INGDirect.ca Online Support - Crapfkntastic! (Part 2) Resolution

Well having waited over a week and sending 3 follow up emails a response was finally issued to me by INGDirect.ca. Am I satisfied? Well Kinda. The email is good, what I had hoped for and more than I expected. However in the end I feel less secure about getting assistance from ING Direct Canada`s support staff. My advice to everyone is ask by email, and if you need to ease your mind go ahead and ask by chat but I wouldn`t act until that email response comes in. Or is you are daring and don`t mind interacting with humans you can just call. Two answers are better than one!

Here is the response


Hi,

My apologies for the delay in replying to you. Although this isn't an excuse, it's been busier than we've expected this month - adding more time than it usually takes for us to investigate, action, and get back to you.

I've looked up the chat and reviewed the emails you've sent us, and the agent you chatted with was incorrect. Mr.Pink has given you the correct answer that we don't accept travelers cheques for deposit. I've coached back the correct information to the agent you chatted with, going over all the types of deposits we can and cannot accept. We do have an internal knowledge base that our agents use, but as this agent was confident in his answer he did not consult it - and we've addressed that as well.

Thank you for your feedback, and for following up with us on this. Your feedback helps us to keep accountable and continually improve on our customer service. If you have any other good or bad experiences, we welcome you to share them with us.

All the best,

Q.
Savings Email Team  


 Not bad eh? Well thats all for now.

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INGDirect.ca Online Support - Crapfkntastic! Poor Service Woes

It`s really great that ING Direct Canada has online chat support! It`s so convenient to be able to simply ask someone a question directly and get an answer instantly. No waiting around for emails, you can keep chatting till everything clear and with ING you know you are speaking with a trained professional...or so I thought. I went from loving to hating ING online support within a weeks time. Although I have had good experiences in the past this one almost cost me up to $800. Below are my email transactions with ING, originally I had inquired by both chat and email about depositing travelers cheques.


Received: 01/30/2012 07:55 AM
Subject: travelers cheques
Hello I am an ING client currently living in Japan. I am wondering if I order travelers cheques from my Japanese bank if I could mail them to ING and have them deposited into my ISA. If so, what fee's would be involved? If not, are there any other types of foreign money transfer services offered by ING?
Thank you

Date: Wed, 1 Feb 2012 11:49:14 -0500
Subject: travelers cheques [Incident:]

Hi, We don't accept travelers cheques, however, we can accept wire transfers sent to be deposited into your ING DIRECT account -fee free! To receive a wire transfer, you'll need our BIC code which is: INGBCATT. Generally, the funds take about 3-4 hours to be deposited into your ING DIRECT account. The exchange to Canadian dollars is done by the bank sending the funds to us. We can accept wire transfers from almost any country. Be sure to check with your bank in Japan for any fees that may apply. Thanks for saving with us, Savings Email Team

That was all good, problem is that online chat support told me the opposite!!! Unfortunately I don`t have the original chat log yet. But I have these emails.


Subject: RE: travelers cheques [Incident: ]
Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2012 07:36:30 -0500
Hello,

Thank you very much for the email. Letting me know about the fee free wire transfer is quite helpful, I will probably do that.

I would like to bring to attention a serious problem, if you could please forward this email to whom it may concern.

After having asked my question regarding travelers cheques by email, I found that someone was available in chat support so I desided to ask them for a quicker response. This was Tuesday January 31 2012, morning between 8AM and 11AM. Unfortunately I do not recall who I chatted with but I am sure that chats are logged, a search of logs at that time for the phrase "japanese bank" should easily bring up the chat.

I opened by saying "I am wondering if I send travelers cheques to ING if they could be deposited into my ISA"
the reply was yes, perhaps "we can do that".
I asked if it was ok that my cheque came from a "japanese bank" and I was assured that it was no problem.
We discussed fees, and I asked if I send the cheque to the same address as when I first opened my account, the answer was "exactly".
That was the end.

