Last week, someone from the bank called. My husband talked to the lady and asked what the call was in regards to, but she had to talk to me.
Well, that made it weirder. You see, we have a joint account. But I also have a business account that’s just me, and two accounts for my RWA chapter, of which I’m the treasurer.
Let me ask you, when you get an “important” message from your bank telling you to call them as soon as possible, what do you think? Nothing good, right?
Yeah, me too. So it was with some trepidation that I called the woman the next day.
And… they wanted to tell me about their new combo debit/credit card.
I told the woman “Put me on your do not call list and don’t ever call me again for something like that!” I then informed her that if I got another sales call (or similar), I’d take my business elsewhere – all of it.
Was that harsh? Believe me, I was using restraint (because I knew she was just doing her job). Thing is, the last time I got an “important” message from the bank was about six years ago. They were calling to tell me that one of my accounts was overdrawn by several thousand dollars.
What???
After an initial (and I’m proud to say, internal) panic, I realized that it wasn’t my personal account, but the RWA chapter’s. And regardless of which account it was, I knew I hadn’t written that much in checks. “There must be some fraudulent activity on the account,” I told the woman.
Indeed there was. Some shady “company” in Belgium had charged each of the chapter’s three debit cards, overdrawing the account with the third withdrawal.
It took awhile, but the bank took care of it. They opened a new account and replaced the amount we’d had stolen so we could continue to pay our bills. I continued to get calls from their phone center drones reminding me that my account was still overdrawn, which prompted me to call the head office each time and remind them that I was waiting for them to “investigate” the fraud charges, but it all ended up working out. I’m thankful that was all the hackers got, and that it was resolved in a few weeks.
Oh, and I cancelled the debit cards immediately, both the chapter’s and my personal one. They were nice to have, but the chapter doesn’t need them. We just write checks, and if we absolutely have to have a card, one of the officers uses a personal credit card, and I reimburse quickly.
What about you? I’d love to hear from you! Have you ever been the victim of identity theft? What do you think about the bank calling to offer you services? Do you think I was a little harsh to the woman? Or would you have already broken up with your bank?
Welcome wagon came to my house when I moved in. One financial person became a horrible nuisance until I spoke to her boss. Sheesh
Two times. Once, when I first moved to Cincinnati, Time Warner had a really pushy telemarketer that kept pestering the former spousal unit to get the Disney Channel. So she put me on the phone one Sunday morning. I said no and hung up. The next Sunday, I answered the phone and the telemarketer told me off for c*** blocking his sale. So I hung up, called back, and asked to speak to a supervisor. Never had the Disney Channel until it became basic cable.
The second one was Sprint, who decided that, since I paid them once a month for my phone, they could call me at work and strong arm me into buying a second line. At one point, I dropped the phone into some water, and the lady I got on the line refused to put me through to the replacement people until I bought a second line. Then I put my cell number Do Not Call registry (Yes, I had to put my cell number on the DNC list). Six weeks later, the woman on the line got snippy and said, “It takes 30 days for your number to get on the Do Not Call list.” I haven’t had the phone slammed down on me in, oh, ten years or so at that point. But this woman slammed it pretty hard when I pointed out that I filed 45 days ago AND emailed Sprint AND asked them to stop calling, especially during hours when most people worked.
Oh, and your bank is my bank. They wanted to know why I wasn’t using the equity on a house that I owed more on than it currently appraised for. That phone call ended with “I work across the street from you. Shall I come over in person and chat with your supervisor?”
Anymore, I eat telemarketers for breakfast.
My hubby had ID theft on his credit card after getting gas one time. It was at Costco and there’s no attendant to pay cash to get gas. Whoever stole the info charged $80 in gas and a large order of pizzas at a local place in our city, but what alerted the bank was a charge in Missouri that same day. Since then we’ve always paid cash for gas.
Years ago, someone went to a teller and changed my PIN! No kidding. A few days later when I went to get money out of my account at an ATM, my PIN wouldn’t work. I had to talk to a teller, who said I changed my PIN. I told her no, I didn’t. My account was missing over $400. That bank was in a grocery store and they didn’t have security cameras, so they weren’t able to watch a video to see who change the PIN. Whoever it was knew what they were doing. The bank reimbursed us and investigated the fraud, but I don’t believe they ever caught the person.
I also get irritated when a bank sales person calls because it does set off an alarm in my head as to what’s wrong. I could go on and on about the run around we’ve had with the bank regarding losing our house. Unbelievable how they play games, yanking people’s chains, just because they can. At the point when it was obvious they weren’t being straight up with us (to put it nicely) we decided to walk away, knowing they were never going to work with us. Yep, took a big hit, about $130,000, but so have many people in this economy, and there are worse things in life. We’re getting settled in our apartment, which is near family, and we’re moving on. I was on the phone with the bank for over two hours on Tuesday, and they transferred me from one dept. to another, then would cut me off and I had to start over again. I won’t bother calling them again. Don’t need my BP going up! So I’m not a big fan of banks right now. I’ll stop here and spare you more ranting! LOL!
