| Author |
 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,822 |
|
|
New Member
United States
12 Posts |
Here's my worst mistake so far as a CRH. At what was my main dump bank, I took in about $1,200 in loose coin for them to run through their machine. I had been bringing in roughly that amount weekly for a couple of months. This particular day the older unfriendly lady got my coin to run. She was obviously put out with it but did it. At the time this bank did not have a public coin counter and a teller had to run it. The next week when I brought coin in I went to another teller. However, "Beverly" spoke up and said I was not able to bring coin in any more without a charge. When I inquired why and how much I would be charged she simply said she had talked to the manager and I was not able to run that much coin or I would have to pay 10%. When I informed her that 10% was absolutely absurd, she just said I would have to go elsewhere. I should have just gone elsewhere and let it go. But no I came in a couple of days later and talked to the manager. She gave me the "it costs the bank money, etc, etc". Which is all true by the way. But she said she would discuss it with her district supervisor. "Um well that's not necessary, I understand." Too late. She did... and my account got flagged to be charged to run coin as I discovered when I went to another branch. I was able to smooth it over and am able to run coin through the coin counter now, except at the original dump which I now avoid. So... if a bank decides not to do business with you, I highly suggest you just say you understand and thank them for their time and go elsewhere. Frankly, if I were a bank manager I would not want to run coin for the likes of us either.  |
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4333 Posts |
That is why I went to credit unions, they treat me better, have very nice counters with no fee for me, and they aren't all stuffy like the banks.
When I listen to LED ZEPPELIN...so do my neighbors...
Roll hunting since '77
Dirt fishing since '72
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
You should definitely be exploring credit unions or other banks. 10% is a bald-faced rip-off. That bank's attitude is "we don't want your business and we don't
want to see your face" and they couldn't get much clearer about it.
If I was in your position, I'd be taking my business elsewhere. I'd also find out who the chief officer of operations was. I'd send a letter to the COO with a
copy to the CEO (they hate hard-copy letters the worst, since phone calls and emails somehow aren't as bothersome to them) complaining loudly about fees
being arbitrarily imposed at the branch level. Don't complain about the fee (because they can come back to that with excuses)---complain about the arbitrary
imposition of fees based on hostile, lazy teller's anti-customer service attitudes. Portraying yourself as the discriminated-against customer who's being singled
out for arbitrarily-imposed fees determined by undisciplined loose cannons at the branch level will open up executive management eyes and get proper credit
given to your good friend Bev (who I think deserves some credit here).
When some snotty old bag teller can cause a fee to be imposed because she didn't like having to do something for a customer, there is something very wrong
with that picture. Fees are supposed to be imposed as a result of policies that come from the top down -- not as a result of some snotty clerk being annoyed
because she had to do something. It sounds to me like you're putting up with the wrong bank.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1109 Posts |
Tell the bank you are going to charge them 10% to use your money for their investments.
|
|
Moderator
 United States
187862 Posts |
Quote:
Tell the bank you are going to charge them 10% to use your money for their investments. Let me know how that works out for you.  |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
622 Posts |
Fat Freddy, I just went down the very road you speak of. If I took the advice you wrote and inserted my specific's and it would pretty much be the journey of my dealings with this bank (minus the hand-written letter). I got nowhere with the actual bank so I took it up a notch to the Kansas City Federal Reserve Compliance Department.(Thanks for the advice Fade) I provided the same information about being singled out and no bank policy. I was reimbursed by check via USPS. The check was accompanied by a hateful letter from the bank president with a notice that I'm no longer desired as a costumer.
There were different aspects of this journey that made me mad as hell. Matter of fact, it wasn't the fee that got me but rather the principle. They felt I was misusing bank funds. I found there was no bank policy for fees. They were just singling me out and belittling me. They were trying to shame me.
I will say Crazycoinguys note stating 'why would they want us' is valid. Most of us use bank resources and provide zero revenue. It's kind of hard for CRHers to approach banks with the typical "If you don't do xxxx then I'll take my business elsewhere". There response is (Tombstone Quote) well....bye.
