Yesterday, I attempted to withdraw $300 from a Bank of America branch at 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC.
The machine spun and spun as though it was about to kick out cash, but none was dispensed. I went inside to speak to the very unhelpful branch manager, Andrea Bullock, who seemed much more interested in speaking to the Secret Service agents waiting in line behind me, then she was to me.
I guess spewing information to the Secret Service about Bank of America customers is much more important than dealing with a customer who has a problem with a cash machine.
The basic B of A answer to my problem is for me to waste more time and contact my bank, explain the problem all over again and they will process a claim with B of A. When I pointed out that my bank had nothing to do with the B of A malfunction, and that I could claim all day to my bank that ATMs didn't dispense money to me, the B of A answer was "Well, we check our computers which record whether the cash was actually dispensed."
My reply was, "Well why don't you just do that? I'm the customer with the problem."
Typical bureaucratic silence at this point.
I went on, "If I have a problem with something I bought at Macy's. I bring it back to Macy's. They credit my account. I don't call my bank to get a credit from Macy's"
More silence.
So I go into bureaucratic hell and contact my bank, which up to now has pretty much done everything by computer with me, but they now want me to print out, hand write a form and mail it to them.
Which all comes down to a delay before the money gets into my account, i.e. more float for B of A. The interest on $300 isn't much, but if they are doing this on a daily basis to accounts across the country, they have a nice float going for a week or so. And if B of A has been running this scam since the invention of the ATM, there probably is a lot of money involved for a sharp lawyer to rake 30% off. Go for it.
I wonder how they would have reacted had you informed them that the machine dispensed an extra $300...
ReplyDeletehere's another way they game us...i deposited a bonus check at Wells Fargo on Saturday 9/24. I was told it would be processed as Monday business, which was understandable, and further that due to the size there would be a hold on the funds until they were collected...which might be until Oct 5th. i confirmed with the employer that the check was presented and paid on Tuesday 9/27. yet despite all of my complaining they refused to lift the deposit hold. Said they could not confirm receipt until then. Total BS. For 8 days the funds were not available to either me or my employer.
ReplyDeleteComment #2 is EXACTLY what wells fargo has been doing to me! i've even tried to deposit unemployment checks from the US government (they're bankrupt, i know) and they wouldn't even clear them for me. i ask why not, they're m*****f****** government checks!!!!???? they say it's for security reasons, because they care so much, to make sure the checks are legit. so i ask to cash the check instead of depositing it. they say, sure. they give me the cash. i fill out a deposit form and tell them i want to deposit that cash. they say we can't do that here, you'll have to go to the other branch across town. i told them that wells was a bunch of rotten, diabolical thieves.
ReplyDeletei guarantee that wells fargo and any other bank that tells you you can't have access to your own money until tomorrow, or when the check clears, or the next business, or whatever bull$#!+ they tell you, is putting that money instantaneously ON THEIR BOOKS, while denying you access to it. i can't prove that, but i would bet serious money on it. i just don't know where to look to find out. does anyone know? THIS WOULD BE THE CLASS ACTION SUIT TO FILE! they do this to millions of people every day, it adds up to a lot of money.
as soon as i can find a good bank in the LA area, i'm pulling my money from wells and going there.
B of A has programmed their machines to NOT give you your money. DEMAND IT! empty your account, and put it under your mattress or something. they're pretty much demonic.
once my dad, who was also my employer through an LLC, wrote me a check for work i'd done (in july of 2011). i took it to the bank, wells fargo, and they told me they couldn't put it in my account (give me access to it) until it cleared. i can't remember if it was the next day or the next business day or what, but whatever it was, it was too long for me. i went and asked my dad if the money had been withdrawn from his account. he said yes, and printed me out a part of his statement showing so (from a different bank). i took this back to the wells fargo and told them that they've withdrawn it from person/LLC who wrote the check, so why can't they put it in my account. they said it didn't matter, that i would have to wait. i asked them who then at that moment possessed that money? where was it? who had it? i didn't need an answer. THEY had it! THIS IS NOTHING SHORT OF THIEVERY, and probably a lot more. THIS IS THE CLASS ACTION SUIT THAT MUST BE FILED! needless to say, this burns me up! it's happened to me too many times to describe. we live in a bankster-fascist-police state of goons and thugs.
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