This is obviously in contrast to your email response, and I assume that this email is correct and the chat support was wrong. After the chat I found the info needed to buy the cheques. I was planning to buy $10-15 thousand dollars worth. There would have been a 1.5% fee for the service, the exchange rate had about a 2% commission on it. If I had bought the cheques and found them unusable I would have to have then converted back to yen as a simple refund is not possible, a further 2% commission would have been taken.

My loss would have been 5.5% or $550 - $825 and somehow ING would probably not claim liability so I would be out.

I'm wondering how it was possible to be given completely wrong information. If there is a manual or bible to assist chat support with answers, was it used?

I would like a follow up with answers and an explanation. Also I would like to know what actions will be taken by ING.

Thank you for your help Paulo, unfortunately not everyone is helpful at ING.

I`m still waiting for a response and sent them a follow up today....

"One week ago I had a big problem with ING online chat support. I sent a complaint last week and am yet to recieve a response of any type. Below you will find my past email. I would hope to recieve a swift response having had none so far on this issue."



Whats your take on it? Have your own problems to share? Leave a comment and lets hear!


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ING Direct Canada Raises Interest Rates

     Well don't get too excited, the recent interest  rate increase was only for the TFSA accounts. It seems that without notice when the new year rolled in the rates rolled up from 1.5% to 2%. I seem to remember the same thing happening before, but I lack the records or rather the energy to search for the proof. Seems like ING is playing games, raise the rates for a new years gift!...disappointingly lower them towards the end of the year and, wow! higher rates for the new year again!! lame.
     Anyways the rate is welcomed either way.
     What are your thoughts on the interest rates at ING? Anyone have the rate history to see when the increases and decreases take place annually? Maybe there is a pattern, maybe I've been drinking, perhaps the truth is out there. Yeah my grammar is poor, but so are the ING interest rates...ain't nothin you can do about it...

     -Sign Up Now at ING Direct.ca (don`t forget to copy an ING Direct Canada Orange Key  33885729S1 )      
     -See our original post About the ING Direct Canada Orange Key for more information.

     -Keep an eye out on our Contest Page to see our latest contests and contest winners!

ING Direct Double Bonus Coming to an End!

    So have you made any referrals yet since the double bonus offer began!? Time is almost up, the are only a couple weeks left in the month and after that you`ll be stuck with the old $25 bonus and below average interest rates just like before...
    But it`s not to late! Get to work, work your family! Take hostages and negotiate their release only after all members of the SWAT team have used your orange key! Hmm...maybe that`s not a good idea...i mean you could get the money, but recently in movies people who take hostages always get caught, and we all know that the cinema reflects an accurate image of real life...

    Egg nog anyone? 

    Anyways there are some tips in that tip tab at the top of the site, or you can find them in the older posts. Good luck with your referrals!
  

   -Sign Up Now at ING Direct.ca (don`t forget to copy an ING Direct Canada Orange Key  33885729S1 )       -See our original post About the ING Direct Canada Orange Key for more information.

     -Keep an eye out on our Contest Page to see our latest contests and contest winners!

INGDirect.ca Orange Key Referral Bonus now $50!!

As you may know the ING Direct Canada orange Key holiday bonus offer is well under way. from now untill December 31st INGDirect.ca is offering everyone $50 for each referral instead of the usual $50! The person signing up will also get the $50! Its a simple offer, no special strings aside from the usual sign up process.

An email given to current ING customers gives this link "Start referring at ingdirect.ca/doublebonus."



Here is the fine print...not really fine print though, straight forward stuff.

*Bonus deposits will be made into your Investment Savings Account, unless you have a THRiVE Chequing Account, then you'll receive your bonus there. If you don't already have either Account, we'll open an Investment Savings Account for you to make the deposit automatically. $50 will be paid out to you and your friend provided that your friend is a brand new Client to ING DIRECT and has opened an Account with at least $100 or more by December 31, 2011.

Take advantage of the deal now! You`ll regret it if you start getting the smaller $25 bonuses later and realize you missed out on the extra cash. Click this link if you need some tips for getting referrals.!

Gook luck!

     -Sign Up Now at ING Direct.ca (don`t forget to copy an ING Direct Canada Orange Key  33885729S1 )              -See our original post About the ING Direct Canada Orange Key for more information.

