Jury's still out
Written: May 23 '01
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Pros: good telephone service, good rates
Cons: doesn't deal with out of ordinary well, no direct access to decision-makers
The Bottom Line: The next few months, with a new CEO, should tell whether Fleet really does become more "customer-centric"
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| ritafp's Full Review: Fleet Platinum Visa |
The fact that Fleet Financial has been the subject of numerous consumer complaints is not news to anyone in New England. Since its merger with BankBoston (and the move of many customers to Sovereign), Fleet has managed to make itself the bank that everyone loves to hate. I became a Fleet customer in the latest merger with BankBoston - all my Bank Boston accounts became Fleet accounts and since I had a BankBoston MasterCard, it became a Fleet MasterCard. Ever since I became a Fleet Bank customer, I have had numerous problems with Fleet over my checking, savings and reserve credit accounts; the only thing keeping me at Fleet was the great computerized banking system - HomeLink. It was the one thing they didn't change in the merger. After twenty-five years at Fleet and its predecessor institutions, I was seriously considering jumping ship. It shouldn't have surprised me when I started having problems with my Fleet Platinum MasterCard. But, in a surprise twist, I may have found a bank that works.
In early February I was suddenly informed that Fleet was reducing the credit limit of my Fleet MasterCard from $3100 to $500! This occurred two days before a major business trip. The new credit limit made the card worthless to me; in fact, I got the impression that Fleet was trying to get rid of me as a credit card customer. I was informed that this decrease was due to lack of use (I had a $0 balance and not used the card for two months) and a negative notation on my credit profile. The notation was an error and I had already contacted the creditor and had them correct the error and send me a letter confirming the error and the correction. I faxed a copy of that letter to Fleet. I received no response. I called but was informed that I could not be permitted to speak to anyone in the Credit Department! A few days later, I received a form letter saying that it might take 30-60 days for changes to appear in my credit profile and that they would review my account at that time. At the time the letter was written, the changes already were in my profile at Experian and TransUnion; the change showed up in my Equifax profile a week later. Three months later, I had not heard from Fleet.
This incident was particularly ridiculous because I had recently dealt with Fleet credit division with regard to increasing my reserve credit account limit. They already had all of the information on the negative notation. They increased my credit reserve account limit to the requested amount. When I pointed this out to the people handling my Fleet credit card, they said that it didn't matter, that these were completely separate units. What is the point of having one's accounts at a huge bank like Fleet if the divisions don't speak to each other and make contradictory decisions?
I try to keep my Fleet credit card balance low. I like to have it available in case of an emergency in which I need instant access to cash. Unfortunately, such an emergency happened to me on March 31st when I had a fire in my house. I have spent much of the last month replacing the items damaged and arranging for clean-up and other contracting services. Typically, I would have used my Fleet MasterCard for this, but the recently lowered limit made the card worthless. I had relied upon my Fleet MasterCard to help me manage such unanticipated occurrences, but, after twenty-five years, Fleet was not there when I needed it the most.
In April, I read a story in the Boston Globe about an admission new Fleet CEO Chad Gifford made about the deficiencies in Fleet services and his commitment to being more "customer-centric." Still steaming from my experience with my Fleet MasterCard, I wrote to him explaining what had happened to me. Within four days, I received a call telling me that my limit had been restored and that they would be taking a long hard look at customer services in the credit card division. They were open and apologetic. They asked me if I had other concerns. I did, and they assured me that they would investigate and resolve each one.
The cynic in me says that this is meaningless, that they will go back to business as usual. But the tone of their apology was sincere and Gifford has a reputation for building banks with great customer service. For me, the jury's still out. Over the next few months, I will be watching carefully.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
ritafp
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Reviews written: 52
Trusted by: 4 members
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