Imagine being in a foreign country. You have money in your bank in the USA. However when you go to get money from the ATM there is a problem with your bank. Cards from other banks that you have used in the past always worked correctly. You spend a fortune making several long distance phone calls to your bank. You are so low on funds that rice for every meal is under consideration and the bank tells you that even after a month they have no resolution.
"This is the fourth time I have called in a month to solve this problem, "I said to Sheri who answered the phone at First Merit Bank call center.
I opened my account when the bank in Fenton was Citizens Bank. They supplied me with a Visa debit card. For years I used that card at ATMs throughout Colombia and other countries to withdrawl local currency. I found using a debit card to be the best way of getting money in a foreign country. No need to worry about carrying large amounts of dollars and you don't have to get ripped off by those money exchange places.
First Merit Bank purchased Citizens Bank. For a few months my old card worked fine. In October 2013 I received an Email giving me approximately a one week notice that my card would be deactivated. However sitting in my mailbox in the USA was my new First Merit Mastercard debit card. So, there should be no problem. My sister sent the card to me via the most reliable method to get something to Colombia. Two days and about $100 lighter in my wallet DHL delivered the new piece of plastic. I wondered why the bank changed me from a Visa to Mastercard without asking me.
Anyway, halleluiah , now I could get retrieve my Social Security from my account and squeek by for another month I thought after activating the card, paying international rates to do so. Next day the new card entered the slot of the ATM I have been using for months. I chose the button to dispense 100,000 Colombian pesos (less than $50 USD). Then came the message that the amount exceeds my card limit.
A very polite person answered after approximately 15 minutes on hold at international long distance rates. They took all my information, verified it was me, stated a resolution should be soon and someone would notify me.
In two weeks no phone calls or Emails came. Perhaps they just forget to do that. I tried the card again. No cigar, received that damnable same error message that I am over my card limit.
Ok, back on hold at international phone rates listing to tacky music and an annoying voice telling me that someone will be with me soon. This time I got another very polite customer service representative. "You're trying to withdraw 100,000 dollars," Hahn said.
"No," I replied. "It is 100,000 pesos which is less than 50 dollars." I mentioned how my Citizens card always worked. He looked at those transactions and told me that the old Citizens Bank system converted the pesos to dollars from what he could see.
This customer service representative called other departments, while I continued paying international phone rates, and finally told me the problem should be fixed soon. I waited another week, put my card in the slot and ... yup same error message.
Back on hold with the customer service department. This time I got Sheri. Very polite she tried harder than anyone else to resolve my problem. When she could find no solution she typed up an Email, read it to me, then sent it to her boss.
The next morning I had an Email from Amanda, who lists herself as a team leader, explaining how much I could withdraw daily and giving a phone number to call to increase my limit.
Fortunately she gave her phone number. Back to paying international phone rates, I told Amanda, "I do not believe that you understand the problem. The system believes that I am trying to take out in dollars what the value is in pesos." And again I explained how the Citizens Bank worked just fine.
Amanda called their security department. She then believed that the problem was there was no note on my card saying that I would be in Colombia. She asked me the dates of my visit to the country. "Forever," I told her.
"No, the security department needs specific days," she said.
Well, we covered that subject. Amanda then told me that within 20 minutes I would be able to use my card in an ATM.
I again expressed doubts believing the problem was still not understood. But why not try and see. I waited over an hour, paid for a taxi to the ATM, tried the card again, received the same error message and paid for a taxi back home.
Sent Amanda an Email stating it still did not work. She replied that she was checking with another department and would "be in touch shortly."
It took two days before I heard from Amanda again. Though in her defense she did say she was out sick. She stated in her Email to me. "They are aware of the issue and are researching a resolution. I apologize but at this time there is no resolution to the error that has occurred."
By now over a month has elapsed that I have been unable to use my card at an ATM. Substantial costs for getting the card, activating it and calling First Merit Several times have been racked up and they tell me there is "no resolution?" My thought is wondering if every other card I have ever had was able to do it, why can't First Merit Bank do it? Why is this taking so long to resolve? My wife had almost the identical problem with her account in Singapore and they resolved it in less than 24 hours. Is the company cheap and waiting until a substantial number of customers complain before they decide to spend money on fixing the problem? The service representatives are always polite and seem to want to help, but the company seems to not be giving them the resources.
When you call the First Merit Bank customer service line the representative always answers the phone with, "Thank you for calling First Merit Bank where we put you first."
Now in all fairness to the company, I will post in the comment section when (or should I say if) they get my card working. However , if you are planning to get out of the Michigan winter to perhaps some warm Caribbean Island then you should plan to put your money in a bank other than First Merit Bank. And you might want to consider that if they are taking this long to solve my problem, how long will they take should you have a problem. From my experience you are not going to be put first.
More from Michael can be found on the website where he writes with his wife. www.michaelandgraciela.com
