# Curse you, bank! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 23, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-you-bank/572392 "2011-02-23T22:39:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [February 24, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-you-bank/572392/21 "2011-02-24T15:02:43Z")
> [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](#): > > Does it matter? Name a bank that isn’t trying to screw their customers out of their money right now. If there’s a way, they’ll find a fee. In the OP’s case, the freezing of the account (if I read it right) incurred late fees from third parties who were expecting payments to be made from the OP’s bank account. IOW, the bank didn’t make from this at all. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-you-bank/572392/22 "2011-02-24T15:31:19Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > Yep. I lost that flimsy card decades ago when my wallet got wet or something. I would laugh at anyone who asked for the physical card. Of course, I have a passport and other ID. Still, I can’t think of a time in at least 30 years that I have been asked for that card. You _can_ get a replacement, you know. **Typo Knig** had misplaced his, and needed it for a new job, as it’s one of the pieces of ID they request to prove you’re legal to work in the US. A passport may well do in its place which may be why you haven’t had problems. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-you-bank/572392/23 "2011-02-24T19:05:58Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > Yep. I lost that flimsy card decades ago when my wallet got wet or something. I would laugh at anyone who asked for the physical card. Of course, I have a passport and other ID. Still, I can’t think of a time in at least 30 years that I have been asked for that card. > [@Waxwinged](#): > > (Mildly off-topic, but whoever came up with the idea of flimsy SS cards should be kicked in the nuts. Multiple times.) This is why I lamenated mine after it started showing some wear. I didn’t want to go through getting another one and it helps it from getting wet or damaged. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-you-bank/572392/24 "2011-02-25T01:45:49Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Finally, re: SSNs, I was astounded when I decided to come to Canada. The process of getting an SIN number, their equivalent of the SSN, was so easy. I walked in, a nearly-40-year-old guy with still resident in the US now wanting a number. 15 minutes after walking through the door I had one, and they mailed my card to LA 3 weeks later. Did the SIN start with a [nine](http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/about/reports/sin/cop/section3.shtml)? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-you-bank/572392/25 "2011-02-25T02:55:22Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > Did the SIN start with a [nine](http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/about/reports/sin/cop/section3.shtml)? Nope. And the card is durable plastic. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-you-bank/572392/26 "2011-02-25T03:27:23Z")
> [@Tahssa](#): > > This is why I lamenated mine after it started showing some wear. I didn’t want to go through getting another one and it helps it from getting wet or damaged. Gotta be careful with that. Some places of work refuse to accept a laminated card. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-you-bank/572392/27 "2011-02-25T03:29:35Z")
> [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](#): > > Does it matter? Name a bank that isn’t trying to screw their customers out of their money right now. If there’s a way, they’ll find a fee. Damn right! Businesses trying to make money and shit . . . how dare they? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-you-bank/572392/28 "2011-02-25T04:00:52Z")
> [@Tahssa](#): > > This is why I lamenated mine after it started showing some wear. I didn’t want to go through getting another one and it helps it from getting wet or damaged. The Social Security website tells you not to do that. [http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a\_id/624/related/1/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xMjk4NjA2MjcyL3NpZC9BcTdORnRuaw%3D%3D](http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/624/related/1/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xMjk4NjA2MjcyL3NpZC9BcTdORnRuaw%3D%3D) > [@](#): > > Is it illegal to laminate your Social Security card? > > No it is not illegal, but it’s best not to laminate your card. Laminated cards make it difficult, if not impossible, to detect important security features and an employer may refuse to accept it. > > The Social Security Act requires the Commissioner of Social Security to issue cards that cannot be counterfeited. We incorporate many features that protect the card’s integrity. That includes highly specialized paper and printing techniques—some visible to the naked eye and some not. Further, we continue to actively explore and adopt new technologies that hamper duplication. > Keep your Social Security card in a safe place with your other important papers. **Do not carry it with you.** Apparently it also says not to carry it in your wallet where it can get pickpocketed. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/47e85d/32.png) [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3_20_59_or_bust)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-you-bank/572392/29 "2011-02-25T06:19:59Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Damn right! Businesses trying to make money and shit . . . how dare they? I think I hear your mommy calling…run along now. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-you-bank/572392/30 "2011-02-26T09:56:50Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Damn right! Businesses trying to make money and shit . . . how dare they? If you can’t make money and still treat people properly, then you don’t need to be making money. Because, guess what? Your money comes from those people you treat like shit. The “free market” you love so much is specifically designed for that, even if it doesn’t always work like it should. And, BTW, there’s no reason a bank needs to make money, at least in the form of a true profit. U.S. credit unions are not-for-profit and provide the same functions as banks, and often can do it cheaper. They definitely can do it without treating people poorly, or people wouldn’t keep recommending them. And, yes, I’m aware that a not-for-profit company technically makes a profit, but I don’t call that a true profit when it is used entirely for keeping the operation solvent. It’s just a minor surplus that allows for loans and stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-you-bank/572392/31 "2011-03-03T22:21:45Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > The Social Security website tells you not to do that. > > [http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a\_id/624/related/1/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xMjk4NjA2MjcyL3NpZC9BcTdORnRuaw%3D%3D](http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/624/related/1/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xMjk4NjA2MjcyL3NpZC9BcTdORnRuaw%3D%3D) > > Apparently it also says not to carry it in your wallet where it can get pickpocketed. 🙂 It’s a bit strange. My SSN card says right on the back not to laminate it. However, it doesn’t have any security features that I can detect. My wife had to get hers replaced recently. It has some color shifting ink on the front and microprinting around the edges. Doesn’t say anything about not laminating it on the back though. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-you-bank/572392/32 "2011-03-04T01:48:46Z")
My bank sent me a letter last Wednesday saying my house payment was going up 200 bucks. The next day I got the same letter saying it was going up 400 . I called them and after fighting through several people, I got a guy to talk to, he said forget about it, the payment is not going up . He said one department does not know what the other is doing. Why am I still nervous about it? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-you-bank/572392/33 "2011-03-04T01:52:49Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > My bank sent me a letter last Wednesday saying my house payment was going up 200 bucks. The next day I got the same letter saying it was going up 400 . I called them and after fighting through several people, I got a guy to talk to, he said forget about it, the payment is not going up . He said one department does not know what the other is doing. > > Why am I still nervous about it? Yeesh!! What was the reasoning behind the notices? Variable rate loan? or escrow changes? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-you-bank/572392/34 "2011-03-04T02:57:08Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > My bank sent me a letter last Wednesday saying my house payment was going up 200 bucks. The next day I got the same letter saying it was going up 400 . I called them and after fighting through several people, I got a guy to talk to, he said forget about it, the payment is not going up . He said one department does not know what the other is doing. > > Why am I still nervous about it? Because your house is probably currently in foreclosure, with papers signed by someone paid to sign 900 documents an hour, by a bank that you’ve never heard of that bought your mortgage from a different bank, who bought it from a redistributor. I hear that you should take your own sleeping bag to the shelter, if possible. Bedbugs. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-you-bank/572392/35 "2011-03-04T04:04:37Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I don’t have a social security card. It was in my wallet when it was pickpocketed years ago. They won’t accept my plethora of other forms of ID, and the social security office is open business hours. I’d have to take a day off of work to go in person to get a new one. You can get a replacement card by mail, although it takes a while and you have to cross your fingers since the SSA only accepts original documents or certified copies for ID purposes… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curse-you-bank/572392.md?page=1)