Goddamnit, Wells Fargo!

[NinjaChick]

They send me a new debit card, as mine is due to expire at the end of the month. It has their awesome new payWave* feature, which means that there’s an RFID chip in your debit card linked directly to your bank account, which I am not terribly thrilled with.

So I call them and sit on hold. On hold. On hold. Did you know that if you for some reason need to look up the Netflix customer service phone number they give you right there on the website the estimated hold time? Did you know that Wells Fargo does nothing like this? Did you know that Wells Fargo apparently has three people working in their call center?

I finally get a Real Live Human. I ask if I perhaps could get a debit card without wireless technology. They say I need to speak to someone in “account services” rather than “card services”, because clearly that’s the intuitive choice when calling with a problem about your debit card.

I wait some more. They connect me to the right person. They say sure, they can send me a card without it, and it will take five to nine days to arrive. I am explicitley assured that since I had not activated the new card I will not have any problem continuing to use my existing card until I get the new one. Hooray.

The next day, yesterday, I go to use my existing debit card. It does not work. I use a different card instead, for the sake of expedience. Later I go to an ATM and it will not work there.

Again I call, again I wait and wait and wait. “Oh, your card was deactivated because you requested a new one. Since we’ve already mailed the new one we can’t reactivate the old one. Sorry.” Can I activate the one with payWave just so I can use a damn ATM? No, that one was already canceled as well.

So until I get my new debit card, I have no cash and no way to get any cash**, no way to deposit the five hundred some bucks spread across two checks I have, and there’s not a goddamn thing I can do about it. Going into a branch is not an option because all but one branch close at noon or 1 on Saturdays, I don’t have a car, and the only way to get to the one branch open later would be to bike six miles down a highway with no shoulder or bike lane, which is not something I’m going to do. Goddamnit it, getting twenty bucks in cash should not be such a fucking hassle.

*Can we please stop this trend of idiotic random capitalization in brand names? And yes, I’m fucking looking at you, Apple Computers, for starting this.
**Technically I could get about ninety bucks if needed from a ‘spare’ account with a separate bank, which I keep mostly for emergencies like this.

[Glory]

If you desperately need 20.00 cash, can you write a check to a grocery store for 20.00 over?

Your rant is perfectly on target, I had a similar run in with Bank of America recently. I knew there could be a wrinkle, I asked about the wrinkle, I was assured the wrinkle would not happen and boom - the exact wrinkle discussed happened.

[Shayna]

@NinjaChick

T

So until I get my new debit card, I have. . . no way to deposit the five hundred some bucks spread across two checks I have, and there’s not a goddamn thing I can do about it. Going into a branch is not an option because all but one branch close at noon or 1 on Saturdays, I don’t have a car, and the only way to get to the one branch open later would be to bike six miles down a highway with no shoulder or bike lane, which is not something I’m going to do.

In the olden days, I used to tear out a deposit slip from the back of my checkbook, fill it out, endorse the check(s) for deposit, put it in an envelope and mail it to the bank, where it would generally arrive the next (business) day and be credited to my account the day it was received. Even if it didn’t get mailed until Monday and deposited on Tuesday, that’s still sooner than waiting for your new card, and safer than risking your life on a bike on the highway.

Good luck!

[NinjaChick]

@Shayna

In the olden days, I used to tear out a deposit slip from the back of my checkbook, fill it out, endorse the check(s) for deposit, put it in an envelope and mail it to the bank, where it would generally arrive the next (business) day and be credited to my account the day it was received. Even if it didn’t get mailed until Monday and deposited on Tuesday, that’s still sooner than waiting for your new card, and safer than risking your life on a bike on the highway.

Good luck!

I know, but I don’t have any deposit slips. There were I think maybe five that came with my checks and while I’ve deposited at least five checks in person, I have not gone through enough checks to need to buy more (statistically speaking, I use about .5 checks per year).

[Shayna]

You do not even need a deposit slip. Just endorse the back “For Deposit Only” and include your account number, then stick it in an envelope and mail it. I promise you it will work just fine. And at least that way you’ll have access to your money sooner, even if you have to go out of your way to get to it in the meantime.

[UncleRojelio]

@NinjaChick

*Can we please stop this trend of idiotic random capitalization in brand names? And yes, I’m fucking looking at you, Apple Computers, for starting this.

Sorry, camel case is probably here to stay.

