Dear Logan's old company....

When one has had their paycheck direct deposited on the last day of each month for the last 5 years, it might be worthwhile to mention, perhaps in an exit interview, that you'll be sending a paper check this month.

You might want to do that so that your former employee is aware that that envelope with the meaningless pay stub they've gotten in the mail for the last five years is actually a check which will need to be deposited before the last day of the month, when all their automatic bills are paid out of that account.

Since you didn't do that, yesterday was a day of blood shed in our bank account. Resulting in 14 overdrafts and 14 different $30 overdraft fees.

And dear bank, since when do you hold payroll checks for two business days?  Leaving me with no access to the money I just desposited into my account with about 12 hours until I am leaving for Chicago.

I am what one might call totally livid.

No wait, you should hold the check, leave me with no paycheck and then charge me $420 in fees for an obvious oversight (since we've been banking with you since 1993 and have always had our paychecks direct deposited).

It is physically impossible for me to have any money in the bank. Something always happens the minute we build up a small savings. It's unreal.

Comments

[mamaloo]

omg. that sucks ASS. I'd totally be asking Old Co. to cover those fees.

[UndoneLady]

I've heard of people going postal, but what do they call it when you lose it at/with a bank? I have been there so I sympathize completely. So sorry this happened to you and Logan.

[RzDrms]

man, that bites! please do ask his former company to pay those fees. or, alternatively, kindly talk to the bank manager about the situation and explain your long-standing relationship, etc. good luck and have fun in chicago!

[Sweetney]

i think you have just defined "injustice".

sorry, lady.

[Lisa]

OMG That totally sucks!!! I would definitely be in that bank talking to the manager and seeing if they'll work with you.

Good luck and don't let this spoil your fun in Chicago!

[Twinmama]

Two words: credit union. Same features as a bank, less of this bullshit. Once I tried credit unions I never looked back.

[SuzanneinATL]

You poor thing! Something very similar happened to us last year when we were living it up on a big vacation in NYC. My husband's bonus check is ALWAYS direct deposited, so I used our debit card the whole time we were away. We had quite the negative balance, and of course all of those offensive fees.

I know you're leaving tomorrow, but if you have any time, it might be worth begging the bank to help you; they reversed all of my charges last year, since we'd been banking with them for 10 years. Good luck and have fun!

[Sarah]

Super Suck-a-tude...Oy.

[giddybug]

Get the bank to reverse those charges. Talk to whoever you have to. If they refuse, be prepared to change banks. They will not want to lose a long-term good customer over a single such incident.

[Kaymadmom]

that is soooooo effing ridiculous. We had a similar experience, and thanks to my inability to remain calm (or at least NOT cry) with customer service personnel all the fees were removed. Breathe deep, it'll work out. Somebody at your bank should be capable of removing those fees. Hey, did the a$$holes in CS ask you if you'd like to sign up for overdraft protection? I wanted to tell them to shove their overdraft protection up their holier-than-thou asses. $420...out-freakin'-rageous.

[CatLady?]

Yes, that sucks. I recently discovered the same clause in my termination checklist (glad I saw it ahead of time!). Why can't companies deposit the last check? I just don't understand. Anyway, it may be a little late, but if you have a felxible spending account (healthcare or daycare), or a pre-tax commuting expense account, the balances might not be useable past the last date of employment at the old company. I'm frantically trying to find a way to spend out extra parking money...

[drowninginkids]

Banks suck. Unless you're rich. In which case i'm sure they rule.

[Kim E]

Sounds like that's the 'Last F U' clause in the dissolution of employment policy manual. Someone needs to be paying those bank fees - either the former employer needs to fork it over or the bank needs to suck it up.

[suziwon]

Long time lurker, first time poster...

Wow, your bank only holds your paychecks for 2 days? It took a week for the hold that the genious at the shared branch for my credit union put on my paycheck *from the city* to clear. I feel your pain. And the overdraft charges are horrid too.

I hope that the trip to Chicago helps change the way life has been going for you in the recent past.

