I worked for this company for 3 years, from 2000 through 2003. I was in the Customer Assistance Dept, which is just a fancy name for collections. I was one of the top people in my department and made a very, very nice living there. I never thought of myself as a bill collector - we were told to be Account Managers, NOT bill collectors - and I did so well because I treated the people I collected from as people, not as deadbeats. My goal was to get them on the program that would help them the most. If their situation was really bad, I left it at that. If they simply didnt have the money, I considered it a waste of my time to continue to call them about it. You cant squeeze blood from a turnip. This approach served me, and my customers, very well, as people paid me when they wouldnt even speak to other reps in my department.
The company also treated their employees great - the benefits we had there were unreal. This company was really good to their employees and their motto was "Think of yourself as a customer". After 9/11, things changed alot and the company found that more and more people were unable to pay due to the crappy economy.in Al Lerner, the owner of the company, passed away and the shit hit the fan.
All of a sudden, we were no longer Account Managers, we were collectors. Programs that we were able to offer customers before just disappeared and there were less and less things that we could do to help these people. At the beginning of each month we would be told what programs we were able to offer for that month, but the rules would change midmonth and we would be forced to go back and call customers who we had set up on programs and tell them, "Sorry - my company lied and I cant offer you that program anymore. You have to pay us more!" We were never allowed to put anything in writing because then they could be held to the program, and they couldnt allow that to happen.
It got to the point where I despised having to get up and go to work because I hated what I had to do. I was suffering physically from stomach problems, which I later learned were related to my job. The elderly people I was forced to call were in the position of having to choose between medicine and MBNA, and I told them to just buy their medicine and not to pay MBNA. The company didnt care of you just lost your home in a disaster, your spouse died, or you were diagnosed with a terminal illness - they just wanted their money! Now, I understand that their entire goal is to make money, but I felt that any morals they had in the past died with Mr Lerner and I felt that what they were doing to people was plain WRONG. Employees were being "forced" to work ridiculous hours, come in on Sundays, etc. They said it wasnt mandatory, but if you didnt do it, it showed up on your monthly review as an "improvement opportunity". Same goes for overtime - we werent required to work it, but it was held against us if we didnt. If you took vacation, you could expect that to be held against you as well.
The final straw was when a friend of mine's brother committed suicide and left him as executor of his estate. He called all his brothers creditors and settled with all of them - all except MBNA. It seems that this wonderful company refused to settle and was going to wait and put in a claim on the decedants estate. The wanted ALL their money and they didnt care what backhanded tactics they used to get it, or what effect it had on the decedants family. This could be because this person had no wife or children and their was no one else they could try to gouge the money out of, so after the estate they went. I said "screw this". I gave him a numnber to call in the collections area and told him to offer a settlement there - collections peoplewill often just take the settlement instead of transferring the call to the Estate Dept. I told him not to pay a dime til they faxed a letter over confirming the offer to settle. They faxed it over, he paid, and that was it. They could not legally go after the estate. I knew I could have beren fired for that, but by that point, I knew I had to get out of their for my own physical and mental well being. I couldnt look myself in the mirror and do what they asked me to do to these people.
I left MBNA on my own free will after finding another job in a different industry. I was NOT fired, and never in any kind of trouble there. I made alot of money, but I have too much of a conscience to be a whore to the almighty dollar the way some of those people are.in my opinion, when you are a company turning record profits every year, you have NO RIGHT to treat people like that. Those people are your customers and, without them, you are nothing! MBNA will lie and cheat to get paid. DOnt ever give them your checking account information over the phone because they will take unauthorized payments out of your account. And, should you ever be unlucky enough to have to deal with some halfwit in their collections area, DONT let them tell YOU what to do. Chances are, if you're already in collections, your credit is screwed for 7 years anyway. Dont let them try to tell you that a charge off is much worse than being 180 days past due. Remember that they just want to get paid and that they get bonuses if they collect enough money. They frequently violate FDCPA regulations and nothing is ever done about it.
Knowing what I know about this company, I would NEVER open any kind of account with them. They openly backed Bush for President because he promised them he would sign the Bankruptcy Reform Bill making it much more difficult for consumers to get a fresh start, and making it much easier for companies like MBNA to threaten and abuse their customers. Too bad that bill got squashed by the Democrats. Better luck next time MBNA. If you have an account with them, pay them off, close it, and get out of there. They need to be hit where it hurts them most - on their BOTTOM LINE.
Someone Who Knows
Cleveland, Ohio
U.S.A.
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