Category Archives: Customer Service

What Happened to Envaulted?

Written by in Credit, Customer Service, Money Stories
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I’ve discussed Envaulted just once before on this site, when my brother asked if he should sign up for a service that gives 1% cash back on all credit card purchases just for giving them access to your purchase information on certain credit cards.

At the time, I said no because I thought there were a few actions that would have a much bigger effect on his finances. Why try and make about $2 a month when you can make changes that will make you $50 or more?

After signing up for Lending Club and opening an IRA account, he decided to try out Envaulted. Why turn down free money? It’s hard to argue with that logic.

My brother received a cool $100 from Envaulted over the past year, which is pretty sweet. But this past week, the site went down. I won’t even link to Envaulted.com because the site doesn’t even load.

There is no way to request payment anymore, let alone log in. People have connected their bank information, and there is no way to delete it. If I were a customer, I’d be worried. There’s no response from customer service, either. The only public communication was a single tweet from the Envaulted Twitter account, which has elicited plenty of responses, such as this one:

Envaulted

There is also this forum about Envaulted on FatWallet that discusses the issue. Alex, the COO, mentions that information is safe, but doesn’t say anything else to help people out. The mystery continues.

People want to know what happened, if their information is safe, and if there’s any way to get the payments they deserve.

This is just another reminder to choose the companies you do business with wisely, especially when it comes to secure financial information. I think the smart thing to do now is to change the passwords to any financial institutions that you had connected to Envaulted.

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Try Multiple Solutions to Solve A Problem

Written by in Customer Service, Money Stories
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Last month, I took a trip to Oxnard, CA for a weekend getaway. I was about to book a room at the Hampton Inn (owned by Hilton) overlooking the harbor when I saw a promotion on their page, get the 3rd night free. Well, we were only going to go for 2 nights, but how can we not extend our trip if it’s absolutely free?

I clicked on the link, entered our trip details, and took the cheapest available option, which came out to about $130 including taxes for each night. The price included the 3rd night, so I called the hotel for clarification, and they said that upon checkout, they would credit back to my account.

The weekend was absolutely fantastic: we spent a day at the beach, went bike riding, and listened to a concert in the park from our balcony.

Sunday rolled around, and as we set out on our way for a wine tasting and lunch on the way back, I checked out of the hotel and requested my extra $130 back.

The only problem was that they didn’t see the promotion on my account. I spoke to the manager, and she wouldn’t adjust it for me since I booked it online and she said she didn’t have the power. I would have to speak with Hilton to try and get my money back.

Frustrated, I left, hoping that this wouldn’t ruin my weekend. As soon as I got home, I called Hilton and explained the situation. They told that even after clicking on the promotion, I should have selected the normal, higher rate in order to get the promotion added to my account.

Well, that sucks. I paid more for the 3 night stay than I would have had I selected a higher rate and gotten the 3rd night free. No fair! Obviously I wanted them to credit me the $118 difference.

I believe that the website was a little deceptive and didn’t give clear instructions about how to book the 3rd night free promotion. I specifically asked for clarification before booking, so I wanted Hilton to acknowledge that their employee had made a mistake in talking to me on the phone and that they should be responsible for her actions.

Calling didn’t work, so I tried two different avenues: I complained publicly via twitter and I filed a report with the Better Business Bureau. I meant business, I had been misled, and I should not have been charged as much as I had been.

Nobody voluntarily pays more for the same product. I wanted to get the rate people who didn’t make a “mistake” on their website would have gotten.

With all my complaining, getting the full $118 seemed like a lost cause, so I focused my efforts on getting back the extra money that I paid over the lowest available rate, which was about $85.

I got a fairly quick response to my twitter complaint and after a few back and forth responses, I got an email saying that they were indeed going to credit me back my $85, the extra portion that I probably shouldn’t have paid.

While I did get a response after filing the BBB report, it came about a week later, and I once again I asked for the full $118 credited back. Unfortunately, I didn’t get my wish and ultimately they decided that the $85 was enough and my hassle shouldn’t be compensated.

Rarely will one avenue work for every problem you have, which is why I tried 4 different options. I spoke to the manager, I called, I tweeted, and I filed a report.

By reaching out in all sorts of directions, I put my eggs in different baskets, hoping that one would work out positively. Because sometimes just one friendly response is all it takes to save $85.

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Facebook as a Shopping Tool

Written by in Customer Service
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This is a post written by Avishai Shuter, and up-and-coming zoologist who lives in his parents house while waiting to hear back from the Bronx Zoo.

