So, after a half-dozen calls, 3-4 hours collectively spent on hold and more than a dozen customer-service reps from three different bureaus, I finally got a straight answer on why my Bank Of America account no longer seems able to transfer out funds. Since their merger with MBNA, it seems that all their checking accounts must have 12-digit numbers, but accounts started in Washington State [like mine] have eight numbers. Apparently, this is one of the sticking points in ratifying the merger in the state. You would think that the WA people would know this and have a quick answer, regardless of how annoying it is, for their customers. I would have loved to know this before I [unsuccessfully] transferred a very large amount of money from my BoA checking account to my BoA Mastercard. They never even sent me a failure notice, like they used to. Assholes.
In comparison, I called CS for my AT&T Universal Card because my March bill there is for a few cents more than the cost to cut a check and mail it in. Total time on the phone: 5 minutes, 37 seconds and it would have been a minute less if Jennifer hadn't needed me to pass on signing up for their bullshit credit-card-protection program, which offers a FREE Credit Report [just like the ones citizens can get FREE once a year from three different services] upon signup. I spent twice as long on hold waiting for the first CS clerk at BoA/MBNA.
