alt Hacker NewsWhy should it be an exception? Why is it a rule that he has to show up in person in the first place? What is the point of even having security questions if they don't trust them? Who, exactly, is changing their address to _Vatican City_ that will not require special handling _no matter what the circumstance_?
I sat in a Wells Fargo once locked in a staring contest with a banker there. They wanted a debit card to process a wire transfer to pay the down payment on a house. I signed up for the account online and had chosen not to get a debit card. I could withdraw all of my money as a cashier's check if I wanted, but standard procedure would not initiate a wire transfer. It was not, in fact, an "exception" to allow me to bank with them that day, it was a stupid rule that prevented me from doing so initially.
Imagine being detained in another country where you're prevented from leaving. Should the bank still say "nah, you've got to come here in person, we don't make exceptions." They could call the US embassy where you're located for proof. There are a lot of things they could do to resolve the situation. In fact, arguably _the whole value proposition_ for the bank having a customer service line _is to resolve exceptions_.
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This deserves reiterating:
The whole value proposition for the bank having a customer service line is to RESOLVE exceptions.
Yes, perhaps the first-line customer service should stick with the policy. If they cannot handle the situation (either to lack of knowledge or authority), the first line reps should ALSO FIND and ESCALATE the exceptions to a rep who DOES have the knowledge and authority to resolve the problem
When a company does not do that, they demonstrate that, despite all their marketing statements that they care about and value their customers, they, in fact NEITHER give a fck about nor value their customers.
Here's another hypothetical. Imagine you just became one of the world's most famous people overnight. The entire media apparatus, and a team of wikipedia editors, were racing to fill in every one of your biographical details, interview everybody who's ever known you, and put it all on the Internet for everyone to read. Are you sure you want anybody to be able to call your bank, answer the security questions you selected a decade ago, and wire all all your money to a bank account in the Caiman Islands?
I would not be surprised if the bank had gotten 50 such phone calls over the preceding two months. The fact that one of them happened to actually be Pope Leo is just the punchline. I'm sure there actually is a way to accomplish this without him coming to the US, but it should 't be accessible to a voice on the phone.