I’ve had my debit card number stolen twice(without my knowledge, we think while at a restaurant). Both times it was made into a fake card and then used somewhere across the country. Luckily the bank immediately knew it wasn’t me.
Louise, oh yeah, I remember Welcome Wagon! Nice service, but comes with a lot of spam! Thanks for sharing.
Jim, LOL! Yup, you know who I’m talking about. And LOL about Sprint. I have to give Verizon some credit there – as much as we gripe about other aspects of their service, they have never called me! They text instead, which is fine as long as it’s free. 🙂
Lynn, so sorry to hear about your house! I read these stories in the news every now and then about people whose paperwork has been screwed up, the whole robo-signing mess, and more, and it just boggles the mind. Even people who’ve paid off loans then getting foreclosed on! And that’s scary about buying gas and using the ATM! Yikes! I do those things. Makes me consider using cash more often!
Coleen, I’ve had this happen to me too, only it was Discover Card. Like you said, they knew it was fraud and declined the charge, then called me to confirm. They’ve gotten much better at detecting this stuff in recent years, thank goodness!
I feel your pain. My credit card company has been pulling this same stunt for months. I get messages saying it’s urgent I call them, but if I stay on the line the message goes on to say there’s nothing wrong with the account, but time is running out on their offer to consolidate other cards.
If I keep getting these calls, I’m closing the account. It drives me INSANE when companies do that.
Becke, I would sooo bail from that credit card! I gave my bank one pass. Actually two – they did call again, but my husband read them the riot act and so far it’s worked. The only reason I haven’t changed yet is because between personal, business, and the RWA chapter, I have several accounts there – what a PITA! But if they pull this on me again, I will. Thanks for stopping by!
I have no problem walking away from banks and closing credit cards. Thankfully, our current bank, even though it’s one of the larger regional banks, has not yet given us a reason…nevertheless, I have moveyourmoney.com bookmarked and know the locations of several credit unions we may be eligible for.
I do try to be kind to telemarketers–I worked that job once, and there’s no more efficient way to heap abuse on yourself, but even I have my limits. My biggest irritant is the robocalls, though. The ones claiming to be from “Card Services” when you know it’s not your bank, not your credit card, and very clearly a bait-and-switch to get you into a panic. I have no problem baiting-and switching these guys right back with some entertaining fictions. 😉
Wow Jennette, that’s crazy. Yes, my husband and I did have identity theft. Well actually he did with his business account. Someone in Belgium had his card number and their first name was Karen. Fortunately the bank called immediately and things were taken care of. 🙂
That’s horrid, Jennette! It’s never happened to me (knock on wood). I’m definitely going to start paying cash more often. And what’s with all the shady deals in Belgium?
No, I don’t think you were too harsh. I get really annoyed when those types of callers won’t tell me, or my husband if he answers, what the call is about. You have to watch out, too, when you get calls on your cell saying they are from the credit card companies and they ask for personal information. Never, never tell them anything. Ask for the caller’s name and ID number,go home and call the company from your home phone, and ask if they called you. They keep records of the calls. We got a call like that and knew we hadn’t given them a cell number. Scary when that happens.
Athena, ouch, I feel for you! I don’t think I could do that job. Well, maybe if I was really, really desperate! And yup, I already have the credit union picked out if my bank hassles me again. 🙂
Karen, glad it worked out for you! I’ve had that happen with my Discover card, too. They denied the charge and called me right away. They really are getting better at detecting fraud, thank goodness, but the bad guys always seem to be one step ahead.
Debra, weird, huh? Not what I’d have expected either. You’ve had good luck – hope it continues!
Catherine, yes, that was what was the most annoying! The second time my husband asked them point blank if they were calling about the debit card and they admitted they were, so he gave them the heave-ho. And you are right about other callers – a legitimate bank won’t call and ask you for this information – they’ll tell you to come in, or send you something by postal mail. Thanks for your comments, everyone!
Oh my yes – I have been a victim of identity theft. Both my checking and savings accounts were cleaned out. Charges were made at a tuxedo shop in Atlanta, Georgia of all places for $900 a pop. I bank at a small local bank and they called me to verify the purchases. I was promptly reimbursed and issued new checks and debit cards. My bank never calls me unless it’s important and that’s why I bank there.
Sorry you had a bad experience, but I don’t think you were too harsh. Telemarketing in any form is just plain wrong. If I’m interested in buying something, “I’ll call you!” (Well not you personally Jennette, but you know what I mean. Unless you’d like to start buying me stuff I need?)
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
Patricia, ugh, so glad to hear you got the mess straightened out – and that your bank only calls when it really is important! Mine only did too, until recently. And LOL on the telemarketers!
So scary, right? I faced similar situation two weeks ago when someone hacked into my bank account and spent 80 percent of its contents. Luckily, the bank cleared it up pretty quickly… Probably because it’s so darn common, the systems are locked in place. Glad your situation panned out, too!
August, it is indeed scary! These hackers got *everything* from my RWA chapter’s account – only stopped when they got it all. And it took six weeks for the bank to clear it up! Glad to hear they’ve gotten quicker at that – and that they took care of you! Thanks for stopping by.
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