Bad experience at Kohl's
All I wanted to do is change the name on my account to match my legal name. I called twice, and my wife called twice.
First call: The person who answered could barely speak English. I told him what I needed and asked if he could send me an email detailing the information I needed to supply and let me know where to send it. He said they could not send email. Really? I said goodbye and hung up.
Second call: This person could speak English, but I am not sure she could understand. I told her I wanted to change the name on my account. I told her my dead name (which gets more painful every day), then my new name. Then we had this exchange:
CSR: The name on your account is (dead name).
Me: Yes, but the courts and Social Security both say may name is Jessica Rose.
CSR: Well according to your account it is (dead name).
Me: Can't you understand English you b****!
Then I passed the phone to my wife before I really got mad. I think my wife just hung up on her.
Third call: My wife made this one, so I don't know exactly what was said. However they said something along the lines of sending the name change documentation. My wife did not know if it had to be a certified copy, so I asked her to call again and find out.
Fourth call: My wife made this one also. She talked to a CSR named 'Yolanda'. Great news! All we had to do was take our account information and the name change documentation to the Customer Service desk at out local store and they could change it. Wow! Why didn't they tell us this in the first place.
So we head down to our local Kohl's and tell them what we need.
Customer Service: Corporate told you we can change the name on your account?
Me: Yes, and here is the paperwork.
Customer Service: I don't think we can do that, let me check.
Two customer service folks were now involved, and after about 15 minutes of discussions and calls they find out that no one at Kohl's can change the first and middle names on a charge account. NO ONE. They suggest I close the account and open a new one. I had already tried opening a new one and was denied due to lack of credit history for Jessica. I was so mad by the time I left the store the that anger I thought I left behind a year ago had returned. I punched a wooden display cabinet as hard as I could, then sat on a display shelf to calm down. One of the customer service folks came over and talked for a few minutes, she was really nice, but she was not able to offer anything that would help. It was all I could do not to smash things on the way out of the store, although I did kick the door on my way out.
I sat in my car for about 30 minutes to calm down. My first thought was that I would rather shoot myself before talking to another Kohl's person. Then I realized that no retailer was worth my life, nor was it worth the anger they had caused. If Kohl's can't consistently provide clear answers for such a simple task that is so central to someone transitioning, then they do not deserve my business. After 15 years of being a loyal customer, I will no longer shop at Kohl's.
I'm sorry Jessica that this has happened to you. You jump through hoops to straighten out legal hurdles and sometimes its for naught. My thoughts are that Kohls still isn't up to speed with the change in attitude with many and may be learning by interactions like yours. Society has a slow pace sometimes with change.
Just remember "the squeaky wheel gets the grease".
hugs....the other Jess
You always have the option of asking to speak with a supervisor; cursing at a CSR is not going to get you anywhere; and a language barrier does not make her a b**ch, however ranting like that certainly makes you sound like a j*rk.
Kohl's customer service and shipping have gone way down, especially in the last year, it seems. I prefer to shop elsewhere now. Your story makes me more determined. Their loss.
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Sorry this happened to you Jessica. I didn't realize how lucky I was. My partner made one call, asked if I was on the account that she had (it showed no) and she asked them to send me a card. Done! It was much easier than Home Depot.
Moni
That is crazy! Changing a name is not limited to trans folks. Probably 90%+ of name changes are cis people. Anne wants to become Betty; John wants to become Fred. It's not a weird thing to do. I can see that some places need to see a legal name change certificate, but that shouldn't be a big deal.
I have done most of my name changes by email. I just include an attachment with a PDF of my certificate and it's usually all good. One place, a co-op, did get mixed up and thought I was transferring my shares to somebody else. But that was easily straightened out. ("I am just changing my name. Well, and a few other things, but that's TMI.")
Sorry you had to put up with that! I don't know Kohl's, but if they are that bone-headed, I can see not doing business with them any more.
CSR: The name on your account is (dead name).
Me: Yes, but the courts and Social Security both say may name is Jessica Rose.
CSR: Well according to your account it is (dead name).
Me: Can't you understand English you b****!
You're not going to get much help if you treat people in this manner. Frankly this makes you come across as a xenophobic misogynist.
I know sometimes being angry gets us our way. Like when I had overdrawn $7 dollars from M&T bank and they charged me a $70 (or 60 something) fee... I was upset and very condescending/nasty I'll admit. But I made sure not to curse at anyone...
