It’s extremely frustrating to go head to head with a massive corporation with substantial resources. One person, one voice trying to gain traction and cut through the corporate “red tape”- it’s impossible, right? WRONG.

With the growing popularity of social media & the focus shifting from appealing to the masses to focusing on the “individual” - you and I now have a voice that can’t be stifled. It’s no longer about strength in numbers. It’s about empowering the individual & making authentic connections with others who have similar interests, values & beliefs. Social media has changed the rules of “engagement” and it’s forced a lot of bullies off their soapbox. Online reputation is critical. It can quickly leverage a brand’s image. Or it has the power to send it down in flames - all with a few blog posts, forum discussions & emails.

Use the power of social media (blogs, forums, online communities, bookmarking etc.) to your advantage & see what happens…

I received some insightful advice from a reader at Marketing ROI: Whims from Ron Shevlin

“Ron, It could be that this story might come back to haunt WaMu. Has anyone read the book “Citizen Marketers” by McConnell and Huba? They talk about the power of one. KW’s story is now on this blog, Ron. Other bloggers may just pick it up and then, if I were WaMu, I’d be worried.

Can this happen at a credit union? You’re right, it depends. I think that’s where an active board comes in. A CU board is supposed to monitor poor management and make sure policies are put in place so that the rights of the member come first. I know we’re taking a chance at UFirst with the Boardcast but I’m assuming if KW were our member she might decide to get in touch with the board through the Boardcast.”

Using my search skillz, I was able to locate email addresses for a handful of WaMu board members & directors. I composed a letter that outlined the series of events associated with this transaction & requested specific action to be taken in order to rectify my account.

• Sent an email out Sunday afternoon
• I received a message from a WaMu investor relations contact Monday afternoon
• The requested correction was posted to my account Tuesday

Just yesterday, I received a letter from WaMu requesting more information in regards to the dispute I filed nearly 3 weeks ago! WTF? First WaMu says they don’t have a record of a dispute & now they’re requesting more information so they can pursue the claim? WaMu needs to take inventory of their internal processes & make some changes. I’m relieved to have my account rectified, but this is experience has caused me to take my business elsewhere.

“You’ll know it right away: We’re really not like other banks. In fact, we believe no one else focuses on consumers, small business and commercial customers like we do. We listen to our customers and give them what they value–yet at the same time we make banking simple and enjoyable. “

Until recently, I was a WaMu customer. As a customer I certainly didn’t feel any “value” or was I “listened to”. In fact, I was ignored and was treated with no value.

Earlier this month, I called & spoke with a WaMu representative about a $592 fraudulent charge that had been posted to my checking account. I filed a dispute against the merchant and was told it would take approx. 5 business days for the matter to be resolved. In the meantime, I was concerned I would incur insufficient fund fees. The WaMu representative informed me I would be able to file a “separate” dispute once this dispute cleared. Essentially, rack up fees, then we’ll credit your account?

Two days later, there was a credit to my acct. for $592. Yeah - problem resolved - or so I thought. I incurred over $300 in insufficient funds fees - Yikes! As instructed by the WaMu representative, I called to file an additional dispute to recover the insufficient funds fees. This is where things went from bad to to down right shitty. The WaMu representative I filed the original claim with failed to record it on my account, so they claimed to have no record of a dispute. On top of that, I was informed the merchant “credited” my acct. for the unauthorized charge. Since the merchant “credited” my account, it was no longer considered a fraudulent charge & there was no need for a dispute. What the @%&$?

I followed all of WaMu’s recommended steps to resolve this matter and was rewarded in three ways:

1) I was informed there was no dispute on file, therefore the allegation was no longer valid

2) No dispute means I’m responsible for the $300

3) It’s up to me to recover the $300 from the merchant, since they are the ones who made the “mistake”

Essentially, I’m paying for the incompetency of WaMu because their customer service representative failed to record my dispute. Guess what WaMu, I have a phone bill to prove I was on the phone with your company for nearly 30 minutes.

Here’s the real kicker. I asked the so-called manager ” When and where is the consumer protected?” His respsonse was: “Mame, if this is the only thing you want to discuss, there’s nothing more I can say, I’m tired of repeating myself.”

So the merchant can freely take my money (without authorization), the bank lets them and on top of that, the bank decides they want a piece too by adding ridiculous fees to my account?

What happened to “We listen to our customers and give them what they value”?