Identity on the phone

Yesterday I called Bank of America to find out what had happened to my income tax refund check. I was prompted to enter my account number for ‘faster service’, but I instead simply pressed zero to bypass it. Entering your account number leads you into this drawn out description of your current balance and such, which I frankly had no interest in. I pressed only zero at another menu or two, and after waiting a few minutes I was greeted with a human being who as able to look into my missing refund check. What struck me as a little odd is that the guy began asking me to verify my identity with the typical things like mother’s maiden name and such, but he never asked me for my account number or anything. Apparently, their phone system looked up my account based on the phone number that I was calling from. It was so nice!

Compare this to other times I call in to various companies, go ahead and enter my account number at the automated prompt, only to be asked for the exact same information all over again when I actually get to an operator. What’s wrong with these people?!

(Though I still have my share of complaints with them in other areas…) Just another thing I <3 about Bank of America.