Well we all go through that but like others mentioned huffing and puffing is not really the best way to go about getting things done. It actually does nothing... especially for the trans community.
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Quote from: Jessica_Rose on February 25, 2018, 09:31:23 AM
Bad experience at Kohl's
All I wanted to do is change the name on my account to match my legal name. I called twice, and my wife called twice.
First call: The person who answered could barely speak English. I told him what I needed and asked if he could send me an email detailing the information I needed to supply and let me know where to send it. He said they could not send email. Really? I said goodbye and hung up.
Second call: This person could speak English, but I am not sure she could understand. I told her I wanted to change the name on my account. I told her my dead name (which gets more painful every day), then my new name. Then we had this exchange:
CSR: The name on your account is (dead name).
Me: Yes, but the courts and Social Security both say may name is Jessica Rose.
CSR: Well according to your account it is (dead name).
Me: Can't you understand English you b****!
Then I passed the phone to my wife before I really got mad. I think my wife just hung up on her.
Third call: My wife made this one, so I don't know exactly what was said. However they said something along the lines of sending the name change documentation. My wife did not know if it had to be a certified copy, so I asked her to call again and find out.
Fourth call: My wife made this one also. She talked to a CSR named 'Yolanda'. Great news! All we had to do was take our account information and the name change documentation to the Customer Service desk at out local store and they could change it. Wow! Why didn't they tell us this in the first place.
So we head down to our local Kohl's and tell them what we need.
Customer Service: Corporate told you we can change the name on your account?
Me: Yes, and here is the paperwork.
Customer Service: I don't think we can do that, let me check.
Two customer service folks were now involved, and after about 15 minutes of discussions and calls they find out that no one at Kohl's can change the first and middle names on a charge account. NO ONE. They suggest I close the account and open a new one. I had already tried opening a new one and was denied due to lack of credit history for Jessica. I was so mad by the time I left the store the that anger I thought I left behind a year ago had returned. I punched a wooden display cabinet as hard as I could, then sat on a display shelf to calm down. One of the customer service folks came over and talked for a few minutes, she was really nice, but she was not able to offer anything that would help. It was all I could do not to smash things on the way out of the store, although I did kick the door on my way out.
I sat in my car for about 30 minutes to calm down. My first thought was that I would rather shoot myself before talking to another Kohl's person. Then I realized that no retailer was worth my life, nor was it worth the anger they had caused. If Kohl's can't consistently provide clear answers for such a simple task that is so central to someone transitioning, then they do not deserve my business. After 15 years of being a loyal customer, I will no longer shop at Kohl's.
Post your experience on their FB site if they have one. I bet you'll get a call.
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Unless you have some unique reason (maybe they're the only retailer in your town) I'd simply stop going there - ever - and take my business elsewhere. Takes about one minute to shut things off, done.
I ran into a couple dense companies when I was changing all my accounts. Most companies were great or at least acceptable on this. If they weren't I just terminated them and moved on. Fortunately the ones I cared about (airlines and hotels with points balances) were fine.
Quoteno one at Kohl's can change the first and middle names on a charge account. NO ONE
What would they do with someone who had a legal name change, even without being trans? There have been many who have changed their names for various reasons. One of my friends did that because he didn't want a name that made him sound like an immigrant. Given you have court documents, I don't know how they could possibly refuse. Of course, the possible up side to this is you might not be liable for your debts on that account, since it no longer refers to a person. ;)
I've been on the customer service representative end of these conversations and I can tell you.
Not fun.
My suggestion:
1. Take a break for about 24 hours and let the anger burn down to ashes.
2. When you call back ask to speak to a supervisor. They are much more experienced reps.
3. Deep breaths.
When I went through the process of name change I told the person I was speaking with that I needed to change the name on my account, and that I had a certified copy of thw court order for the name change. I don't shop at Kohls, but I assume that someone at a Kohl's store could help you navigate through their name change procedures. When the first person you contacted told you they could not send email; it would have been appropriate to ask for a supervisor, and if the supervisor could not assist you, then a trip to the store would have been in order. And with identity theft running rampant these days, businesses have protocols in place to protect both the business and their customers; how would you feel if someone called into customer service, faxed in some fake documents, charged as much as they could to your account, and effectively started a paper trail to steal your identity? So, while it may be inconvenient, a little whoop jumping is unavoidable sometimes, and a CSR doing her job isn't to blame.
it's a Kohl's card. Providing your credit is good, close that account and open a new one in your new name. They can't wait to give cards to people that don't have them and it always comes with perks. Your credit history for Jessica should match your SSN so you should have credit in your new name. Think outside the box.
