February15

Commerce Bank Customer Service

Until yesterday, I had been without a debit card for over three weeks now. It was hard to go back to the days of college where you only had an ATM, but what sucked even worse was the response (or lack thereof) from Commerce for the entire situation. Enjoy my un-responded to letters to Commerce...

To Whom It May Concern:

When purchasing Christmas presents this year, I was constantly reminded that my debit card was nearing its expiration. But I wasn’t concerned. As January creeped by and I hadn’t received word from the bank or my new card, I started to get a little concerned. When January 23rd rolled around and I still hadn’t received any information about my card, I sent an email to customer service:

My ATM/Debit card is about to expire. Do I need to come in and request a new one, or will one be sent to me?

The response (Support Case #350777) came the next day and I was pleased to find out:

thank you for contacting commerce bank. yes you will be receiving your new debit card at the end of the month.

If you have any other questions, please e-mail us or call 1-800-746-8704. We are available from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Central Time.

Sadly enough, the end of January neared and on the eve of February 1, my debit card was declined at an eating establishment. Talk about embarrassing. Reluctantly, I used my credit card to complete the purchase.

Still thinking that my card was stuck in the mail, it wasn’t until Friday, February 3, that I went to talk to someone at the bank. Our discussion turned up the fact that I failed to change my address from February 2005 and that a card had, in fact, been sent to my old address and returned to the bank - the card was sent out on January 9 and returned to the bank on January 14. Yet, when I contacted customer service on January 23, I was never informed that the card was sent OR returned to the bank.

My fault and I take full responsibility (or lack thereof).

But the events that have occurred since my meeting on February 3 have made me think twice about continuing my banking with Commerce:

1. My address was updated at the bank on Feb 3.
2. I was told that it would take longer to send the new card to my address (it takes three business days to process an address change and then three more business days to issue a new card), so it was requested that the new card be sent directly to the bank for me to pick up today, Friday, February 10.
3. In the meantime, I was issued a new ATM card so that I had access to my checking/savings accounts.
4. Today, when I arrived at the bank to pick up the card, I was informed that the card was sent to my current address, but addressed to the assistant branch manager.
5. The card was again requested to be sent to the bank, this time overnighted. Unfortunately, the card won’t be sent out today, for whatever reason, and now it will be Tuesday before I have a chance to pick it up.

I’m extremely aggravated with the whole situation. Yes, this could’ve been avoided with me changing my address, but the response that Commerce is giving me and taking care of me (a customer of over six years now), I don’t feel very valued. All I’ve received is an apology.

Here are my complaints...

• The online customer service has access to the same records. Why wasn’t I told on the 24th that my card had actually been sent to my old address?
• In addition to that, why can I not change my address over the phone? Or when/if I change my address online, why does it take longer than if I do it in a branch? Other banks allow you to change your address over the phone.
• I was happy to get an ATM card, but getting to the only Commerce ATM downtown is a hassle (inside a building, no drive through).

In my opinion, the customer service needs to be better in situations like this. If a card is returned to a bank, why wouldn’t customer service contact me to make sure everything is okay? Transactions are still going in and out of my account, you’re still receiving my auto loan payments, all of this should tell you that I’m still alive.

Again, this is all happening because I failed to change my address last year. But I don’t think it should take almost three weeks (since first contact with customer service) to resolve this. It’s a hassle not having a card to complete transactions with and I can’t stand paying foreign ATM fees constantly.

This whole situation has really turned me off of Commerce and has made me start to think about moving my accounts to a different bank. I don’t want people to jump through hoops for me, but I want to feel valued and that my business with you means something.

I hope someone can shed more light on this situation and give me the confidence that hands “just aren’t tied,” but something will be done to make me feel better about Commerce and my decision to stay. I’d hate to post my experience on my web site and inform friends about my troubles.

JoLinda Kloeppel has been assisting me in this process and has been pleasant to work with, but she can only do so much. I appreciate her time and wanted to let you know that.

Thanks for your time,
Seth Gunderson

That letter was sent on February 10, 2006. No response. So this morning I sent this letter...

To Whom It May Concern:

I issued a letter last week, on February 10, detailing my recent troubles in receiving a new debit card for my checking account. I was never contacted in regards to this letter, which again makes me seriously question the quality of customer service at Commerce Bank. Fortunately for me, I now have a debit card. Unfortunately, it took 22 days for me to get it. That’s 22 days, or three weeks, since I first contacted Commerce. Three weeks.

I detailed my three weeks of issues/complaints in the last letter, but sadly, there were more:

1. I was contacted on Monday afternoon to come in and pick up my debit card, as it had been received that day.
2. Upon trying to use the debit card at a local store, it was again declined (that’s twice, if you’re keeping track).
3. I was contacted again on Tuesday to come and pick up my debit card, as it had been received that day.
4. When I picked up the second card, it surprisingly had a new card number. I don’t know why this is, but would’ve loved to know that I was getting a new card number for the companies I had automatic payments with, because now I have been charged fees for having an incorrect card number.

Overall I’m very dissatisfied with my service from Commerce and will be chronicling all of this on my web site for my friends, co-workers, family, or anyone to read. I’m not even going to suggest what can be done to make this right, but I know saying “sorry” isn’t going to do it.

Seth Gunderson

+ original post date: February 15, 2006 08:49 AM
+ categories: All About Seth, I'm An Idiot, KC, WTF