As you may know if you read here, I recently decided to change jobs/companies and began with a new company in February. Among the many reasons I did not and will not share, I now have another to add which I will share, as I am sitting here both astonished and disgusted (though, admittedly, given the many reasons for this change, I probably should not be surprised).
While with this previous company, I opened an FSA account. The account was funded fully by my own contributions, with no employer contributions or matching. Having experienced the benefit of being able to take the FSA with me if/when things change, I decided it likely would be wise as my medication for diabetes is not exactly inexpensive, nor are the others that keep cholesterol down and insulin-resistance at bay.
Over the time I was with this employer, I contributed roughly $1500.00 to this account. Shortly after departure, I had my annual ophthalmology visit and got my lenses updated (overdue from 2009, actually); I was really quite thankful to have the account available.
This week, my partner agreed to pick up my restock on the diabetic medications and trundled off with FSA card in hand (yes, he’s on my approved list of users). He returned to report that the card had been declined and he had to pay for them himself.
So, I call the FSA company (Tri-Ad) to find out what the heck is going on.
Turns out that, apparently, my former employer thinks it is completely appropriate to cut me off from my plan and its funds effective my date of departure. Further, as the polite representative explained, it seems that $1300.00 or so dollars of my compensation, slotted for my health care use, is in fact being returned to my former employer to fund THEIR future accounts with Tri-Ad.
Talk about burning bridges. I spent my obligatory five minutes letting my ego and anger have its raspy way and then, as usual, decided that I need to let it go. This post is my last task in the process (mostly because putting things here is how I dump them from my head).
Suffice to say, any company that could do such a thing is not a company I would ever willingly engage in ANY manner for ANY reason for the remainder of this life.
Suffice as well to say that I all the more fully understand how and why this company’s reputation is in absolute tatters with its customers; so much so that they have had to outsource their social media activity to an agency because they simply lack what it takes to understand “what they aren’t understanding” when it comes to giving solid service…. the parallel here being in that service is contextually founded on the the concept that someone to whom you have committed something deserves to have that commitment honored, rather than find it revoked in the first moment they can “benefit” by/from not keeping it.
In my opinion, this is merely the same, sad, and sorry “par for the course” that convinced me to depart the company.
No, I am not at all surprised. I really should not be astonished or disgusted, either (and will be working to remedy it shortly after this post goes live).
I guess what it really means is that, in my ridiculously persistent way, I was giving them, even now, the best I could manage – the benefit of the doubt.
Silly me, eh? Lesson learned.
Thanks, MegaPath… the exercise in exercising equanimity is timely and helpful.