Where Credit is Due?

"Bass Pro just switched credit card processors to Citi/FirstData," a reader who has previously provided reliable tips informed me.  "I don't have to tell you, this is not good.  I don't know if Bass Pro will cave."

I could not verify that claim with a link and note the Bass Pro Shops credit card provider is Bank of America. I replied with that and was told:

There wasn't any public announcement.  The header on the credit card transaction reports say 'Citi Merchant Services provided by First Data Merchant Services Corporation.'  I'm talking about the back end merchant services. When a merchant accepts a credit card for payment, all those transactions go to a processor. The processor clears all the transactions with the issuing banks and takes a percentage called a discount, and deposits the balance in their checking account. Previously, Commerce Bank was the processor, but now it's Citi /First Data.

That prompted me to send an inquiry:

Nothing in the email would have triggered their spam filter and I did not get an undeliverable message, so my presumption is the email was received and the PR folks have unstated reasons to ignore it.

A week ago I sent this follow-up;

I gave them more time. As of this writing, almost two weeks after my initial inquiry and a week after my follow-up, there has been no response. I think I've waited long enough and have tried to be fair. In my experience, the only department more anal than risk management about not saying anything to rock the boat is corporate communications. In this case, their apparent unwillingness to engage and address the query in any form has not served their employer well as it just fuels the feeling that there's something they'd rather their customers don't know.

We go on "presumption of innocence" around here, so I'll ask you to keep that in mind. That said, I tried to get to the bottom of a potential matter of economic interest to gun owners quietly and in the background, and that did not work. That means it looks like to get an answer -- for whatever reason -- they won't respond to me alone.