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| it's that easy your ass boo! |
I am a very organized person AND I always make sure to prepare things ahead of time to avoid hassles. But, Union Bank’s shitty website did not prepare me for the worst. I even read other blogs to make sure I bring everything with me before I head off to the bank, even the ones not mentioned in their website but things still went awry.
I went to Union Bank minutes past 9 A.M which is the start of their office hours. I have all my requirements with me: photocopies of my two (2) government issued photo I.Ds (SSS & TIN) along with my actual I.D.s, P350 cash for the visa debit card annual fee plus the money I’ll be depositing to open my EON account, proof of billing (which is under my sister’s name) and my reference number from Union Bank’s shitty website. I chose to open an account with Union Bank because they don’t charge if you withdraw money from Paypal to your EON account not knowing it’s such a hassle opening an account with them. My sister and I went to the bank together because we both would like to open an account to take advantage of EON’s free Paypal withdrawal.
As soon as it was my sister’s turn, we were told that at least one of our government I.D’s should bear our current address. For crying out loud. We haven’t updated our address since we moved because this never happened before with any banks where we opened our accounts. They wouldn’t honor just her SSS I.D because it does not bear any address. Of course because an SSS I.D only bears your SSS Number, Date of Birth and name. So why on earth it wasn’t indicated in their f*cked up website in the first place??? To resolve this, we went to the nearest BIR office to update our address in our TIN I.Ds, lined up (good thing it wasn’t queuing). At the BIR office we were told that EVEN IF we’ve been residing and working here (where we're based now) for five years, they still have to verify if our TINs were already transferred. I was on the verge of saying of course, our TINs have been updated since we’ve been living and working here for five years and we even went to their office when we had our RDO's transferred from Manila! Nevertheless, I kept my mouth shut and managed to stay calm. We filled out BIR Form 0605 (if my memory serves me right), we were told to pay P100 to any of the banks allowed to take in payments for BIR transactions. There’s tons of them actually but majority of them were either offline of just wouldn’t take BIR payments for yadda yadda reasons. We went to DBP, RCBC, BPI and last but not least Security Bank. Only Security Bank out of all four banks I mentioned took the payment. Such a hassle right? My patience is already running out and I already told my sister one more annoyance trigger and I’m gonna say never mind to opening an EON account with Union Bank.
After settling our payments, we headed straight to the BIR Office again to present our receipt and finally got our spanking new TIN (cardboard) ID. It didn’t take long for us to get our new ID in fairness to the BIR Office we went to. My only problem was, we had to go out just to make a payment. Such a hassle right? Good thing I took a photo of the lists of accredited banks whilst at the BIR office because I had a gut feeling things may not go on as planned as usual because chances are it will be 99% of the time.
Alright, went back to Union Bank as soon as we had our TIN I.Ds photocopied and laminated. My sister was able to finally open her EON account this time without any problem. She got her ATM card outright after filling out the bank forms and all. Now came my turn, I was told by the sarcastic dickhead customer service guy there seems to be another problem. That, I need to have a billing statement under my name. AGAIN, their crappy website DID NOT mention that so I was under the impression that our PLDT DSL bill (under my sister’s name) would suffice. Oh man! Seriously?? I’m really this close to going berserk. To make the long story short, I went to the nearest internet shop to access my credit card account so I could have my paper bill printed out. Of course I can make things work! Dickhead was even surprised that I came back in less than 15 minutes to get a copy of my bill duh. After 3 gruelling hours going back and forth (from Union Bank to BIR to other banks) I was finally able to open my EON account. Damn. If only SOME banks make it easy for their clients things wouldn’t be this way.
I am a technology buff and I make use of technology to its fullest because that’s why they’re here for right? Things would’ve been easier If we just use the power of internet, click a button instead of heading off to banks. Why not make your payment using an app instead of filling out a form and lining up in queue? I’ve been paying my bills online for over a decade already and I just can’t wrap my head around why do we still prefer the old school way? It won’t hurt to embrace changes especially if it makes things easier for us. Isn’t it enjoyable to veer away from stress and be able to use your time productively instead of squandering it away lining up in queue. And to those old school banks, don’t you think it’s time to upgrade your century old system and stop wasting people’s time? Time is gold. Every second counts because being time conscious is crucial as well in saving lives don’t you think?
As an end note, I would love to send a feedback to Union Bank’s website for wasting so much of my time today because of their surreal requirements. It took me three hours just to get a plastic ATM card. Seriously? Let me also say that their website is not accessible MOST of the time and all I am getting are bunch of error messages and it's been undergoing maintenance for ages! The last time I checked, they didn't even specify which browsers their site is compatible with. Geez. My sissy and I had ice cream as soon as we got home because we were so pissed off and stressed out as well opening an account with Union Bank.
To save you from all the hassles here's a quick run down of what they actually require to open an EON account:
- Get your reference number first through Union Bank's website before you visit them.
- Bring any government issued photo I.D which bears your current address (original and photocopied)
- Bring any Utility bill under the name of the person who is opening the account such as cable, telephone, electric, water, credit card etc. (original and photocopied)
- P350 cash for the EON/Visa debit card annual fee
- Cash to be deposited to your account (At least P200 if you're looking to link your account with Paypal, if not then any increment will do like P100 and above maybe)
And after all the troubles Hooray! (sarcasm) you will get your ATM card right away. Just an fyi, they don't have maintaining balance by the way, although I read somewhere they charge P200 if your EON account is inactive for a year whilst P500 if it's been dormant for a year. These requirements are the most important ones in my experience. Unbelievably, complying consumed so much of my time because of their extremely poor communication channels.
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