I got a voice mail yesterday from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (or CIBC as they go by these days) saying that my debit card has been restricted in terms of how I could use it because of suspicious activity. I checked my accounts on line and found no such activity. That was a relief as I have previously had my card compromised and the scumbags went on a spending spree after cloning my card. Not cool at all. So I called them and got a CIBC call center in the province of Saskatchewan. Initially, the individual was helpful and advised me that I needed to change the PIN number my debit card. He then walked me through the steps I would need to do in a two hour window to do so at the nearest CIBC ATM. This took about five minutes and I figured that I would be off the phone quickly and I could deal with this and go about my day.
Too bad I was wrong about that.
He then started to ask probing questions about my bank accounts and credit card. This led to him trying to switch the credit card I already have to a “better” one. When I didn’t show any interest in his offer, he became ultra aggressive about trying to get me to listen to his pitch and to take what he was offering. Clearly he was on commission. I eventually had to tell him to call back at another time as that was the only way I could get him off the phone.
Here’s my problem with this. If CIBC wants to have me sign up for for new products and services, I have no problem with that. Simply send an offer in the mail of use some call center to try and get me to sign up. As long as they’re not calling during dinner or something, I have no issue with that. But when I respond to a voice mail about a potential breach of my debit card that you want me to respond to ASAP so that you can protect me from fraud, and you then try to sell me something at that point, then I consider that to be unsavory at best. All this experience did is create a rather negative experience that makes me want to look at TD, BMO, Scotiabank, or RBC for my banking needs. Would those four banks do something like this? I have no idea. But the fact that CIBC does makes me not want to deal with them after 22 years of continued business.
CIBC, your customer service is a #fail. You might want to do something about it if you want to keep my business.