This is our tale of woe.
In November, 1998 MiTerre Productions, Inc. engaged (A) The Supermarket to
process credit card charges on MiTerre's website at www.reunionsworld.com
www.sexwithdoctoramazing.com
www.goodbedroomsex.com
plus at several smaller websites. The Supermarket was utilizing the services of the
First Bank of Beverly Hills, 23901 Calabasas Road, Ste 1050, Calabasas, CA 91302, so
MiTerre also entered into a Merchant Bankcard Service and Security Agreement with the bank
(FBBH).
This arrangement was quite agreeable since The Supermarket did not require the use of a shopping cart. Customers merely had to fill in and submit an Internet application, which then was automatically routed to The Supermarket and FBBH. Funds were immediately deposited in MiTerre's own bank account at Bank of America. Further, there were no additional charges for additional websites that we set up for credit card purchases. MiTerre received a montly net amount from FBBH ranging from approximately $400.00 to $750.00.
In August, 2000 MiTerre learned that The Supermarket was going out of business and there was no prospect of a new company taking over its accounts. FBBH was contacted and was requested to supply MiTerre with the names of other credit card processing companies. FBBH said it was not necessary for us to take that path, as FBBH would handle the entire processing transaction and that the switchover would be simple.
Debbie Kupiec and Michael Reape were assigned by FBBH to supervise the transition. Through several phone calls with them, each was told by MiTerre that The Supermarket account (A) was not to be discontinued until the new account (B) with FBBH was active and functioning correctly. They acknowledged the request and stated that it would be observed. A new Merchant Application was submitted to FBBH by MiTerre on August 22, 2000 together with a check for $295.00 to cover all set-up costs.
Thereafter MiTerre learned that activating a new account was not a simple proposition as it was led to believe by Ms. Kupiec and by Michael Reape. We found out that MiTerre not only had to sign up with VeriSign to obtain a "gateway, " but MiTerre had to redesign all its web pages to provide for shopping carts and MiTerre would also have to sign up with a shopping-cart company. To our further dismay, we learned that we would have to pay a separate purchase price for a shopping cart for each of the five domains owned by MiTerre. All of this being contrary to the representations made to MiTerre by FBBH.
To top off the problems, Ms. Kupiec on or about August 31, 2000 unilaterally cancelled our account (A) with The Supermarket without notifying MiTerre, so that all subsequent Internet charge sales were declined by FBBH and were lost. Also, FBBH continued to charge a monthly service charge of $50.00 on account (A) as well as on account (B). A detailed letter was sent by MiTerre to FBBH on September 12, 2000 setting forth the failure of the bank to conform to its representations.
Ms. Kupiec replied on the following day, September 13, 2000, that MiTerre should contact the Merchant Services Department of FBBH to obtain any support MiTerre would need to activate its account (B). She was then immediately requested by us to supply the name of the person in the MSD plus the person's email address and phone number. Ms. Kupiec never supplied that information.
When Cheryl Block of the Merchant Services Department called MiTerre in mid-October, the above problem was detailed to her. MiTerre requested that the $295.00 be returned because MiTerre was unable to use the services of FBBH. Ms. Block stated that she would check with Ms. Kupiec and see if the problem could be resolved. She never called back.
Not only was the $295.00 not returned, but FBBH continued to charge our corporate account with its monthly maintenance fee of $50.00 for account (B) even though we could not use the bank's service. When a stop pay on these $50.00 charges was posted on our corporate bank account, FBBH without any authorization started to charge the personal account of the president of MiTerrre with the $50.00.
On November 6, 2000 MiTerre sent by certified mail, return receipt, a letter setting forth the above details. The letter again requested return of the $295.00, that FBBH stop charging our bank accounts with the monthly maintenance fee of $50.00, and that all such charges made from August 22, 2000 be credited back to our account.
The only reply from FBBH was a letter dated November 10, 2000 demanding payment of $70.00, which consisted of an October 2000 statement fee of $50.00 plus a $20.00 return fee.
Because of the misrepresentations of FBBH, we have lost the monthly $400 - $750 receipts since the end of August, 2000, we have not been refunded our set-up fee of $295.00 or the monthly maintenance charges wrongfully deducted from our bank accounts, and we are faced with having to pay substantial amounts to a website designer to reconform all of our websites so that we can use shopping carts.
Anyone even remotely thinking of entering into a relationship with the First Bank of Beverly Hills, should read this tale of woe several times and then discuss it with an attorney and an accountant.