     -Keep an eye out on our Contest Page to see our latest contests and contest winners!

ING Direct 2012 TFSA Kick Start Accounts Available!

     It`s that time of year again! What time...? ...The time when we put away our summer snowsuits,  pull the winter ones out, tune up our dog sleds and train the lead dog...what happened to those good ole days eh?


...Sorry...


     It`s also the time of the year when ING Direct Canada offers for a limited time their TFSA Kick Start accounts!

     Not familiar with the Kick Start Account from INGDirect.ca? Take a look at this post to learn about Tax-Free Savings Accounts. If you know what a TFSA is then you should be aware that you receive a $5000 increase to your contribution space each year, the 2012 Kick Start Account will let you take maximum  advantage of this. 
     From now untill the new year you can put $5000 into a Kick Start account and earn double interest on it! The extra interest will be given to you as a bonus on the new year. In addition, when the new year rolls in ING Direct.ca will automatically transfer $5000 from your Kick Start account into your TFSA, any money (intrest earned) in the Kick Start over that $5000 will be deposited into your regular account so you don`t need to worry about going over your annual contribution limit.
     The idea is supposed to be that the double interest will cover any tax that you would usually have to pay the government for investment income from that $5000 essentially making it "tax-free"...ING pushes this point but it doesn`t really hit home for me...I just like the sound of double interest! ING Direct also mentions that by using the Kick Start account and its automatic transfer to your TFSA you won`t miss a moment of tax-free savings opportunity when the new year comes...Double Interest!! lol...I`m sure someone sees it the way it`s intended to be seen. Anyone?
     Oh and one more point, I`m not sure if ING Direct makes this clear or not, but you`re not allowed to deposit more than $5000 into your Kick Start account, and only one account can be created. What happens if you try to deposit more?...well some people believe that the world will end in 2012.


     -Sign Up Now at ING Direct.ca (don`t forget to copy an ING Direct Canada Orange Key  33885729S1 )    
     -See our original post About the ING Direct Canada Orange Key for more information.

     -Keep an eye out on our Contest Page to see our latest contests and contest winners!

September Contest Winner!

     September is over that means its time to announce the orange key contest winner! This months winner is:



 Anonymous: Come get your 25$. Use this key : 34816645S1

     Congrats! Remember to post your orange keys somewhere on this blog for your chance to have you key focused in our contest winner post!

     -Sign Up Now at ING Direct.ca (don`t forget to copy an ING Direct Canada
      Orange Key 33885729S1)     
     -See our original post About the ING Direct Canada Orange Key for more information.

     -Keep an eye out on our Contest Page to see our latest contests and contest winners!

Useless but Entertaining Referral Tips

Everyone can try and tell you the best ways to spread your orange key, I've done it too, but how many people share with you the useless yet entertaining ways to attempt and get referrals? Well I'm going to!
   
1.Write your orange key on a piece of paper, tie it to a helium balloon, let it fly and hope someone will eventually find and use it.


A word of caution before reading further, there might be an idea or two not G-rated ;)


1b. Same as above but use a love makin' latex cover :) try different brands, shapes, flavors...think the finder would try to use more than just the ING orange key??


1c. Use a pigeon instead, super old school!


2. Take the S.O.S letter out, put your ING Direct Canada orange key in the bottle and toss it into the ocean! 


3. Rent a VHS movie from somewhere that still manages to rent them out, record your orange key over that last few minutes of white noise we always find at the end. Its a long shot I know...all the ideas are...


4. Pee your key into some snow on prime viewing real-estate...you know your Canadian when?


5. Carve your ING Direct orange key nice and big into the sole of your shoe and go make some footprints!


6. Broadcast your key through the airwaves in Morse code and hope that one of the thousands of Canadian spies listening hears and uses it.




Theres more to come but heres a bit for now!


     -Sign Up Now at ING Direct.ca (don`t forget to copy an ING Direct Canada Orange Key  33885729S1 )       
     -See our original post About the ING Direct Canada Orange Key for more information.

     -Keep an eye out on our Contest Page to see our latest contests and contest winners!