credit card scam?

you know how it is when the bank wants to offer you a credit card.

they will call you (how did they get your mobile number when you don't have an account with them????) or more likely, hound you at the shopping malls or at the exit of IT/computer/furniture/travel fairs. often, they will entice you with free umbrellas, flashdrives, toys, shoe bags, etc. that it can be difficult to turn down.

but what happens when you want to cancel the card after finding out a competitor is offering a better deal?

you go to the bank to cancel it, right?

i was waiting at the bank today when i saw this guy try to do just that. he waited for about 10-15mins for the customer service exec to return from lunch. she's alone because the others must have taken off for Lunar New Year. she gave him a form to fill while she disappeared into the main office, the locked room you can't access without a keycard.

and made him wait for at least another 15mins, because he was still waiting when i left.

is this a one-off incident or do banks treat their want-away customers this way?

i don't know. i usually call customer service (the number given at the back of the card) when i want to cancel. every time without fail, they will offer to waive the annual fees AND give me the govt service tax rebate of rm50 after using the card for a specified number of times, usually 3 times within a month.

and every time, almost without fail, i will change my mind & retain the card.

after all, i think i have nothing to lose.

or, have i been scammed as well????