Bank Madness

Hi All,

I just came from the bank where I cashed a check for petty cash and change for the week. I should mention I own a business.

I'm involved in a contract with two other parties. All the funds are run through a project account and divided up from that account. The Principal Contractors Executive Officers are the signers. I produce all of the money deposited into the account and they reimburse me my share from it each week so I can make payroll and cover expenses. The money does not belong to them but we had to do this through one account and all the parties could not possibly be signers or we would need huge checks just to fit the signatures. We settled on two Board Members.

Today they charged me ten dollars to cash a check written on money I deposited and that belonged to me. The size of the account at its lowest is over one million. When I disputed it they got really nasty with me and told me this is how it is.

This is one of the Banks that got Bailout Money. Even the minimum wage Teller was a jerk about it. When I suggested they would likely loose the account over this ten dollars, they told me they did not care. Apparently a million means nothing to these creeps. They made it clear they don't give a damn if we pull the account. They even looked me in the eye while they lied and said all the banks charge for this. I have accounts in three banks and have done this for over 25 years and no bank has ever charged me a dime. Lying pricks.

They would not do this if they did not know they have the Government in their hip pocket.

I'm going to arrange to have all funds moved to a Credit Union. They just lost around a 1.3 million dollar account over a ten dollar scam. I have no doubt the Credit Union will start doing the same when they see one bank get away with it. I can't function without a bank and they know it. They have me by the short hairs.

Do I sound pissed off?

Go ahead and tell your bank horror stories here and rant along with me. Feels good to put it where one of their officers might read it and realize what creeps they truly are. How are the banks sticking it to you?

reply to post by Blaine91555

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I can top your story! On Tuesday I went to one of my banks to check balance and make a withdrawal.


Front door, handwritten sign on typewriter paper.

CLOSED

Until further notice.

A true WTF moment. Sorry for security reasons I can't give you my location or bank name. But this is true nonetheless.

Yeah, had the same happen to me at a Wells Fargo Savings and Loan in about 88. Weird feeling. I feel your pain.

I'm sorry to say there's more coming people. Banking as we know it is changing....fast. And the government stepping in isn't going to solve anything...just more paperwork coming due to the banks and the government trying to cover their collective arses. Excuse the lingo.

I_R

Hi Blaine--

Of course you're pissed off and you ought to be. You did the right thing. You should make sure everyone within 200 miles of that branch knows what happened to you in detail.

Most of these banks are centered in major cities where the money is flowing, and robbing the local communities of cash to loan out locally.

Every one NOT living in NYC (or London &tc.) should pull their acounts out of the majors e.g. CitiBank, Chase, BofA etc. and put their money in their own local bank residing in their own local town (ditto for co-ops or credit unions &tc.) to KEEP THE LOCAL MONEY IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY where it belongs and where it is appreciated and used for the people who actually live there--to create more wealth for your OWN neighbourhoods &tc.

I myself was sick & tired of making that stinky New York Crowd richer off my dime every week, so I pulled my account and put it in my own community and let me tell you, I feel ALOT better for it !

Yeah whether it's 1.3 million or 1.3 dollars, the banks who got bailed out know they can do whatever they want because they are "too big to fail". Uncle Sammy will keep them in the game no matter how many people they screw.

Now they are "too rich to give a #" Funny how that works.

reply to post by Sigismundus

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I agree. Anchorage may be about to top 300,000 people but it still has a small town attitude. Any business here has to care about PR to survive. In this case they have pissed of an organization with nearly 600 members. If they don't care though? All over an obscene ten dollar fee charged to an account that maintains a 7 figure balance. I never thought I'd see this one.

reply to post by skepticantiseptic

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It would seem that is true. I'm used to getting red carpet treatment. Not because I have lots of money I don't, but because I control accounts with large average balances. Used to be they gave me things, now they take away. New world. New time. They even charged me for the bag I used to make the deposits. I've never used a Credit Union but I'm about to get an education. They seem like the logical option.

The account was just moved from another bank that lost a $10,000 deposit. They lied for three months until we started providing them with checks deposited to it they had endorsed. Turned out they deposited it to a local Attorney's account and he kept it and did not tell them. No apology. They would not lift a finger to fix it and then when we proved it they found the error in under 15 minutes and of course, surprise surprise, you were right all along.

reply to post by Blaine91555

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I am really distressed to hear of your experience, but it seems par for the course this week.

On advice from my Number 1 Son, I went in today and took everything out of 2 safety deposit boxes I have. The way I was treated by the staff you would think I was a fire-breathing Al-Qaida terrorist.

I wasn't the only person being harassed by bank staff as they all seemed to have received a memo today to be rude as hell to everyone. Well, what can I say, I lived to tell... But in the morning all of my money that is in that bank is coming out and getting converted to gold coin and silver.

I have these terrible impressions of the States and Canada marching into the abyss and turning into another Argentina -- saints preserve us!

reply to post by Pellevoisin

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Yeah, I'm considering that myself. I have some gold but I should have more. Unfortunately a business dictates I must keep an account and good credit.

I just spoke with a friend who recommended a Credit Union to consider. They have nothing but praise.

It seems to be societal. The rudeness I mean. I miss the time when people cared about their customers.

reply to post by Pellevoisin

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You made a wise choice. The banks can raid your deposit boxes if the SHTF.

I have moved all funds into credit unions years ago. The banks started bleeding people about 10 years ago, only now has it become so bad that people are feeling the bite. As people pull out, they will only get more aggressive. They need your money to survive, remove it and watch them snarl and snap at your hands.

Credit Unions are totally different critters than Banks. There are some shady ones but hell when most all of the banks are downright evil a shady CU with NCUSIF ( the CU equivalent of FDIC) is better than taking it in multiple orifaces by the banks.

I'm impressed with one of the local CU's because of how different it's posting times and policies are from you usual bank.

Here's the link to the National Credit Union Administation.

NCUA

And here is a link on that same site to get that Credit Union's Financial SUmmary.

Searcheable financial summary.

There are lot's of things to like about Credit Unions, and hopefully I'll be back later to talk about them. One of the main ones is that if you are a part of a group that is large enough or financial capable enough, it's not that hard to start one yourself I've heard.

[edit on 23-10-2009 by jefwane]

reply to post by jefwane

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Thank you for the links and the info I'm devoting my Monday next week to researching.

Another thing I've noted over the last decade is the move to short term employee's in banks. It used to be a person could know all the tellers who were there as a career. Now the faces change almost monthly as one student replaces another. I assume they do it to avoid full time pay and any benefits for their help.

It was not that many years ago I would walk into the bank and enjoy a moment of conversation with a person who had waited on me for many years. No bothering with ID's or delays, all services free and an attitude like they actually appreciated the business.

Now it's somebody I've never seen. No smile, just terse behavior as they run me through the serpentine maze they use to keep us from strangling each other