Master Fob Kicks Butt and Takes Names

Well, actually, I didn't take any names, but it wasn't necessary. If it were, I would have.

On Wednesday I got a paycheck instead of direct deposit because I just opened a new bank account and it takes a while to change the direct deposit. So I picked up the check and went to an ATM to deposit it. I understood that ATM deposits made in the early evening don't get posted until the next day, but when I came home and checked my online banking, it showed that the available balance was a hundred dollars more than it had been the day before. I wondered why that was, but didn't worry about it too much. I'd been wanting to transfer the bulk of what I had in checking into savings, so I transfered most of my available balance--the transfer amount was twenty dollars more than Tuesday's ending balance, but I figured if the bank let me make the transfer and it was less than the available balance, there shouldn't be a problem.

Yesterday I checked my account and it showed Balance: -$20.oo and Available Balance: $80.00. The negative balance worried me, but the available balance was positive and I knew my deposited check should be going through, so I didn't worry too much.

This morning I checked and the deposit showed, but a $20.00 overdraft fee also showed. I was quite upset. I considered complaining through the online customer service form, but decided I needed a more immediate resolution than that. I ignored my aversion to phone conversations, particularly potentially confrontational phone conversations, and called. The customer service representative explained that although the bank lets you use a hundred dollars of a deposit made after the daily cut-off, you can't actually use it do immediate things like making transfers. I pointed out that if this was the case then the online banking program shouldn't have allowed me to make the transfer. She said the overdraft fee was non-refundable. I said this was unacceptable.

Another ten times or so she explained that there was nothing that she could do and I explained that I would not accept that answer. Finally she agreed to let me talk to a supervisor. The supervisor said politely that I was the one in the wrong but since I was being a crybaby they'd give me my money back, just this once. I said politely that the bank was indeed the one in the wrong, but I didn't need her to acknowledge that so long as I got my money back. She thanked me for choosing Bank of [country name removed to protect the bank] and told me to have a nice day.

I am proud of myself. I was not mean or rude, but I was firm. I refused to be ignored, and I got the service I demanded. If you don't realize how significant this is, you don't know me very well. This new, assertive Master Fob is a development of recent years and has only shown his face a handful of times so far.

I think I like him.