I received a letter in the mail yesterday telling me that Commerce Bank has approved me for an excellent rate on a home equity loan! Now I can refinance my home to pay off other debt or make purchases!! All I have to do is fill out a form and….own a home. Hm, it’s that second requirement that I see being a sticking point. I don’t OWN a home!
Dear Commerce Bank,
Please put your “leads” through some sort of vetting process before repeatedly sending them junk mail and asking them for personal information. Identity theft is an issue and I lack the main requirement to take advantage of your offer. Just because I have a paltry savings account with your bank does not mean I would like to hear about other “great services” you offer. If I get more junk mail from you, I will move said paltry savings account to another bank.
Your chirpy Penny Arcade is not enough to keep me there; especially when I can stroll in off the street and use for free whenever I want (account holder or not).* Nor are your extended hours. Most banks have jumped on that trend. You know what WOULD keep me there? Leaving me the Hell alone. Oh, and free money. Free money would be good.
Until you have a message that is USEFUL and APPLIES TO ME, back off. Otherwise next time I will call customer service to discuss the offer. I have a little more time on my hands these days which is bad news for you.
Regards,
ScarletMLS
P.S. Cutting down on your mailing lists would allow you to make the claim that you’re institution keeps the environment in mind during your marketing campaigns, allowing you to jump aboard the “green” bandwagon. That would likely get you further than blind direct mailing. Just sayin’.
*Your prizes irritate me too. A coffee mug? Really? Do you have any idea how many silly free coffee mugs currently take up space in my kitchen cabinets? Give me the $1.10 it cost to produce and we’ll call it a day. Don’t even get me started on the lame t-shirts.
Sad thing is, it actually probably only cost them $0.10 to produce that mug… you totally gave them more credit than they deserve by tacking on the extra $1.
Hugs and Kisses
G-Yoonit
Great post. Unfortunately they are the banking institution that currently receives my paycheck through direct deposit, but I’m considering changing that by taking Rob’s advice and opening an account with LSAC’s credit union.
The only reason I went with Commerce in the first place was their extremely convenient hours and locations around here, but since I rarely need to actually go inside the building anymore, “bankers hours” has become a non-issue.
BTW, I’m compiling a blogroll on my own site (http://brianhamburg.com), and I would like your permission to link to your site.
Thanks!
Brian
The convenient hours were what attracted me at first, too. I think I’m going to open an ING savngs account though, so I’ll transfer the Commerce account into that. The real advantage Commerce has is that I’m lazy. I can’t even begin to estimate how long it will take me to open another account and then transfer my current one. Just thinking about it makes me want to take a nap.
Permission granted. Link away. I’ll add you to mine as well!