Yesterday I got a letter in the mail from one of my financial institutions stating that an overdraft charge had been place on my account. I check online to see, and find out that there have been 3 charges placed there. Looking at my account only last week to see that it was in the clear and placing a transfer of funds to this account to cover a large check that I knew would be coming, I was utterly surprised.
Looking at my account I noticed some things:
1) On my deposits, there were (+) signs in front of the amount
2) On my withdrawls, there were (-) signs in front of the amount
3) On my running balance there were neither of these
4) There was no red ink anywhere to indicate a lack of sufficient funds
5) There were () marks on some of the running balance numbers
6) There weren't any (+),(-) or red ink on my running balance numbers. Nothing that would indicate a lack of sufficient funds.
So I called my financial institution with my concern.
Account Teller #1-Hi Miss Hair of Gold, how can I help you?
Me: Explained my concern and why I shouldn't be charged.
Account Teller #1:Said that the 3 overdraft charges couldn't be reversed, were not the fault of the institution and were indicated with parenthesis signs.
Me: Why isn't it marked like the other columns with (+) and (-) to indicate a direction or even use red ink when "in the red" meaning there is a lack of sufficient funds? I could have transfered money had an indication been clear.
I had transferred some money from another financial institution, but they don't work on Saturdays and you do hence overdraft charges.
Account Teller #1: We cant reverse charges, not in my control, parenthesis=lack of funds
Me:I want to speak to a manager
On hold for 4 minutes
Manager #1(A): Sorry about the wait, said the same things that Account Teller #1 said, told me to wait while he checked stuff out... DISCONNECTED!!!!!!
Me: Dialed that stupid number again and pushed a bunch of buttons to get to an operator.
Account Teller #2= Hi my name is (C). How can I help you?
Me: Explain my concern again, the fact that I was hung up by an account manager maybe intentionally or not(I don't know), just informed that (x) means there are insufficient funds.
Account Teller #2: So sorry about the wait, so sorry about the disconnection, blah, blah, blah, can't reverse the overdraft charges
Me: What's your name? Nothing personal, not about your work, I know you give everyone that line, I want to speak to a manager.
Account Teller #2: Gives name, says "Please hold while I transfer your call"
ON HOLD FOR 24 MINUTES!!!!!!!!!!!!! From 11:13 to 11:37 pm Good thing I have to do lit review and read. I also check my account for other () markings and couldn't find any for the last 2 years. Did see a lot of (+) and (-) signs for the deposit and withdraw columns. Man, that was easy to follow.
When the manager picks up there are at LEAST 5 people in the background laughing loudly and I know that it wasn't about small business accounts or lost debit cards.
Manager #2: Sorry about the wait, has reviewed my account, cannot reverse overdraft charges, blah, blah, blah.
Me: Assisted Manager #2 in review of elementary math and the usage of the term "in the red." I reinforced my argument that I have attended school and that some sort of indicator other than a parenthesis sign should be used to indicate a lack of sufficient funds like a color, maybe red, or even a (-) sign like they use on the debit column.
Manager: Let me review your account, please wait, well.....blah,blah,.......
DISCONNECTED!!!!!
I am so freaking pissed at this point, check my phone...Yup 5 bars, not me hanging up.
So what do I do?
I dial that stupid number again and push all those stupid buttons to speak to someone and guess who it is?
ACCOUNT TELLER #2 IS BACK IN THE GAME.
Account Teller #2: Oh Hi Miss Hair of Gold, how can I help? (Like she doesn't know already?)
Me: State the fact that I was hung up twice now by account managers, on hold for 24 minutes, that she knows my problem and I want all 3 charges to be taken off my account. I don't care who I have to talk to. Nothing personal, I know she gives everyone that line, but this is not professional and I don't mind holding to speak to another manager, but I want to speak to the account manager's supervisor. (But I must say that I wasn't overly emotional because it wasn't personal, I just meant business)
Account Teller #2: So sorry about the disconnection(s), let me review your account. Oh, looks like I can withdraw those overdraft charges. Hold one second while I process this.........Well, I sent the request through, but our system is doing backup right now and it won't go through right now.
Me: Oh, that's fine, I can wait.
Account Teller #2: Well, it looks like it will be a couple of hours, but I assure you that it will be taken care of.
Me: So in the morning when I check the account, the overdraft charges will be gone?
Account Teller #2: They should be. Anything else I can help you with?
Me: Yes, I want red ink and (-) signs to be used for my running balance column online to indicate if there are insufficient funds.
Account Teller #2: Um...I don't think I can do that. Can I suggest that next time when you see that you have insufficient funds that you call us and we can transfer the funds right away?
Me: But how will I know if there is no red ink or (-) signs?
Account Teller #2: Well maybe you could look at your account more closely.
JAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA
(That's Spanish for HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA)
I must say that I feel better now. I have the whole conversation written down with names so tomorrow when I check my account I will have no problems speaking to someone if needed.
And to think I almost just let this slide, but for 100$ you gotta fight. Granted, that right now I'm in an emotional state, I just wasn't going to take it. I owe this story of determination to my boss; who today showed me not to take things just because they are given to you. So my peeps, fight for your right.
The Perfect Gift...No, Really...
10 years ago
2 comments:
Thatagirl! Don't ever get pushed around by employees of large institutions; remember it is their job to serve you. Keep on reminding them of that! It is amazing what you can get when you ask, and what you can do when you try.
One time I was charged $500 in overdraft fees. Before my mission, my financial institution didn't allow overdraft. So if I didn't have the money for it, the purchase simply didn't go through. Easy. I knew that I was getting close to the bottom of my account, but I thought that if I didn't have the money, the transaction wouldn't go through, just like before my mission. But since I use my debit card for everything and since just one overdraft fee put me $20 in the hole, then every transaction after that (like a $2 shower curtain) made me go further and further. Till I was $500 in the hole.
When I called the financial institution, I explained that they made this change while I was out of the country, and I didn't know about it. So they cut my charges down to $250. I told them that they should call or give some sort of indication that something like this is happening to someone's account, instead of just taking advantage of the situation. They said if they did that, they'd be making these phone calls all the time.
A month or so later, when I was having trouble getting a gas pump to work and had to run my card three times, I received an automated phone call that said there was suspicious activity on my card. So my question is, why can't they do automated phone calls that say, "You're accruing a LOT of overdraft fees right now."
Because they make money off of me. That's why.
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