Banks and checks

[tshadowchaser]

Just a rant

A few years back when I was in CA. my bank sent me a letter saying they had missplaced a couple hundred dollars of my money and I could not use that amount until they figure out where it went. BTW they never found it and I withdrew the remainder of my account and whet to another bank. A year went by and i gave them a personal visit and asked if they ever found the money. Their answer was I no longer had an account their so it was no longer their problem.
Yesterday I when to check my balance at my local bank and found a 270 dollar difference from the last time I checked the day before. I went to the back today and asked for a printout of my account which they gladly gave me. The balance was what I had believed was in the account not the 270 difference. They where unable to tell me why I was given a bad read out at the ATM but at least I have their print out so if any problems arise later I have proof of whats in it.
Why do i check so often now 1. because I knew I had checks out and 2 I sometimes use the card and forget to write things down and 3 because banks screw up once in a while

 

[jks9199]

Yep... Banks certainly seem to specialize in frustrating customers. One reason I belong to a credit union... though, at times, they're just as bad.

A few years ago, I had two checks that had been outstanding for over a year apiece. The group I'd written them to had a complicated process for dealing with checks, and they apparently got lost in the shuffling for a while. After multiple inquiries, the group told me don't worry about it... and, for a while, I just figured I had a cushion in my bank account. Well, times and money got tight, and those checks were OLD. So I ask at the bank -- "Would they be honored if presented for payment?" Nope, they tell me. I use the money.

Yeah, you can guess what happened next. The checks showed up, and got cashed. My bank account goes to hell, overdrawn fees and bouncing checks. I find out why -- and go to the bank. You told me they wouldn't be honored... what happened? "Oh, they were submitted by another bank, so we honored them." They did "out of courtesy" refund the overdraft fees caused by those particular checks and credit the money. Of course, that didn't touch the other bounced checks caused by that shortfall, or the various fees charged in connection to them. And as soon as I got that cleared up -- I closed out my accounts at that bank.

 

[Carol]

My credit union has been awesome.

Banks, not so much. I had a CapitalOne credit card when I was younger. They "lost" $4000 of mine. I sent them $4000 to pay off the card. They only credited $400. I called and raised hell, they told me they saw the error but it took awhile to fix it. I promptly closed that account and moved my Visa card over to my credit union.

 

[Buka]

The banking industry should not be trusted. Ever, under any circumstances. You should check everything about your accounts, mortgages, loans etc. You should check them as often as you can. Yes, they make a LOT of mistakes. But, dare I say, they are not always "by mistake".

It is not a matter of "if" they will screw you, it's a matter of "when, how often and for how much". Some reading this will say it's never happened to them. Don't worry, it will. (if it hasn't already and you didn't notice.)

What do I base this opinion on? I am retired Federal law enforcement attached to the banking industry my entire career.

 

[wingchun100]

One time I had someone buy a CD from me on eBay. They got it for $10. Shipping came out of that, so I was down to about $8. Then I get a letter in the mail from my bank that they hit me FOR $5!!!!!! Why? It was a foreign money order. So out of $10, I got $3. Maybe that is more than what you can normally get for a used CD, but it was still annoying.

Oh, and let's not forget when I was zapped for $25 for a reason I could not understand. I called my bank and they said, "Well this is the one year anniversary of when you opened the account. That was your annual fee." I said, "My annual fee...for the FREE checking account I opened with you jerks???"

They used to be called Charter One. Now they are Citizens Bank. Stay away!

 

[Transk53]

I have recently changed my bank account which was so much easier than I thought in the current times of austerity. Twelve years ago I had a simple cash card account. I could only make very limited card payments, hence the name it was normally cash for goods. Now due to these restrictions, I decided to upgrade to a gold account with a proper debit card. The mistake I made in my eagerness to get a debit card account, was that it was a monthly fee paying account. Once I realized my mistake, I could not get out of it due to contract stuff. Probably paying for the first debit card. Second mistake was being enticed with a fee free £250 overdraft. I would have been paying a lot more if normal charges applied. Anyway, as the RBS are pretty much a bunch of criminals, I changed to a different one after working out that the RBS have relieved me of some £1800 quid, just for an account with a bit of Mr Sheen. You live and learn I guess, maybe too late sometimes.