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Across the Fence:  Does this even sound legal????  |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 11 2009 : 1:00:39 PM
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Let me start at the beginning. Last month, I misplaced my Visa bill. By the time I remembered it was due, I found an address on an old bill and sent what was the usual monthly payment. I knew it would get there late. My fault. Now this month, I have been watching for the bill and didn't get one. So I called this morning and got lost in the phone tree, but I did get my balance. It was about $80.00 more than usual. So I called again and punched a few more buttons and hung on for a long time and finally got a guy. He explained that they now charge $40.00 for a late fee(used to be 25.). So I asked him why was there 80. more than usual and he mumbled something again about being late last month and they added yet another 40.00 this month. So I asked him how, if the due date isn't until March 18th. could they add another $40.00.....He just kept dancing around. Finally, channeling Oprah and getting up my Irish, I insisted I wanted to talk to someone about it because I didn't see how that could be legal at all.. Right then, he backed down and started typing away and said he was taking the second charge off and gave me a corrected bill amount. Does anybody understand how this is possible? I just can't wrap my brain around how they came up with charging twice.......
Farmgirl Sister #50
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?"
'Br.Dave Gardner' |
Edited by - Miss Bee Haven on Mar 11 2009 1:24:32 PM |
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catscharm74
True Blue Farmgirl
4687 Posts
Heather
Texas
USA
4687 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2009 : 1:10:03 PM
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Because most people wouldn't have the guts to call them on it!!! Good job!!! AND...most people, sadly, do not watch their bills. I had the same problem with cable. We have automatic pay and they took out and extra $80 (what is it with $80???) last month. After the same phone dance, she told me it was a glitch (and I thought of something that rhymes with that...) and that it would be back in our account. So now you just go and TAKE something that is not yours??? What the hades??? Another reason I don't like people having access to my account. Can you imagine if it was overdrawn because of their stupid mistakes??? GGGGRRRR...that burns my biscuit!!!
Heather
Yee-Haw, I am a cowgirl!!!
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2009 : 1:17:17 PM
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I know, Heather. And really, there was no actual way to get a person in the phone tree. And none of the option addressed 'bill problems'. I know someone who used to work for the phone company here, and she once told me to just keep hanging on and eventually, someone would answer. That worked this time. But there have been times when I've just gotten disconnected after a while. Customer service????? What's that?????
Farmgirl Sister #50
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?"
'Br.Dave Gardner' |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2009 : 1:22:41 PM
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Be sure to watch for your bill next month and call them well in advance of the due date if it doesn't show up. I had a similar problem with a credit card company years ago, and after I had canceled my account with them because of it, I saw that they were getting hit with a class action lawsuit because they were deliberately mailing people their bills late and then charging them late fees.
And be sure to check and make sure they actually took that extra $40 off. Hope you got the call center guy's name or ID #. |
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catscharm74
True Blue Farmgirl
4687 Posts
Heather
Texas
USA
4687 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2009 : 1:24:52 PM
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It is so frustrating. I have the problem with we have a Power of Attorney on all our accounts so I can call in place of Scott. HALF the time, they can't look at the screen and find it, so I have to ask for a manager. Ticks me off because one place we call is a military bank...ummm..get a clue people??? Don't they deal with this all the time? Customer service no longer exists. BLAH!!! : (
Heather
Yee-Haw, I am a cowgirl!!!
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melody
True Blue Farmgirl
3322 Posts
Melody
The Great North Woods in the Land of Hiawatha
USA
3322 Posts |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2009 : 2:51:09 PM
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I don't think it is legal, but they might have snuck a sneaky clause in your credit agreement and call such an advancement a "deposit for future late fees" or some such nonsense.
I think the credit card companies are feeling the sqeeze because people are shutting down their spending and paying off debt so they are trying to make up the missing money other places. I would highly recommend watching all your bills and don't be afraid to confront the companies.
