Banks!!!

[fellini123]

If this wasnt so frustrating it would be funny. It seems impossible that so many mistakes can be made by one bank, on one account. But trust me it is all true.

We are in the process of building a garage.The builder needed 2300 to buy the trusses. It wasnt supposed to come this soon, but they got a deal on the cost so it was worth while to purchase NOW. So DH and I scrounged around got 890 cash, went into the bank in the early AM, and transferred the rest out of two savings accounts we have. A little out of each so neither was affected much.

I asked if the $$ would be available that afternoon as I was writting a check against it. I was assured by the teller that the funds would be there and there would be no problem!!! HA!! So the check cashes and I check status at about 7PM. Sure enough...the transfer from both savings hadnt taken place.

So I call the 1-800 number. Talked to a very nice person, who said she could not see where either transfer was pending. And since I needed some funds, she told me to transfer $$ out of one of the savings accounts to checking, and that it would occur immediatley. My concern was "What if the other transfer goes through later" there will not be enough funds in savings to match 2 transfers. The Customer Service lady assured me that the first transfer was NOT going to happen, and she would leave a note on my account to tell what happened.

So I transferred, and yes you guessed it 24 hours later the orginal transfer also went through!! So now I am overdrawn 237.00 I tried to call the customer service person back, but of course you cant get the same one twice!! I got another and she said she could now see all transfers but it really wasnt a problem the one savings account could just stay negative until later. (It is a special account that only transfers $$ in when you use your Debt card.) She said that you cant transfer $$ into that account. So...

Two days later I get a call from the orginal Customer Service person saying she saw where the orginal transfer went though and she was going to "FIX IT." I should have known then I was in trouble!!! LOL But I wait, and nothing happens for a week. Then all of a sudden my other savings account goes to 0 and 271.00 is deposited into the special account!! Even though supposedly you cannot transfer $$ into that account, they did.

So I go into bank yesterday, talk to the bank manager and explain all of this. All I want to happen is the $$ that was incorectly transferred into my checking I just want back into the correct savings account. And now that the other account is messed up I want that put back as well. Should be easy, I was assured that it was easy and that he would do a special transfer into the special account to bring it out of the red and we could leave the regular savings at 0 until the normal deposit goes in on the first.

So I check the accounts tonight....guess what?? The special account is still in the red and he has transferred $$ out of checking into regular savings! Just exactly what we had decided NOT to do...... At this point I am so frustrated with the whole thing, that if I did not have several automatic deposits going to the bank I would close the whole thing down and start over with another bank. Nothing could be this messed up.

Only good thing is they havent charged me with any fees, or overdrafts, and since THEY caused them to begin with, they better not!! So monday I will go in and explain the whole thing again. And see if they can get the special account out of the red.. Somehow I just dont think it is going to happen.

Keeping $$ in a bag under the mattress is looking better and better!!

Alice in Virginia

I feel your pain.

We started with a local bank in MO back in 1998 when we first moved there. It was bought out by Nations Bank and that was bought out by Bank of America. We've had the BoA account for ummm.....10 years.

Then we moved to IL. Now they want me to close down the MO account and open an account in IL. Nope. Ain't gonna happen. I have all of our paychecks direct deposited there and I pay all of my bills on line through that account. I also have several automatic payments through that account. Now they want me to close it down and start over just because I crossed a state line? I told them flat out that it isn't going to happen, but they keep telling me I need to do it. It doesn't affect my taxes or anything-just makes more work for me. They want me to do it for THEIR bookkeeping.

[EDDIE BUCK]

I agree,sometimes I can't understand how banks can operate like that.
A few years ago,my son saw a tractor for sale in someones yard.He stopped and took a look and found out the price,he knew I was looking
a tractor,and he told me about it and gave me the guy's number.I called the guy and told him I would probably buy it,and asked would a personal check be OK?
He said sure,so I called my bank and asked if I could transfer savings account money into my checking account and handle it over the phone?Its a fifty mile trip I was avoiding if possible.Anyway I went and wrote the guy a check,we loaded the tractor on a trailer and I went home.

Late that afternoon,the guy called and said his bank would not cash the check.I told him to try again the next morning,and also try to get them to deposit that amount until the check runs its course,thinking the transfer may not show up until the next day.

