I just had the most retarded conversation with Hellenic Bank, which usually is quite understanding and cool, but in the last couple of month freaked me out a couple of times. Ā The situation is simple and complex at the same time. Ā I had a prepaid card (P-Card) on my name, connected to my account. Ā I gave it to my father so he could withdraw some money from the ATM in Russia. Ā This worked nicely quite a few times, until today there was a situation with a wrong PIN. Ā The bank in Russia was willing to sort it out, if only they could speak in Russian with some sort of bank representative. Ā So, I called the bank support line, and here is what transpired.
Support: Hello, sir, how can I help you?
Me: Hello. Ā I have a rather tricky situation and I need your help with it. Ā I have a prepaid card on my name, which I gave to my father to withdraw money. Ā He is in Russia currently, and he all of a sudden got an “invalid pin” error, even though it’s the same PIN that worked several times before.
Support: OK, can I have the card number please.
Me: Yes, sure, it’s 4173*********.
Support: Can I have your name please.
Me: Yes, sure, Leonid Mamchenkov.
Support: It was an incorrect PIN, sir.
Me: Yes, I know, the system said so. Ā But first of all, it wasn’t, and secondly, what can we do about it?
Support: Is your friend still holding a card?
Me: First of all, it’s not a friend. It’s my father. Secondly, no, it was taken by the ATM. Ā However the bank in Russia is willing to return the card if they can verify the identity of the holder and such. Ā Do you have any Russian-speaking support or branch or something?
Support: The policy is that the other bank does not have to return the card. Ā They will send it back to Hellenic Bank to get destroyed.
Me: I understand, however that would mean quite a huge delay in time for the transaction, not to mention an inconvenience. Ā Is there something we can do here?
Support: No, the policy says …
Me: Yes, I understand what the policy says. Ā But the situation seems solvable. Ā All you need to do is verify my identity and speak with the Russian bank, who will call some number of yours. Ā This way we can avoid a lot of …
Support: We cannot verify your identity, Sir.
Me: What do you mean?
Support: We cannot verify your identity, Sir.
Me: Listen, the prepaid card is connected to my account. It’s in my name. I’ve been a client of the bank for years now. Ā You can ask me any question in regards to that account, I will be able to answer – current balance, address, date of birth, the ID card number, anything.
Support: We cannot verify your identity, Sir.
Me: Can you please connect me to your supervisor then.
Support: I am the supervisor, Sir.
Me: And you cannot verify my identity? Ā You don’t have the procedure for that?
Support: No, Sir. Ā The procedure for this case is that the card is being destroyed.
Me: OK. Can I have the money from that prepaid card then?
Support: Sure. You can go to your branch and ask for the money.
Me: OK, thanks. Then I’ll do that tomorrow and will use Western Union or some other money transfer service. Ā And you can follow your procedure further on. Ā Well done. Good bye.
Support: Good bye, Sir.
Yeah, well. Ā And then we wonder what happened to the economy. Ā How freaking difficult is it to verify my identity and then speak to a bank in Russia. Ā And that’s when Russian IS one of the three language choices on the same support number that I just called, and not only – Hellenic Bank does have representation in Russia too. Ā I guess it’s just much simpler to say that we have a procedure that allows us not to give a crap about your problem.