Yesterday I had called BofA to check few things and had this bizarre experience. Initially I got what I needed regrading my Checking account and later I wanted some more details about my Credit card. So I asked the person to transfer the call and Mercedes as I recall her name (hard to miss 😉) was kind enough to transfer the call.
Now, I start conversing with this other person (I don’t recall the name) and tell her that I called in to check regarding a specific credit card ending in ‘ABCD’. And she goes mentioning a different card number ending in ‘XYZO’.
So, there was a little bit of confusion and then she finally said something like “Oh, I wanted to check if you got any offer or need details for this new card ending in ‘XYZO’ “
Then I clarified to her again and gave her my full name and the specific credit card details - ending in ‘ABCD’. She couldn’t pull it up.
Next, she asked me if she could send a text message for verification to a mobile number ending in ‘1234’, while mine was ending in ‘4321’!!
At this point, I was not sure why my details are not matching up. So i offered to spell out my entire name using phonetics and still no luck. So the next thing she asked was my email ID, again for verification purpose so I gave it. Still no luck.
I was getting a little edgy and asked out of curiosity, if it was BofA - Credit Cards Department and she said, Yes.
I thought to myself, okay may be she is a new trainee or must have got something mixed up while multitasking so I was trying to be patient.
But the next question, threw me off. She had asked my entire SSN, again for verification purpose!!! I mean, not just the last 4 digits (which is usual) but the complete SSN.. 😳🤯
So at this point I took a call and told her that I’m not comfortable with so many details mismatching and now to give away my entire SSN over a phone call and hung up.
Hmmm….All along the conversation, I may have given out information voluntarily (like asking if it was BofA - credit cards, instead of a simpler “which department it was”).
There could have been a genuine lines mix up, backend database or server issues which didn’t pull up the right data or some other technical issues.
And like I said before, the person might have been new to the job.
Also, if you recall I was the one who made the call to begin with and just asked the call to be transferred.
But nonetheless, I feel more secure and comfortable getting off the line without sharing more than required.
I can always call back and reach out to a different representative.
Sometimes, you need to take a call when you need to get off!!