One piece of advice I can offer is to write to the 3 credit bureaus informing them of your name change. They will make the changes and your credit under the new name will be there for credit checks and opening new accounts.
This post By Sydney_NYC may help you with it.
Re: LEGAL NAME AND SEX CHANGE QUESTION (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,223255.msg1976956.html#msg1976956)
Hugs,
Laurie
Quote from: Laurie on February 25, 2018, 12:27:29 PM
One piece of advice I can offer is to write to the 3 credit bureaus informing them of your name change. They will make the changes and your credit under the new name will be there for credit checks and opening new accounts.
This post By Sydney_NYC may help you with it.
Re: LEGAL NAME AND SEX CHANGE QUESTION (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,223255.msg1976956.html#msg1976956)
Hugs,
Laurie
Great advice Laurie! I was thinking that is messed up that a credit rating would not transfer over.
I realize that I should not have called the customer service person a b**** (that could have stood for banjo!), but after telling her why I was calling and giving her my dead name and my new name, her response made it sound like I had not changed my name. For some reason having to speak my dead name has become exceptionally painful to me very quickly. Typing it out or hearing it is one thing, but have to speak it more than once is extremely painful. For what it is worth the 'b' word is not in my usual vocabulary, it has been years since I ever used that term to describe anyone in verbal or written form.
I contacted my bank and insurance company last week. All it took for both was an online chat session and uploading the documentation. I was done in about 30 minutes. I also contacted Discover Card, and they have an online process. I basically just sent them an email with my old and new names along with a copy of the documentation. No problem.
Since I do not use Facebook, I don't know if I can post to their FB page.
My wife's card is linked to mine, so I can't use her account to get a new one for myself. I had also mentioned that I tried to open a new one under my new name, but they declined my request because Jessica does not have any credit history. As a side benefit should really screw up identity thieves for a little while!
A xenophobic misogynist? Well if I had been talking to a male I would probably have called him a b******. The gender of the person was of no importance to me. Xenophobic? This particular person sounded as though she was from the US. In addition I have many friends from all over the globe. I don't care what your country of origin is, as long as you treat me with respect, I will try to do the same. This got out of hand quickly because I had already told the person exactly what I wanted and had given her my old and new names, her next statement came across as though she was calling me a liar and that I had not changed my name.
I know being angry rarely gets you what you want. Being nice is always the better option. The people I was talking to just did not seem to care and were probably just reading from a script instead of listening to what I was saying.
This chain has a store within 2 miles of my house, so it has been my go-to place for clothes. Now I plan to visit Macy's, Target, and Dillard's much more frequently. Although they are 10 - 15 miles away, I have never had any problems with them.
A trip to the store was useless, even though that was what the fourth CSR told us to do. Although the customer service folks at the store were very nice and made several calls, there was nothing they could do. They were told that there is no way to change the first and middle names, they can only change last names on an account.
I did send two messages to Kohl's. Their first response includes this line:
Please send us a new message through My Kohl's Charge and make sure to include your previous and current name so we can update your account accordingly.
I already gave them that information multiple times. Why would I expect a different outcome if I do it again?
Their second response states:
you will need to send a written request by mail
Wow. Two different responses to the same question. I admit my ranting was over the top, but their inability to provide a consistent response is very troubling and does not give me much confidence.
Jessica,
I had the same experience with kohls. I mailed in a written name change request (enclosing a copy of my court order and driver's license along with a legal reason)and it was still denied...twice. They didn't like the reason I gave. Who cares what the reason was it was a legal name change with supporting documentation....grrrr thinking about it makes me mad still. I ended up closing my account and have decided they no longer need my money.
Sorry, just wanted to let you know you're not alone. Congrats on the name change tho :)
The ONLY time I shopped at Kohl's, they asked me if I wished to apply for one of their cards. I thought it would be worth a try. Keep in mind that I had my name and gender legally changed a very long time ago. They ran the info provided, and then said "I'm sorry, sir, but your credit history is nonexistent". I politely corrected her misgendering, and informed her the credit deal may be because I have never had a credit card of any kind. She did apologize, but I still felt insulted, and I do hold grudges. Obviously, I never went back.
Jessica, based on your description I do not understand why you would shop there again. Ever.
From what I can understand, Kohl's sounds like it is a transphobic company. ( I hope I got the right term). They obviously don't need my money.
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