If they have an issue and want to create a fee, then they need to create a policy. The policy needs to be based on the amount of coin or currency, not whether they agree with how we use the money.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
318 Posts |
Does anyone own a commercial business with armored car cash pickup service? I'm curious what the actual cost of handling coin would be if we were to pay going rate.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
@owassokie---I'm glad to hear somebody actually went to the trouble and got some fat, nasty bank Pres slapped on the wrist and red-faced in the end. A
letter to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees laying out the whole arbitrary fee thing might well cause that fat, nasty Pres to end up even more red-faced.
Nothing like getting called on the carpet by the Trustees to humiliate a fat cat exec! Congrats and kudos on your efforts!
Another thought for anybody with bank woes is the idea of discrimination. If you happen to be a member any sort of identifiable "group" (whether it be an
ethnic, racial, religious, sexual orientation, age thing or whatever) and you get hit with an arbitrarily imposed fee that isn't clearly mandated by established
corporate policy, you have been discriminated against. That's fair game for a federal complaint that should definitely end up with some lazy bank branch
staffer (and with luck manager) getting a real spanking.
On a closing note... I hope you didn't close out your account with those dirtbags. If I was in the position you were in, I'd keep the account open with about $7
over the minimum required balance and then make a $5.00 deposit (of loose coins) every even month and a $5.00 withdrawl every odd month. I'd also make a
point of stopping by periodically and driving the local branch staff crazy with questions about student loans and loans for used cars and motorcycles, policies
and fees pertinent to international wire transfers and every other cockamamie PITA subject I could dream up. I'd do my personal best to see if I could cause
bleeding ulcer flare-ups in as many as possible of the branch staff. They'd have my picture on a dartboard in their break room long before I even got warmed up.
But -- most importantly -- I'd make sure I had a lot of fun doing these things for a long, long time!
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
2805 Posts |
I wouldn't call a fake discrimination charge on a bad employee, though. Making up charges to get revenge doesn't seem like something you do in a friendly hobby :I
Unless they really are discriminating against you, obviously. But I'd just try reporting their fabricated charges and poor service without going overboard in a quest for bad teller blood.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
713 Posts |
I had a bad experience last week at my dump.
the machine stopped working 3/4 of the way and we had to remove all my halves and I had to go to another branch to dump them.
me and the mgr were talking while we were problem solving the machine and he was telling me all the managers are sick of it, and they will probably stop with the coin machines soon.
i do have other places to go, but if I lost that bank, that would be a real hindrance.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
Just to clarify my earlier post... I'm not suggesting fabricating anything and I'm not suggesting seeking revenge. What I am suggesting is lodging an appropriate
and timely complaint when one has been discriminated against.
I believe that when bank branch staff arbitrarily enforce fees based on their whim as opposed to established corporate policy, the staff is skating on some very thin
ice and courting righteous complaints which might well include complaints of discrimination. I also believe that there's nothing wrong with the concept of giving credit
where credit is due, whether that credit is complimentary or not.
Bank branch staff who act outside the realm of established corporate policy by arbitrarily making up and enforcing fees against specific individuals need to have their
actions brought to the attention of governmental banking regulatory authorities. I think failure to complain about this kind of organizational misbehavior is accepting and
encouraging it, and I don't agree with that.
I very much prefer to have cordial, friendly relations with my bank and credit union staff--as I always have and still do. Nonetheless, I wouldn't be silently tolerant of
the kind of discriminatory behavior and arbitrarily promulgated and enforced fees described in this thread.
Edit: However---As always, "to each his own..." Anybody who wants to tolerate being pushed around well outside the limits of bank policy by staff with customer-unfriendly
attitudes is certainly free to do so.
Edited by Fat Freddy
04/01/2013 9:05 pm
|
|
Valued Member
United States
362 Posts |
Same situation with me at my dump. I solved it by using two methods, first with the good tellers I buy them snacks and treats on every third visit. With the nasty two tellers I lie my backside off to them to avoid the charges. It may not be ethical but it does solve the "morality" issue.  |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1770 Posts |
yea I've had similar problems as well ( one bank manager told me to never come again) and I did just that one branch manager told me I can only dump 500 dollars at a time which is totally insane, but I said then ill come everyday and she was like thats ok - never went back there again. sure is getting harder and harder to dump coins
|
| |
Replies: 12 / Views: 1,822 |
|
Posted 04/01/2013 08:35 am