I think a lot of us start feeling like we "need" these companies so we don't want to be a problem customer. But I switched my thinking around. These companies need me and I am much more willing to go without Cable, Phone etc than I am willing to let people pick my pocket with my permission!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our blog: www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
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mikesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3659 Posts
Sherri
Elma
WA
USA
3659 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2009 : 3:23:32 PM
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We used to have a Capitol One Credit card - and I don't mind saying which company because they deserve any bad publicity they get. I was living at the cabin at the time and granted, mail is a little later there - it only gets delivered twice a week - but it's not more than a week later at the most. We were consistently getting their bills after, yes after, the due date. Say the bill was due on March 5, ours wouldn't even arrive until about the 10th. I called them repeatedly and they said there wasn't anything they could do about it - couldn't send it out any earlier. So, we dumped them. We have our credit card through our credit union now.
Farmgirl Sister #98
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Diane B Carter
True Blue Farmgirl
1270 Posts
Diane
Blasdell
N.Y.
USA
1270 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2009 : 3:33:37 PM
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I have been fighting a bill with Citi bank for 5 years. 5 yrs ago I paid off a loan that went through Patio Enclousers. I told them I would go through my bank and they said o.k. but when the payments came in it was for Citi bank. I called the patio guys and they said they were cheaper at the time and I signed the papers.(about 20 signatures) they tell you one thing and give you something else. I paid the bill 5 years ago and every now and then I get a bill for 50.00 when I called they said you have a contract with us until 2010 and we charge $50.00 a year. I told them I had paid off the dept 5 yrs ago and I wasn't going to pay them $50.00 a year so they could bill me, (they have taken the $50. off every time). This month I got a note from them saying I own them $100.50 and I better pay it as they have a $20,000 lean on my house. The patio didn't even cost that much. I called and the lady (must of had a PMS day) said they would not wave the $50. and I owe them $50.50 to get their name off my lean.That is why the bill is $100.50 can you believe that??? I will never do any business with Citi bank again. I didn't even want them. What ever happened to the customer is always right. I told them with all the time and money they spent sending me a bill, that I don't owe, could of paid for a full tank of gas!!!
Hope all your days are Sunnydays.
dianebcarterhotmailcom.blogspot.com |
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farmmommy
True Blue Farmgirl
500 Posts
Kelley
Texas
USA
500 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2009 : 4:09:17 PM
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Legal????....depends on how they word the fine print in contracts..... yrs ago, we had Dish Network, and I don't mind naming them either....we moved into our brand new log home in July of 2005, got our dishnetwork transferred, but, because it had been 4 years since we first signed up, they gave us the whole "lets start a whole new contract so that ya'll can get the NEW lower rates" thing...ok....so we did....everything is fine....the next summer, I'm pregnant again and on my way to go shopping for some maternity bras, stop at the bank to make a withdrawal for some cash...and the teller says that she'll do it, but she wanted to let me know that we were overdrawn. This is on a monday....DH had just deposited a four digit figure into the account Sat morning.....so I knew that this wasn't right....I got a print out and saw that there was an authorized withdrawal from our debit card account in the amount of $499, not once, not twice, but THREE times the day before (Sunday)...first thing that I can think of is that we have lost a debit card.....but, no, that wasn't it...so we call, and we call...and finally find out that it was dish network that had taken over $1400 out of our account the day before....but wait....our bill wasn't due yet....or so I thought!!!!!! Turns out that we didn't read the fine print on our contract...Since it was 1 year to the day that we signed our contract with them, and we were late....yes....a whole 1 day late!!!!!....they had the right to go in and drain our account...what was funny is that the fine print in our contract said that we would be liable for the total cost of equipment which was $655 plus the amount due for that months services and a late fee which totalled $735......NOT $1400!!!! Needless to say...we could only get dishnetwork to reimburse us for $200 of that money that took out of our checking account.....the "rest" of our money that they stole would be put towards our next 8 months of service!!!!! Oh, yeah.....you know I now read EVERY little detail of every "contract" for any kind of service we subscribe to....I tell ya what....These companies aren't geared around customer service anymore, they all seem to be geared towards "get the customer for any little thing we can!!!" Where have our rights as customers gone??? I just don't get it!!!
