# In which BofA steals $100 from me (aka: rant about your banks with me!) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 15, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023 "2013-03-15T17:41:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/41 "2013-03-15T22:15:26Z")
I suggest your math teacher climb a ladder and get over it. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/42 "2013-03-15T22:17:16Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/43 "2013-03-15T22:23:59Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Well, if I remember my elementary math teacher correctly, the “and” is supposed to be reserved for the decimal point. Why are you taking grammar lessons from your math teacher? ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/44 "2013-03-15T22:28:28Z")
:smack: double-:smack: In which Rhythmdvl learns to be very careful with his BoA statements. I just opened up a BoA account. Their Business Advantage account is set to save us well over a thousand dollars a year (it was the only account that offered free incoming wire transfers). The bank manager was very friendly. I could have opened it online or via the mail–we’re a home business–but I wanted that face-to-face time. I’m with the OP in that I normally hate to go into the bank, and the picture-of-a-check ability seems fantastic, if it works. Hopefully Quickbooks integration will help us keep on top of things. Wish us luck. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/45 "2013-03-15T22:36:09Z")
I’m still with Bank of America. I’m lazy. Pit me. ☹ In fairness, though, I’ve had pretty good service from them since the verdraft lawsuit kerfuffle. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/46 "2013-03-15T22:43:14Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > These things happen all the time, but usually the next is zero. In other words, yes, they misread the check as $1880, but then they debit your corporate account for $1880 also. There’s just no fucking way they can debit $1980 from the corporate account and credit only $1880 to your personal acct. The whole idea of double entry book-keeping, debits & credits prevents this. Double check that end. You also need to go into a branch and speak to a VP about this. > > Your idea of moving the accounts is a good idea anyway, mind you. That’s what bugs me about it. If I called, I would have said “You took 1980 out of one account and deposited 1880 into the other…where’s the $100?” and then nicely said “I need you to deposit $100 into one of those accounts or I need to speak to a supervisor who can fix this”. In my earlier post where I mentioned that I had one check number that was on my bank statement twice with two different amounts on it, I didn’t pursue it beyond getting my money back but I wanted to say “So…where did my $90 go? You said it was ‘double posted’ but when you took $90 out of my account, who did you give it to?” In the OP’s case, the $100 is probably floating around in an account specifically designed to handle errors like this. I’ll bet, if she didn’t notice it, the $100 would show back up in one of the accounts in the next week or so. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/47 "2013-03-15T22:50:08Z")
Yes, and that’s the thing. They can’t easily put the ‘extra’ $100 into her Checking (Mobile deposit is a little weird) , but the branch should be able to fix the withdrawal to $1880 right there and then. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/48 "2013-03-15T22:56:23Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Seriously guys, it’s asad state of affairs when I have to be the first grammar nazi in this thread: > > It’s _One thousand nine hundred eighty dollars_ > > Not _One thousand nine hundred AND eighty dollars_ > > It’s a well known fact that banks charge $100 for incorrect grammar. > > Jeez! > > 🙂 I was just reading thru to see if anyone else had posted this; it was the first thing I noticed when I looked at the check image. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/49 "2013-03-15T22:59:22Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Why are you taking grammar lessons from your math teacher? [Shrugs] I was ten? I’d like some one to prove me wrong though. Google gave me limited results: [linky](http://www.englishforums.com/English/UsingAndInNumbers/crgxn/post.htm) ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/50 "2013-03-15T23:00:50Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > What pissed me off was how difficult they made it for me to settle that account. My car got totalled and the other driver’s insurance paid me out for it, to the tune of about $8000. They issued me a cashier’s check which I took to BoA and sat down with someone. I show them my check, request that they cash it, keep what I owed them, close the account, and issue me a check for the remainder. > > “Sorry, can’t do that,” they said. Why? Because I don’t have an active account with them. Say what? I realize that BofA is full of this kind of mind-boggling idiocy, which made me run away fast (damn, I miss WaMu; the only big banks left are the shitty kind like BofA, Chase, Wells Fargo, et al. I guess that’s reason 1,001 to not bank with one of the big ones… but I digress), but you deposit the check into your account, your balance is now $8k minus whatever amount you were in the red. So then after that you close your account, but they can’t because you don’t have an account with them? Gwuh? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/51 "2013-03-15T23:22:52Z")