[groman]

@NinjaChick

So until I get my new debit card, I have no cash and no way to get any cash**.

In my experience Wells Fargo is very VERY accommodating for things that are their fault. If you speak to a supervisor high enough and explain your situation they might be able to re-activate one of your cards, or if that’s impossible they might be able to find an open non-branch location that could give you cash – something like mortgage services or private banking or some such.

[NinjaChick]

@Shayna

You do not even need a deposit slip. Just endorse the back “For Deposit Only” and include your account number, then stick it in an envelope and mail it. I promise you it will work just fine. And at least that way you’ll have access to your money sooner, even if you have to go out of your way to get to it in the meantime.

Really? You learn something new every day. I’m trusting you and trying this, because I need the money in my account.

groman - I considered trying that, but it’s not that urgent. I did kind of need a little cash this morning, but I have a second account with a different bank back in my hometown that I keep a hundred bucks or so in, for situations like this, so I decided it wasn’t worth the effort of escalating it. If I didn’t have that other debit card, though, I certainly would have raised hell about it. Cutting off someone’s access to their accounts is not cool.

[Shayna]

@NinjaChick

Really? You learn something new every day. I’m trusting you and trying this, because I need the money in my account.

Yes, really. You don’t even have to have a deposit slip from your account if you personally walk into a bank and want to make a deposit. You may have to fill out a blank one, but in the case of mailing a check in, the person who processes it will just do that for you if it’s required (just be sure your account number is clearly legible and your phone number is on the front of your check in case they have any questions). And if you’re really, really unsure, just call the bank and confirm it with them. I certainly won’t be offended if you do a little due diligence!

[Mama_Zappa]

@Shayna

You do not even need a deposit slip. Just endorse the back “For Deposit Only” and include your account number, then stick it in an envelope and mail it. I promise you it will work just fine. And at least that way you’ll have access to your money sooner, even if you have to go out of your way to get to it in the meantime.

Quite. With our credit union, I usually write the account info on a separate piece of paper which I wrap around the checks before sticking all into the envelope.

Sorry about the ATM clusterfuck though, NinjaChick. VERY frustrating.

[Shayna]

@Mama_Zappa

Quite. With our credit union, I usually write the account info on a separate piece of paper which I wrap around the checks before sticking all into the envelope.

Actually, that’s very smart, since she has 2 checks. Just make your own deposit slip by writing your account number on a piece of paper, list each check separately, and show the total for deposit. Excellent idea!

[Gangster_Octopus]

@NinjaChick

They send me a new debit card, as mine is due to expire at the end of the month. It has their awesome new payWave* feature, which means that there’s an RFID chip in your debit card linked directly to your bank account, which I am not terribly thrilled with.

Can I ask why? I have that feature and I like it, even if I don’t use it much.

[NinjaChick]

@Gangster_Octopus

Can I ask why? I have that feature and I like it, even if I don’t use it much.

Really, it’s because I’m hopeless, irrationally paranoid about some things. I know that the chances of anyone to get information via the RFID chip without my permission is absolutely minimal, and quite possibly less than the chances of fraud in other forms, but I’m just uncomfortable with it. It’s too new for me to be comfortable with it: once it’s been in wide use for another year or so and there aren’t many big problems reported, I’ll probably be okay with it. As it is, I cling to my paranoia.

Plus, I seriously doubt I’d ever use it. I haven’t seen it available at either of the two grocery stores where I do 99% of my shopping. And generally if I’m buying anything else - books, movie tickets, computer toys I really don’t need and really shouldn’t be spending my money on - I buy them online. The last time I bought anything other than food or toiletries in a brick and mortar store was when I impulse-bought a book at Borders in July.

And yes, I am absolutely aware that it’s somewhat ridiculous to be completely comfortable giving Amazon or Borders my credit card information online but not liking the RFID option.

[Lionne]

I work at a bank and **Shayna **& **MamaZappa **are correct - just put your checks in an envelope endorsed with your account number and it’ll be processed next business day.
Some banks even have a night deposit where you just drive by the bank any random time, drop in your deposits and go on your merry way. These are processed first thing every morning.

I can’t tell you how many checks I’ve gotten, some not endorsed, with no account number. It’s pretty common, so don’t worry. Feel free to call and confirm the deposit.

