You picked a fine time to leave me Lucille...I sold my beloved Lucille in order to avoid setting up shop in a cardboard box just down the street from the enchanting but foul smelling turrets lady downtown. I sold her on eBay (the bike, not the turrets lady) and a very nice firefighter from a neighboring state won the auction.
Although he was very excited about getting such a great deal (approx. $6,000 less than I had invested in it) on such a gorgeous bike, it took him over three weeks to come pick it up and pay for it. Meanwhile, my money stress was growing with each passing day. I would wake up in the morning and run to the window to see if my truck was still in the driveway!
As payment, he gave me two certified bank checks, one for around $3,000 from his credit union, and one for around $12,000 from the bank that issued him a loan. I took them to the ATM, signed them, and deposited them immediately, it was close to 2:00 when he finally left. I figured since they were bank checks they wouldn't take long to clear.
The following Monday I transferred the bulk of the money into the account I pay things out of, and started electronically making payments. A week after I had made the deposit I saw the money get zapped back out of the account I'd transferred it to. Everything was about to hit, and the money was gone! I transferred the money back, sure that if it hadn't cleared when the transfer went through the first time, it would be cleared now. The time frame on an out of state bank check is "up to " 5 days.
The next day, six banking days after the deposit, the check still hadn't cleared. The seventh day, I went to the bank. They said the check was lacking a signature. I'm the only one on my account, I protested. They went and got a copy of the check, it had my name and the guy's name who gave me the check! His name shouldn't be on there! I felt stupid for not noticing that it was, but here's the kicker. The bank pulled the check the day after I deposited it. That was Thursday. Friday was a holiday, so it went out in the mail on Monday, and was mailed to my business address, a UPS box I only check if I'm expecting something.
"When a certified bank check for $12,000.00 dollars doesn't go through, you guys don't make a phone call? You just put it in the mail? Didn't it occur to you that there would be things coming in against those funds? That's a lot of money, it's not like it was a personal check for 50 bucks! Now there are all kinds of returned check fees, insufficient funds fees...is this how you guys make your money?! If someone had notified me on Thursday, maybe I could have done something to cover this, and I certainly could have taken care of it by now!" I said with my teeth clenched and veins popping out of my forehead, and sweat forming a glistening coat all over me!
"Come back on Monday, and you can sit down with a customer service rep. and get all the charges taken care of." the teller said, trying to calm me down and get me to leave peacefully. I did, but I really must write the rant!
20 comments:
Oh, man. Sometimes I think customer service is becoming extinct.
I'm sorry you had to sell your bike! Hate banks. I had a cheque bounce last month on the same day my pay goes into the account . . a nanosecond of difference and the bastards charged me $34 and dishonoured the cheque. They KNOW I get paid on the 15th of every month! And yes, that in large part IS how they make their money. The Brits got really angry about it and now the banks have to repay all the dishonour fees levied over the past few years as an 'unfair' charge!
OMG - that is a nightmare!!!!!!!!!! What a horrible ending to your sad sale of Lucille! Man alive, I'd be insane by now after finding out about a stupid bank deal like that. Banks just think they can mess with people without any consequense whatsoever. One of these days somebody's going to snap. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Hang in there. BTW - Lucille is an absolutely drop dead gorgeous piece of machinery.
You MUST get them to credit back all the overdraft charges since it was THEIR mistake that caused them. You acted in good faith.
The buyer made out the check to you AND him? Wtf?
I'm so sorry about Lucille, who was a great beauty and a wonderful friend.
Yeah, on big checks (of which I have only dealt with once personally but many times doing investments for clients) I always assume two weeks to clear it. And I triple review these checks for completion just to be sure. But even if it's a small check (like $20 one time), if you NEED it to be there I find it's best to take it to the teller directly. And definitely ask for all the overdraft fees to be waived. I've gotten all but one waived (they grouped several transactions together and called it one instead of 5 or 6).
cit, I couldn't agree more.
baino, I'm sorry too, and I do hate banks when they pull this kind of crap.
tsduff, I know!!! It is incredible what they get away with!
heartinsanfrancisco, I did get them to credit back all of their charges, almost 200 dollars worth. They admitted that for a check of that size, a phone call should have been made.
theweyrd1, It was a certified back check so it clears faster, but next time I will insist on electronic funds transfer, and when the money's there, the vehicle can go, period!
oh no..that bike is beautiful...so sad..
one of the perks in living in a small town, bank i have been with for 28 years would have just called me and told me what the deal was and would have been taken care of right away...that's terrible..
by the way..my daughter has strawberry blond hair and her nick name is 'MOJO'
yellowdog granny, Welcome, and thanks, that was my dream bike and I am very sad about parting with her.
By the way, I call my dog the yellow dog a lot, that's kind of funny too.
It's unbelievable that they wouldn't have called you! I had something similar happen when I deposited a check for 11K. I feel fortunate that I chose a small bank so that it could be easily resolved later.
thailandchani, Welcome, and thank you for your commiseration. It IS unbelievable!
They did remove all the charges. :)
I'm too sad about Lucille to enjoy this rant.
:(
Tearfully,
CJ
This is why I keep all my money under my mattress. Of course, I make most of my money while on top of my mattress..
While I work from home, of course. Get your mind out of the gutter!
PS, yes this means I have a new story. Yes, I am a bad blogging friend. Yes, I will bring it up at therapy tomorrow.
You and Heart are like MIA this week...why don't you stop by and see me sometime?
Mojo!
You doing alright? I am worried about you.
It's okay that facebook has swallowed you whole... I get the best of both worlds ha ha ha.
Welcome to the new week.
Sweet bike! I'm so sorry you had to give her up! I think I'd switch banks after that.
cj, I know it is sad, very sad, extremely sad. Thank you.
Johah, Yes, you are the worst of blog-friends but I still love your posts and will continue to allow you to pimp them in my comments section!
slip, all is well. I'm very very busy right now! That's it really. So darn busy...sorry.
terry, I'm busy. I don't have time for facebook, you must be thinking of someone else!
trinity2, thank you for the condolences. I am a little heartbroken, I did cry some but not while the guy was here. Don't tell anyone.
The bank reimbursed me for all my fees, and said they would raise the issue of check size, and how they handle things in the future. I'm gonna stick with them for now.
I just gave my bike to my son. He will pick it up on Labor Day - he is in heaven. I am crying. I wasn't expecting to get all maudlin about it - but man, it was very emotional. I took her out for a spin, and wondered what the hell was I thinking to give her up? I've been contemplating it for the past two years - after my husband died I stopped riding as much. My Bear does ride - but has no bike of his own. My husband and I gave my son a bike for his college graduation 6 years ago, and it was stolen last year in Reno. All the way around, it is a good situation giving him the bike; even his pregnant wife agrees it is good. So, I have no excuse for holding on to the bike. I spent a good part of the 13 years of our marriage riding, completely and happily immersed in the biking community of going on runs, camping trips, poker runs, out of state journeys and all of that. I love my bike, and know every detail of her anatomy, sound, and movement. Giving her up is like... well, I can't really explain it other than it is very painful. I enjoy seeing the joy shining in the eyes of my son, but the glisten of tears in my own is blinding.
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