Well about ten o'clock the next day he called,same thing,they still wouldn't cash it or make the deposit until the check clears.They even called my bank to verify the check was good.It was and they still would not accept it.
So,here I go to my bank to find out the problem.They told me if the situation was reversed they wouldn't accept his check either.I said,OK,how about counting out the money and I'll see if they are afraid of cash They said they would,but they didn't have that much cash,but would have tomorrow I said lady,I wouldn't drive back here tomorrow if you were giving me the dang tractor.

She said what we could do, is write him a certified check,his bank would accept that.I said write it,and why didn't they tell me that over the phone,they said I didn't ask,all I asked about was transferring funds from one account to another,and could that be done over the phone.I took the CC to the guy,got my PC back and vowed to never buy another tractor,less I got the money in my pocket.Thats the only way I know,how much I got,and if they will take it.

[wally]

This is why I dont use banks, cash always works..If you want to confuse a cashier at walmart pay with cash

[Gary in ohio]

The bank I use (and work ) if you transfer money its transferred immediately regardless of how you transfer it, via phone, web, mobile or atm.. Ther eis no waiting.

[rancher1913]

don't even get me started on banks--particularly HSBC. if you even think about a loan from them

[greif]

this is why there is the big "move it" movement going on. it is supporting move your accounts from big banks to local owned banks and credit unions

[rean]

Banks around here are putting a 5 day hold on all government checks, because some of them aren't clearing.

[giraffe_baby]

my job requires direct depoist.. so I have to have an account. the only time it gets used is to put cash ( cash check at local grocery!!) in and pay a bill online, I NEVER deposit a check because it takes up to 4 days to clear ( sometimes longer if on a weekend)

[chickenista]

On 9/11 my (big) bank closed early.
That means that the check I put in didn't go through etc.. blahblah..
Now, I went to the same branch every time.
I talked to same teller every time.
I know her kid's name and her dog's name.

I continued to go to that same branch and deal with the same gal for weeks.
You would THINK that she would tel me that when she typed in my account number the screen went nuclear red and flashed that I was overdrawn etc..
but Noooooooooooooo.

When the bank closed early and my check wasn't processed, I didn't know it and started bouncing checks.
On everything.. rent, car insurance, utitlities.. hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of dollars. And the charges were piling up so badly that nothing was actually being paid.. not my rent, not my insurance.. nothing.
So, there I was was.. weeks worth of income just freaking gone! And I still owed on all of those bills.

Would SunTrust fix it.. No. Would SunTrust cut a gal a break? No. Did the nice teller bother to tell me that I was imploding? NO.

Now, I only deal with my small local bank. They are awesome. When my dad was hospitalized in an emergency, I didn't have the money to go.. I called my little bank and explained what was going on.. the teller told me to come in and write a bad check and they would cover it and I could pay it back whenever! How sweet was that?!
I love my little local bank.

[texican]

For immediate transfers, nothing beats a credit card. I use mine religiously.

If you'd used a cc, you could pay it off at the end of the month, without any interest or penalties, and in the ~30 days or so grace period, you could transfer the funds from savings to checking.

I remember my father mortgaging the entire farm, for a small $500 note at the bank, to cover some minor annoyance. Yes, if something else had a happened, we could've lost the farm, over 500$. Now, I can get a 500$ loan instantly, without mortgaging my farm.

Debit cards are bad, in that they're using your money instantly, out of your account.

Of course, cc are only good if you have your pants pockets sewn up (no 'holes' in your pockets, and can't 'keep' any money in them). One of my sisters cannot keep a cc as she'd max it out on triviata and effluvium and would be in debt again with nothing to show for it.

Cash is King... but the King can be subject to a Coup... as in getting lost or stolen. I lose 10 Benjamins, I'm going to be crying for years. I lose a cc with 15K available on it, I won't blink an eye... will make a phone call and it's cool. I pay cash or by check, and get a pig in a poke, I'm stuck. CC, I have resolution options.

Good luck on your project!!!

[TheMartianChick]

I agree completely with Texican about the use of credit cards. I don't leave home without mine!

