Thursday, November 04, 2010

Phantom Bank Account

We all know that there's been quite a turnover in backs in the last year or so. K was at a bank we don't usually use, for the Boy's loan, when they talked him into signing up for a new checking account.

The lady had gone on and on about how there were NO FEEs, and that finally convinced K to put $500 into a new account there. Later, K went to check on his account, but the bank had changed names and for awhile they couldn't find his account! He was somewhat troubled by that, but was happy that in the end they found his money.

Well, he didn't check on the account much, because he didn't use it. Last month he checked it again, and found that the bank had taken $75 out of the account! They had taken nearly 20% of the whole deposit!

Naturally upset, he made them check to see what had happened. It seems that they forgot what kind of account it was, decided it was the kind of account where they subtract $25/month for some reason.

He made them credit the account for what they had needlessly subtracted, but came away rather upset with the whole thing. Banks have a reputation of being so rule-based and having to do the right thing, but the truth is that they'll do whatever they can get away with!

He went back to that bank on Monday for something else, and found that the bank had deducted another $25 (now that it was November.) Frustrated, he made them credit the account again, and he withdrew the whole $500.

He said he could see the woman who had sold him on the account cringing in the background.

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