# Bank won't let me use available funds **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 8, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667 "2018-10-08T19:24:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/41 "2018-10-09T18:46:20Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Second card also declined, strip demagnetized/chip deeply scratched, the previously mentioned merchant power outage or other equipment failure. OPs livelihood depends on certain payments being made and having a cash backup is literally free insurance. If I read the OP’s follow-up post correctly (see upthread), he was talking about buying $13,000 worth of cargo to resell elsewhere. If so, then that’s a dangerous amount of cash to be carrying around. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/42 "2018-10-09T19:39:56Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > If I read the OP’s follow-up post correctly (see upthread), he was talking about buying $13,000 worth of cargo to resell elsewhere. If so, then that’s a dangerous amount of cash to be carrying around. Perhaps but, by OP’s account, this lack of insurance cost over $4000. I’m not saying always have $15000 in currency in your pocket. Keep it secured at home for that day your card(s) is/are declined. Also, would most credit cards even allow for such a high limit? ---
**Author:** ![pdhenry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pdhenry/32/5561_2.png) [@pdhenry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdhenry)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/43 "2018-10-09T20:23:29Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Also, would most credit cards even allow for such a high limit? Of the cards I carry, about half have a $20k limit. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/44 "2018-10-09T20:44:58Z")
> [@pdhenry](#): > > Of the cards I carry, about half have a $20k limit. Sure but would the _average cardholder_ have such a high limit? You built that kind of credit. We’re discussing someone who apparently doesn’t already have a general purpose credit card of any kind which makes me question creditworthiness. Also, I assume OP sometimes needs this sort of advance more than once a month. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/45 "2018-10-09T20:47:34Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > How does make money buying dog food then giving it away? WAG: Might have been damaged packaging. Product contents are fine but packaging is unsuitable for retail sale. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/46 "2018-10-10T12:00:34Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > How does make money buying dog food then giving it away? Heh. He gave me a tiny fraction of the load as a “thank you” for something I’d helped him out with. > [@jnglmassiv](#): > > WAG: Might have been damaged packaging. Product contents are fine but packaging is unsuitable for retail sale. It was nearing sell-by date. He talked to some people and sold the load for profit to an animal rescue organization that then gave it away. Everyone won. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/47 "2018-10-10T12:06:18Z")
Heh. WAG. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/48 "2018-10-10T14:34:28Z")
What bank does not have a 24/7 fraud hotline that could have dealt with this? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/49 "2018-10-10T15:32:07Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > What bank does not have a 24/7 fraud hotline that could have dealt with this? Virtually all cards have an 800 number printed on the card. OP: did you call this number? Maybe he did and picked the wrong option. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/50 "2018-10-10T15:39:29Z")
My brother was a long haul trucker for a few years. One time he was delivering toilet paper to a store but the plastic wrapping on one of the pallets had gotten sliced open somehow in the loading. So the store rejected that pallet, and his control center told him to just dump the pallet somewhere – it wasn’t worth the effort to try to sell it or return it to anywhere. As it happened, his route to his next pickup passed just twenty miles from our parent’s house. Do you have any idea how long a pallet of toilet paper lasts a household with just two people in it?? ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/51 "2018-10-10T15:49:06Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I also carry cash (along with several cards) for the time when a power failure occurs and the merchant cannot run a card. I do the same, but I also carry gold on me. Never know when the SHTF. I’m a belts and suspenders and elastic waistband kinda guy. 😃 What bank doesn’t have a 24/7 phone line? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/52 "2018-10-10T16:15:06Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > What bank doesn’t have a 24/7 phone line? I bank with a tiny local bank. I’d be surprised to find out they have 24/7 coverage. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/53 "2018-10-10T17:35:27Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I bank with a tiny local bank. I’d be surprised to find out they have 24/7 coverage. If you lose your credit/debit card after hours, you have to wait till the next morning to report it stolen? ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/54 "2018-10-10T17:54:29Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Lots of us believe in having multiple methods of payment–ranging from cash to checks to debit cards to credit cards. Agree with this 100%. My bank has shut off my card before too for suspected fraud, so now I have numerous credit cards, debit cards, etc so I’m not screwed in such a situation. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/55 "2018-10-10T17:57:14Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > If you lose your credit/debit card after hours, you have to wait till the next morning to report it stolen? I do not have a debit card. I have three credit cards (two business, one personal) that all have 800 numbers but are in no way related to my bank. ETA: I’ve never “lost” a credit card. I am amazingly careful about my wallet. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/56 "2018-10-10T20:10:16Z")
Oh, banks can screw things up so many ways. So many ways. A couple of weeks ago I couldn’t find my debit card. I’d switched bags, and then I’d carried my ID and card in a pocket, and I lost track. So I called the bank, because a card in a pocket can fall out anywhere. A couple of hours later I went to get my eyes checked and get new contact lenses. All done, paying for it, and I had my credit card–since I didn’t have a debit card–and it was declined. What!? At that point I deduced that the bank had canceled it along with the debit card. My alternate method of payment was to call my husband and have him come over to the shop and pay with his credit card. (After he got there the tech said, “Oh, you could have just got the number over the phone.” She couldn’t have said this while I was talking to him on the phone, right in front of her?) I then went home and called the bank to get this all straightened out and I was on hold for ONE HOUR AND THIRTY MINUTES before I hung up. The next morning I was on hold for TWENTY MINUTES before I said the hell with this, I am one mile from the bank and it takes about two minutes to drive there. The thing I was really worried about was if they had canceled the credit card and not the debit card, and while their recording assured me I could find out anything I wanted by logging onto their website, that was most assuredly not the case. Maybe somebody could have got through it to find that, but I couldn’t. Once at the bank it took them approximately two seconds to determine that yes they had canceled both cards, oops sorry. And now I have to change everything I have automatic billing for. Everything. I used to have an account at another bank, but I decided I really didn’t have enough money to need two bank accounts at two separate banks. Now I’m wondering, and I’m also old enough to get free checking at most banks. I know it’s never really free. ---
**Author:** ![Dancer\_Flight](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dancer_flight/32/7601_2.png) [@Dancer\_Flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancer_Flight)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/57 "2018-10-11T05:04:54Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > … > > As it happened, his route to his next pickup passed just twenty miles from our parent’s house. > > Do you have any idea how long a pallet of toilet paper lasts a household with just two people in it?? As a memory/guess\*, 90 pkgs @ 24 rolls/pkg. Figure 1 month per package, about 7.5 years-ish. Longer if both are working outside the home and have adequate fiber intake. \*(I just sanity checked on amazon for bulk TP and there’s a listing for 25 cases on a pallet at 96 rolls per case) ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/58 "2018-10-11T05:47:20Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > If you were notified of the policy then my guess is you’re SOL. Even if not, I doubt your agreement guarantees that the service will always work every time you want it to. > > And for the like six thousandth time, never use debit cards for purchases. Use credit cards. Because when something wrong happens with the debit card, it happens to your money instead of the bank’s. This shouldn’t be news to anyone who has been awake in the past couple decades but apparently it needs constant repeating. I’m awake and so’s my bank. In May, I had a fraudulent charge on my debit card the bank alerted me to. They reimbursed me same as a credit card. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/59 "2018-10-11T11:01:07Z")
> [@BeeGee](#): > > I’m awake and so’s my bank. In May, I had a fraudulent charge on my debit card the bank alerted me to. They reimbursed me same as a credit card. And in the interim, it was _your_ money missing. And if they locked the account for any period of time to replace the card, it was \* your\* money that was inaccessible. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667/60 "2018-10-11T12:12:28Z")
I always keep a few $100 in my pocket and another $200 in the car. Never been pick-pocketed. (Knock-on-wood.) It sounds like OP could keep money in his pocket, _get pick-pocketed as often as once per year_ and _still_ have shown a net profit from the cash-carrying just due to this one incident! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bank-wont-let-me-use-available-funds/822667.md?page=4)