[Donovan]

@Lionne

I can’t tell you how many checks I’ve gotten, some not endorsed, with no account number. It’s pretty common, so don’t worry. Feel free to call and confirm the deposit.

hijack: What do you do with the non-endorsed ones? Only asking because a few years ago I deposited a tax refund check via my bank’s ATM, forgetting to endorse it (the only time I have ever touched a check in the last 5 years is when writing a check to cover income tax or receiving a tax refund, I’m very rusty on the whole check thing). I did not get the money credited to my account and I received the check via mail a few days later indicating it had to be endorsed. No skin off my nose, I just endorsed and redeposited it; it just seems from what you wrote you are implying you would still deposit it in the account.

[Kevbo]

@Glory

If you desperately need 20.00 cash, can you write a check to a grocery store for 20.00 over?

I lost my wallet on a Friday night, and didn’t discover this until kevbabe had left town Saturday morning. No cash, no ID, no credit cards…oh yeah, this was a long weekend, and all my close friends (the ones I’d be willing to borrow money from) were out of town.

I went to the grocery store where I normally shop, asked for the manager, told him my predicament, and he authorized the cashier to cash a $100 check with no ID…which got me through the long weekend.

[NinjaChick]

@Lionne

I work at a bank and **Shayna **& **MamaZappa **are correct - just put your checks in an envelope endorsed with your account number and it’ll be processed next business day.
Some banks even have a night deposit where you just drive by the bank any random time, drop in your deposits and go on your merry way. These are processed first thing every morning.

I can’t tell you how many checks I’ve gotten, some not endorsed, with no account number. It’s pretty common, so don’t worry. Feel free to call and confirm the deposit.

I think I’ve seen those “night depositories”, and I’ve never been quite sure what they’re for. Now I know.

The checks have been taken care of - the whole amount hasn’t cleared yet but it’s pretty much the same as if I’d done an ATM deposit this morning. Still have not received a new ATM card, but what I really needed the money for was two credit card payments, so that’s good.

(Bonus annoyance: When you log onto your account on the Chase credit-card website, you see a list with your outstanding balance, payment due date, minimum payment, etc, in that order. If your next payment isn’t scheduled yet they apparently keep displaying your last due date, which gave me a jolt for a moment - “Oh shit, I’ve got a forty dollar balance, had a payment due at the end of August, and I don’t remember paying it! Fuck!” Then I remembered the purchase was made a week ago, after the end of August. :smack: Goddamnit, I take pride in having only ever made one late payment, stop screwing with me.)

[Walker_in_Eternity]

Sorry to hear about your trouble Ninja Chick. Can’t suggest anything to help unfortunately.

As a Brit I was surprised to see that Wells Fargo were still in existence. My only experience with the company was as a child (in England) watching old cowboy movies. I didn’t realise that they were still in business. Consider my ignorance partly fought on this issue.

[gotpasswords]

@Walker in Eternity

As a Brit I was surprised to see that Wells Fargo were still in existence. My only experience with the company was as a child (in England) watching old cowboy movies. I didn’t realise that they were still in business. Consider my ignorance partly fought on this issue.

We have some *seriously *old banks around here.

Bank of the West was started in 1874.
Wells Fargo started in 1852.
Chase can trace its history back to 1799.
Citibank goes back to 1812.
The king of claimed age is Bank of America. The Massachusetts Bank was founded nearly 225 years ago in 1784, and through a series of mergers and acquisitions, they became part of Bank of America in 2005 when BofA bought Fleet. Nations Bank (they bought BofA in 1998) was started in 1874. Bank of America itself was founded in 1904.

@Donovan

hijack: What do you do with the non-endorsed ones? Only asking because a few years ago I deposited a tax refund check via my bank’s ATM, forgetting to endorse it (the only time I have ever touched a check in the last 5 years is when writing a check to cover income tax or receiving a tax refund, I’m very rusty on the whole check thing). I did not get the money credited to my account and I received the check via mail a few days later indicating it had to be endorsed. No skin off my nose, I just endorsed and redeposited it; it just seems from what you wrote you are implying you would still deposit it in the account.

That’s really odd. Your deposit must have gone to the desk of an exceptionally lazy or nit-picky proof operator. Normal procedure is to grab the rubber stamp and whack a “Prior Endorsement Guaranteed” on the check and off it goes. I used to work in deposit operations, and we’d never return a deposit just because someone didn’t endorse a check.

[Shayna]

Hey, I just wondered if your deposit posted ok, NinjaChick.