The Conservative Cave
Current Events => The DUmpster => Topic started by: franksolich on May 19, 2009, 06:49:01 AM
-
http://demopedia.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5681725
Oh my.
old mark (1000+ posts) Tue May-19-09 05:45 AM
Original message
Bank tricks my wife screws up her credit to make a few cents profit...
My wife is paying off a large dentist bill with a credit arrangement she got theough the dentist's office. She pays online using a bank account-linked credit/debit card. She just got a notice yesterday from the dental billing outfit saying her payment was late - again - and she is being charged a late fee ans her interest rate is now near 30%.
Turns out the bank from which she takes the money to pay this bill (every month, on time) debits her account immediately , but does not pay the bill for a week afterwards, probably transferring the money into a pool account to make interest or some such scheme before transfering it to the debt holder.
This has caused my wife's payment to shpw up late, no matter when she actually pays it, leaving us with late fees, high interest and a "bad mark" on the credit rating.
FWIW, it's Sovereign Bank, and we are closing the account, our last account not in a credit union, and one we started years ago solely to use to pay bills online.
Wanted to share this - check ALL online transactions carefully - Banks are not your friends.
rfranklin (1000+ posts) Tue May-19-09 05:58 AM
Response to Original message
1. Sounds like fraud...do they tell you that they will not make payments for a week after debiting your account. If not, they are responsible for correcting your credit problem.
The silly primitive:
SoCalDem (1000+ posts) Tue May-19-09 06:14 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. The problem is that some banks actually cut real checks and mail them so they need a "lead" time to make sure a payment';s not late,, WaMu's online bill pay said "estimated delivery date"..
One would think that they would do it all electronically, but some do not..
The one time this happened to me, I printed out the page that showed the money was removed from my account, and they waived the late charge...but they did also tell me to be sure and add a few days to what the bank claimed was "enough"
old mark (1000+ posts) Tue May-19-09 07:30 AM
Response to Reply #1
8. We found this out after my wife called them yesterday. The dates we told them to pay the bill are on our computer, and the bank's record. They simply delayed payment after taking the funds from our account, for whatever reason - I assume for profit.
The only reason we had this account was to pay bills online to avoid checks, late fees, etc. We do all our banking asind from that at our Credit Union, which didn't have online services then. They do now, and we are closing our last remaining commercial bank account this month.
Check your credit card receipts for dates if you pay online - make sure you are not being used.
exboyfil (379 posts) Tue May-19-09 06:51 AM
Response to Original message
3. It is really getting weird out there
I have a coworker who paid a medical bill with his Health Savings Account Debit card. The bill was due and paid about a month ago. The hospital claims it did not receive payment and has already turned over the bill to a collection agency. I can't even imagine why they would do this after one month.
The primitive who wants to go have her hips replaced, in a third-world country with a beach:
Vinca (1000+ posts) Tue May-19-09 06:55 AM
Response to Original message
4. Get a copy of the payment record and mail it to the dental billing outfit.
Complain to your state's banking commission. Don't let the bums get away with it!
yy4me (1000+ posts) Tue May-19-09 07:03 AM
Response to Original message
5. I'd report this to my state Attorney General. They are stealing your money for a week for their own gain. It may take some time but I bet even the threat of doing this would make then refund what they have messed up.
THis is egregious behavior.
I'm waiting for B OF A to pull some kind of a cutie on me. Everyone I know seems to be talking about some kind of mistreatment by larger banks. I switched all my banking to my small local bank but unfortunately have a CC balance with B of A. I have an interest rate of 9.5% so I'm quiet about it for now. When that is paid, I will get a CC locally.
SmileyRose (1000+ posts) Tue May-19-09 07:03 AM
Response to Original message
6. This is illegal by federal law they have to handle electronic transfers within 24hrs and they have to have a paper check in the mail within 24 hrs. They also have to process all deposits within 48 hrs, including international transactions.
Contact the creditor for the dental bill, explain what happened and provide whatever proof they request to show the date of your payment request at your bank, and the date the money was removed from your account. They may work with you as long as no more payments are late - meaning change how you pay and write a check yourself 2 weeks in advance of the due date.
this should be easily solved.
