I had to call my mortgage company today. Should I say who? It’s Citi.
Not a big deal. Some paperwork they normally get from my town mysteriously came to me too. No harm, no foul.
As our conversation ended the difficult-to-understand man on the other end of the line asked to “verify” my email address.
Whoa. Hold on. They don’t have my email address. They didn’t want to verify it. They wanted to obtain it!
“You tell me my address,” I said, “and I’ll verify it’s correct.”
Oops. He didn’t have a scripted answer to respond.
Years ago, before the do-not-call list existed, the New Haven Register used to do this too. “I’m calling to see if you got your copy of the New Haven Register this morning,” the caller would say. If you told them you weren’t a subscriber (I was/am) they’d begin the sales pitch.
A word of advice to Citi. Be honest. My understanding is, it’s the best policy. It would be a refreshing change.
It’s very true Geoff. Most companies do this. And what’s with the do not call list? We have been getting numerous sales calls even though we’re on the list.
Geoff,
We just refinanced through Citi… The guy I spoke with sounded like he was from Kansas, very polite…. I did about 50% of my paperwork via email. I actually prefer it to the intrusive phone calls…. They’re not all bad… my 2¢
Geoff,
I raise my hand as being ticked off at Citi. I’ve been getting MULTIPLE phone calls a day for the last two weeks. I only have a medical credit card through them for dentist bills. Work too has been getting MULTIPLE phone calls from Citi and when I answer there I get a “click”. Well, luckily I have UVERSE at home so I cans see who is calling on the TV. Tonight I blocked CIti’s phone numbers. 🙂
I agree Geoff,
That kind of stuff pisses me off, too.. Another hot button.. You spend 15 minutes with the “automated” system verifying everything, and then you get a human who wants to verify everything again!
As for the email, when they ask to verify it, and I know I haven’t given it to them, nor do they have any need for it, I tell them to use junk@emailmehere.com.. I explain that it just takes whatever is received there and sends it to the bit bucket sight unseen, but here it is for your records 🙂
I had a Citi mortgage. When I tried to refinance – at their suggestion – to a lower rate, they acted as if they’d never seen my account info. It was a nightmare. They did much worse than try to lie about obtaining an e-mail address. So I ditched them and went to my credit union.
Ha! A bank being honest?! Jaime Dimon can “mistakenly” loose almost $10 BILLION and no one really bats an eye?
Bryan: The “do not call” list is now a sad joke! My whole family has their name on the list, and we are now getting more sales call than ever. Although it has always been true one can get a sales call if they are already doing business with a particular business, we are getting numerous calls from places we do NOT do business with. I had to block one harassing call. What really angers me is my home phone is unlisted and unpublished. But the good news is I have caller ID and can block unwanted sales calls.