I’ve found that bank staff here don’t have access to the ATMs that are installed in or outside their branch. If the machine swallows your card, then it’s a surety that you will have to get a new one because there’s no way that you will get that one back. Even if its your bank’s ATM. Mind you, replacement cards arrive very quickly and there’s no direct tie between an ATM card and any stuff attached to your account. I guess if it’s a debit card its different, but not many banks here are issuing those yet for normal banking.
One he was paying their ATM fees so “not a customer” must have a not very literal definition. Further I bet he’s firmly in the “not going to become a customer” now, where as before, well they had a convenient location obviously. If they’d at least tried to work with him or explain it better they might have gotten goodwill and a “customer”.
Two in my job. I’ve found if you explain things to people, and understand why you’re doing things enough to explain it, they’re usually agreeable enough. Sometimes if you talk the problem out you can find something that’s kosher with their needs and policy. Not always, and in some departments not often. Some departments have a lot of drama relative to other departments. Still it’s just a matter of trying to work with people.
I don’t know this bank’s policies, but if their agreements didn’t include work around procedures, then the policy makers should have been fired for incompetence.
What would have happened if the OP had been traveling and losing that card would have left him destitute and stranded? Should he fuck off and die? Pretty cold and sociopathic.
Exactly. While I wasn’t a member of this bank, I most certainly was a customer. I could have, and should have, been afforded at least a decent explanation as to why nothing could be done; if not even the smallest effort to mitigate my troubles (even a token one).
Whatever. He wasn’t an account holder which is the main point. Obviously I knew that he paid ATM fees because I said so at least once.
They did convey the policy to him. He understood it perfectly well and made that clear in the OP.
Bullshit. The policy makes perfect sense. It’s been more than adequately explained why. You don’t like it or agree with it which is well within your rights but there is no incompetence here.
Oh for fuck sake, that wasn’t the case here. His bank was less than two miles away and he had just gotten cash from the machine. Impressive hyperbole though.
They did tell you why. Then your actual bank told you that it was standard in the industry.
If it was the bank that screwed up, like if their machine went wonky and that’s why the card was eaten, you would certainly be owed something by the bank. Here it was you that screwed up and you had to pay some small consequences for your mistake. I’m not saying that you deserved it but that’s the breaks. I know because many years ago the same thing happened to me.
Where in the world do you get this idea? As you can see, this is absolutely not the case. The “explanation” given by the credit union manager made no sense to me at all and left several questions of mine unanswered.
It looks to me that what you quoted was the explanation which your actual bank later verified was standard practice. If you still felt that that was inadequate, as opposed to just not liking it, I will take you at your word.
You do understand that most other banks would have done the same thing, right? Maybe they would have treated you in a way that made you feel better about it but in the end you still wouldn’t have your card.
I’m not getting the hatred of this particular policy here, aside from the inconvenience. I do book-keeping and fraud prevention (as well as some teller work) at a local small bank. We have had numerous instances (I’d say at least 10 times per year) of people coming in with obviously faked/stolen IDs and wallets. We have had the ATM eat non-customer cards. In a couple of cases those two situations collided.
There are people out there who commit fraud. Hell, we even had a case of identical twin-fraud at another branch. THAT was nuts. And how else are we supposed to fix things? I don’t know about big banks like BoA and Chase, but small local banks and credit unions generally aren’t multi-million dollar organization. $100 worth of fraud charges that we have to eat is bad.
I’m sorry for what happened to you, Ambivalid–sometimes life just sucks. And the bank representatives should’ve and could’ve explained the policy better. But if you’re not a customer and they have no way of knowing that you are who you claim to be, why should they return the card and potentially be enabling you to commit fraud for which they would be at least partially liable?
Also, if I do something like that at my job (directly contravene a policy that relates to fraud prevention), I will get written up for it, it will go on my annual report and the CEO will be informed of it, because part of my fraud-prevention duties involve reporting directly to him and the Board of Directors.
Ok, tell me how being a customer would satisfy this quest for true identification? I had my driver’s license (with picture), a few other picture I.D.s and several other non-photo pieces of identification with me; along with my receipt for my scatter-brained transaction at this bank. What information would they be obtaining from me being a member at their bank that I would be unable to provide them on my own?
But he did do business with them as you well knew. “Not a customer” is not correct, as you well knew. You might feel account holder is more meaningful, but you intentionally, and dishonestly said something that wasn’t true to belittle the OP.
Where do you work where people think like you so I can avoid their business?