The buzzy one:
Buzz Clik (1000+ posts) Tue May-19-09 07:27 AM
Response to Original message
7. It's illegal.
piratefish08 (105 posts) Tue May-19-09 07:40 AM
Response to Original message
9. Report them to your State AG immediately - Illegal!
Find other victims online and file a class action suit.
I dunno. This is why franksolich takes the time and trouble to pay bills in real life, rather than through the internet. Number one, franksolich is then not putting information on the internet that might be found out by malicious third parties. Number two, franksolich is then controlling when the bill is paid.
Stupid primitives.
-
Actually, how I understood it, is how one primitive explained it(and I notice they all overlook it in the interest of their usual "it's got to be a sham job" attitudes. Anyway, *most* major credit organizations can be paid electronically, however some 2 bit outfits, probably like this dental credit thing, may have to be paid by a check through the mail, you know, the old fashioned way the dummies would probably like us to go back to so they can manipulate float and such. The problem likely came in where the dummie assumed this creditor would be accepting things the electronic way and they thought they gave it enough time, where instead, it had to be cut by check and sent via the mail. Perhaps they should blame the US gov for not getting the mail there in time :-)
The moral of the story, unless it's a major creditor, give it time like it's going via paper check. There are still some organizations, especially as smaller companies rise from the banking ashes, the are not yet taking payment(likely because of cost) electronically, yet. A small credit account with a dentist would surely be one of those times. :whatever:
I think they are going on the notion that when they write a check, it doesn't debit the account yet, however when the bank does it for you, they are basically sending guaranteed funds so it is debited automatically when it's a bank check, mail time notwithstanding, that's how it goes if you want the bank to 'write out' all of your bills for you. The dummie could solve this easy by taking down the online pay and just paying the thing by hand-written check themselves.
-
Yes, and what is so hard about writing a check? Isn't it about a 20 second job? I agree with Frank, I like having control over these things. I know when the thing went out and what my bank balance is, etc. Plus, the DUmmies are right, banks are doing some squirrely things right now.
-
I usually pay bills by check, but when I have made an electronic transfer, my bank's website states very clearly that the payment will not arrive at its destination for something like three business days. It is always wise to read whatever documentation pops up when dealing with finances.
-
I use electronic banking rather extensively. It is important to read all documentation, and yes it usually takes a few days before the creditor account receives payment, even on an electronic transfer. I've never seen problems on the scale the DUmmies talk about.
The only problem I have really had with paying a bill in the last ten years was a mortage check that somebody entered incorrectly and deducted $500 less than it should have been. Easily corrected after the creditor contacted me about it. I provided them with a copy of the check written for the correct amount, to show it wasn't my error, and a check for the $500.
-
old mark
Bank tricks my wife screws up her credit to make a few cents profit...
My wife is paying off a large dentist bill with a credit arrangement she got theough the dentist's office. She pays online using a bank account-linked credit/debit card.
Well there's a new type of card.
"That'll be $87.63, sir."
"I'm going to pay with my bank card."
"Credit or debit?"
"Both."
.
-
http://demopedia.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5681725
I dunno. This is why franksolich takes the time and trouble to pay bills in real life, rather than through the internet. Number one, franksolich is then not putting information on the internet that might be found out by malicious third parties. Number two, franksolich is then controlling when the bill is paid.
Stupid primitives.
Exactimundo. If by chance something freakish happened with a utility or phone bill, even the computers generating them being run by error-prone humans, I want to be the first to know and be able to do damage control, rather than find out after the bank has debited my account for an abnormal amount and caused every other subsequent bill to get an NSF notice.
-
Don't worry, obama and the donks are going to screw over the people that are paying their credit card bills so that people that do not pay their bills can get more credit to squander.
This is how spreading the wealth is the best way to destroy the wealth.
Really, what did we think would happen? We have a speaker of the house that headed the socialist democrat party and the most liberal, inexperienced, leftist president in our history at the SAME TIME.
-
Oh I love online bill pay! Of course my bank states the time frame clearly. I suspect they all do but DUmmies don't pay much attention to those kinds of things.
