Years ago, when I worked at a small 12-branch bank, we used Oberthur for our plastics. Even back then, they were quite capable of generating and shipping cards overnight.
I know things are different north and south of the border (and isn’t constanze across the pond? presumably things are even more different there), but I watched an ATM card get replaced on the spot a while back at the TD Canada Trust I go to. However, keep in mind our ATM cards don’t have the person’s name on them, and the card number is linked to your account(s). The person that had lost their card (in a fire) went to the Help desk, talked to the person, showed ID, and the CSR got a card from a stack, did some magic on his computer to validate it (and presumably invalidate the old one), got the customer to key in a new PIN, and that was it.
Actually, going back to the original complaint (card “owner” couldn’t get card back from a bank that they weren’t a customer of), maybe the issue is that there isn’t a lot of identifying information visually present on the card; the original bank can trivially pull up everything that they might want to know to make sure that there isn’t any hanky-panky going on, but it might be too much of a pain in the ass for a bank on another system to do the same. I dunno.
yes, I’m in Germany
Like I said, our bank cards have the account number and name embossed into them, so the local branch can’t possible do that on the spot.
That’s what we do for library cards and similar, where the card number can be linked to the account number. Wouldn’t work for bank cards.
Still doesn’t prevent the foreign bank from forwarding it by bank mail to the originally issueing bank, who can then easily contact their own customer. After all, giving the paper system in the US banking system, there must be tons of mail between banks each day.
Everyone in this thread knows damn well what the REAL moral of this whole story is! Why not just state it outright?
Your bank isn’t going to stand up for you.
The other bank isn’t going to stand up for you.
The police aren’t going to stand up for you.
The other Dopers on this board may or may not stand up for you, but what the fuck good is it going to do for you anyway?
We’ve ALL got to cover OUR OWN ASSES because for damn sure, you can’t count on anyone else to.
Here’s a suggestion, given to me by a friend umpty-ump years ago: Always maintain (at least) TWO bank accounts at TWO DIFFERENT banks. You just never know when some fuck-up will happen of some sort. Never mind what kind of fuck-up it might be – you can’t predict that.
Typically, you will be able to get it straightened out, and you won’t lose any money. BUT BUT BUT it will take weeks for that to happen, you will spend 10 thousand hours on the telephone arguing with every braindamaged customer support robot and their second-vice-assistant-managing-supervisors, you’ll got through a printer cartridge or two with all the letters you’ll have to send, yadda, yadda… Oh yes, you’ll eventually get it all worked out. BUT IN THE MEANTIME, YOU WON’T HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR MONEY.
Make life easy for yourself. Plan ahead for it. Cover your own ass because you can’t count on anyone else to. Open another account at another bank TODAY if not sooner, and move half your money there. (Hope you have at least enough money to do that. I know, it’s getting harder with all the minimum-balance rules and fees that are making a comeback these days, though.)
When you’re doing business with Big Bizness, nobody looks out for nobody but themselves.
But what’s the point? Even if the “tons of mail” is true, that’s going to be going to/from the central banks. There isn’t going to be much traffic between the East Podunk branch of Bank A and the West Bumfuck branch of Bank B. So you’ll still have to wait several days, then make a trip to your local branch to pick up your card. Given the stated speed and efficiency of US banks in producing new cards (complete with embossed name, card number, mag stripe, and bank’s logo on the card), isn’t it easier to wait the same 4 days and just take a new card out of your mailbox?
Everyone is just trying to avoid liability. Issuing bank returns card to the wrong person? Their problem. Non-issuing bank returns card to the wrong person? Ahh, now there’s a situation the non-issuing bank doesn’t want to be in. Shred the card and stay out of it.
I imagine a similar worry occurs with returning the card by mail to the issuing bank. If it gets stolen or lost in the mail, is the non-issuing bank on the hook for any losses incurred? Best not to be involved at all and just destroy the card.
The policy as it stands keeps the non-issuing bank out of it and keeps it between issuer and client.
Ambivalid always reminds me of the poor put upon spy in The Ipcress File. Every thread he starts turns into a train wreck.
Oh, now that’s not fair. Some threads he hasn’t started also turn into trainwrecks when he gets involved.
This.
Also make sure the banks are as unrelated as possible. (I use BoA and ING.) Also hold credit cards from different banks.
Back in the dark ages (1970s) I was living in Rhode Island. Something major happened to the state banking system – I don’t know what – but it was a nightmare for the consumers. ALL of the banks sort of ‘froze’ all their accounts. You could NOT withdraw money and they weren’t processing checks. (I don’t know about credit cards, I didn’t have one then.)
For a while we were “paying” for groceries with written IOUs. Fortunately we were known and trusted by the small grocery store we used.
You can’t make a law that protects customers better? You can’t go to court for customer rights?
But don’t banks demand fees for just keeping an account? So with two accounts, you have to pay two monthly fees?
Not necessarily. It depends on the bank and the account. I don’t pay a fee at my bank.
I’ve done this for many years. One local bank, one nationwide bank.
ING Direct is free. No minimum balance. No monthly fee. Free ATM’s. Free Bill Pay. The only fees they have are for extra services like stop payments.
My local bank takes a week to send a new card.
ING Direct will mail a replacement card for free within a week, but if you want to pay $25, they will overnight one.
How is this thread a train wreck?