Bank Woes= Need Advice Please

Off Topic
1

Long story short, I switched banks January 26th, to a local one, as Bank Of America, TWICE lost my checks and said I overdrew.

I don’t know how a proffessional bank, loses checks, after much bullshit, including calling me a liar that I even made these deposits, and they finally found my checks and got rid of the overdraft fees.

Anyways, now I’m getting mail saying I owe bank of america because they have been paying my gym membership…I notified my gym that I would be switching accounts and not to bill that account.

So a week after I closed my bank account, BOA, RE-OPENED my account and started paying a bill going to it as well as charing me overdrafts.

I went into reconcile this, and they explained they had REOPENED my account, and it could not be closed until I paid them their fees.

I said “bullshit, how many times do I have to close my account with you for it to be closed?”

The conversation degraded and I was asked to leave.

I didn’t leave, I got the woman’s name and a corporate number to bitch at.

Long story short once again, I WILL not pay these fees, how do I get the bank, to “RE-CLOSE” my account, FOR GOOD, take me off record, and never have to deal with them again, without paying their ridiculous fees. Even if I do pay these gym fees to them, they paid for me, they are STUBBORN, that I still owe them late fees, when my account is FUCKING CLOSED.

Anyways, what do I do in this situation?

2

Did you get a copy of whatever you signed when closing the account?

3

If the bank did indeed pay for your gym membership, that is money you rightfully owe them. I dont see where the argument is there…maybe with your gym, certainly not with the bank. The fees are a different issue.

Look… Heres the deal. How much is your time worth? This is going to go one of 2 ways… You are either going to spend HOURS AND HOURS saving 14 dollars in fees, or you just pony up the cash, close the count and never deal with them again…spread bad word of mouth, cost them business, and thats that.

I know that there is the whole principal of the matter, but sometimes you have to weigh the time you are about to spend on something vs. the money you are going to spend…see which one tips the scales.

4

Ya, they acknowledged I closed the account apparently tho, closing your account doesn’t actually mean, that I closed my account. Apparently, they are certain they are within their contractual rights to re-open my account.

5

Did you give your gym your new bank account info before the gym began their billing process for that month?

6

Nope. I hadn’t switched yet, I gave it to them after wards, I notified them I was switching, EVEN so. I closed my account, and RE-OPENED my acct instead of telling the gym that I no longer had an account with them, and went ahead and paid my fees. That was their choice, as I CLOSED my dealings with them.

I mean if closing your account doesn’t mean making it null and void, inaccessible, out of reach, no longer active, whatever. WTF does it mean? Will my account ever be closed?

It seems to me the bank chose to a pay a bill that wasn’t theres to pay and is functioning without my consent here, in a bid to make some overdraft fees.

Anyways, about it, I am NOT paying it, no matter what.

7

[quote]Sikkario wrote:
The conversation degraded and I was asked to leave.[/quote]

Can anyone else picture this?

8

Same problems with bank of america bro, Glad I aint the only one.

9

I’d go in there and meet with one of their managers.

Take with you all evidence and documentation that you have, indicating the account was supposed to be closed, the request to change accounts the gym charged, etc.

I’ve heard some other really bad stories about Bank of America, too. Just keep going back and shaking things up.

10

Fuck BoA man. I’m not really worried about them. I’ll file a few more copmlaints and then, if nothing resolves, I’ll just leave that balance there for the rest of my life. I don’t owe them anything.

11

[quote]Sikkario wrote:
Fuck BoA man. I’m not really worried about them. I’ll file a few more copmlaints and then, if nothing resolves, I’ll just leave that balance there for the rest of my life. I don’t owe them anything.[/quote]

When I was a young idiot, much like yourself, I told T-Mobile to fuck off on principle. I ruined my credit and now rely on my wife for EVERYTHING that requires a credit check. Have a nice day.

12

[quote]triple-10sets wrote:
Same problems with bank of america bro, Glad I aint the only one. [/quote]

That sucks to hear as they just bought my bank (Lasalle).

On a positive note I had an overdraft of .15 cents and they didn’t charge me an overdraft fee.

13

Newsflash my man, you HAVE to pay it. That is, if you ever want a checking account with any bank that is. When you close an overdrawn account with a bank, they put you into a banking database called checksystems or something like that. Any other bank you go to to open an account will immediately run you thru there, and if you owe you will have to pay it before they allow you to open an account with their bank. Your best bet is to square up with them now, not without a fight of course, but you still have to handle it.