Cindie
-
Don't worry, obama and the donks are going to screw over the people that are paying their credit card bills so that people that do not pay their bills can get more credit to squander.
This is how spreading the wealth is the best way to destroy the wealth.
Really, what did we think would happen? We have a speaker of the house that headed the socialist democrat party and the most liberal, inexperienced, leftist president in our history at the SAME TIME.
To begin with, I pay my bills at reciept of service. I do pay my credit cards on-line, however they state what day I can expect the payment to be made. As I pay twice a month, I'm always getting statements that tell me I owe $0. It pays to pay twice a month. My interest is next to nothing.
-
Actually, how I understood it, is how one primitive explained it(and I notice they all overlook it in the interest of their usual "it's got to be a sham job" attitudes. Anyway, *most* major credit organizations can be paid electronically, however some 2 bit outfits, probably like this dental credit thing, may have to be paid by a check through the mail, you know, the old fashioned way the dummies would probably like us to go back to so they can manipulate float and such. The problem likely came in where the dummie assumed this creditor would be accepting things the electronic way and they thought they gave it enough time, where instead, it had to be cut by check and sent via the mail. Perhaps they should blame the US gov for not getting the mail there in time :-)
The moral of the story, unless it's a major creditor, give it time like it's going via paper check. There are still some organizations, especially as smaller companies rise from the banking ashes, the are not yet taking payment(likely because of cost) electronically, yet. A small credit account with a dentist would surely be one of those times. :whatever:
I think they are going on the notion that when they write a check, it doesn't debit the account yet, however when the bank does it for you, they are basically sending guaranteed funds so it is debited automatically when it's a bank check, mail time notwithstanding, that's how it goes if you want the bank to 'write out' all of your bills for you. The dummie could solve this easy by taking down the online pay and just paying the thing by hand-written check themselves.
Exactly right. When I set up a payee on my bank site, it always indicates whether the payment will be electronic or by check. If by check, it takes around 5 business days (real days, not Fitzmas days) before the payment is credited by the payee. When the bank cuts a check for you, it is tantamount to a cashier's check, i.e., it is debited immediately with no float, thereby destroying a major component of DUmmy finance. Of course DUmmies, having vastly more experience with late payments than normal people, already know this.
-
Actually, how I understood it, is how one primitive explained it(and I notice they all overlook it in the interest of their usual "it's got to be a sham job" attitudes. Anyway, *most* major credit organizations can be paid electronically, however some 2 bit outfits, probably like this dental credit thing, may have to be paid by a check through the mail, you know, the old fashioned way the dummies would probably like us to go back to so they can manipulate float and such. The problem likely came in where the dummie assumed this creditor would be accepting things the electronic way and they thought they gave it enough time, where instead, it had to be cut by check and sent via the mail. Perhaps they should blame the US gov for not getting the mail there in time :-)
The moral of the story, unless it's a major creditor, give it time like it's going via paper check. There are still some organizations, especially as smaller companies rise from the banking ashes, the are not yet taking payment(likely because of cost) electronically, yet. A small credit account with a dentist would surely be one of those times. :whatever:
I think they are going on the notion that when they write a check, it doesn't debit the account yet, however when the bank does it for you, they are basically sending guaranteed funds so it is debited automatically when it's a bank check, mail time notwithstanding, that's how it goes if you want the bank to 'write out' all of your bills for you. The dummie could solve this easy by taking down the online pay and just paying the thing by hand-written check themselves.
Correct, not all companies are set up for the electronic payments, or the bank they use, does not have a friendly relationship with the bank you use, etc.
They would be better off calling up the dental credit card company and see if they can pay via debit card over the phone so they are no longer late.
-
Oh I love online bill pay! Of course my bank states the time frame clearly. I suspect they all do but DUmmies don't pay much attention to those kinds of things.
Cindie
We pay most all our bills with bill pay....It tells ya when ya go to pay a bill it will be 3-5 days before it reaches the payee....I like it coz I don't have to use checks(a box of checks has lasted me more than a year) get stamps, or remember to get it to the mailbox...