Bank of America is not interested in me

Today I spent the better part of the morning trying to figure out how to change a pin number on a new card I just received from Bank of America. One of the more challenging things about living up in Indiana is that there aren’t going to be any branches here until at least October, so I can’t just go to a branch and say “Fix this for me.”

After pouring over their site, I ran into a link that offers a chat function where I could ask a person how to update what I needed updated (because a phone number is too much effort, apparently). Below is the paraphrased transcription of the chat.

Me: I need to update my pin number on a debit card.

BofA: Visit a local branch.

Me: I can’t, I don’t live near one. Is there a phone number I can call?

BofA: Do you have online banking set up?

Me: Yes.

BofA: You can send an email where we’ll send you a random PIN.

Me: Ok, where do I find the email address?

BofA: Under Customer Service.

Me: I don’t see it. I’ve searched this whole site, and the only one I can see is for my credit card, not the debit cards. Where do I find it?

BofA: Do you have online banking set up?

Me: *click*

At this point, I’m pretty sure I’m talking to a bot, which is beyond annoying, especially since all the signage and verbiage around the chat says LivePerson chat, live chat, etc. I ended up giving up and doing errands on my existing bank card.

What bothers me the most is that I’ve opened up a few bank accounts over the past few days for business and personal reasons, and I feel like I’ve basically given a ton of money over to these banks, and I have to wait and beg to have access to it again. I know that 90 percent of it is getting paperwork together and all the usual business overhead that goes into opening accounts and printing checks and whatnot, but every little issue has compounded into a big pile of frustration for me. Ugh.

On the plus side, I get called Mr. Morrison now at the bank that I started my business accounts. Nothing beats purchased respect.

Update: I should open my mail more often. I just found the PIN number I was looking for earlier. It still doesn’t excuse Accountbot5000, but at least I can get to some cash.

- Most of the major stuff involved with moving across state lines is finished now. I’m a legal Indiana citizen now, my tags are converted over and my insurance is in the process of transferring to a local office. All I need to do is buy a Peyton shirt and not white knuckle so much when I’m driving in the snow and I’ll be a local in no time!