Recently I had to call my credit card company for a new credit card as my card was delaminating and the tap function was no longer working.
While speaking to the credit card agent, I just happen to notice that my rewards number had been changed on my statement. Not at my request. There was no reason to change the number as I had been a member of that rewards program pretty well since its inception.
After reviewing my statements, it turns out that my rewards number had been changed for over three months. I had called the credit card company three months previously to clarify a charge on the statement. However, at no time was there any discussion about changing my rewards number. There would be no reason for it. And when subsequent statements came, I didn’t check the number.
While speaking to the agent about the new card I requested, they changed the number back to the correct one and they told me that the points that were credited to the other rewards number would be credited back to my rewards program on the next statement.
Three months passed by and there had been no credit for the missing points. When I called in again, I received a totally different story about how I was supposed to obtain the lost or missing rewards. I was asked to call the rewards program and have them merge the points from the two accounts. Except that, the other number wasn’t mine and I’m sure whosoever number it was didn’t want to lose their points. I just wanted credit for the points I had earned. In other words, the credit card company didn’t want to admit a mistake and wanted me to do all the work to fix it. I held firm that this was their mistake, and it was up to them to fix it.
After what seemed like an eternity of going back and forth, and the agent putting me on hold to talk to the supervisor, twice I might add, the credit card company agreed to make a one-time adjustment for the missing points. Same thing I heard previously. It seemed like they were doing me a favour.
On March 10, 2023, I did receive my credit card statement and the points were indeed credited to my rewards account as promised by the credit card company. So, they came through. But not without me pushing for it.
The takeaway from this is that you should always check your statement, not just for charges but for other details like your rewards number. Some other useful tips in dealing with these types of issues are;
- Don’t lose you temper and abuse the agent. It’s not their fault and you may not receive the help you need to solve the problem.
- Try not to attribute blame. Just ask for help to find a solution to the issue. Don’t create more problems.
I’m still baffled by how this happened. Was it an honest mistake by the first agent I called or something more sinister as some sort of points redirection scam.
I would like to think that some form of internal inquiry is going on as to how this happened and am I the only one. I know they do record conversations for “training” purposes, but who knows how long they keep them for and if my first call was still available. As imaginations go into overdrive, I keep wondering if there are internal sleuths wearing dark glasses, sitting in secure rooms lurking around corners seeking answers. I’ll never know as the credit card company won’t admit a mistake and won’t share that information. Nonetheless, I received my points back like they said and that’s all I wanted.
No bank or credit card company was harmed in the writing of this article.