Yes, I work here. well – sort of
Mar 6th, 2008 by Peter
A few days from now, C’s father has birthday. We want to send him some money, as it is way easier than buying a gift, sending it and wait for it to arrive. I should have known better.
To send money there are 2 obvious options: Either by regular mail (will take about 7-11 days) or by bank using the SWIFT/BIC transaction system. We have sent money before and always used the mail service. The downside of course being the time it takes, and the risk of getting your letter stolen. Letters have no insurance after they leave Denmark. So we decided to try the safer and faster method from now on. Big mistake.
I told C to have her father make an account in the local (and only) bank called China Gong Shang Bank and get some details like: the banks name, account number, bank address, SWIFT/BIC code and so on.
A day later C’s father reported back, that he got everything, except the SWIFT/BIC code. According to the bank, they didn’t have one and also said that it was not necessary (I suspect that they have no clue what it is, and try to save face instead of checking up on it). Well, my bank wrote that it is, and since I use my bank to send the money, they kinda dictate what is necessary, right?
Maybe I should mention that I’ve done such a transaction with the Bank of China before without problems at all.
So C phoned her father again and sent the poor man back to the bank to ask for the second time. I crossed my fingers that maybe this time he would talk to another more knowledgeable person. But no. They still insist that the code is not necessary and that they don’t have any. Idiots.
To be 100% sure I got it right, I called our bank here in Denmark and asked if there were any changes regarding SWIFT/BIC transfers. The banker was baffled and I could sense him smiling when he listened as I told my China tale.
So we were stranded. Well almost. I told C to check up on the net and find the number for the Chinese bank’s headquarters. Perhaps they have a direct phone number, that is not answered by a complete moron. And maybe, just maybe, this person know that not all money business are handled inside China.
C managed to get hold of the bank’s headquarter in Heilongjiang. Success! C got the number without problems.
The remaining question is: Why the hell did the bank insist that it was not possible, instead of admitting they didn’t have a clue and then try to find out? That’s just common sense. I’m not expecting them to be all-knowing, just to make an effort. And why the hell should the costumer end up having to call the bank HQ behind their back? Makes me wonder if they actually know who’s the costumer and who’s the employee.
Even scarier that they got 2 different occasions to find out, but never bothered to check up on it even once. Incompetent buffoons.
That’s China :-(
Don’t expect people to know more than they absolutely have to, and if no one told them about the SWIFT code it doesn’t exist.
Sadly it is often necessary to explain to people how to do their job. I guess that’s partly because they don’t want to loose face by admitting they don’t know anything about the code and partly because it saves them the energy of looking for the code. I don’t think Chinese people are used to people questioning authorities so it’s easier just to say no and save the effort.
I think you are spot on Kim :-(
Use Bank of China – my experience is that they are more professional and if you have all the information, it´s much easier this way (and as you remarked, much safer)
Only problem is that the Bank of China doesn’t have a branch in Yilan. The money still hasn’t arrived. We sent it the 7th march, so I suspect more trouble ahead. The transfer time should be 3-5 days. Sigh.
[…] them by regular letters. This march, we tried transferring the cash between our bank, and theirs. It turned out to be no easier task to arrange, and in the end and not faster either. At least it is way more secure. I […]