Consumer complaint received 2019-08-14
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem when making payments — Problem during payment process
Company: BBVA FINANCIAL CORPORATION (TX)

BBVA Bank Complaint(s)This is the worst banking experience of my life, and I am over XXXX years old, so I have had a few.I pay my bills online. I set them up for payment ahead of time at the start of each month, to be effective in the third week of the month. That works fine for almost every payee. Except for BBVA.BBVA says they can’t set payments up for later dates. That is not true, because I got one set up once. The next month, when they said they couldn’t do it, I pointed out that they had done so a month earlier. Their reply was that they would have to reprimand whoever did that. You know, because he provided a requested customer service.So I tried to pay online. Nope, can’t do that either. You need to have a BBVA checking account. If you don’t have one, you need to enter the info for another bank. When you attempt to do that, they say, “Oops, you need to send a one-time text with your mobile.” I don't have a mobile. I don’t want a BBVA checking account. I don’t want any account through this bank, and will get rid of this one as soon as possible. I also don’t need or want a mobile device.So, I have had to phone customer service every month to pay by phone, verbally, with a service rep. To be fair, each of these reps has been friendly and as helpful as their employer begrudgingly allows them to be.In JXX/XX/2019, not being able to set up a payment ahead of time, I phoned a day before the payment was due. But that was a weekend, when this bank doesn’t bother with things such as customer service. Do it online, they suggest. You know, for folks who actually are able to do so online. So my payment was late that month. The following month, I phoned and complained (on this date,XX/XX/XXXX). I asked to have my online payment accessibility set up by them, for me, as I could not do so for myself (lacking the extra account or mobile device they believe I should have). Two different reps gave me three different stories, the end result being the final story, essentially, that I couldn’t get there from here. No, not even they could set up my accessibility without me first having mobile access.This is a bank that has a customer service department which is not permitted to do customer service. Late payments and long monthly phone calls are fine. Customer service, not so much. Schedule payments ahead of time? Nope. And we’ll punish any rep who does that for you. Which means that we can do it, we just don’t want to. Pay online from your existing (non-BBVA) account? Nope, not unless you can jump through a hoop with a smart phone. Phone them as a last resort when the payment is due? Sure. As long as it isn’t on a weekend. Get help bypassing the requirement for a mobile device? Three answers and two reps later, the answer is “No, we’re not able to do that for you, either.”Results:  1.	 I can’t set up payments when it is convenient for me.2.	 I can’t set them up to be paid at a later date.3.	 I can’t set up payments online.4.	 I can’t pay them when they are due if they fall on a weekend.5.	 I can’t set up payments from an external bank.6.	 I can’t get anyone to set up my accessibility for paying from an external bank.BBVA: Banking at its finest.Solution:  Don’t go there.