14

[quote]Aeon Infinitus wrote:
I’d go in there and meet with one of their managers.

Take with you all evidence and documentation that you have, indicating the account was supposed to be closed, the request to change accounts the gym charged, etc.

I’ve heard some other really bad stories about Bank of America, too. Just keep going back and shaking things up.[/quote]

This is the approach that I would take. I was full of piss and vinegar when I was younger and it really never got me anywhere. Eventually, you will learn that you will get much more accomplished by asking people for their help in a calm and professional manner than you will by acting tough and demanding that they do it. Be professional and frame it as they are doing you a favor. More often than not, they will do what you want them to. Use words like “Please” and “Is it possible”, “What if” or “Would you be able to”.

If you had real stones, you would apologize to the woman that asked you to leave and then ask for her assistance in resolving the matter. However, that would take some real finesse and humbleness. I doubt you could pull it off. It would be cool if you could though.

I also think that the advice about paying the fee and being done with BOA is sound advice. Ruining your credit over $15 is pretty foolish. When I was in college, I had roommates stick me with a $200 phone bill. Like an idiot, I figured that I would just hide from it. What a mistake. That $200 cost me numerous loan applications and required me to put deposits down for utilities for the next seven years. Are you willing to do the same thing to try and put one over on BOA?

I understand that banks can be pricks, but you need to learn to pick your battles wisely. I say this to you with respect and not as a putdown.

15

I’ve had clients have the same thing happen. One wrote me a check from a banking account that was closed. I had to go through some trouble to handle the situation and I filed a poor banking practice complaint. Trust me on this, especially after my last divorce I generally avoid banking accounts.

16

Your problem is with your gym not your bank. Yes you closed your account, but shortly there after your account was hit with an ACH. EVERY BANK would have automatically reopened your account to pay the charge - it is literally out of the bank employee’s hands. They essentially gave you a short term loan to pay for your gym membership. YOU OWE THEM THOSE FUNDS. However, the bank probably charged you a fee (no loan if free). Those fees should be credited to your gym membership because you told them to charge another bank account and they did not. However, if you let this drag out for a while and let the fees accrue…then YOU OWE THE BANK THOSE EXCESS FEES.

To leave the bank stuck with an open balance is no different than stealing. Man up, quit being a victim, and pay your debts.

17

VanderLaan is right (well the first part anyway, I disagree with just paying it to make it go away, but that’s just me). Go to the bank with your evidence, notification of the account closure, proof that you requested your gym not charge that account, etc… Ask to speak with the bank manager and have him or her explain to you their legal and contractual justification for reopening your account. Ask to see where it’s written and have them explain how you are still under any sort of contractual obligation to them after closing your account. Listen, ask questions about anything you don’t understand, and don’t get angry. If you go about it politely and without getting argumentative or nasty you’ll have a much easier time of things. Chances are, the bank manager’s time is worth a lot more than the fee you owe them.

My guess is you’ll be able to get them to waive the fee but have to reimburse them for the gym charge (you have to pay the gym either way right? You can’t expect BofA to pay for your gym membership).

Good luck, do some research on banking laws and go in educated about your rights, not screaming and yelling like a madman.

18

Some advice to anyone when switching banks and accounts - leave something in the old account for at least a month - until you are sure that all payments have gone through and all automatic withdrawals have switched to your new bank.

DB

19

To add on to my advice from earlier, I know a guy who has this attitude (Fuck them…I’m not paying them that money)… His credit is absolute SHIT. He cant get a loan for a car for under 20% (that is HUGE if you dont know) and cant get credit cards with anything that resembles a decent spending limit.

Really think about what you would be doing to yourself if you decide not to take care of this.

20

[quote]m0dd3r wrote:
VanderLaan is right (well the first part anyway, I disagree with just paying it to make it go away, but that’s just me).[/quote]

So what does he do if he follows my (our) advice and the bank insists that he pay the service charge? I would think that he should pay it and be done with BOA. Given your previous advice, I would doubt that you would suggest that he not pay it. He definitely is not going to get an attorney and take BOA to court. So what other option does he have?

I like to think that I am a man of principle. However, there are some things in life that are just not worth falling on your sword over. Sometimes, cracking the wallet, dropping some green on the table and telling them to fuck off is the best option. Just be sure that you get a receipt.