Jun 23, 2010 10:07 AM
4531 Views
(Updated Jul 19, 2010 11:42 AM)
I had a huge fight with the phone customer care rep in Oct 2008 and had to cancel my ICICI platinum visa card. She refused to escalate my issue to her supervisor so I had to hang up in disgust. In my opinion:
1. ALL CUSTOMERS HAVE A RIGHT TO SPEAK WITH A SUPERVISOR REGARDLESS OF ANY 'TECHNICAL ERRORS' in the system. Despite having entered my card # and date of birth in the IVR, the CSR insisted on getting that info for verification again.
2. WHAT IS THE POINT OF THE IVR IF WE HAVE TO REPEAT EVERYTHING TO THE CALL CENTRE AGAIN? She also refused to get a supervisor unless I authenticated my self for the 2nd time on the same call.
3. THIS IS NO WAY TO TREAT GOLD CARD CUSTOMERS LET ALONE PLATINUM CARD. The supervisor can easily authenticate me the 2nd time if it is required.
4. NO CSR SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO DENY ANY CUSTOMER THE RIGHT TO SPEAK WITH A SUPERVISOR EVER. Totally unprofessional and outrageous for any bank specially icici.
5. PLATINUM CUSTOMERS SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO SPEAK TO A HUMAN DIRECTLY WITHOUT FORCING THEM TO WADE THROUGH THE IVR. Other banks like citibank & hdfc already do this. In fact there should be a different number for platinum customers in the top 4 metros at least.
There was a balance of Rs. 5-10 after my last payment. Despite asking to cancel the Platinum card over the phone with customer care in 2008 Q4, I kept getting late fees & penalties that increase each month. I have been offered a 'full & final settlement' of Rs. 950/= in July but have offered Rs. 300/= instead.This was revised down to Rs. 500 but they never showed up to collect the amount.
In one statement dated Apr, 2009 the 'late payment fee' of Rs. 400 was charged FIVE times on the SAME date! 2 weeks later the 'service tax' was also charged 5 times [Rs. 41] So my outstanding balance jumped from Rs. 331 to Rs. 2,579 with no usage at all in that month.
That's 679% interest & penalties in a single month! The current outstanding has grown to Rs.3,672 in 18 months = 1200% of the original disputed amount.
The RBI should cap the max interest / penalties to 100% monthly like its done abroad. In the US it has been capped at 100% a year from this year.
They also refuse to take cancellations over the phone and required me to send a letter first. If statements can be sent over email and be considered legal, why not cancellation requests? We should have a right to cancel any card over the phone and the bank should send an SMS [within a day] & email [within a week] to confirm the request as a backup.
Update July '10:
Good news we finally negotiated an amout of rs. 500/= as a 'full and final settlement' [F&FS]and I got a letter and official receipt. At least now you know you can get over 3/4th of the outstanding reduced if you stick it out for a year. My total was almost Rs. 3,700 which is over a 85% reduction. I still feel it was not fair as my original amount was rs. 300/= but I'm glad its over.
However the guy to collect the cash came without an ID which the letter he is carrying clearly mentions in bold that if the ID proof is not checked the payment can become invalid!
After much arguing, I decided to risk it since it was the first visit after almost 1.5 years of arguing. But I don't recommend this to anyone, always insist on ID proof as mentioned in the final letter else you would be throwing good money after bad.
The guy claimed his ID had gone for renewal - why come when you know the letter clearly requires the proof? Why not keep a copy of the old ID until its renewed? Stupid excuses always...
Always make sure of the following when doing a 'F & F S':
The letter should be on ORIGINAL letterhead and not a copy
The receipt should have a hologram
The letter should only mention 'due to financial difficulty' if that actually applies to your case since it will impact your credit ratings as a default in the future if you apply for any loans.
All ICICI letters mention this 'reason' which is simply neither required or truthful.
- Once your payment has reached the bank you will get an SMS & email confirmation thanking you
