banks suck
Hi, I don't post... well, ever really, but I just caught the bank screwing me, and I can't think of anything better to do than to tell somebody about it.
So:
The bank tried to screw me, and I know it. This isn't new, everybody knows that the bank is trying to screw them. If the bank wasn't trying to screw everybody every chance that they get, they'd go out of business. So, I basically caught them at it. I know that it sounds good, but it turns out it's totally unsatisfying catching the bank screwing you. My best guess at what happened is that somebody saw that I was over-drafted, but when it came time to actually charge me the fee, I was no longer over-drafted... so they charged me a fee for every single pending purchase. I go in today to get it taken care of with my girlfriends advice to stay focused and not argue over semantics. I came out of it with the fees reversed, and a realization that banks have really twisted semantics. The whole time I've got people trying to "explain" what happened when they don't know what happened. They blame the computer because nobody is going to argue with the computer, really, but I am pretty sure it's not a computer problem. They blame the system, and cite that it is there to help the consumer, but I know that it's not there to really help the consumer. They "explain" everything until I provide them with someone else to blame, and then they apologize for the error, and refund me the money. By this point, I believe that "explain" is most likely equivalent to "justify." Which is disturbing, in and of itself. The system they described, incidentally, involves the computer using a money ledger entirely independent of anything that is viewable by human eyes. It also involves, through previous "explanations" the bank computer reorganizing the order of purchases constantly in a way that actively maximizes the potential fees that they can charge. The system they most likely have is that the money comes out, and they deal with why it came out if someone complains.
I find myself wondering how many groups are actually using this same system, and the possibilities alone are frightening.
-J
Update: So... they are now putting through another overdraft fee based on... well, who knows what at this point. I noticed another charge while I was there, but everything was out of order at that point, so I'm not really sure whether that came out before or after the overdrafts, or what... According to the bank, my ledger is basically meaningless. I get to go back again tomorrow and try to get them to take this one off too.
So:
The bank tried to screw me, and I know it. This isn't new, everybody knows that the bank is trying to screw them. If the bank wasn't trying to screw everybody every chance that they get, they'd go out of business. So, I basically caught them at it. I know that it sounds good, but it turns out it's totally unsatisfying catching the bank screwing you. My best guess at what happened is that somebody saw that I was over-drafted, but when it came time to actually charge me the fee, I was no longer over-drafted... so they charged me a fee for every single pending purchase. I go in today to get it taken care of with my girlfriends advice to stay focused and not argue over semantics. I came out of it with the fees reversed, and a realization that banks have really twisted semantics. The whole time I've got people trying to "explain" what happened when they don't know what happened. They blame the computer because nobody is going to argue with the computer, really, but I am pretty sure it's not a computer problem. They blame the system, and cite that it is there to help the consumer, but I know that it's not there to really help the consumer. They "explain" everything until I provide them with someone else to blame, and then they apologize for the error, and refund me the money. By this point, I believe that "explain" is most likely equivalent to "justify." Which is disturbing, in and of itself. The system they described, incidentally, involves the computer using a money ledger entirely independent of anything that is viewable by human eyes. It also involves, through previous "explanations" the bank computer reorganizing the order of purchases constantly in a way that actively maximizes the potential fees that they can charge. The system they most likely have is that the money comes out, and they deal with why it came out if someone complains.
I find myself wondering how many groups are actually using this same system, and the possibilities alone are frightening.
-J
Update: So... they are now putting through another overdraft fee based on... well, who knows what at this point. I noticed another charge while I was there, but everything was out of order at that point, so I'm not really sure whether that came out before or after the overdrafts, or what... According to the bank, my ledger is basically meaningless. I get to go back again tomorrow and try to get them to take this one off too.