I just wanted to share with you my recent experience with BDO and it my case it's SM Clark in Angeles City but I was communicating mostly with the head office in Manila.
I was in Thailand and I went to make a purchase at a local grocery store and my credit card was declined for BDO so I just used my Thai debit card. This was in late April of 2014. About 2 weeks earlier I was in Angeles City and I noticed my Mastercard BDO credit card was going to expire in August of 2014 and I was at my BDO branch at SM Clark (I highly recommend not opening a bank account there if you choose BDO for your banking, go elsewhere! Never in a mall) anyway so I decided to ask about it.
After waiting in line for about 45 minutes I finally get the desk clerk who's actually a hottie. She tells me, No problem sir, when your card expires they will send a new one to your address here in Angeles. I'm like OK, but I'm not there half the time and what happens if they try to deliver it and I'm not there. She says, no problem sir, we will just have it sent to the branch here in August when your card expires and you can pick it up. I said, great that's perfect and walked away. About 2 weeks later, I go back to Thailand and my card was declined. No big deal in my case and I just thought I'll sort things out when I get back to Angeles City.
What I forgot about was the fact the credit card was connected to my Philippines Paypal account and I was unable to make any transactions using that account until I got back. That sort of screwed me up a bit making some transactions but again I had backup in Thailand.
So I get back to Angeles City and figure I should be able to get my new BDO issued Mastercard quickly so I called the hotline in Manila. I asked them why my credit card was canceled and they could not give me an answer. I explained what happened in Thailand and they didn't even say sorry or nothing. It's a secured credit card attached to a time deposit so it was not a funds issue whatsoever and there was 0 balance on the card too. I then asked about getting a new one and she said the credit card department was investigating the matter. I said investing what it's quite simple I want my new credit card ASAP it was not stolen I still have it my possession. They told me to destroy it right now which I did. She tells me the investigation should be done in 48 hours and to call back then.
So I call back 2 days later and she says your case is still under investigation and tells me to call back AGAIN in 48 hours. I asked, what if my life was depending on this credit card and I need it quickly? She says sorry sir we are waiting for the other department (absolutely no customer care whatsoever).
So I called back again after another 2 days and she (same woman) says the same damn thing, your card is under investigation. At this point, I'm angry as I could smell the Filipino time coming on and I said I want my credit card now or I will close my account immediately, do you understand what I'm saying? I've been a customer of BDO for over 5 years with substantial bank accounts. Do you wish to lose a loyal good customer? She's like no sir, sorry sir I will see what I can do, please hold the line.
About 15 minutes goes by and she comes back on the line. Yes sir, we are processing your request now and elevating your case, I will call you back within 24 hours sir is that OK? I said OK and she gives me her contact details but no extension number to call. This was at 10 AM or so.
The 24 hours goes by and no phone call, nothing. I wait until 4 PM and make another phone call down to Manila and I'm talking to a different person this time. She says your credit card is under investigation. I'm thinking, f**k not this crap again. I pretty much lost it on the phone at this point and started yelling at her. It took me a couple minutes of explaining at a very high tone what had happened to me over the previous few days and I ended it with, you are about to lose a very good customer and I'll take my business elsewhere. She's like I'm very sorry sir but this time I will make sure everything gets taken care of don't worry, I will call you in the morning and have the card sent to your address within two days time is that ok?
She did call me the next day and said OK sir everything is OK we will be sending the card via our courier to your address, confirms my address then says the courier will be there on Thursday by 5 PM. At this point, I'm thinking OK finally we are almost at the end of this. Two days goes by and I waited all day and no courier. I called down to Manila again and this time I was calm. A different bank representative was on the phone this time and said sorry sir our courier could not find your address is it OK if we send it to the branch and you go pick it up? I'm thinking why didn't they do that in first place.
The next day the bank calls me on my phone and says the card is there and please go pick it up. My new card is good for the same 5 years but I must say to everyone beware of this. I don't know if initial query when asking about the status of getting a new card sparked this or not but this is what happened to me. Beware it doesn't happen to you. I'm just lucky I had redundancies and was not in major need of the card, otherwise this could have been a lot uglier.
In closing, I recommend not opening a bank account in SM Clark as it's jammed half the time and if you do, do your banking in the mornings when SM opens at 10 AM as it's a breeze. Most other times of the day takes forever.