Thread: Bank of America caught making hangup calls

Bank of America caught making hangup calls
Consumer cites hundreds of automated contacts from company
Posted: May 4, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern


© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Bank of America, which WND earlier revealed was making its credit card services available to illegal aliens, now has been caught by a consumer making hundreds of solicitation calls to a single telephone, many of them hangups.

George Duke, a Suisun City, Calif., resident, told WND he called the corporation to complain, and demand that his number be taken off their call list.

"They were absolutely exasperated. They couldn't understand why I had a problem getting seven or eight phone calls a day," he said. "I don't want to be on a list with them calling me all the time. I'm keeping a record of it, every time…"

(Story continues below)

Company spokesman Joe Miller said he didn't know Duke's circumstances but said the company didn't want consumers "inconvenienced."

"I would encourage the person in question to call me directly and we'll see if we can get it resolved to his satisfaction," he told WND. After WND facilitated a telephone conversation between the two, Duke reported that Miller seemed agreeable, but the calls still were coming.

His later e-mail to Miller, copied to WND, said, "Thanks for taking my call this morning. My name is George Duke and we talked about the 'Non-Stop' calls from B of A marketing. This is not a way to make friends!"

Duke said he's kept records of the calls since January, although he said they were coming in before then, and sometimes will interrupt him repeatedly. The telephone would ring, he'd pick it up, and many of the times there would be silence on the other end.

On March 22, for example, his records show telephone calls from Bank of America coming in at 8:25 a.m., 10:50 a.m., 11:11 a.m., 11:31 a.m., 11:52 a.m., 12:15 p.m., and 8:48 p.m. Likewise, on March 23, they came in at 10:38 a.m., 10:59 a.m., 11:20 a.m., 11:40 a.m., 12:01 p.m., 12:22 p.m. and 6:49 p.m.

There also were six calls on April 4 in less than three hours: 5:57 p.m., 6:28 p.m., 7:00 p.m., 7:31 p.m., 8:12 p.m. and 8:43 p.m. There were five on March 13.

Because he pays extra for premium telephone services, he was able to track down the two 800 numbers from which the calls originated, and he found they were Bank of America calling centers that sell various corporate products.

"My goal is that type of marketing just stop," Duke told WND. "That's what would satisfy me." He admitted that might not happen, but his efforts at least will "be another poke at what they do."

When WND contacted the calling center, there was no option to talk to a live person. The company's message said that the caller's number had been recorded and sales crew members would call back a little later, unless the caller opted to be added to the company's no-call list.

Mitch Katz, a spokesman for the Federal Trade Commission, which oversees the nation's Do Not Call registry, said that actually is the best option for consumers at this point, because there is no rule or regulation against such automated calls.

"We're in the process of rule-making to ban virtually all pre-recorded telemarketing calls," he said. "If that goes through, then yes, these kinds of calls would be prohibited."

That, however, is months away yet, he said.

There also are a variety of exemptions to Do Not Call rules, which allow companies to continue contacting a consumer, he said.

Duke said he just gets tired of answering the phone, and waiting to see if there actually is someone there. He said his complaints to Bank of America's executive offices accomplished nothing.

"They said I was being unreasonable, trying to tell B of A how to do their business," he said. He suggested perhaps he should call the company every day, and occupy 20-30 minutes of someone's time. "I'm spending that much time getting and answering the phone when nobody's there.

"I don't care about Bank of America insurance," he said.

Duke told WND he's also asked his member of Congress to look into the situation, and he'd supplied information to the office of U.S. Rep. Ellen Tauscher.

As WND reported earlier, Rep. Sue Myrick of North Carolina is backing a bill that would limit the forms of identification banks can accept from customers, after it was reported Bank of America offers credit cards to customers who don't have Social Security numbers, which makes the cards available to illegals.

As WND has reported, dozens of major U.S. banking institutions led by Bank of America are implementing what critics say amounts to a nationwide amnesty program for illegals by accepting matricula consular cards issued by Mexico.

Activists working to secure U.S. borders and bring illegal immigration under control say Mexican banks actually are tougher on Mexicans than are U.S. institutions, refusing to accept the consular cards as valid IDs.

The congressional bill, called The Photo Identification Security Act, would require customers to present only Social Security cards, passports or U.S. citizenship and immigration services photo ID cards to open an account.

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http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/artic ... E_ID=55518

Looks like a harassment suit waiting to happen.

Go get 'em, George.

Nothing an air horn won't fix.