If you are interested in letting the bank know how you feel about this kind of customer relationship, you can send an email to First Bank of Beverly Hills at shereen.manning@fbbh.com and hr@fbbh.com and let it know that people should not be stepped on. Perhaps you might even want to let all your friends listed in your email address book know about this. Your chat rooms might be a good place to discuss this case of terrible customer relationship management. You could also send a copy of your email to the holding company that owns the bank at bruce.weinstein@wfsg.com
Thanks.
Mike Teitelbaum, President
MiTerre Productions, Inc.
6221 Wilshire Blvd, Ste 620
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Follow-up:
On February 5, 2001, the bank sent MiTerre a letter claiming that the bank's liability was "limited." It also made an offer, but stated that the letter was a "Privileged Communication." So MiTerre is unable to state publicly the amount of the ridiculous offer.
On March 29, 2001, the bank's attorney sent MiTerre a letter claiming the bank had no record of the letter sent to it on November 6, 2000 by MiTerre. The attorney's letter also stated "the bank will have no choice but to avail itself of all appropriate legal remedies." Of course, MiTerre replied that it had a signed certified postal mail receipt for the November 6, 2000 letter, and MiTerre invited the attorney to "go to it" with his legal remedies. MiTerre also pointed out that this Tale of Woe has also been placed on the website at http://www.reunions-memory-books.com/FBBHsucks and that MiTerre is now the owner of the domain, FBBHsucks.net .
We also noted that on the SearchHound Internet newsletter "Howl!" of April 9, 2001, Talkback page at http://searchhound.iz.com/r.pl?rd=35:1::1095 , Helen Hopper wrote "Hi Brad: Want to see an example of bad CRM, go to http://www.abbycon.com/financial/TaleofWoe.htm This is a bank that does not know how to treat its customers, and now feels like it has landed in a nest of wasps." [Howl! has 600,000 subscribers.]
We have received communications from other people who have been mistreated while dealing with companies doing business on or about the Internet. We are open to all suggestions as to what content to place on the website for FBBHsucks.net. Please send your comments to amazingsite@msn.com Thanks.
April 19, 2001
We have been shocked this week with the outpouring of communications since we posted the above Follow-up.
Thank you UCLA class for inviting me to speak. Your plan to make CRM your theme project next semester is great.
Thank you RCM for making your monthly emailing of over 1 million addressees available for MiTerre to post a notice about this Tale of Woe.
Thank you 33 great people for desiring to make FBBHsucks.net a centerpiece for people to post cases where they have been shafted by Internet companies. It is interesting that a number of you [including several lawyers] suggested that we make the site a community ownership project where every contributor of an actual case of bad CRM becomes a partner-owner of the website and of the domain name. The 33 of you already come from 16 states and Canada. Please email in your Tales of Woe.
Two of you suggested great titles for what FBBH might also stand for.
Keep it up...and many thanks.
April 28, 2001
Thank you, JS. Pursuant to your suggestion we have posted the following link on all nine categories of the Travel Sub-Directory of Abbycon.com, and we will add it to the other ten subdirectories one at a time:
First Bank of Beverly Hills - Calabasas, CA
Any business contemplating doing business with this bank should read our Tale of Woe.
MAF, your
suggestion to put the following link as a signature to reply to the senders and all
recipients of spam mail has been accomplished.
First Bank of Beverly Hills - Calabasas, CA Any
business
contemplating doing business with this bank, or one like it, should read
our Tale of Woe at http://www.abbycon.com/financial/TaleofWoe.htm.
What a great idea! It is going out to unlimited numbers
of people without any cost. Please let me know who among you are going to help by
adding this signature to your email.
Other Instances of
Complaints and Suggestions:
1) http://www.dog.com/about.html
2) Sent: Saturday, August 04, 2001 12:29 PM
Subject: First Bank of Beverly Hills/South Beverly
Drive Branch
Dear Mike:
I have been fighting the above branch for
almost year. They claim they credited and did not debit my account for some money I
owed them. I have a receipt and a canceled check but they stand by their
claim. They did deposit part of the sum they claim into my account but not the whole
amount. I want to take them to Small Claims Court and need to know the coporate name
and who should be serve as agent of process. Can you supply that information?
Steve Skosareff@home.com
Hi, Steve: If you will contact the California Department of Corporations in
Sacramento 916-445-4950, they will provide you with that information. The Los
Angeles office at 213-576-7500 might also provide the information. Every corporation
must register each year and list its officers and agent for service of
process. Please keep me informed on the progress of your case.
