HUNTINGTON BANK BEECH GROVE

My mother recently passed away and I received information from a company by the name of Talcott Resolution that I was a beneficiary of an annuity that my mother had with them. There was quite a bit of paperwork that I needed to fill out and return to receive a lump sum payment and close the account. I was given the option of having a check mailed to me or electronically transferring the money to my checking account. When I opened my checking account with Huntington, I did not order checks as I seldom use them. To have the funds electronically deposited to my checking account, I had to attach a voided check. If a check was not available, a letter from my bank would suffice. There are VERY EXPLICIT instructions as to what must be included in this letter, and again, it states it must be a letter. The letter must be on bank letterhead and include: the bank account owner's name, routing number, account number, and signature of an authorized representative of the bank and this representative must also include their title. There was a teller waiting on the customer next to me and she was working across the way from the inside customers, by the drive thru. When I stepped up to the counter, I explained to the other teller what I needed. She asked a gentleman, standing next to her, if she could use a certain form and he agreed that this form would have all of the required information that I needed. The teller stepped away for a few minutes and when she returned, she handed me a form titled: DIRECT DEPOSIT ENROLLMENNT FORM. At the bottom of this form, instruction #3, states: 'Drop off this completed form at your HR department. That's it. You're done.' I must admit that I was a bit taken aback when the teller hands me the form. I looked at her rather quizzically and told her that #1 this did not appear to me to be letter. I know I have been out of school for many years, but this was a form, not a letter and #2 I needed a signature from a bank representative, along with their title. At this time, and I will admit that sometimes I can get confused, the teller by the drive thru window, announced very loudly and rudely, they are not allowed to sign anything. Now, I wasn't aware that I was discussing this with her but trying to be polite (that changes very quickly - just to warn you), I did not say this to her. The teller that was helping me, gives me a blank look as I think that she would have preferred to provide better customer service, having been backdoored by her colleague. I asked the teller waiting on me, not the one I had yet not addressed, to talk to the manager. Again, the teller across the room (and because SHE WAS standing across the room had to talk rather loudly especially because she did not even bother to turn around and give me any kind of eye contact) informs me that the manager wasn't working that day. I then asked the rather obvious question, which I feel should have been addressed without me having to ask, who was in charge that day. I know this will shock you, but, yet again, Ms Buttinski tells me that I will have to wait a few minutes. She did not state what waiting a few minutes would get me, but by now, I am in so much shock over the complete lack of customer service, let alone common courtesy, I stand there and wait. The customer at the window next to me and the customer behind me in line, are telling me that they can't believe this. I just needed a simple letter (not some form that would make absolutely no sense to Talcott Resolution), an employee signature and their title. After about 10 minutes, the gentleman that I had seen previously, came out from the back and looked at me like I had 3 heads. Now I will admit that my hair was not looking so good that day, but I didn't think it was that bad. He tells me that the annuity company, Talcott Resolution, would accept that form without a signature. I was surprised that he had worked for Talcott Resolution, and I say this to him. He replied, that of course, he had never worked for them, but he knew the form that they provided me would suffice. I then told him that his response was not acceptable to me and asked him what I should do from there. I again explained that my mother had just passed away and this is a rather emotional time. I could have told him that I 2 feet and he would probably have been more interested in that fact. He told me that I could come back the following day. The manager would be in, and maybe she could help me. He said that rather doubtfully and then reiterated that the employees are not allowed to sign anything. I asked him for the customer service number and then left. By this time, the lines at the 2 teller windows, are out the door. Several people in line reached out and patted me on the arm and said they were sorry that the employees could have cared less. This incident attracted a lot of attention. When I returned to my car, I called Talcott Resolution and asked if the form, without any signature or title, would be acceptable to them. Surprise, surprise - they said no. I guess the man in charge at the bank that day, just assumed that although the needed items were in the instructions, no one had to abide by them. If Talcott Resolution could break their rules regarding a letter and signature, why couldn't Huntington? Hhhhmmmmmm.... After I was finished talking with the annuity people, I call Huntington Customer Service, and oh boy, was that even more ridiculous. I told the gentleman who answered the customer service line, my story. He, too (must have been trained by either the man in charge at the bank that day or Ms. Buttinski) told me that not having a signature would matter. I must say that this is a new advancement in customer service to which I have not been aware, to just tell the customer that what they have been told they need, they really don't need. I wonder how many customers actually fall for this. From this time on, I will refer to this ploy as: 'we, the employees of Huntington Bank, know that you don't really need what is asked for because we are so smart that we know what will satisfy the company needing these items'. They have shortened this title to read, 'have you realized how smart we are?' Sorry, I got off track for a minute. The gentleman in customer service told me to go to another branch and see if they will do what I need done. I asked him if this was really his answer or was he kidding me? He told me that he was serious. I had tears running down my cheeks when I hung up and I'm not sure if they were tears of frustration or I was laughing too hard. To summarize my dissertation (if you have made it this far, I thank you), Huntington Bank is very good at ignoring what their customer needs and really, they just want their customers to go away. They get an A+ in 'you don't need to worry about what your customer needs as they are just taking up our valuable time After all, you have done your job, you spoke to the customer and ensured that the customers know that you, the representative of Huntington Bank, have sent the message that the bank is right and the customer is wrong.