Beware of Banking Fees - Update

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ood Morning Everyone. Since my last posting "Beware of Banking Fees" a lot has happened that I wanted to update you on. As you remember the problem I was facing was with several overdraft fees on my personal account that was never overdrawn.  I had tried to rectify the problem with a call to the customer service 800 line, only to be told - there was nothing they could do. Now I would have to say with the challenges that I have experienced in my life over the past twenty years, minor things can weight just as heavily as major things that come up during day to day experiences. I would prefer to avoid confrontation, but if I feel like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, confrontation is almost guaranteed until I feel I am getting a complete and honest answer.

Now if you haven't had the pleasure of seeing me react when I find out I am being lied to or had been lied too it can't be a very intense moment that if my head could spin around and around - it would, but that is another blog post for another day as I don't want to shake up a perfectly good Thursday. On that note I'm going to move away from the lying  topic and get back to my this banking saga. I decided that I was going to once again get  a face to face meeting with someone from customer service to see what their answer would be this time. The next morning my day was anything but routine. The bus never came to pick up my kids so that meant I was their ride. I got myself together forgetting many important details, Hair, makeup, matching clothes, etc., etc., etc., and we headed out the door by 6:59am. As we headed on our way to take my oldest son to the High School and my younger son to the Vocational School to the next town, because at this point he had missed the shuttle from the High School to get him there for his 7:25 class, my cell phone began ringing. Immediately my heart started to pound with excitement - it's my sweetie, but his call was not one of speaking sweet nothings to me, he wanted me to bring him his other work boots as he was working with asphalt and didn't want to get tar and stuff on his new boots. By this point I had almost forgotten that I set into my mind that I was going over to the bank to address what I feel is a way banks try to scam people in this drowning economy.

I got the kids to school, when back home and got the boots, and now I am falling into a funk that I just want to go home and do nothing - remember I hold a Doctorate's in Procrastination. (smile). The traffic was getting backed up due to the morning rush and the gas tank was reading lower than I'd like, yet somehow I found the ability to get my mind back on track. I arrived at the bank two minutes before they opened, which gave me time to plan out what I was going to say rather than come off as some demanding ranging mother that didn't have time to do her hair or make-up. (I'm surprised I wasn't arrested for indecent exposure from the neck up - hahaha).

So there I stood in the lobby, oversized work out pants that were all stretched out, a jacket that looked like my pen had taken it upon its self to randomly write on it, my hair crazier than Reverend Jim on the 80's sitcom Taxi, and I was sporting a blank and very pale canvas color to my face that could have landed me a roll on the AMC series "Walking Dead", and this is NO LIE! I was a walking horror story. There wasn't one sign that this girl had been asked to pose for Playboy as Miss August. I still have my letter. There was only one customer in the bank that was standing at the teller window and took a look at me and then quickly looked away so that he wouldn't turn to stone. I'm telling you, I am one scary mother, no pun intended, in the morning that even I don't look into a mirror until at least after 7:30am.

 

I will have to say that the customer service lady met me with smile, but I can just envision what she was thinking.  She asked me to come into her cubical and we both looked over my account on her computer screen. Her screen was displaying the same information as mine - never been overdrawn.  her explanation was that the computer - I so love how people blame inanimate objects, saw the debits of the day and then the deposit on that same day so it believed that I didn't have the money when it implement the charges before the credit posted. It was all I go do to refrain from going into one of my sarcastic modes where I say - "AUH DUAH! HELLO! DO YOU HEAR YOURSELF! FUDGE!!!!!"

However I didn't say anything and just kind of shook my head in disbelief that I was even sitting there listening to this. When she looked up at me after typing on her keyboard, she said something that completely shocked me - I have reversed all but two charges Mrs. Bolin, and the reason for that is a check that was written to you for $150.00, was returned today and that is what produced the additional charges after the fees you have been trying to fix. But the fees you got today were not overdraft fees that were return check fees. With that, I was content. I was finally given a straight answer.

So as you have probably guessed by now, our account is now in good standing - knock on wood. Phew! I'm relieved that this drama is behind me and I have learned a lot. When all else fails and it is physically possibly, always try to resolve a problem in person. Never try to use e-mail or texting as you can't tell what a person is feeling through their words and unless they state what the emotion is one can jump to false assumptions. Calling on the phone is convenient, but can still lead to stress as the persons tone could be nothing like their body language and again you could take their tone in a negative way, but it just might be the way the person is. I'm glad I went with my instinct and chose to go back in. I am also happy to report that the maker of the bad check - they paid me in cash and paid for the fees. So what had started out as a morning without my routine, feel back into a regular schedule and I completed the rest of my tasks for the day without any problems.

Thanks so much for listening and remember, always be mindful of your money. Know where it is going, why it is going there and who is trying to get you to part with it. Have a wonderful day everyone and I'll blog you later.

