According to my bank, I can clearly live in four locations simultaneously. Yes, that’s easy, let’s just split my personality – and body – into four!
Or, if not, we face a serious question: how many missuses do I serve? Since my legally married wife of 20+ years and the kids (legally born to the family and cared by us) all are found physically in one specific house, what on Earth do I have going on in the other addresses?
That’s the question suggested by my bank! You see, I have three things through Suncorp: bank accounts, credit cards, and insurances. I opened an account back in time and have stayed and expanded my business with them over the years as they pay better interest and their insurances seem to have a good price/value position. Though, I haven’t tested what else I would get by paying more to another company.
Now, I have been taught the hard way by Suncorp that when I move houses, I need to tell them my address. Naturally, telling once would be easy. Thus, I call them with my new address. “Thanks, I’ve now updated your address in our system”. Quick and easy! The bank send their advertisement and statements to the right address from day 1.
Until I discover that I need to call again, to tell the exactly same story again to the insurance people, who start pondering what to do with my policies, whether I was covered since my move and when will the cover be OK again. Come another month, and thanks to the Australia Post mail forwarding service, I notice that the credit card bills still lack the current address. So, a third call to the bank. I should record the story and just play it from the tape, as my mouth is getting dry and frustration levels up! Didn’t I already call them twice earlier? When does the change go through? How many addresses do I need with them? How many more times I need to call them?
The underlying question, of course, is what else there is? When can I trust that all my mail come to me? What information has fallen into wrong hands when they have been delivered to any of the old addresses? Bluntly, the bank breaches my trust in them!
This was highlighted again when one of my kids lost the PIN code for the ATM cashcard. After a couple of calls to Suncorp phone banking and a visit to a branch, the PIN code hadn’t arrived in two months. So, a new visit to a branch with a question about the address they have sent the PIN code to. Yes, you guessed, the one we moved out a year ago! Why there, since the new address was notified immediately and all the statements are sent to the current address? Makes one wonder what other banking information has been sent to the old address?
To recap: Suncorp presents itself as one corporate entity in public, with both banking and insurance managed through the branches. But nevertheless, I need to inform them three times of the new address, and yet we find critical mail going to the old one.
Why, just why, Suncorp? In this information age, year 2011, one could think that you would already have implemented a half-decent CRM! With that only one, one single call would have been enough! Grow up from the seventies, will you, please!
