Admiral_Snackbar
Veni, vidi, Lionel Richie
A buddy of mine sent me a link about banks using bad management of information to seize properties or otherwise harass people that are faithfully paying their bills or, in some cases, not even affiliated with the bank in question.
Now I don't want to get off on a rant here but seriously, haven't banks been doing this forever? I thought there was always a report somewhere about a bank screwing up ATM fees or messing with accounts in good standing. At one point my bank was charging me $2.50 at the grocery store when I used my debit card, then an additional $2.00 processing fee if I was arrogant enough to ask for cash back. I am sure there was another charge labeled as "CEO Yacht Fuel Subsidy Fee" on my statement, but I would need to double check.
Having worked through the ID theft and fraud departments of several local banks and credit card companies, I can tell you the level of control they have over their affairs is as fucked up as a football bat most of the time. They do exactly what the computer tells them to do and if they don't want to deal with it, they just forward you to another department.
Case in point: Checking accounts are now not only flagged by banks for suspicious purchase activity, but also suspicious DEPOSIT activity. We had two paychecks come in one week, in addition to the deposit of a homeowners insurance check for our roof repair. When my wife went to make a debit purchase two days later, they had flagged her card in the database as "hold" and she had to physically get on the phone with the bank right at the checkout line to clear things.
Then, a week later while getting gas, my debit card is declined at the pump. Since said card plugs into the joint checking account that just had this ginormous deposit, I figured, great, now I'm dealing with it. I call the bank and they say "noo, your debit card was flagged two weeks ago for suspicious purchase activity, and we mailed you a new debit card. The system just automatically de-activated your current card yesterday." I inform them that a) I never received said new card, which was now 15 days late in the mail and b) I only made two online purchases with the joint card in the past 2 weeks, none of which were declined or had to be run through several times.
They never disclosed what the suspicious purchases were, and they are not required to inform you by phone or mail that your current card is being deactivated. So, if I had been out of town traveling with no credit cards handy, I'd have been screwed if I didn't have cash in hand.
So, I call my local branch, during local branch office hours. Tell them the story, ask them to please order me a new card. No can do, Kemosabe, you have to call the 1-800 number. I say wait, if I was a minute away by car I could walk right in and order a new card within a few minutes. Yes, they said, but we can't do it over the phone, even though we have verified you are actually you; it's a corporate thing.
So I call the 1-800 number, the first technician fucks up my secret password (apparently "Rumplestiltskin" is misheard as "pimply tits on him"), so they say I need to call back since I didn't answer the Oracle's riddle properly. I get another guy on the phone, thankfully not someone in Bangalore named Ramagathanahasapeemapetalon who just happens to go by the moniker "Randy", and he finally helps me out. I say look, I've dealt with mail fraid and ID theft for ten years, can you please just mail the new debit card to my branch. Nope, got to receive it at your residence. FML.
I did get things resolved but as a lesson, realize that banks are not here to help you. In exchange for lending them your money to hold and share with others (to use the lovely fairy tale spun by Schoolhouse Rock). They are only slightly less shady than loan sharks and Cayman Island investment specialists.
Now I don't want to get off on a rant here but seriously, haven't banks been doing this forever? I thought there was always a report somewhere about a bank screwing up ATM fees or messing with accounts in good standing. At one point my bank was charging me $2.50 at the grocery store when I used my debit card, then an additional $2.00 processing fee if I was arrogant enough to ask for cash back. I am sure there was another charge labeled as "CEO Yacht Fuel Subsidy Fee" on my statement, but I would need to double check.
Having worked through the ID theft and fraud departments of several local banks and credit card companies, I can tell you the level of control they have over their affairs is as fucked up as a football bat most of the time. They do exactly what the computer tells them to do and if they don't want to deal with it, they just forward you to another department.
Case in point: Checking accounts are now not only flagged by banks for suspicious purchase activity, but also suspicious DEPOSIT activity. We had two paychecks come in one week, in addition to the deposit of a homeowners insurance check for our roof repair. When my wife went to make a debit purchase two days later, they had flagged her card in the database as "hold" and she had to physically get on the phone with the bank right at the checkout line to clear things.
Then, a week later while getting gas, my debit card is declined at the pump. Since said card plugs into the joint checking account that just had this ginormous deposit, I figured, great, now I'm dealing with it. I call the bank and they say "noo, your debit card was flagged two weeks ago for suspicious purchase activity, and we mailed you a new debit card. The system just automatically de-activated your current card yesterday." I inform them that a) I never received said new card, which was now 15 days late in the mail and b) I only made two online purchases with the joint card in the past 2 weeks, none of which were declined or had to be run through several times.
They never disclosed what the suspicious purchases were, and they are not required to inform you by phone or mail that your current card is being deactivated. So, if I had been out of town traveling with no credit cards handy, I'd have been screwed if I didn't have cash in hand.
So, I call my local branch, during local branch office hours. Tell them the story, ask them to please order me a new card. No can do, Kemosabe, you have to call the 1-800 number. I say wait, if I was a minute away by car I could walk right in and order a new card within a few minutes. Yes, they said, but we can't do it over the phone, even though we have verified you are actually you; it's a corporate thing.
So I call the 1-800 number, the first technician fucks up my secret password (apparently "Rumplestiltskin" is misheard as "pimply tits on him"), so they say I need to call back since I didn't answer the Oracle's riddle properly. I get another guy on the phone, thankfully not someone in Bangalore named Ramagathanahasapeemapetalon who just happens to go by the moniker "Randy", and he finally helps me out. I say look, I've dealt with mail fraid and ID theft for ten years, can you please just mail the new debit card to my branch. Nope, got to receive it at your residence. FML.
I did get things resolved but as a lesson, realize that banks are not here to help you. In exchange for lending them your money to hold and share with others (to use the lovely fairy tale spun by Schoolhouse Rock). They are only slightly less shady than loan sharks and Cayman Island investment specialists.