 

P.S. My fictional mystery, suspense thriller titled "Deemed Crazy" is in it's final stages to be ready for print. I can't wait. I have really enjoyed stepping outside the box and write in a genre that year ago only read. Again, thanks for sticking with me and can't wait to share more blog stories on topics that people have sent in.

 

Excuses, Excuses.

I just had to share this, thanks Josie!

You know me, always full of excuses as to why I don't finish something, or why I never get started, but actually - today was one of those, do a bit of everything all at once and accomplish something kind of day. To my surprise I actually found my kitchen under all the counter clutter, I also found the matching socks to about 3 dozen orphan socks that had been released from captivity in my oldest son's room, (Trust me, you wouldn't go looking in there either. You'd wait too.) I picked up my oldest son and his very large welding (What the heck are you going to do with it?) project, from his vocational school and then (I really like this part) I still found the time to increase my surfing experience...Oh, my Internet surfing experience (Think I could add professional Internet surfer to my resume? OK I tried.) To keep this day moving smoothly, it looks like it's going to be a breakfast kind of dinner. Yummy! Happy Hump Day everyone! Two more days until Friday - Keeping my fingers crossed it will be another date night Friday kind of night. :)

Conversations With a Stranger

I don't know his name; I don't know if he was married, I don't even know if he had kids. What I do know is that he was a man of many questions. They were questions that I couldn't answer, but have wondered myself more often than not. He's questions were many, yet always going go back to the same two - why have people changed and how did we let things get so bad in America? I got chills just listening to his questioning that he threw out into the vast space around the people walking by him. They merely paid no mind and let his spoken words fall on deaf ears. I didn't have any answers, but I wanted him to know, that he is not the only one that is feeling this way. Life is so different from the world in which we grew up as kids. He looked up at me and smiled.

"Thank You. Thank you for taking the time to hear me." He remarked in a raspy voice.

I immediately felt a loss for words. Here is man that appeared down on his luck, his clothes and sneakers were worn out due to frequent wear and tear, but he had new shoe laces. To know that I took the time to acknowledge him, he began to share how proud he was about his new shoe laces, rather than wanting answers.  To see his excitement on something as simple as a pair of new shoe laces, had me wondering, if part of his quest was just to draw attention to himself so that people would take notice and speak to him.

He never once asked for money or if I could spare a little change. He never gave me this long story that his car broke down and he needed money for a tow. He never asked for anything but an answer to his questions. I had no spare change or answers to give to him, so I gave him my time and attention, even if was for just a few short minutes. People looked at me in a questioning manor, as if I had broken the law to speak to someone that was possibly down on his luck. As I think about this more and more today, I honestly believe that all this man wanted was to be seen and heard - Nothing more. Normally I’d have been the same way as the rest of the citizens walking by, much too busy to take the time to listen to someone else’s stories or troubles. Just keep moving at lightning speed to get to a point of the unknown. How precious time is, and how terrible the thought that it is taken for granted each and every day by so many. That many believe the sun will come up tomorrow and that life will get better. Sure, for most these things will happen, however, what about those who have lost their jobs, their families, their ability to cope in their daily lives. What if the only thing they see is the darkness and that their only shining light is someone taking a small amount of their busy day to acknowledge they are there. How hard is it – really? How hard is it to demonstrate a simple act of kindness that will help someone feel that they still matter in this mass universe? Not only would this bring peace to someone’s day, but it will make your day as well.

I know my day started off pretty rough as I continue to battle the fight against outrageous cell phone expenses in my home. I often wonder if I fight this, because I feel I have nothing better to do, or maybe, just maybe in my heart of hearts I see all the frivolous things we take for granted every day while men, women and children, young and old, out in our world of worlds, are struggling to just get through a day. I can hear some of you now, “You work hard for your money, and why not enjoy it.”  My reasoning to answer your statement, the world is not as it once was. Companies are closing down; to find a job is like winning the lottery or finding gold, and the cost of products and services keeps going up and up. While I stood and spoke with this gentle soul, I smiled and couldn’t help but say to him, things will get better, just take one day at a time. That he should always remember, people hear him and maybe they walk by, because they too, cannot answer his questions, but don’t know how to give of themselves either and so it is easier to avoid a situation than try to make the best of it. He simply smiled. I guess in an indirect way, I had answered his question.  I was the one person in his day that had shown him the world was not completely changed. I took a moment to show compassion for a stranger and that America may be struggling, but there are people out there with the same fears and worries, taking it one day at a time. I believe that life is what you make of it and realize that if tomorrow never comes; I have done for others because I want to and by doing so, I feel better about myself and my place in this world. That I hope for future generations of the world, they go on to live their days by a few golden rules, the same ones we were taught when we were kids. As I walked across the road to go to my truck, I turned to send one remaining smile to the man who acutally made my day - he was gone.