3) From: "Geoff S." <geoff@paypc.com> January 9, 2002
Mike Teitelbaum, President
MiTerre Productions, Inc.
6221 Wilshire Blvd, Ste 620
Los Angeles, CA 90048
http://www.abbycon.com/financial/TaleofWoe.htm
Mike (and 600k others on this mailing list)
Banks are always playing the odds. Don't whine, SUE them in the smalls claims court, and
be sure to look at s.42A of the Lanham act and other laws on misleading and decptive
conduct. Go to the library. Look up the law. Get motivated.
You will have to do a search of the Secretary of State of CA to get their corporate
details: then do another search of the State in which the company is incorporated and join
all the directors of the company personally and get them served at their home
addresses. Find out the major stockholders. Write to them with a copy of the claim.
Send copies of this to the FDIC and OCC and/or State banking Regulator (800) 613-6743
pointing out the potential contigent laibility and that the company is no longer
well-managed and has no control over its personell or any idea of what is going on. You
can also use this to
oppose mergers (that is when they really hope to cash out) and branching if their record
is shitty.
That should cause them to take this seriously. It also places a precision on the
claims and forces the bank into a timetable and set of procedures.
The reason banks screw customers is that they are used to getting away with it. The
math is, cut costs, screw customers, collect stock options and/or bonuses and cash out
before the consequences of this short-term stuff hits the bank. It's basically the
executives mortgaging the future (and long term stockholder value) to line their own
pockets. They are screwing their own people as well, including their employees who
get laid off as they lose market share.
Buy some stock and raise hell at the AGM, accuse the CEO of negligence and placing the
bank at risk. Ask about the relationship of short term balance sheet rigging and
remuneration. Banks make about 40% of their revenue through fees as their core deposits
and lending margin shrinks. They often lie and cheat and just impose fees
arbitrarlily.
Their internal decision is:-
Probability customer will sue x amount extracted
------------------------------------------------
customer base x fees extracted in a quarter
If just a few percent of customers sued each time without fail they will start to behave
becaue the MBA math will not work. Apathy and confusion is their friend. The wall of
bureaucratic indifference is DESIGNED to make you give up, and grumble ineffectually about
the fee, but do nothing concrete. Be a good capitalist. Demand they fulfil
their end of the bargain and be
accountable.
Pursuing them each and every time does make a difference, as does alerting hundreds of
thousands of people on the net. I will never use FBBH or BoA. *IF* what you
say is correct, getting on the phone to the Secretary of State, sending in the $4 fee, and
getting off your butt and doing something constructive will speak louder.
Small claims: (213) 974-9759/ (310) 419-5156.
Don't lie down. That is what they counting on - in their cynical way. I am
going to set up site pulling all the pieces together, forms, costs, contact numbers,
registered addresses, procedures, templates, AGM dates, analysts you name it. Lower
the barriers to entry to the point you can put it together in about an hour.
I've seen judges get very angry when banks pull their "he said, you said, he
said" and pathetic excuses. There are LOT of people out there totally fed up and mad
as hell at this disease of the 1990's. Just wait till Walmart or MicroSoft
overcomes the economic barriers to entry the bankers buddies in congress passed.
We will see that "sevice" industry called banking get gutted clean. They
know the writing is on the wall, and are trying to merge and management is trying to clean
out on stock options before then (ie when their hatred of customers catches up and there
is a real alternative).
Good luck, and pass this on. The Emperor has no clothes !
Thanks Geoff. Please let me know when you get your site up. I will link to it so that the thousands of people who have been following this matter will have the benefit of it. My campaign to alert the public and to change banking practices is still in its early stages. Mike.
January 12, 2002
4) Hey, Mike
Read the email from Geoff, and he’s right on target. Our investment club has come up with another angle. If the bank has not listed the potential liability to you as a provisional liability on its year end accounting statement, it is violating standard accounting procedures. And if the bank has not mentioned the potential liability to you in its year end report, it is violating SEC reporting procedures. Such failure would make not only the bank, but all its officers and directors liable under both under criminal and civil statutes.
Helen
5) Received 10/18/02
I was processing merchant accounts through ICT at FBBH. Several months ago ICT left FBBH and went to NDC/Global, we moved all accounts at that time. ICT had explained to me that FBBH had violated MasterCard and Visa Rules, and had been shut down by the card companies. I was told that FBBH had been processing several large, high risk accounts, and had failed toAlliance BankCard Processing, Inc. (Indiana)
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