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Will Run For Miles, hereby affirms and states:
1. At the end of 2013, I was hearing a lot of buzz about a certain Visa card from WF. Normally, I apply for credit cards online, but on this day in question, I was near Union Square in Manhattan. I had gone to the Trader Joe’s Wine store, in search of my favorite cheap Malbec or failing that, some 3-buck (formerly 2-buck) chuck. I went during lunch hour in order to avoid the long lines after work. I bought the booze and was walking back to the subway and noticed a WF branch. I walked in and took a leaflet advertising the Visa I was interested in. A banker greeted me and invited me to apply right there and then. She said it would be fast (first lesson: nothing is ever fast with WF). She asked me some basic information and assured me I would be instantly approved. Voila, she informed me that my app was approved.
2. About a week later, on a Saturday, I received an envelope from WF. I could tell it contained a credit card. I opened it and looked at the card. Wait, it was an American Express card, not a Visa? What the F, WF? I phoned WF. I spoke to a Sam and then a Derrick. I was told they could take care of this quickly (see note above, nothing is ever quick with WF). First, they had to cancel the card. I was assured that the card was being canceled, and furthermore, that a request would be filed with the credit report agencies to strike the initial credit inquiry as “bank error.” This request, I was told, was called a Credit Bureau Resolution Dispute Form. I was then told that a full new credit card application had to be submitted – the Amex application could not be used for the Visa application. Finally, I was told that the cancellation and application were completed, and I’d hear back in 7 days. “WHAT? Seven days, I thought you said this would be expedited?”
3. Early the next week, I tried to contact the manager of the Union Square branch in order to familiarize him with the facts and to ask him to oversee this matter. It took a painful 20 minutes just to get to the branch phone, and to the manager. Finally, I got through to the manager, Jared. I TOLD HIM THE WHOLE STORY. I told him that I had gone through the whole cancellation rigmarole a few days before, but he said the Amex card was not in fact canceled. So we went through the whole cancellation ordeal again. He assured me that he was taking charge and promised that he’d contact me in a day or two.
4. I never heard from him again.
5. A week or so later, I called the branch and asked to speak to Jared. I was told that he was no longer employed by WF. What the F? I asked to speak to the new manager. I was told that the new manager had not started working yet. I asked to speak to whomever – ANYONE – who was in charge in the interim. I spoke to the acting manager. I went through the WHOLE STORY YET AGAIN. Again, this gentleman was very nice and quite empathic. Many promises of “brisk resolutions” and “getting to the bottom of this,” but, at the end of the day, nada.
6. Another few days went by. I again made an insurmountable number of calls, and explained the situation to countless strangers. If this was any sign of things to come, then maybe I should just run away fast? But, noooo…., of course I didn’t run. Finally, finally, I reached a credit analyst. She located my information and then informed me – YOUR APPLICATION HAS BEEN DENIED. I was dumbfounded. What the F, WF? I EXPLAINED THE SITUATION AGAIN. I specifically asked if the denial was because this was technically my second application at WF, and hence, a second credit inquiry, even though the first application and cancellation was attributable to WF bank error. Silence. She then said, “our records indicate that you canceled the first card as stolen.” WHAT? I EXPLAINED AGAIN. My phone call was now essentially transformed into a reconsideration call. It took about another 15 minutes of her verifying my story, including calling the branch (good luck with that) and reviewing my credentials. Finally, She informed me that my application was now approved. After getting up off the ground, I hoped the approval was for the Visa, and not the American Express again.
8. A few days later, I called back to make sure I was really approved. Given the facts of this matter, I needed to hear it again. I went through at least six layers of nice but clueless representatives. Finally, I was connected with Peggy, in credit card services. She assured me that I had in fact been approved for the Visa, and that the card was sent out from North Carolina yesterday. She said it should arrive in 7-10 days. After politely telling her that I could probably walk to North Carolina in less than seven days, I thanked her and wished her a good day.
9. My thoughts: obviously, this is a tale of one thing after another going wrong. A comedy of errors. I wonder whether this royal mess was a confluence of misinformation and miscommunication or just an isolated mistake that mushroomed? Many have told me of their positive experiences banking with WF over many years, so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.
WHEREFORE, it is time to crack open the Malbec, and enjoy the humor in it all.
Affirmed this 8th day of January, 2014.
Kathy
Will Run For Miles
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Editorial Note: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author's alone.
A New York frequent flyer who elegantly combines her passions for worldwide travel, running a gazillion marathons all over the globe and staying fit ... without sacrificing her fancy for good wine and food.
What a nightmare!
sorry to hear the hoops you had to jump through. this is why i fired boa, wf, all those big dumb banks. instead, i went with a credit union, which i’ve been with for 15+ yrs now. no dumb fees, no hidden tricks, just plain ol banking.