Not quite as big a deal, but I “left” (I still keep it open and throw a bit of money into it every month to keep it active as a tertiary checking account) a bank around here recently. They’re actually not that bad a bank–locally owned, free checking, tiny amount (it was 0.20% when I opened the account and it’s dropped even lower since) of interest on checking of any size, lots of locations. However, they charge $2.50 for any POS PIN transaction. That’s not just using a different ATM, that’s if you go to the store and make a purchase running it through the debit interchange. That was just too much nickle-and-diming for me. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/52 "2013-03-15T23:22:53Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Seriously guys, it’s asad state of affairs when I have to be the first grammar nazi in this thread: > > It’s _One thousand nine hundred eighty dollars_ > > Not _One thousand nine hundred AND eighty dollars_ > > It’s a well known fact that banks charge $100 for incorrect grammar. > > Jeez! > > 🙂 Using “and” is not grammatically incorrect. Failing to use “and” is grammatically incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/53 "2013-03-15T23:27:11Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > Using “and” is not grammatically incorrect. Failing to use “and” is grammatically incorrect. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/54 "2013-03-15T23:33:47Z")
Also, by your assertion, writing _One thousand AND nine hundred eighty nine dollars_ would also be correct? Or _One thousand nine hundred eighty AND nine dollars_ The point is, you could throw the ‘and’ anywhere in that number and it’s still supposed to be grammatically correct. That doesn’t sound right to me. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/55 "2013-03-15T23:56:05Z")
It’s not grammar at all. If it’s anything, it’s semantics. Specifically, whether in this instance and is being used in its traditional role as a conjunction or if it is actually pulling duty as a decimal point. The answer, of course, is whatever you prefer. Since we’re appending dollars to the end of the number anyway it’s irrelevant because the and can’t mean a decimal point in that case. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/56 "2013-03-16T01:26:25Z")
I wonder how much money the dope would have if they got a buck for every time someone posts against BofA or Wells Fargo? I’m betting we’d have enough to send Cecil on another world cruise. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/57 "2013-03-16T01:45:02Z")
It’s as incorrect as any other grammar you were taught, at least, in the U.S. You still would get marked down for it in English class. Outside the U.S., this rule never seems to have caught on. And I’ve avoid BoA since they took money from my account to pay for mom’s overdrawn checking account. Which resulted in me getting extra fees, which ultimately, combined with medical insurance refusing to pay for an accident, led to the financial situation that almost made us lose our house. (Hopefully the bankruptcy is almost over.) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/58 "2013-03-16T01:45:08Z")
This is weird. In February, one of my wife’s friends asked me to read her the amazon listings for Michael McDonald CDs, then ordered four on my amazon account, to be shipped to her. Came to $27.XX, and the following week a check came n the mail for that amount, drawn on the BofA account that she shares with her mother. A couple of weeks later, I decided to cash it, so I walked into a BofA branch, stood in line for five minutes, and cashed it. I had braced myself for getting hit with some kind of a you’re-not-one-of-our-depositors charge, but none was forthcoming. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/59 "2013-03-16T01:55:24Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Say what? I realize that BofA is full of this kind of mind-boggling idiocy, which made me run away fast (damn, I miss WaMu; the only big banks left are the shitty kind like BofA, Chase, Wells Fargo, et al. I guess that’s reason 1,001 to not bank with one of the big ones… but I digress), but you deposit the check into your account, your balance is now $8k minus whatever amount you were in the red. So then after that you close your account, but they can’t because you don’t have an account with them? Gwuh? I know, right? It seems pretty simple and straightforward to you and me, and believe me, I went around that block with her at least a dozen times, then I asked to talk to the manager and did another dozen laps with him. Seems that they _closed_ that account, with a negative balance, so technically I didn’t have an account there that was capable of accepting deposits, but I still owed them the $350. I was there attempting to pay my debt, and they simply would not allow me to do it. Fucking tools. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023/60 "2013-03-16T03:36:51Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Cite? Are you kidding? You started this stupid hijack, you provide a cite. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-bofa-steals-100-from-me-aka-rant-about-your-banks-with-me/653023.md?page=4)