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Edited by - farmmommy on Mar 11 2009 4:10:51 PM |
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Carol Sue
True Blue Farmgirl
4033 Posts
Carol Sue
Washingtonian
USA
4033 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2009 : 4:25:15 PM
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Hmmmmm does highway robbery come to mind with all this.....
If we did what companies do, we would be in a lawsuit for stealing but somehow they are not.....what is wrong with this picture. So very wrong.....
www.Quitemoments.blogspot.com |
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StarMeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
940 Posts
T
MI
940 Posts |
Posted - Mar 12 2009 : 05:03:31 AM
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| Don't forget to check your interest rate. One missed payment can jack your rate up tremendously. "experience" talking. |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Mar 12 2009 : 05:37:25 AM
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Wow! This is a lot of horror stories! My Visa is with Bank of America(aren't they going broke?). And I think Diane's idea of getting a card through our credit union(hometown place and dh knows the manager - in fact, the manager is growing bunches of our daylilies!) is a very good idea. Back in the 80's, during the whole Savings and Loan mess, we almost lost our little house in town. Our loan was sold numerous times to out of town banks, and ended up in Fl. At that time, there was no regulatory agency over banks in FL.(who ya gonna call???) and the bank holding our loan embezzled escrow accounts from lots and lots of small loans. So we went for an entire year with no homeowners insurance on our home(it was supposed to be paid out of the escrow account) and our payment went up, b/c we had no escrow! Sometimes, I just want to bury money in a can in the yard and just pay cash for everything!!!
Farmgirl Sister #50
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?"
'Br.Dave Gardner' |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4741 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4741 Posts |
Posted - Mar 12 2009 : 05:40:19 AM
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I'm afraid all the credit cards are doing this now due to the credit crisis. It doesn't matter if you haven't ever in your life made a single late payment, they will jump all over you when you do. It is pretty nasty out there in the credit world this past year and continues this year.
Dawn in IL |
Edited by - ddmashayekhi on Mar 12 2009 05:40:32 AM |
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catscharm74
True Blue Farmgirl
4687 Posts
Heather
Texas
USA
4687 Posts |
Posted - Mar 12 2009 : 06:19:08 AM
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Well, ever the optimist, when the economy recovers (AND IT WILL!!!) and these CC people start sending me offers again, they are going to get an ear full. I remember I was in a J.C Penney, when I first was on my own, and had been trying to establish credit for about 2 years. They wouldn't even give me a $250 line. So I gave up and got another one. I used that one when I went to check out (I had moved up in ranks pretty quick with the military, so my limite was $1800 at that point) and the JC Penney gal OFFERED me to open one...you can only imagine what I told her!!! Then I got about 20 offers from them, each time, I ripped it up, stuffed it back into the envelope and enclosed a letter of my anger with them. They finally got it.
I think it is very sad, because I have accounts that are over 10 years old and now they are coming after me. Once we pay them off, it is all cash for us.
Heather
Yee-Haw, I am a cowgirl!!!
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harmonyfarm
True Blue Farmgirl
785 Posts
Debbie
Southeastern
Ohio
USA
785 Posts |
Posted - Mar 12 2009 : 06:26:23 AM
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Just goes to show you that the THE SQUEEKY WHEEL DOES GET THE GREASE! Way to go!
Debbie
"If you can't find the time to do it right...how will you find the time to do it over" |
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Suzan
True Blue Farmgirl
659 Posts
suzanne
duncannon
pa
USA
659 Posts |
Posted - Mar 12 2009 : 06:56:19 AM
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| Please consider checking out your credit unions as they are consumer-friendly! As they are owned by the members and not a group of shareholders they do put the member first. Depending on the size of the CU that you qualify for membership in they can be your full service financial institution. They offer lower rates, lower (or no) fees, and a host of other benefits as well. We've belonged to our CU since the 70's and would NEVER go back to a bank. |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Mar 12 2009 : 07:31:53 AM
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My dh is in full agreement with you, Suzan. In fact, our checking and one of our savings accounts are in a credit union. It's so refreshing to go where someone knows you. And customer service really DOES exist there.