[Wallydraigle]

Oh. My. Gosh. I've been there, done that. Only it was my own stupid fault. But this. Totally not your fault.

My experience with banks has been that if you come in and tell them what happened, and it's obvious that it was something beyond your control, they will waive the fees. I very much hope that's what happens for you.

[chris]

Oh God, that totally sucks.

We had something simlar happen only the company did the direct deposit and then reversed it the next day and cut a paper check. So my anal retentive husband looked at our account online, saw the check hit, and assumed all was fine. That is until the shit hit the fan.

He was able to get all the charges reversed. Can you have Logan call the bank and explain? My husband has much better luck dealing with those sorts of things, since he is rational, talks nice, and well, isn't prone to fits of hysteria, like, uh, me.

Good luck.

[Lauren]

our bank will actually hold CASH if you deposit more than $100. they will hold the difference for 24 hours unless you tell them not to.

melissa .. the bank can take all those overdrafts away .. it might be better to try and get them to do it in person, instead of on the phone .. something about a shrill,on the verge of tears woman that sends bank managers scrambling.

[SummerSicker]

another vote for personally speaking face to face with the branch mgr. This exact same thing happened to us last year and I went in (after a fruitless phone call with a VERY RUDE teller) going "I'm here to close my account, and this is why". I immediately was routed to the manager and they reversed the fees and asked me to please stay.

[Heels]

Two years ago, I paid our mortgage twice in one month and the resulting overdraft fees (at $30 a pop) neared $1000.

The bank refunded almost all of it after I called and spoke with a manager. If I hadn't gotten the results I wanted via phone, I would have gone to a branch.

Get your money back, sistahchile.

If you're already a decent customer, they'll hand it over without a fuss.

[Kelly]

Keyrhiiist. That is just unfurkingbelievable. What the everloving hell?

[peach_linen]

Oh my! That *is* dreadful! Something similar happened to me until I found out I could ask my bank to NOT authorize automatic payments if the money wasn't there. If the funds aren't in the account when the electronic withdrawal is supposed to go through, the company that needs the funds will then contact you saying the payment wasn't made and you have X number of days to correct it (and usually without a penalty). So that might be something to look into as well, if your bank allows that.

Of course, this doesn't work if your automatic payments are done by you bank by physical check.

[SV Moms Group]

I would be oh so upset. As a Human Resource Generalist, I can tell you that on the exit interview, your husbands former employer should have told him about the live pay check. That is standard way a company gives out a final check.

.... in at at fairness to the company, they 'may' have told him about the live check, but he didn't hear it.... I have seen that happen many times. When someone leaves a company, they usually just want to get out!

Regarding the bank, just cry or scream REALLY loud. They will probably wave the fees.

Again, a really tough day for you! Sorry...

[Sarah Cool]

Oh man. This happened to me when my old company didnt have enough MONEY to pay its employees and I had already sent bills the day before because I was leaving for ITALY for 2 weeks the day of my paycheck. They cut me a hard check, but it took 3 days to clear.

I highly recommend talking to your bank. If you have good history, they need to respect that. And banks NEED your money. You don't need them. Threaten to transfer to another bank if they don't reverse the fees. (As much as that would suck) Ooooh! Sucko! I know exactly how you must feel!

[jeff]

I join the chorus telling you to call or visit the branch manager. They will take these charges off (this has happened to me a couple of times -- Standard Federal/LaSalle Bank if that helps), or at least only charge you for one, if you threaten to change to a bank with less draconian fees.

[JT]

OMG, that is SO NOT FAIR! Go get 'em, girl. Raise holy hell and then burn off the endorphins in my fair city!

[Alana]

Okay, Melissa. I don't normally comment here, I think I may have once or twice and not since you added registration, so it's been a while. BUT...here I go. That sucks so bad that this and the accumulation of your past posts makes me really think that the universe is trying to play tricks on you. But you'll get through it just like you do everything else. It's your way of telling the universe to SUCK IT! You are strong, you are invincible, you are woman.

And since I'm here. Your new tagline reminds me of when I was in high school a friend of mine's dad donated some money to our school for signs over every hallway door that say "You are unique and valuable." Every one said the same thing.

