Bank SNAFU causes $1500 overdraft

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by jonesing, May 30, 2001.

  1. jonesing

    jonesing Well-Known Member

    My gf had a bank account that she closed back in October 2000. This was in preparation of firing this particular bank because she has had too much trouble for the (dis)service they provide. For example, a teller couldn't tell her when a check cleared through her merchant account. She had a total of 4 accounts with this bank--both business and personal. All of these accounts were opened in her home state of Delaware (opened at different times) but this particular account was registered to her then Philadelphia address.

    So she closed the account in October and got a statement in November showing a $0 balance on the account. Then she got another statement in December showing a $5 balance. So she called a branch and asked about it and they said not to worry, the account was closed. Well she never got another statement and figured the mix-up was taken care of (she is more trusting than I when it comes to these things). Last week she got a letter from the bank saying if she didn't pay the $1500 she owes them they would sue her and confiscate her remaining accounts! So she called the branch where she opened the account and talked to a manager who said she would investigate. It turns out that a couple of things went horribly wrong.

    First, when she clsoed the account, she hadn't had any activity on the account in a week except for one outstanding check. Well she left just enough money in the account to pay the check and the bank said the account would then automatically close. Well it turns out she had some kind of auto payment billed to her checkcard (she updated the payee but not in time) and evidently the auto payment and the check hit her account at the same time--the bank paid both and overdrew her account. Now this bank would normally let you bring in the money for an overdraft by noon and not charge you but, of course, she had begun moving so they could not contact her. That's when they started charging her $5 per day that her account was negative.

    Then, for some reason, the bank changed her account address to an OLD address from college after generating that odd November statement. So her mail was now going to a long old address that she wasn't at! Evidently someone in the bank noticed her other 2 accounts (she closed another) and used that address to send the nasty letter.

    It seems the PA branch never told the Delaware branch that she closed her account and so the Delaware people thought she was trying to defraud them which is why the bank manager told her the bank reported her to "The Big 3"--I assume CRAs!!!! So now, of course, she is pissed at the bank as well as herself for not checking on them... She told them she will pay the initial ~$20 overdraft from the autopayment plus the $15 fee but no way in hell is she paying the $5 from October 2000!! The manager said that was fine and to bring the money to any branch and in the mean time, she would have th bank remove all information from the CRAs.

    I would have preferred to see her get a letter from the bank but she doesn't think she needs it yet. Any tips?
     
  2. Marie

    Marie Well-Known Member

    While she's in the bank get a letter on their letterhead stating that the account was closed in good standing and that any derog info will be removed from all big 3 (and remember Chex).

    Trust but verify.

    The letter will expedite her clearing her reports. If the one branch needs to fax it to her at another branch, it'd be worth her waiting for the letter.

    I don't know about her bank, but w/Bank of America they have no ability to put notes on a checking or savings account. Meaning: if you have a problem with your account there's NO internal record on your account. When I had an issue w/their error if I had not gotten names and followed up with letters I'm sure I would have paid for their mistake.

    Big businesses are notorious for forgetting to followup and technically she did overdraft the account. Their internal system will likely automatically update the amount of the overdraft, change it from unpaid to paid... and it'll stay on her reports. Besides, even if the bank tries to remove the tradeline the CRAs sometimes "forget" to make corrections. See how many things that can go wrong! Even with the best of intentions things can stay messd up.

    Get the letter while she's at the branch. :)
     
  3. GEORGE

    GEORGE Well-Known Member

    GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING.

    I stayed at a closing gas station being promised a $500 bonus to stay...NEVER GOT IT IN WRITING...come my last day...I got my final paycheck with-out the $500 bonus.

    WHAT HAPPENED TO MY $500 BONUS..."WHAT$500 BONUS"...Bad thing about parting this way being STIFFED...HE WAS MY BEST MAN AT MY WEDDING! I SUGGESTED HE SEE A DOCTOR ABOUT ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE.
     
  4. jonesing

    jonesing Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the advice. I forgot all about ChexSystems! A little more about not only this situation but the mindset of who we're dealing with here. Her family has long and deep ties in this area...so a lot of times (IMHO) things are done on a wink & a nod and the usual checks & balances don't come into play. Her dad, for example, is one of the original accountholders at this one bank in town. Now mind you, this is now a rather large multi-branch bank, but he could walk into his branch and ask the senior loan officer for $3,000 and offer to pay it back "sometime over the next 3 years" and they would do it!!! Personally I get the feeling that they opertate like it's Mayberry and I expect to see Aunt Bea pop by any day now! LOL

    Anyway, I'm fairly sure she didn't get anything in writing from her branch--she's dealing with her home branch in Delaware now--but I'll ask her to get something.
     
  5. jsever

    jsever Well-Known Member

    This is why I don't like these autopays. I like to say, "yes, I'll pay you now, here's the card #, etc."

    It's easy to forget when you don't have anything to remember! Does that make any sense? Ha!!
     
  6. jshimmer

    jshimmer Well-Known Member

    You title the message "Bank SNAFU causes $1500 overdraft", then you tell us that SHE forgot about an autopayment billed to her checkcard.

    Doesn't sound like the BANK caused the SNAFU at all.
     
  7. amaineman

    amaineman Well-Known Member

    I always pay a stop payment fee to the bank to end auto pays, it is good for six-months, obviously in closing an account you would think the auto pay stops, sometimes the timing is bad and the auto pay slips through.
     

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