Farmgirl Sister #50
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?"
'Br.Dave Gardner' |
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catscharm74
True Blue Farmgirl
4687 Posts
Heather
Texas
USA
4687 Posts |
Posted - Mar 13 2009 : 12:50:01 PM
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Another thing I noticed is NOW I get payment reminders 5 days prior to them being due. I NEVER receive anything but a Thank you for your payment email. Times are changing!!!
Heather
Yee-Haw, I am a cowgirl!!!
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cj6
True Blue Farmgirl
196 Posts
cj
USA
196 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2009 : 12:07:28 AM
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Those are awful.I paid off a credit card with FCNB(speigel) 14years ago.We owed $749.? and I paid $749.? in full.Six years later I shredded the check etc...it was a few years past when they say you need to keep stuff like that.Well,six months and a move later (unlisted phone number and all)I start getting calls from a lady insisting I never paid it and if I did send her the proof.After explaining everything to her(long story includes the fact that when I was trying to get an exact amount to pay FCNB told me I had a zero balance...I had to insist for nearly an hour that I owed them money $749.?the girl looked and looked as did her supervisor before they finally found the correct info so I could pay the right amount and be done with it.)She threatened to tell the credit agencies they had incorrect info on our reports...and then she did!!!She told them we never paid the original account!!!So now ever so often we start getting harrassed to pay it again,because this place sold their"unpaid" accounts to that place and then they sold them etc....
I've tried fighting it,we've sent letters and the original credit report about 3-4 times to equifax,experian and trans-union.You know how they are suppose to correct wrong info?Don't believe it.The newest,is a place that was trying to get me to agree to a preapproved credit card for someplace I've never heard of so they could put the $2400.00+ that I "owed",the original creditor speigel.I've honestly thought about going to our state attorney general.I've heard in the past that this is happening,and they know the accounts were paid years before but,because they realize people wil likely have destroyed,the proof that they paid,they come after them figuring they'll be scared enough to pay it again because,the"customer" won't want their credit messed up.And you know alot of people will pay a second and even third time rather than fight and risk their credit.
cj6 *believe in miracles* |
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LauriP
True Blue Farmgirl
239 Posts
Laurianne
Hertford
North Carolina
USA
239 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2009 : 07:49:39 AM
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>> 15 years ago was the last time I used a credit card <<
And in that time, customer service has gone to H*** in a handbasket -- I was told way back then that most of these huge corporations are being held in even larger Corporate Boards..90% of which are headed by large banks,with the presidents, ceo's, etc., of said banks running all the businesses.
What the Consumer Fraud Dept told me, was that no mater what these corporate giants want to do, it is totally legal for them to do so -- even if it is on the side of illegal, it is your word against a multinational corporation. The directors refuse to change any of their statements of use, mainly because they, as in the Fraud Dept. manager told me (yeah, I had to go that far in a phone tree to get help..) was that "they don't want to cut their nose to spite their face" -- "They will not reduce, replace or anything else, for the customer, if it means it's gonna make them money"
I have never forgotten that phone conversation, and when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Thus, why some of these multinational's are now getting the book thrown at them in court. Some states have finally had enuf with people complaining and yes, everybody Should complain!! And Loudly!!
I just refused to let some slime ball keep taking my money..I worked darn hard for it, an' they could care less about people like us. They truly are heartless, and what happens to us means nothing. I even had a supervisor tell me point blank, "I don't Care about your Family!! This is Receivables!! We Want Your Money!!"
And he was the "Customer Care Representative" --
So -- never use credit cards -- 15 years an' I'm still payin' cash for everything. The only debt is the house..an' I'm tryin' to figure out a way to pay that off early, too!!
Rise Up Against these slime bags...I mean, is their girlfriends diamonds that much more important than Us??!!Or is it their wives??!! Yikes -- it may be Both!!