All these banksters care about is getting credit for signing you up. And frankly, if they sign you up for the wrong (or additional) products and you cancel and sign up for the “correct” product, they get credit again. Zero incentive to get things done efficiently. Big incentive to push unnecessary products.
And if you think WF is bad, try BoA…or Citi…or Chase. Ugh.
Avoid going into any bank if you can instead do it online. Had several excruciating checking account signups with small local banks recently (and was F’d by Citi when I grabbed the branch-only Citi TY 5X card). If I didn’t have need of additional places to deposit MOs I would never have sat thru the interminably slow signups. I made 4 separate visits, left twice in disgust (empty banks full of employees but “manager was busy”) and perhaps two hours wasted – just so I could deposit money and get zero interest for the “privilege”
What is WF? Is that its full name or was there an abbreviation I missed?
WF = Wells Fargo. My brother had a similar situation regarding closing a WF brokerage account. Took about 10 calls to get the right person. My brother is the only one in the family who still uses WF, in fact he has his whole life savings in a WF savings account earning about 0% interest. When will he ever learn…
Sadly, this is indeed part of the game we play. I have not had such an awful foul-up (yet) but I have found that dealing with B of A online is an awful experience. It’s the worst of the bank sites I use, bar none. Unable to do what I wanted to at my laptop, I took to the phone, and it then took me so many calls to set up autopay that I vowed I’d never get another one of their CCs again. We’ll see if I keep that vow.
On the upside, my daughter tiptoed her way into the game today and was rewarded with 4 shiny new cards and lots of miles. Everything went as well as possible, which is good – then when she hits the inevitable glitches, hopefully she’ll be as resilient as you, Malbec and all!
congratulations on bringing your daughter into the Matrix!
My wife applied for the WF card a month after I did. She was rejected for having insufficient income–which was odd, seeing as how her household income is exactly the same as mine, and I had been approved one month earlier. We called the recon line and made sure they realized that even though she’s a homemaker, her income is $X, not $0. A week later: rejected, insufficient income.
it definitely seems like one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing there….
One word of advice, confirm the bonus category has been applied to your account. I was too approved for that card, got it and then started using it, only to find that they had not given me the bonus categories so it was useless! Cancelled the card immediately.
there’s so much homework in this hobby!
Wow, I can totally relate to your story. I applied for the WF Home Mortgage card with 5% cash back credited directly to my mortgage. Thought I would hit it hard with VRs for the first 6 months then not use it anymore. After the first billing cycle I notice that only 1% had been credited. I call WF and the nightmare began. I was passed back and forth between the mortgage dept., credit card dept, and rewards dept eight different times speaking to someone new each time. The difference between WF and Chase or Amex for rewards CCs was incredible. No one at WF in any dept could tell me anything, totally clueless! Finally I was told it would be “bumped up” to a manager for review and I would be contacted in 7 days….I’m still waiting.
Paul
That reminds me of when I got my WF 5% card–there was no info indicating which card I had, what bonus I’d get, etc. I waited until my first statement cut to verify. It’s poor execution on the part of WF.
Sorry Paul, I would not get your hopes up. I called and spoke to many people, sent many messages and all resulted in them denying me the 5%. I applied through and was approved for the Signature version, which apparently was an upgrade (?!) and they then stiffed me on the 5%.
I may apply again mid year, we’ll see. it’s a great strategy to use the 5% towards your mortgage, there’s a whole flyertalk thread dedicated to this topic so if you plan on hitting it hard you’ll definitely need to go check that one out. Let us know what happens on your case!
We have an on-going relationship with Wells Fargo Advisors which goes back many years. We actually ended up with them when the brokerage we were dealing with was merged into Wells – in fact it happened twice. But their credit card languishes in a drawer. This thread prompted me to check my rewards balance with them – about 35,000 points. Sadly, to use them, I must book travel through their agents. It was difficulty using points from another card, which also demanded I book travel through them, that propelled me into this game a year and a half ago!
We like our financial advisor and get very good service from him and his assistant. But the previous one managed to lose a foreign check that would have been extremely hard to replace. It took them five days to find it. The only advantage was they switched us to a better rep and cut their fees for us, fearing we’d move our business elsewhere. And we are actually doing just that, little by little. They also hold our mortgage – again, because they bought it from another bank!
OMG, I just got a promo in mail 5% CB, for 6 mo, now I am worried abt ph calls I might have to make..
My God, Katie, what an ordeal! Here’s to hope it will be worth it at some point!
On an unrelated note, if I happen to meet Mr. or Mrs. Captcha in the street, I’ll strangle them with my bare hands, I swear!