer in silence with no recourse or outlets.
Believe it or not, there’s a Standard Bank client who was actually treated worse than you. Here’s the blog of a new widow, writing about what happened when she went to close her deceased husband’s accounts: read it and weep. http://www.helenbrain.co.za/blog_view.php?id=309
I am now back in Johannesburg and had to wait 25 minutes in a queue at Standard Jan Smuts to get cash on the emergency card – at first they told me it was not possible:) – so I could pay the taxi from the airport. Bill R600. No matter, I am back, Italy was fantastic, service SA was not.
- Duncan – why on earth should I inconvenience myself and change banks? Nee wat, it is not I that has to change it is Standard. I suspect you are a Standard employee too, this is the first time I have ever written about them but am not a client who sits and accepts poor service. It is a shame you suggest clients skitter off instead of demanding accountable and decent service.
Charlene…to continue my story….there was no inconvenience in changing banks at all. In fact my new bank did all the dogwork, including telling Standard the bad news, changing direct debits, etc etc. They sent a rep to my house to get signatures…so I didn’t even set foot in the branch.
I don’t get how you are happy to continue paying for bad service (and believe me, with Standard it only gets worse) and so lazy so as not to ‘inconvenience’ yourself. Best way with banks is to hit em where it hurts…take your money elsewhere.
I feel your pain. But keep in mind that the entire system is not broken, just because one or two persons did not do their job to the fullest