I recently discovered something amazing. It involves things everyone loves: business with a personal touch, great customer service, and big, big savings. I was hesitant at first, but you shouldn’t be: Like your favorite stores on Facebook. Right Now.

Let me share a story with you, about how I paid $25 for a $109.99 product, just by asking. One of my favorite online stores, HockeyMonkey.com, has a promotion on their Facebook page called the Wicked Daily Deal (they also provide fans with contests and codes for sales). What they do is look around their office for something that’s been sitting around a while, then they throw it up on the Facebook page for absurd prices on a first-come first-serve basis.

Someone gets a great product at a great price, and HockeyMonkey gets to sell products that are just gathering dust – everyone wins. These deals range from eh, that’s a pretty good deal, to I feel bad for practically stealing this item from them.

So now for my story. I had dabbled in the Wicked Daily Deal earlier in the year, purchasing a hockey stick bag (a $15-20 value) for $3. I check these deals almost daily, but hadn’t seen something I really needed for a while. But, with hockey season coming up, I needed a new pair of shoulder pads.

Last week, I took advantage of an opportunity that fans of the Facebook page have, and spoke directly to the company on an essentially first name basis. I just wrote a post on the Wall saying that I would love a new pair of shoulder pads for a great price. When was the last time you walked into an American Eagle and said, I’d like these jeans, but on sale please?

Yeah, that’s what I thought. But, having great customer service, HockeyMonkey just said, no problem. They looked around their office and found some shoulder pads that had been sitting around for a few years (they were Easton Synergy 900 pads, if you care). These top-of-the-line pads originally cost $109.99, a price I would never consider paying. But, HockeyMonkey offered them to me for a measly $25. A jaw-dropping deal. The pads should be delivered at some point today, and I can’t wait.

I hope that a few lessons can be learned from this experience. First, and most obviously, Like your favorite companies on Facebook. It gives you an outlet (in many cases) to speak candidly to representatives of the companies, bypassing the usual corporate facade you need to face-off with whenever you call or deal with big companies in person. I can’t praise HockeyMonkey enough for the effort they put into their Facebook page; all their fans greatly appreciate it.

Also, don’t be afraid to ask! It can never hurt, because the worst-case scenario is simply a ‘no,’ and you’ll be right back where you started, no harm done.

The ability to just speak to a company in an informal, one-on-one way is an incredibly freeing experience. Next, I really hope that more big companies will take the initiative and adopt programs like this one. It seems that HockeyMonkey is really ahead of the curve, but I can’t wait for the day when other companies to catch up.

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Bank of America Responds…Far Too Late

Written by in Banking, Customer Service
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Last month, Peter over at Bible Money Matters wrote about his horrendous experience with closing his Bank of America account. Well, he is not alone with his Bank of America troubles.

I opened my account last March (15 months ago) and in July 2009, I wanted to take advantage of a promotion to use bill pay for $25. I had just graduated college and started to pay my bills, so it was great timing to get some free money for something I was going to do anyway.

I expected to see the money deposited in my account within 3 months. Nothing. I called up to see what the deal was and they told me that I was not eligible for the promotion because when I opened the account in the branch, I had technically “activated” bill-pay even though I had never used it.

For obvious reasons, that didn’t sit well with me, so I went into the branch where a nice woman named Jenny made a few calls and said that it would be taken care of.

Two months later and I still hadn’t heard anything. I went back to Jenny, who apologized, investigated again, and came to the same conclusion that I should be eligible and compensated. I sat there while she made a few calls to confirm that I should get paid.

2 months later? Bingo: still no payment.

Now it’s getting a bit ridiculous. I was ready to go back to Jenny, who agreed months ago that if they couldn’t get it done the proper way, would find another way to credit me my $25, possibly through a referral that didn’t really occur (see? I told you she was nice!).

Instead of going back to the branch, I used Peter’s tip and contacted Bank of America through twitter. Sure enough, mere minutes after I sent them a message, I got one back with contact information (Their twitter handle is @BofA_Help).

I told them my situation, gave them my bank information, and they looked into it. What did they find? That I had previously been credited. What? Did I make a HUGE mistake? Nope, they did. They saw a referral bonus and assumed it was the same thing.

I made it clear that I was quickly losing patience and explained their mistake. Finally, I got another email back saying that in order to keep my business, they would be crediting me $35 and they hoped that would make me happy.

Sure, it solved the problem, but it took too much of my time and I’ve already switched to ING as my primary bank. I don’t stand for bad customer service.

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