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automatic teller machine cards The Scenario:
An Inaccessible Telephone
Banking System


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A description of the scenario:
  • Woman who is hard of hearing and has severe arthritis
  • Wants to use her telephone banking system to process account transactions and inquire on her credit card
  • Must go through complicated interactive response, telephone menu system and enter 18-digit number to access her account
  • There is limited time to receive and respond to voice menu prompts
  • No easy way to bypass the automated prompts

Which complaint procedures apply to this scenario?1

Does the problem involve...
  • Telecommunications? Yes!
  • Job-related Technology? No.
  • Technology used in a government-funded program or activity? No.
  • Technology provided by or used to access private businesses? Yes!
  • Televised information? No.
1 The decision logic used in this scenario is based on the approach described in the section called, Which Complaint Procedure Applies to You.

Our choices related to telecommunications include:
  • HAC Act? No hearing aid involved.
  • Title IV? Does not involve Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS).
  • Section 508? Does not involve the Federal government.
  • Section 255? Maybe if you can figure out the name of the manufacturer or service provider that provides the system to the bank.

Our choices related to private businesses include:
  • Title III? Bingo!


Sample Letter of Complaint for
An Inaccessible Telephone Banking System


Your Street Address
Your City, State, Zip Code
January 28, 2004

Bankcorp Customer Service Center
100 Corporate Drive
Palmdale, CA 12345-3456

To whom it may concern:

Re: Account number 1234-5678-9012-3456-78

I have been a customer of Bankcorp for 10 years. On many recent occasions, I have tried to use your telephone banking system using the 1-800-555-1234 phone number. While this system may be very convenient to many of your customers, as someone who is hard of hearing and has severe arthritis, the telephone-based service is not very accessible to me. I am interested in working with you to make it more accessible to people with disabilities so they can enjoy the convenience of telephone banking too.

Letter writing tips:

In this introductory section of the letter, introduce yourself as a member of the public, and state the accessibility problem and your willingness to work with the company


Because I am hard of hearing, it is difficult for me to hear long automated messages that are fast. In order to understand the various messages and prompts that your telephone banking system provides, I am often forced to call the system multiple times for a single transaction. In addition, as I have aged, my arthritis has worsened, making it very difficult for me to enter long series of numbers on telephone keypads. The telephone banking system asks me to enter an 18-digit code in order to access my account (and it limits the amount of time I have to enter the 18-digits), so typically I am not able to quickly and accurately enter the code as required by the system. When the time limit expires, I am prompted to enter the code again, starting from the first number because none of my previous entries are remembered.
Letter writing tips:

In this section of the letter, describe how your functional limitation affects your ability to use the system, and describe what happens and what does not happen.


Because I cannot use the telephone banking system I am forced to visit my local bank branch to conduct nearly all of my account transactions. These transactions include transferring money between accounts, checking my current balances, and clarifying details on my bank statement. I must use public transportation to reach the local branch, and because of the infrequent scheduling of stops, each time I visit the bank I must set aside 3 hours to allow for travel to and from the location. If I could use the telephone banking system, these types of transactions could be completed in minutes.

Letter writing tips:

Describe the personal hardship that results from your inability to use the technology.


There are many ways you can make your telephone banking system accessible to me and other people with disabilities. At the start of the call, the system should allow the customer to exit out of the standard menu-based system in a quick and easy manner. For instance, if I could press one key and be redirected to a live person who would address my inquiries, then I would no longer be locked out of the telephone-based system. Other options may be to program the system so that it understands selections that are spoken by the customer, or to allow customers to press a key that would provide more time to respond to the prompts.

Letter writing tips:

Suggest some solutions to the accessibility problem.


There are two laws that require you to provide access to your telephone systems. First, Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires banks and other places of public accommodation to make their services accessible to people with disabilities. More specifically, these private businesses must provide reasonable modifications to their services unless doing so would result in an undue burden to the businesses or a fundamental alteration of those services. Because there are technological and other solutions for making your automated answering systems accessible, doing so would result in neither an undue burden for your bank nor a fundamental alteration of these services.

Second, Section 255 of the Communications Act requires manufacturers and providers of telecommunications equipment and services to make their technology accessible to and usable by people with disabilities, if readily achievable. If Bankcorp developed this system, the law applies directly to your company. If Bankcorp bought the system from a technology vendor, then I would like to pursue resolution of this matter with the vendor, and I would appreciate knowing the appropriate contact information.

Letter writing tips:

List the laws that may be violated, if you know them. Also, try to determine which company developed the technology.


Please contact me at the above address or by phone at 555-555-6789 (home) to discuss this issue. I would appreciate a reply by March 1, 2004. I look forward to working with you on a resolution to my accessibility problem.

Sincerely,

Nancy Jones

Letter writing tips:

Tell them the best way to contact you, and propose a deadline for their response.


cc: Jane Smith
     Chief Operations and Technology Officer
     Bankcorp
     123 Wall Street
     New York, New York 10043

     John Johnson
     Chairman & CEO, Consumer Services
     Bankcorp
     123 Wall Street
     New York, New York 10043
Letter writing tips:

At the end of the letter, copy the appropriate senior management. Managers of the technology and consumer departments are particularly relevant.




Final tip for this scenario:

If you cannot resolve this problem by working with the bank...

  • File an ADA: Title III complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice against the bank
  • If you can find out who manufactured the automated telephone system, file a Communications Act: Section 255 informal (or formal) complaint with the FCC against the manufacturer or service provider



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Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center
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