Bank Vent

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-16-2004
Bank Vent
5
Thu, 02-24-2005 - 11:18am

I am so irrated with my bank. Dh got a check from his 401K loan (Fidelity) for $12,000. this is to pay off the credit cards. He went to the bank on Tuesday to deposit it. Well since it is over $5000 we have to wait until 3/1 to have $4700 of it and then the remainder will hit our account on 3/9. How the heck can it take so stinking long for WAMU to see if the check has cleared (don't banks talk to each other)? I would understand if it was a small bank that noone has ever heard of but Fidelity is HUGE! And the worst part is, the teller told DH to call on the 3/1 to see if the check has cleared. If it has then they will release the rest of the money. What Crap, why do we have to call them and tell them to do their job? Also, I started bill pay on line. Well They took my $20 for the phone bill out on the 17th when I asked them to get the payment there by 1st. So basically the bank is making money off my money right now.

The worst part is since this is a loan we took against his 401K, the first payment will be taken out of his check tomorrow and we don't technically have the money yet! AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!

Am I overlooking something, or would you all be irrated too? I hate banks sometimes!

Nicola

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2003
In reply to: njfoley2002
Thu, 02-24-2005 - 11:31am
Most banks do this, unfortunately. The only people they don't do this to are the people who actually have the money in their checking account to cover the amount of the check in case the check is bad. However, i would try (politely) talking to the branch manager (if you haven't already) to see if they can release the hold sooner. Sometimes, it is the teller who puts the hold on the check, other times it is the bank's proof department. But especially when it is an unusual transaction (do 12,000 checks regularly get deposited into your account?), it is flagged for a hold. And actually, the bank CANNOT call the other bank to see if the check has cleared, because they are not a party to the transaction (you are) The only way the would have access to this inffo is if the check was one of their own. The teller may have also given you a worse case scenario (it might take up to that long for the check to clear)..it may very well go through sooner than that. I understand why you are irritated, but it might be the teller, not the bank!! Good luck, Heather
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
In reply to: njfoley2002
Thu, 02-24-2005 - 12:41pm

I'd be angry too!! Unfortunately we deal with this all the time. We have a credit union checking account but it's a "merit" account, which is for people who have a bad check history (we're in ChexSystems from awhile back). Basically every check we deposit has a 10 business days hold. It sucks so freakin' bad.

Sorry to go off on my own little tangent. I just feel your pain! Good luck getting it straightened out!

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-21-2004
In reply to: njfoley2002
Thu, 02-24-2005 - 1:53pm
I am going through the same thing with my bank. It's very irritating!! I was not a happy person when they told me that, but I didn't say anything. It's reallys stupid. I could understand waiting a day or two but a week or more. It's kinda ridiculous since it's OUR MONEY!
Avatar for mrslove2000
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: njfoley2002
Thu, 02-24-2005 - 8:33pm

I can totally understand how you feel. As a banker, I can provide some additional information. As a previous post points out, the bank can't "talk" with the other bank due to stricter privacy regulations. Most "Big" banks, Wells, Washington Mutual, Bank of America, etc will NOT disclose ANY information. Even if it could help speed up a transaction process. So we have to "wait" to make sure there hasn't been a Stop payment put on the check (that would really mess up your account if you *think* the check is good and the 401k company puts a stop on it. I've seen it happen first hand) And then the criminals really make things much harder for honest people. There is so many counterfeit checks floating around, the banks err on the side of caution. I know it's really frustrating waiting so long especially when you have bills to pay. It might help if you contact your 401k company to see if the check has "cleared" their bank account. If it has, they will not normally notify your bank, so ask them to call your branch manager or operations offficer.

If you haven't seen the movie "Catch me if you can" that explains ALOT of why banks have to do the things they do, CRIMANALS, GRRRRR.

Susan

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-21-2004
In reply to: njfoley2002
Thu, 02-24-2005 - 11:05pm
On a side note, Catch me if you can was a great movie! I never thought about it that way. I'm glad they take precautions but it's still frustrating.