[dezingg]

I've had some problems with my ex-bank, but nothing as horrific as the other posts. My revenge was to transfer everything to a local credit union.

The bank started out as a local chain. Good sound operating policies, but not real generous with interest rates. Still fairly competitive with the others in the area.

As the years passed they decided to outsource the credit card payments, which annoyed me, I really liked being able to handle all my banking transactions at the same place.

Then, they sold out to an overseas owner. I didn't like that at all, but didn't really feel like changing everything. As usual, they said that there would be no changes. And of course there were changes, buried a new dozen-page book of rules.

Historically, their ATM card would just refuse a transaction if there was no money in the account. But in the new rules, they honored the transaction and hit you with a hefty overdraft penalty.

Of course it was my fault for running things close enough to go into overdraft. One month, they dinged me with a couple of penalty charges, which were larger than the original transactions. (I've always felt that the size of the penalty should be related to the size of the mistake. A sore point with me regarding the banking industry.)

Like I said, after I cleaned everything up, I transferred everything - savings, electronic paycheck deposits, checking, new credit card - to a local full service credit union. And when it was definite that everything was working right, I went back to the bank and closed all my accounts, which at that point were nearly empty anyway.

I suppose that it was only a small victory or act of revenge. But it was fun to close those accounts, knowing that they couldn't touch my money again.

I'm happy because I'm back to all the local services that the bank abandoned years ago.

- Dave

[farmgal]

Texican, (dont take this in a negative way) what cc do you have? I never heard of a cc that dont start interest immediately on a cash advance (at a huge interest rate), hence no grace period for cash advances, purchases yes, but never cash advances.

http://www.youngmoney.com/credit_basics/040216_01/

I have a cc but hate using it as it records everything you do. I dont like government knowing all my business. I dont even like using the savings cards at the grocery stores. It seems like they only do it for the government, so the can record what we spend. Otherwise why dont they just give us the discount...?

[Shepherd]

Fellini, do you mind mentioning which bank it is?

[MN Gardener]

This is why I use the local credit union!

[farmmom]

When I knew that my first marriage was not going to work, I opened a savings account in my name only. I was the only one with a job. He thought my job was to support him, and I did for a while, even working 2 jobs while I was pregnant. Now the account did not have but $200 in it when I finally kicked him out, but somehow he found out about the account and went to the bank and they allowed him to empty my personal account without my signature. I went in to withdraw the money for some oral surgery I had to have (5 teeth removed) and found that the money was gone. I went to the bank manager, who pulled the withdraw slip, which bore a good forgery of my signature. I told him that it wasn't mine, that I did not sign it, and he basically told me that I couldn't prove it and that was that. I went to another bank, opened a checking account in my name when I got my next pay check and left the other bank with an empty account.

[greif]

you should have got the police involed

[fellini123]

Sorry I didnt get back to this sooner. I forgot!!!

Anyway the bank is Wacovia, or as we call it Walk all over ya.

Today I got a letter saying my special savings account was overdrawn and $$ was taken out of savings to cover a portion of that, but not enough and I needed to take action to fix the overdraft, or else!! Not sure what else..AND what do they think I have been trying to do for the last two weeks!!!!!!!

So I called Customer Service again, and I find out that the bank has automatically taken more $$ out of the regular savings account, remember the $$ that wasnt even supposed to be there, and put it in the special savings account to bring it up to 0.

I explained everything and the agent was surprised to see what a cluster it all had become. She admitted that the bank had made an error to begin with and then the whole thing had just snowballed. But that everything was right now, she appologized profusely, and said it should all be taken care of. I reminded her that we are expecting more snow on Tuesday and that I would expect to see more problems with the accounts!!! She laughed, I cried!!!

As I said, I am really beginning to think the pillowcase under the mattress is the way to go.

Alice in virginia

[Common Tator]

I bank with Wells Fargo. With their online banking I can transfer money from one account to another and see it happen immediately. My adult children are still using the accounts I set up for them as kids, and both have needed money transferred when they were nowhere near a bank, and they called me and I was able to transfer money online. I have asked my son to pick up prescriptions for me. He called from the pharmacy and told me what the cost was and I transferred the money one minute to his account, and he swiped his ATM card the next minute and the money was there.