Laurianne |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2009 : 08:44:03 AM
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Oh my gosh CJ! That is FRAUD! You need to call the Attorney General ASAP and the FCC! Report the original company that called you. This is call Zombie Debt when things that were laid to rest or were past the legal collection time comes back to haunt you. If you paid- which it sounds like you did- they are just tring to trick you into paying!
Seriously, don't take things like this laying down. Report them to anyone and everyone who has the power to do anything about it. The attorney general of your state, the FCC who controls fair collection practices, and the Better Business Bureau! Especially the B etter Business Bureau! People who look into the BBB records before working with a company should know of your bad experience.
If the credit card companies start getting less business because they have a bad BBB score and or get large fines and sanctions from the FCC you know they will change something. It might just take a while.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our blog: www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
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miss wilma
True Blue Farmgirl
3410 Posts
Wilma
Knob Lick
Ky
USA
3410 Posts |
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Linder
True Blue Farmgirl
592 Posts
Linda
Lake Forest
IL
USA
592 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2009 : 1:34:42 PM
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So here's a few handy dandy little tips a girlfriend gifted me with and I've tried it...it works every time.
1. When you call into a company and automatically get a voice promt PRESS NO BUTTONS just stay on the line. No matter how many times it prompts you, stay on the line. A live operator will come on and help you. It's a pain to listen to the prompts repeatedly but the time lapse is so much shorter when you go this way.
2. The other tip was given to me by a supervisor at a credit card company. It is brilliant and very simple. I was forwarded to a very nice operator in East India and was having great difficulty understanding him. We both got very frustrated. When I finally got through to a supervisor I was told that the next time I called in to ask right off for an "American Operator" they will transfer you immediately. I did this yesterday and it saved me so much frustration!
"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom"
www.mylusciousjourney.blogspot.com |
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KayB
True Blue Farmgirl
540 Posts
Kay
Del City
Oklahoma
USA
540 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2009 : 1:37:30 PM
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A year or so ago I paid off a credit card and that was a big mess. First, the person I spoke with didn't speak English worth a hoot and couldn't understand a single thing I was saying to her. I finally asked for a manager who got an attitude when I said it would be nice to have someone who can understand what I'm trying to say (they get that way at the VA, too). Then he kept telling me I didn't want to pay it off and I kept telling him that yes, I did. Then they added a bunch of charges. I kept asking him how they could do that when my bill in my hand said the total charges were whatever and he said they had to had interest and bunch of other crap. It was such a bummer. Also, I found out that when you close one out, you need to go the credit bureaus and have the notation "Closed at customer request" put on there to help protect your credit rating.
Life's a dance you learn as you go |
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oldfashioned girl
True Blue Farmgirl
2391 Posts
monica
oatman
az
USA
2391 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2009 : 1:44:26 PM
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Janice, Good Job! These companies will try to get away with whatever they can! Most people won't push and if you don't push back they will take you for whatever they can! My hubby and I just spent 2 weeks fighting with our bank over them charging us because we went over the allowed amount of withdraws from our savings account! They one lady I spoke to flat out lied to me and the other lady said there was nothing they could do! Finally when we talked to a third person we got some of it taken care of, but we also found out that if you take money out of your savings too many times the regulatory commission charges you $10.00 each. what a rip off! I am still fighting to get $30.00 back and we have since closed the account! On a separate note with the bank, I had a check I wrote not clear and I called the bank to see if they could reverse the overdraft charge and they said they either don't or can't do that and once again when I talked to the manager, she reversed the fee! By the way it's Mutual of Omaha bank and I will tell everyone I know not to bank with them!
The sad thing is we have been with them for 4 years and have never had a problem. Now all of the sudden everyone there is just nasty and mean! We are going to be closing our checking account with them as soon as our tax refund comes in!
Monica
farmgirls rule!
www.justducky48.etsy.com
www.justducky48.blogspot.com |
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Across the Fence: Does this even sound legal???? |
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Does this even sound legal????
