Some of you may remember me saying a while ago that I had a deposit kicked out and was missing the next day. Well I did not come back to say that it happened again a week later. Both those deposits were "found" and restored.
THEN, yesterday there was an "ADJUSTMENT" on my account. Back to the bank I went for the 3rd time in 2.5 weeks. After some digging, they said that I put a check through where the daycare parent used very light ink. The check was clearly legible by both myself and the teller and she keyed in the 50 bucks. The bank took the 50 dollars back. I spoke to both the personal banker and the branch manager. Neither of them could tell me when or if the 50 dollars would be given back to me outside of my insistance that it was. I asked them many different questions trying to establish what would happen if I did not notice the charge on my bank statement? I saw it online. It would not come in a statement for weeks and frankly, 50 dollars is not always enough for me to realize I have missing money. I am watching them closely because things have changed.
The conversation was long and convoluted and the longer I talked with them, the more I realized they were hiding something.
I decided to give it another week or so to see if they put the money back and what changes if anything. But I'm going to start scanning and taking pictures of my deposits at home and at the bank! I told those woman that they need to get their act together because my little in home scanner catches everything from light pink marker to fold lines in a piece of paper. Their commercial scanners should have read that check. If they need replaced, then REPLACE them.
So I make another deposit with the tellar and she told me what's really happening. Then she said she might be fired if I tell. She told me that the tellers are having to feed thousands of items through the scanner everyday, one item at a time. The scanners won't pick up a batch of checks and slips and feed them through without them sticking togther and items missing. So add to the fact that the scanners are worthless, the tellers are doing work that they don't have time for and should not be doing in the teller line!
I've been with this bank this time since 2005 when I came back from California. But we were with them all of the 90's and never had these issues.
They told me to give them until Monday or Tuesday to get the right people to approve giving back that 50 dollars. The check itself, the actual item is in the massive banking clearing system. It will hit the daycare parents bank soon enough and that money will make it's way back to the bank. But they could not tell me difinitively if the system is in place that would realize who the 50 bucks belongs to. WHAT THE HECK????
Changing banks would be very difficult. I take in and pay out around 4000-5000 every month and have at least 30+ companies that I make automatic payments to. My bills are paid on a daily basis and due through the entire month. Any new bank would be putting holds for up to 10 days on my deposits because they are all written as personal checks to me. BUT in addition, they put at least a 3-5 day hold on CASH!!!!!! This only happens at first. I can't change banks without being late paying my bills or paying for money orders. I can't afford to do that. I mean I really have been thinking for months about how to change. I've had niggling feelings about this bank for awhile. The tellers are awesome. But the internal workings of this bank have been giving me a queasy feeling for awhile. I may have no choice though but to bring in some outside help to have the bank and their procedures audited.
Am I over reacting?
No, the check is not being kicked by the fed. It's all happening locally in their own system before it leaves the bank. My first 2 deposits were kicked for some unknown reason and found the next day. This one was not the fault of the check itself. The name of the people and the bank and the account numbers were fine. It was the ink the lady wrote with that was not picked up by the scanners. Once again, my desktop scanner gets water marks, fold lines, and every tiny mark these little kids do with every color of marker we have.
I haven't heard of those banks. This is United Missouri Bank.
They are not national at all. They are in Missouri and Kansas that I know of. They are big in this area.
I was surprised it was not handled like a returned check. But it definitely was not. That's the reason that I was so frustrated. They could not tell me the path the check and the funds would take. My take on the situation is that if the check is already in the process of going through the clearing system and it's not being returned, then they have no business withdrawling the funds from my account. They could not say when or if or how the funds would be put back. They basically patted me on the head and said I was a good customer to watch my account so closely and that it's good that I do. Why are they patronizing me? Why is the teller afraid to tell that they are scanning every check individually? I was a teller 25 years ago and we proofed our drawer. But we didn't scan documents. There was a department for proofing the days work. Apparently, things have changed.
YAY! I know the answer to this question:
If a Missouri bank is not obeying the law, you should contact the Missouri Division of Finance. They investigate every bank in MO to ensure that they are abiding by the law. They also deal investigate complaints.
Here's the site. There's a link right there where you can file a complaint.
I'm sure it would be a hassle to switch, but won't it be more of a hassle to keep having these issues for years and years -- or to deal with an investigation of the bank? If I were you I'd bite the bullet and switch.
Yes you are overreacting. The scanners she is speaking of have nothing to do with the clearing process. Financial institutions are required to keep copies of all deposits, that is what that scanner does. The only time that back up is accessed is to prove a discrepancy, it is not used to back off deposits.
Ask the person who is writing the checks where she is getting her checks from. A lot of people use cheap printing companies that do not use magnetic ink on their MICR numbers. They cannot be read by the machines and will get kicked out. This also happens with home printed checks. If they are using these checks you have the right to refuse those checks and ask for a different form of payment.
A visual machine like a scanner would obviously see the MICR numbers but the machine that reads them at the Fed does not because they are not magnetic numbers. Good luck getting someone to audit the Federal reserve.
You will find that financial institutions have attorneys. They are well within their rights to do what they are doing.
Looking at your what happened I was a teller and teller supervisor 20 years ago. Even then we scanned all the deposits, probably with the same type of machine. Still that document scanner is not the problem, your checks are getting kicked by the Fed.
I would change banks, but if you want to complain -the Federal Reserve monitors banks. Go to www.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov
Credit Unions are the way to go...IMO
Most banks will help you make the transfer as well.
Big Banks(which are mainly For Profits), For Profit Banks and any that are FDIC insured I run from.
Their whole purpose is to find some way to MAKE money off of their depositors. That is why they are For Profit....And mistakes normally end to their benefit....Or the Banker teller gets in trouble for any accounting error.....
I can not support a practice or establishment that has evil in it's way of surviving. They steal from other people and hope you do not catch it.
I know it seems tedious but change banks:) You will be relived when you do:)
Are you dealing with a Nation Wide Bank (such as a Chase or Bank of America) (I am assuming not if the branch is doing it's own scanning) You could request to talk to the President of the branch and go from there. All banks are federally regulated by the FCC.
Credit Unions are not federally regulated. Once again you would probably need to speak to a branch president and if that doesn't work then ask to speak to the regional president.
If you are referring to a BANK holding cash for 3-5 days that is against FCC . I have dealt with a LOT of banks and even worked for a few and I have NEVER encountered a bank (or a credit union) that puts a hold on cash. I think that you are misunderstanding their policies. Also if you are dealing with a BANK then the fist $100 of ever deposit (this would be checks as cash is always immediately available) is always immediately available (this may actually be the first $100 of any check rather than total deposit).
As far as your check being returned. If they pulled then money out of your account then it should be being handled like a returned check. Your bank should be able to provide you with the "returned" check and then you can go to your customer and ask them to replace the check.
As far as your branch tellers scanning their own checks...they should be balancing EVERY batch that they run to verify that everything has been caught and scanned. If they are not balancing their batches then I would definitely talk to the president as this is very poor policy as a whole.
Good luck. Definitely sounds like you are working with a small community bank or credit union.
