Using The Phrase "Monetary Rape" In A Sentence (long)

The BBQ Pit
1

I am incredibly peeved with my bank right now. I was absolutely livid yesterday and so pissed off that I was crying. My bank makes me so fucking mad. And here’s why.

I bank with a local bank–Home _ederal Savings Bank. This bank is one of the worst that I have ever encountered. This bank has all sorts of policies about deposits–Direct Deposit is available immediately. Cash deposits are available immediately. All other deposit transactions will be available the same day if made before 2 pm, and the next business day if made after 2 pm. Fine. Got all of that. Can handle that. Except that they somehow can never manage to make my deposit available within the time frames that they specify.

On November 27th, a check cleared my account that I couldn’t cover. Fine, I know that I overdrew my account, and I will pay that fee. No problem. And I paid that fee on November 29th with a deposit. That deposit was made at approximately 1 pm. I went to work and thought that all was well with the bank.

On Saturday, November 30th, I get the overdraft notice. Covered already…no big deal. On Monday, December 2nd, I get another overdraft notice for a different transaction. Oh. News to me. I check my account online, and do not see my deposit. All I can see is the check that cleared on the 27th and the overdraft fee. Can’t see this new overdraft fee or my deposit. Well, I know my bank is slow and they probably will take another 3 days to update the website. Fine. I check back on December 5th. I see the Nov. 27th check, overdraft fee, a transaction clearing on Nov. 29th, another overdraft fee, my deposit clearing on Dec. 2nd, a transaction clearing on the 2nd, and an overdraft fee on the Dec. 2nd transaction. I do a double take, then print it out, then jump up screaming “Fuck Fuck Fuck!” Those ass-pirate fucktard bastards!

First of all, I was at the bank on Friday, November 29th before 2 fucking pm. I was at work from 1:20 pm until 8:47 pm. There is no 24 hour branch. The latest that the branch stays open is 8:00 pm and how could I possibly be at the bank while I’m clocked in and working. There is no way. There is no reason that my deposit should clear my account on the 2nd of December. I was there and completed my transaction before the 2 pm cutoff. I was playing by the stupid fucking rules like a good little consumer puppet. And I have my deposit slip showing that I was at the bank on Nov. 29th at…wait…they stopped putting the little timestamp on the deposit slips. Fuck. Well, I’ve got my timecard. At least I don’t work for them.

Secondly, if there was a deposit made on that day before 2 pm, then funds should have been available to cover the transaction that cleared that day. And funds sure as hell should have been available on Dec. 2nd to cover that transaction. Even with the first check and overdraft fee. I made sure to deposit extra to cover that and cover the other stuff coming through on my account.

Third, you people are even saying that you cleared my deposit on the 2nd. YOU SAID SO! And you’re charging me an overdraft fee for that day as well? What the FUCK? What the hell is your deal? You made the fucking deposit policy and you can’t stick to it? If you can’t, change it to something you can manage. That way I’ll know the rules. I’ll know how to avoid getting fucked.

This now means that the three other outstanding transactions on my account may bounce. Because those other two non-disputed overdraft fees have been taken from my balance, it means that my student loan payment is going to bounce, and possibly a credit card payment and school tax payment (unless those two hit the account first). And I’m going to be charged overdraft fees on those. Bastards!

So, I decide to call the bank and see if there is anything they can do over the phone. And I get Mike, the lovely non-helpful corporate whore. He can’t help me. I have to take copies of all documentation to the bank and prove that I’m right and quite frankly, he doesn’t think I am. I tell him that I will be doing that…and then taking all of my money elsewhere. And he said that I could do what I wanted to, because he didn’t like poor customers and I wasn’t worth his time. Oh, I’m not? I bet those overdraft fees are paying your salary, buddy. You’re full of shit.

Well, I’ve got time on my hands. I’m snowed in now. I have a computer with lots of paper, lots of envelopes, lots of stamps. And an English degree. Bank, prepare for me to verbally rip you a new asshole. I did. I wrote a three page letter detailing this problem, and stating that this is a fine example of corporate greed and monetary rape. What they are doing when they don’t abide by their own deposit policy (by not clearing deposits in the time frame that they say they will) allows them to target the lower economic classes and entrap them in financial slavery. Because they hold deposits beyond the specified time frame, they can wait for the overdraft, then charge the fee, then clear the deposit, take the overdraft fee, short the customer, and ensure that the customer must make another deposit to cover the overdraft and another shortage…and so on and so on. I have sent this letter to every branch manager, to the office of the president, and to the executive board at the main branch. I sent 10 letters out.

And on Monday morning, you can be assured that as long as I can get my car out of the snow and drive to the bank (which is 20 miles away), I will go into that office armed with my proof–a copy of my timecard and printouts of my account online. And I will be taking along 6 years worth of statements and cancelled checks, just so I have something to throw in their fucking faces (or to administer death by 10,000 paper cuts). I will demand to speak to a manager and present my case. And if they will not take those two overdraft fees off of my account, I will not pay them. They can send me to collections or sue me for it. I will not pay it. Just in case that happens, I did cover my bases. I did send a letter of explaination about the fees, my copies of proof showing that they are wrong, and a copy of the letter that I sent to the bank to the credit bureaus. Just as a precaution.

