The high-tech, and I am sure very educated, crooks got hold of my credit card number, and they had a field day. They were able to do that because not enough has been done to make using debit and credit cards secure.
Many of you will recall that while I was on the radio doing At Your Service, I requested that banks advise customers by email when there is a change on their account. Some banks are now doing that, and I was told that NCB has joined Scotia in sending email messages to their customers when there is a transaction on the customer's account.
One night, while checking my emails, I noticed that I was getting messages about expenditures using my credit card. I contacted the bank immediately. I was happy that I heard a Jamaican voice answering the phone, but by the end of the conversation, I regretted the encounter with this Jamaican agent. The problem I had with the calls being answered by these overseas agents is that I have a difficulty understanding their accent. The foreign-sounding agents display excellent customer service when compared to their Jamaican-sounding counterparts.
While talking to this agent on March 5, 2025, between 1:30 am and 1:45 am, and expressing my concerns about the system, I felt she was getting impatient with me. She interrupted me a few times, and at one point I had to say to her, "Why not shut up and listen to me?"
The agent told me that she was not paid to have people disrespect her. She promptly hung up the phone on me.
I had to call back, and I got a gentleman whose name is Akeem Elliot. I told him about the behaviour of his colleague and he apologized.
The bank arranged for me to get a new credit card, and I was advised to go to the ABM and check on the balance using the new credit card. This would activate the card. I did that, and I subsequently went to the pharmacy to use the card, and the card was declined. I called the Scotia Credit Card people, and I was sent to the ABM to activate the credit card again. I logged in to the ABM using the credit, got my balance, and then attempted to change the PIN. It asked me to put in my old PIN. I put in my new PIN twice. The machine responded with a message asking me to visit my nearest branch.
I have not had the use of my credit card for two weeks. Doing business with the bank can be a pain in the bottom.
Scotia Bank got an award for World’s Best Consumer Digital Bank 2024 from Global Finance (New York). I wonder if there were any Jamaican consumers on the judging panel.
Tomorrow I will have to go back to the bank again. It has cost me about JAD5,000 for travel and the embarrassment of my card being declined in front of other customers is an unestimated cost. Note that the bank can debit my account with bank charges, but I cannot debit the bank with customer charges incurred.
Note:
There was a time when one had to stand in line at the bank for over an hour. Old people and pregnant people had to stand. I remember raising hell in Scotia Centre about the matter. Things have improved. Customers no longer stand for an hour or more; they sit. Chairs are provided so you can sit for an hour or more.
Expect further improvements; they might provide beds in the future so we can sleep for an hour or more. The technology is certainly improving things!
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