The card was closed and replaced but I always go through every statement and account for every charge. So when I saw another unfamiliar charge - $185 at Rooms to Go - I called the credit card company (Citicards) immediately to dispute the charge. I bought a desk at IKEA. Who had been shopping at Rooms to Go?
Unfortunately, the call went through to someone who spoke heavily accented English. My guess was Phillipines, but I could be wrong. She informed me that Rooms to Go is a furniture store.
"Yes. I know what it is. I'm just telling you I haven't been there recently."
To cut to the chase, we disputed the charge, closed the account and issued a new card. Quick and easy. And everything was fine. Until I got ready to go to bed. When I went upstairs and looked at my bed it suddenly occurred to me what I bought at Rooms To Go. New bedding - purchased online.
In fairness to me, I hadn't been specifically shopping on the Rooms To Go website. I was shopping for blue/green bedding and on the page of many options, the one I happened to like best happened to be shipping from Rooms To Go. I forgot until I saw it on the bed that night. Not really surprising when you consider that sometimes I forget why I went into a room.
So the next morning, I called Citibank back to tell them that I understood that the account had already been closed and a new card issued, but that I wanted to withdraw the dispute because the charge was legitimate. After a game of 20 questions with someone else who spoke in heavily accented English, I thought they were going to take care of it and I paid the bill.
So imagine my surprise when two weeks later, I got a call from Rooms To Go about a chargeback. I explained what had happened and that the chargeback shouldn't have happened. I had paid for it on my credit card statement. I still haven't seen the new statement to know whether they gave me a credit or not, but I don't want them to charge me for it twice. I would have to call Citicards to find out why the chargeback had been processed when I'd said it was a legitimate charge. The young man who answered my call and told me he was in the Dominican Republic, asked me to hold for a moment while he checked with someone in the dispute department. Eighteen minutes later, a young lady came on the line. She had no idea what I was calling about - it was like she was answering a new incoming call rather than dealing with someone who'd been on hold for 18 minutes.
I assumed she was also in the Dominican Republic. I didn't ask. What I did ask was what number I needed to call to speak with someone in the United States. She said she would be happy to try to help me but I said I'd be happier to speak with someone in the United States. To her credit, she promptly transferred me to an American. The problem was resolved without any time on hold. I was given a reference number that I could give to the folks at Rooms To Go, who by the way have their customer service center based in Florida.
For me, the bottom line is that while Citicards might save a bunch of money using foreign call centers, it cost me an extra hour of time and it cost the good folks at Rooms To Go even more extra time. Admittedly, I'm the one who jumped the gun in the first place but realized my mistake in plenty of time to avoid the problem if it had been in the hands of people who actually understood the problem. On the other hand it may be that they are paid based on the number of calls they take (actual or average) and so they just leave the ones that sound complex on hold or transfer them to someone else. Either way, it's not good for the customer.
I'd love to refuse to do business with people who off-shore their call centers, but I'm afraid I might find myself completely isolated. It's really easy to be principled until you can't get what you want or need.
But doesn't this bed look great!
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