And after that, I will take my most recent paycheck to the lovely bank across the street that does not have a monetary rape policy in place and open an account with them. Never again will I bank with this company.

(sorry so very long…I’m right and I know it and I had to vent or I may get arrested or something when I get to the bank)

2

Seriously? That’s a big load of shit even by banking standards.

There still exist such banks? I’ve opened a new local account each time I’ve moved. First, I had a spectacular account at a little bank who had fine fees and whose ATM card I could use just about anywhere, for free. They even overdrew my account by more than $2000 in a bit of spectacularly bad timing on my part.

My next bank had mediocre fees, and I couldn’t use my card free in very many places. They nickel-and-dimed me to the tune of at least $300.

My most recent bank charges me a fee for using someone else’s ATM, as well as the fee the other ATM’s owner will charge me because the bank has so few. They don’t even have drive up ATMs.

The U.S. Constitution:

Why would it be so difficult for banks to do the same thing? Every customer gets ATM use at any ATM without additional fees. It wouldn’t even have to be free; I’d pay a couple bucks a month if it meant I could use any ATM I wanted to. Each month, or year, or whatever, the banks would tally up how many times their ATMs got used, and how many times their customers used someone else’s ATM. The fees are redistributed accordingly.

That would also open up the possiblity of someone just buying an ATM and sticking it somewhere high traffic. Since they’re not a bank, and don’t have any customers, redistributed fees would only come in. No fees on any of those thousands of gas station ATMs.

Feh, it’ll never happen. Banks make money being a ‘confusopoly’, as Scott Adams puts it.

3

Question: Did you write any checks while your account was in overdraft status, thinking that they wouldn’t clear before you made your deposit?

I have heard of banks that will look at the time/date stamp the register prints on the back of the check, check your account for that day, and if you were in an overdraft status at that time not cover the check, no matter if you made the deposit before 2 pm. What they are basically saying is that at the time you wrote the check, you knew you didn’t have the funds to cover it and they will charge your account because of that.

Not saying you did this, just asking if that might have happened.

Good luck, and let us know what the outcome is.
Quasi

4

Nope…the transactions that I did that I’m disputing the overdrafts on were done with a checkcard. One done after work Friday Nov. 29th. And the other done on Saturday Nov. 30th with a checkcard (in the afternoon). By their very policy, funds should have been available at that time and they weren’t. And then because of their failure to honor their own policy that they set, I get screwed with overdraft fees. Feh!

5

sorry to hear of your bad luck!!

If there’s any chance the following might be available anywhere near you, I’d very strongly suggest you consider these two words in finding your next banking institution:

CREDIT UNION

By definition, banks are in business to make money off of your money - and as you & a number of other Dopers have observed, they’ve all gone to increasingly & exceedingly slimey tactics to strip every possible penny from you that they can… And the sad part is, unless you’re a big depositor ($10K or higher), it’s virtually impossible for the banks to make money off your account - so they have to do something to try to earn their money and still provide you with a <COUGH> “service”. Not to take any of the piss out of your tirade but that’s the reality of the situation for banks.

Meanwhile, Credit Unions are in business to make money FOR you - not some anonymous shareholder. Their profits are shared with their account-holders (i.e. YOU), in the form of better interest rates and generally lower fees.

There are some limitations to “joining” a CU - not sure of the specific rules/reg’s on this but I know they’ve relaxed some of those rules in recent years. I’ll bet if you look around & do a little leg-work, you might find a CU in your area which you could join… However, do be wary of smaller CU’s (less than a few thousand members), as with their smaller financial base they will likely have more trouble making money – and might resort to bank-like tactics on a certain few people, to support a majority of its members.

I joined the CU at the company I work for (which is “thankfully” large & thus could support a large member-base) as soon as I was eligible, and I’ve never looked back. I do have a small account at a local bank <shudder> which I needed in order to rent a safe-deposit box there, but I consider the money I keep in that account to be virtually lost.

I’m not an expert on banks/CU’s/banking, and all of the above comments are based upon my own experiences. Thus, “YMMV”. But I hope this is of some help!

Fuck the banks!!

6

Huh. Based on the title, I figured the thread would be about the offensiveness of comparing the financial difficulties to the trauma, pain and emotional devestation of having one’s body violated by an attacker.

I guess not.

My condolences for your banking woes, ghandi. It sucks, really.

I don’t mean to be snotty, and (thank goodness) I don’t have any direct emotional investment in the issue so I’m not offended, but you might want to reconsider your choice of words next time 'round–particularly in your business correspondence. If your letter falls on the desk of someone who has experienced actual rape, or who has helped a loved one through that tragic situation, you might not recieve as much sympathy as your situation warrants.

7

This deposit, was it cash? I suggest researching Regulation CC, which outlines governmental regulations on things like check float. IIRC, Regulation CC compliance is supposed to stop banks from hanging consumers out to dry.

AmbushBug