When I moved here, I lost my ATM card. I won't name the bank, but their logo includes a stagecoach. The bank was quite nice in offering a way to call their 1-800 number for free. The only problem is that the call can only be made at major post offices.
Here in Vietnam, the places that rent out PMBs (private mail boxes), look almost identical to the real post offices. To call the bank, I must call a special number: 1201-1022. This allows me to call the bank for free, again, from a MAJOR post office.
When I got here, I requested an ATM card sent to me. The address was incorrectly copied. I got the card, but I didn't get the PIN. I called the bank and the correct address was finally sent. I made a special trip to the post office to call the bank. They said that the card had been reported lost (not by me) and couldn't be used anyway. Once cards are reported lost they are useless. So, I went to the Main Saigon Post Office again and called the bank. A new card was sent to me, again without a PIN.
I got the card. No PIN was sent. I tried to call the bank but a recent earthquake now blocks certain phone calls to North America from Asia. I tried to contact the bank from the Internet. There is a whole bunch of hype there about how secure the e-mails are. But you cannot request an ATM card or PIN from the Internet. The only way to contact them is via telephone.
So, I went to the post office. I dialed 1201-1022. And instead of an operator coming on the line, there was mambo music playing followed by a recording (in both Vietnamese and English), "We are sorry but all the lines to the country you are calling are busy. Please try again later."
Going to the bank's website, I tried to communicate this fact to the automated e-mail center. I would get an automated answer:
I kept sending them e-mails explaining that I cannot call the 1-800 number. They sent me a California phone number that I can call collect. Vietnam doesn't really understand collect calls. I had to pay for a portion of the call and it had to be made from the Main Saigon Post Office.Dear Mr. Long,
Thank you for using ________'s message system. You can resolve the problems you are facing by contacting 1-800-xxx-xxxx...
After three weeks of waiting to call the bank to get a PIN, I finally got to talk to someone. When I said the PIN never got to me, the operator said, "Well, Mr. Long, you need a new card." I became furious.
"NO, I DON'T NEED A NEW CARD. I ONLY NEED THE PIN SO I CAN USE IT!"
"I'm sorry sir. We don't just send PINs out like that. If your PIN gets lost in the mail, we have to send you a new card."
"That's stupid. You send the number as a scrap of paper, which all the post offices in Southeast Asia think is junk mail, so they don't send it."
"I'm sorry, sir. We have no control over that."
I got the supervisor, whom I told how I feel about the bank's policy. She said I wasn't very understanding. I tried to tell her how the telephone and the postal services are not secure in this part of the world. It's silly to put so much trust in the phone and the mail as this bank does.
She tried to tell me that I could use my card like a Visa card. I told her, no, that the bank sent me one without a Visa logo. I could write a personal check to a bank here. The time I tried to do that, they thought I was trying to counterfeit money.
Well, fortunately, I have a mailing address in Las Vegas, Nevada. It's silly but they are sending me the new ATM card (with Visa logo) and PIN to that address. The people there will send the card and PIN via DHL to Saigon. I will have to pay about $30 for this, but I am tired of waiting.
What a stupid system.
