Apple Card Customer Service Woes Responsible for Goldman Sachs Regulatory Probe - MacRumors
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Apple Card Customer Service Woes Responsible for Goldman Sachs Regulatory Probe

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The popularity of the Apple Card caused Apple partner Goldman Sachs to struggle to deal with customer service issues, according to a new report from CNBC. The problems have in part led to a Goldman Sachs investigation by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

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Goldman Sachs was subject to more disputed transactions than it had anticipated, with customers seeking chargebacks for products and services. When a customer asks for a chargeback, Goldman Sachs must follow regulations to reach a resolution within an acceptable timeline, and apparently failed at doing that. A source that spoke to CNBC said that customers were provided with conflicting information or were subject to long wait times.

‌Apple Card‌ business created long queues that needed to be cleared out, and Goldman Sachs was unprepared. There was no streamlined process in place for resolving customer complaints.

The bank hadn't initially accounted for what insiders deemed "edge cases," or situations that break from the norm among the vast majority of transactions, they said.

"We were making the case that we have a seamless way to dispute transactions," the source said. "But we got no credit for the front end, and we had some failures on the back end."

The CFPB is now examining how Goldman Sachs handled customer refunds, billing error resolution, refunds, reporting to credit bureaus, and more. Regulators are looking into customer complaints from the past several years, many related to attempted chargebacks. Goldman Sachs has now devoted more resources to automating additional parts of the chargeback process, and it is cooperating with the CFPB inquiry.

Tag: Apple Card Guide

Top Rated Comments

d-klumpp Avatar
d-klumpp
48 months ago
Wish Apple chose anyone other than the scum at GS to back their card.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B
BootsWalking
48 months ago
Goldman Sachs acting against its own customers' financial interests? Didn't see that coming :rolleyes:
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I
icanhazmac
48 months ago
So Apple broke the bank? 😂
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alexandr Avatar
alexandr
48 months ago

I'm curious why there were so many disputed transactions. I'd imagine most transactions were done using ApplePay so that should be secure and not see too many fraudulent charges. Cardholders disputing auto billing charges for services like AppleTV+, Netflix, etc that they forgot to cancel (like after a trial period) maybe? 🤷‍♂️
I think that's just the normal state of today's consumerism. I had an extensive conversation with an AMEX rep regarding this, and she told me that the amount of people who are trying to abuse the protection that AMEX grants them is absolutely insane.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BoboBobo2 Avatar
BoboBobo2
48 months ago
I recently had the pleasure of using the chat support when my physical card stopped working (the card was just messed up, the account was fine). The person was just weird and had no idea what they were doing. They were asking me questions like "are you sure the store supports Apple Card?" Do you mean Mastercard? Yes, they take Mastercard. Then they tried to tell me what I was wrong, and the card was working fine because they saw transactions a week ago.

I didn't realize there was an automated "request new card" button, but eventually I found that and got a new card.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
8CoreWhore Avatar
8CoreWhore
48 months ago
A merchant still hasn't refunded $400 5 weeks after I returned a product. They claimed it was refunded. But the balance is still on my Apple Card. It is a well known company with a great reputation. They sent me documentation that they did issue the refund. I thibk Gold Man is a rip off and whoever at Apple chose them should be fired.

I spent 2 hours going around in circles with chat support as this psycho tried to gaslight me and make me go away. They refused to answer a single question. Finally after 2 hours of this nonsense they put the dispute through so the charge can be contested. They credited my account, but told me to not do anything with the account, etc. and that this credit could be reversed yet again at any moment.

The prior time, I got a refund awhile back and instead of just removing the charge from my balance, they apllied to it my MBP installment plan. Which meant I would not see thart money again until the end of the plan pay off... I had to fight like hell and talk to Apple to get Goldman Sachs to give give me an ordinary refund. BURN ME TWICE!! I will never use that ripoff institution again. Goldman Sacks.. why TF did Apple go with Goldman Sachs? They are the worst! I am cancelling this card the second this issue is resolved. I may have to go tothe U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) with my issue. In fact.. I will...

My guess is the merchant did issue a refund and Gold Man just isn't showing it and trying to keep it. I'm willing to believe that because of how horrible their service is, and how good the reputation is of the merchant.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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