So I go into the Bla Bla bank in Florence... I walk up to the counter and say I would like to make a withdrawal of $500. I give her my bank card and ID and patiently wait. She returns moments later with the same face I have seen so many times before, even in reference to a .99 cent sandwich from Subway. The mouse woman slowly looks up from the floor and says, "You've been declined". It seems like a phrase that she must rehearse in front of a mirror for added effect.
She asks if she should run it again, and perhaps for a smaller amount... I agree, out of sheer shock.
For the first time ever, the money is there and I can't understand what the hold up is.
So again, the solemn creature returns to the counter, again saying that I am a worthless human being and that she has the receipt to prove it.. At this, I kindly take my cards and leave... Knowing that I had checked my balance that morning and that there was more than enough to cover me.... So I sit in my car, fumbling over the 10 digits to contact my bank... 15 minutes of irritating elevator music, and just when I was about to hang up, a woman from Georgia comes on line... The usual verification shpeel and we are ready to move on....
I explain the situation, and ask what my balance is... She says, you have a hundred dollars... (deep breath, I started my morning with $1,200.... and made no transactions... So either the underwear gnomes have taken up a new profession, or else this lady better start making sense fast. Grrrr.) So she says that I had made $750 worth of withdrawals that had just gone through...
This woman should have been working at the snack bar... I tell her that those transactions were never completed and she is completely mystified... She says, "I see a withdrawal of $20" , I say, "mam, that was a deposit..." "Oh... It was?" (And I am thinking, how hard up for employees are these people??? A simple screening test too hard to do?) "Ok, and then you took out $250"
"No, I didn't get any money, they didn't go through!".... "Well you better go tell the lady you want your $250 back"
"It was $750 lady, not $250, the lady charged me for $750!!!"
At this point, I am done with this bank, they have screwed me for so much over the years I can't even begin... But damn, lady, know the difference between deposits and withdrawals and nail a calculator to your desk if you have to, but keep up with simple math...
So I finally got some of the charges reversed and got my money, but as of now the balance is way off what it should be...
Grrr... We will see if they get it right or if I have to go make a scene... And I will... I have no shame and no qualms about raising hell if you steal my money... I am more than happy to let gravity and stupidity steal it, but no frivolous transaction fees without warrant...
So done...
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5 comments:
Time to dust off Dread Pirate Bonney and send her to work reclaiming your treasure! Aaaargh!
I'll be working on my own checkbook issues now...self-inflicted in this case...
I know how that goes... I had a mix up over Christmas break last year... I went to Hawaii to visit my dad, and was under the impression that my debit card would inform me with a decline when I had exausted my available funds, not realizing I had a check card... So I went on marily picking up tabs here and there for the family, most of them under $5... and was surprised to find that I had over $760 in overdraft charges!
I couldnt believe it, each time I spent 35 cents, they charged me $35 dollars! So I had around 12-15 of those hits...
I had the guy on the phone tell me the balance a few times, I just couldn't believe it... I asked him what time Tony would be by to break my legs, and said I needed the notice to clean... Maybe bake a cake or two...
And then I go back into my branch and they tell me I am newly elligible for a Rewards Card... The lady acted like I had won a cruise... She said that I was being given this opportunity on account of my status and great relationship with the bank... To which I choked on air and laughed my head off...
$700+ overdraft fee's is not what I would call a good relationship... If they are excited about the amount of money they are syphening off of me, that would sound more reasonable...
But according to my friends, "I hate my bank" is the montra for our chosen protector of funds. These people have the nerve to tell me that the fees are warranted and that my overdrafts hurt the company... I highly doubt that, especially with the pirate rates of fee's and them atacking me for overages of less than a dollar... Plus the fact that there is a fee for every transaction, coming into the bank, walking out the door, using another companies ATM, and so on... It makes my head spin to see how much I pay to these people for the false sense of security and status I recieve by having a piece of plastic with my name on it...
I would be better off throwing my checks out the window and burrying my loose change in the back yard.
My main character flaw (my family would suggest there are many others) is that I live my life in ADHD mode and often do the shopping before I've even figured out how much $ I have or how much of it I need for bills. The two tasks on which I procrastinate most are budgeting and dusting. So I not infrequently find myself hunched over the kitchen table, squinting at my calculator and check register on a Sunday night when I should have already gone to bed. And I dust only when I just can't stand it any more (it's both a gift and a burden being visually oriented) or when guests are coming. We don't have guests often, living just beyond the ragged edge of civilization. The bill/budget/checking account thing comes up rather regularly though. Online banking is my new best friend. I no longer have to wait two or three weeks to figure out what the problem is if I made a mistake in my checkbook. I can find out my balance in a second.
I just don't get the concept of those obscenely exorbitant overdraft fees. Sure, they want you to feel the pain but if they already figured out there's not enough money, what are they thinking? Hey, purse's empty, lets take MORE?
And you have got to love how they dock you an extra $7 bucks for having less than $500 dollars in your account, like that will encourage you to put more in.. I think these people are all borderline criminals, I would trust a shady car salesman over these people...
And to make things worse, their $7 dollar fee for being poor often sends my balance onto the dark side, earning them an extra $35 for being shady crooks... They take the money that isn't there, and then fine you for it's absence, beautiful.... (golf clap) Bravo
Switch banks.... now!
I love Oregon Community CU, formerly U-LANE-O.
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