Post by Neko Bazu on May 15, 2011 8:39:17 GMT -1
Dear Sirs,
I am writing to complain about a letter I received from yourselves in the post today. The letter informed me that I had recently transferred a balance from my xxxxxxxx credit card, and that you wished to tempt me back with a "fantastic balance transfer offer."
While I appreciate this gesture, my complaint is that I have not recently - or indeed ever - made a balance transfer to or from my xxxxxxxx credit card, and this letter is therefore entirely erroneous. Further to that, this letter caused me a great deal of concern, as I was left wondering whether there had been some fraudulent activity on my card/in my name that I was unaware of. I was thankfully able to log onto my online banking account and check that there had not been any transactions made without my knowledge, but this option is of course not something everyone has, and I can't help but wonder how much distress may have been caused if - for instance - an elderly relative had received this same letter.
If this was part of a mass-marketing campaign sent out to a large number of your customers, I can only describe it as misleading and wholly irresponsible. If this was simply a clerical error I would consider it the 'lesser of two evils' but still very discouraging. If my bank's internal systems can flag up a non-existant balance transfer, I can only wonder what other errors might occur behind the scenes, as it were.
Whatever the reason, I wish to express my disappointment in you as a company in this matter, and would ask for an explanation as to the cause of this at the very least.
Thank you in advance for your time,
[Me]
I am writing to complain about a letter I received from yourselves in the post today. The letter informed me that I had recently transferred a balance from my xxxxxxxx credit card, and that you wished to tempt me back with a "fantastic balance transfer offer."
While I appreciate this gesture, my complaint is that I have not recently - or indeed ever - made a balance transfer to or from my xxxxxxxx credit card, and this letter is therefore entirely erroneous. Further to that, this letter caused me a great deal of concern, as I was left wondering whether there had been some fraudulent activity on my card/in my name that I was unaware of. I was thankfully able to log onto my online banking account and check that there had not been any transactions made without my knowledge, but this option is of course not something everyone has, and I can't help but wonder how much distress may have been caused if - for instance - an elderly relative had received this same letter.
If this was part of a mass-marketing campaign sent out to a large number of your customers, I can only describe it as misleading and wholly irresponsible. If this was simply a clerical error I would consider it the 'lesser of two evils' but still very discouraging. If my bank's internal systems can flag up a non-existant balance transfer, I can only wonder what other errors might occur behind the scenes, as it were.
Whatever the reason, I wish to express my disappointment in you as a company in this matter, and would ask for an explanation as to the cause of this at the very least.
Thank you in advance for your time,
[Me]
Been a while since I felt the need to write a letter of complaint - glad to see that my Pen Of Rage hasn't gone rusty I'm only hoping for an explanation and an apology, and seriously doubt I'd get anything beyond that. I reckon 'no response' or 'a load of lip service without substance or apology' are the other options, and they wouldn't really surprise me.
The big question, of course, is what do you think will be the outcome of today's Great Banking Lottery? Place your bets now! ;D
(I don't want to name the bank in question, just in case, but apparently they have a track record for this kind of error - I've been informed that they were "crucified - really hung, drawn and quartered" recently on a certain consumer rights show, which doesn't bode well for future confidence!)