Really? You might want to re-read the op, as well the posts agreeing the policy was retarded.
Clearly the bank failed to adaquitly explain why they were destroying his (bank’s) card.
Aside from not explaining to their customers.
You seem to be getting bent out of shape because individuals might want to understand the rules to use them to their advantage. God forbid people try to stand up for their interests instead of bend down and suck the corporate cock.
I remember having to deal with a nasty cellphone company that used to claim all sorts of outrageous things were policy. When I asked for a copy of their policy’s they wouldn’t give me one.
It was liking trying to play Calvin ball, except with fees and anger instead of points. If you’re going to claim rules, at least let me know what I’m dealing with.
So what. Either the policy has exceptions or they will strand someone without cash. Murphy’s law says anything that can go wrong eventually will.
My quote was from the manager at the credit union which had my card. It was not my actual bank. It was the first, and only, attempt at explanation made to me. All my banker told me was that they also had a similar policy; no further clarification was given.
How the fuck do you know why I did what I did? I have news for you, Carnac, it was an error that I conceded and that I honestly believe to be irrelevant because what I clearly meant was member rather than customer. In one of my first posts to this thread, I mentioned the fees paid.
I am a Senior Engineer at a company that makes world class products that you probably can’t afford. As part of my duties, and for a few different firms over the last twenty plus years, a large part of my job has been to interact with the end customer (not the public but other engineering companies.) Almost all of them have tried to recruit me at one time or another. You can choose to believe this or not. Clearly, I am not going to go all BBQ Pit with a client that annoys me. Honestly, my clients love my customer service. What I have never done, even when asked, is break the rules of the company that is paying my salary. Of course, I haven’t encountered a rule that I thought was immoral but that wouldn’t come up much in my industry.
I don’t doubt that they did a shitty job of explaining the policy, something else that I have said a few times. While the policy may be “retarded” in the minds of a few people on a message board, it is what most banks in the US do. I think that they know their business better than we do.
If I am bent out of shape about anything, it’s people thinking that the rules shouldn’t apply to them.
I believe you. Utilities are their own animal. Shittiest service ever. Still, you had an account with them so it’s still a different story, although this is where we apparently disagree.
Nocturn, who is in the industry, has done a good job explaining the reasons of such policies. If they have exceptions, Ambi didn’t need one. He had cash and a bank down the street that was sending a new card.
“Incomplete” would be a better word to describe Nocturn’s explanation of such policies; I am still waiting for him to answer my question about the necessity of bank membership in order for a bank to be able to verify a person’s identity.
I believe that the bank membership at that bank is what is necessary for them to know the reason why the card was eaten.
It’s been three days. Do you have your new card yet?
That wasn’t my question. I was responding to a specific post made by Nocturn suggesting that membership was the only way for the bank to know “who you are”.
And no, no card yet (I expect it tomorrow).
I’ve accidentally left my ATM card in a non-member bank twice (Once in a Charter One, the other in a Chase). Both times, when I realized the next day what I had done, I walked into the bank, explained the situation, and showed them my driver’s license. Both times, I was given back my card with nary a fuss. I’m starting to think I’m lucky!
Are we talking about the same kind of card? Plastic, with the logo of the bank printed on front, with your name, account number, (Bank code not always) and card number, embossed on the front, magnet stripe, signature field and small print (sometimes service phone number) on the back?
Because those always take weeks to replace because only a few companies make them (Security must be tight) and they wait for a full batch, they don’t run the machine for one single card.
As for prooving who you are, I was thinking of state-issued ID with photo picture and tamper proof that corresponds with the name on the Bank card (and additional info on the account that your home bank, but not foreign banks can look up - birth date, place of residence etc., to further match and confirm with official ID).
Yes, apparently you were the benefactor of an employee who risked his/her own livelihood, professional reputation and hopes of future employment in the banking industry with their daring-or should I say wreckless-skirting of set-in-stone banking policy. :eek: I mean, that state-issued picture I.D. you had? Psshht. You could easily have a diabolical identical twin who had simply stolen your wallet and memorized all your private information.
I’ve had cards replaced by both Chase and Bank of America within a few days time. Five days max. But I imagine they’re big enough that they’re constantly producing the cards, not waiting for a “full batch.”
My local, 20 branches total bank replaced my wife’s ATM card (embossed number & magnetic stripe and all) within 4 days when she lost it last year. That’s from report of loss to new card arriving in the mail, so they must have produced the new card within 2 days.