[AMG]

Just because everyone loves reading the same thing over and over and over.....

Really do go talk to someone at the bank. I once deposited a check that the bank held longer than normal for some reason, and I paid a huge bill, thinking there was no way the bill would go through before the check did. Of course, it did. I had almost $500 in overdraft charges, and my wonderful awesome bank (which I didn't know was wonderful and awesome at the time) reversed them all. If they don't, just keep going higher. Someone will!

[Rachel B]

I am so sorry Melissa!
And I hate to be the person to point this out, but....
To help some of your readers that might get stuck in the same situation, please be advised that is the LAW that termination payroll checks are paper/live checks in many, if not all states. Final payroll checks are supposed to be live/paper checks dated the last day of employ and are not ever supposed to go direct deposit...and I have received a paper check as my final check at each of my three post-college jobs. (I am in California). So it's (most likely) not an oversight that a paper check was generated. While they should warn people about that, they don't necessarily have to do so.
It sucks, but I thought this would be a good warning for the future.
Blech! Sorry again....

[Rachel B]

Oops. Signing up for typekey took a while so my point was already made by Jill...sorry about that and good luck!

[seekoh]

I've had that happen more than once changing jobs. And through a Credit Union too. I usually raise a mild fuss and get the manager involved, point out the ginormous bank on which the check was drawn, etc. When I had around 10 overdraft charges like that, they reversed 'em and didn't hold the check either.

Sorry to hear it happen to someone else -- it takes the steam out of moving on to "bigger and better things."

[Account Deleted]

oh yea, that bites, right up there with my bank telling me that there would be a FIVE DAY HOLD on the check we received as the proceeds from the sale of our house. As in, CLEARED FUNDS. The bank teller calmly told me it didn't matter that it was cleared funds or not, it was the size of the check and therefore it was to be held for five days...as if it wasn't really OUR money. Makes me think CASH + MATTRESS is so the way to go.

[Katie]

Just as a Friday Fun Fact, the holds involved are usually NOT to guarantee funds. Checks clear almost instantly these days, but banks hold the money so they don't have to pay you interest (and I guess so they can do whatever it is they do with money). The maximum hold times vary depending on the amount of the check, how new your account it and whether it's local or out-of-state. But, yeah, banks suck...The way to get around it is direct deposit or a wire transfer.

[MamaPajama]

you COULD share the bank's name and address with your VERY SYMPATHETIC readers who just MIGHT send a barage of heated emails to the bank. hypothetically, of course.

[coffeygirlb]

Oh, man that just fucking royally sucks. Hope something works out by the time you leave. I think that I would change banks...just cause i'm impulsive and immature like that.

[lbjSanDiego]

I am angry for you. I remember last summer the morning I'm leaving for vacation and my boss had not approved my timesheet. I called her only to be told, oh well, I guess you'll just have to charge everything! Biiiiiitch.

[FlippyO]

I've had something similar happen, but it was easily taken care of with a polite email. The bank doesn't know it happened, since overdraft fees are done automatically, by computers. I'm sure as soon as a real person was notified, they took care of it.

I hope you're now vacationing stress-free.

[mj]

There must be something in the water, since I overdrew my bank account for the first time ever also this week. $75 charge- just a bad timing of deposits and withdrawals- they could've cashed that check one day later, right?

[Belinda]

Pausing to thank God RIGHT NOW for my wonderful, locally-owned, small-town bank, where a bank officer will actually pick up the phone to let me know if there is *about* to be a problem with one of my accounts. Bless your heart!

[Missy]

Ouch!

That's a whole lot of money. I would totally talk to the manager, as everyone is saying. Even if they could just cut it to one bounced check fee, for their administrative time and effort, that would seem reasonable.

Then again, there's some pretty crappy banks out there.

I hope you get this worked out and that you have a great time in one of my favorite cities! My mom's from Chi-town. Check out the Art Institute if you haven't (well, if you like art)! And all of the bars around Wrigley, etc. :) Again, have a great time.

[Pioneer Woman]

I hate them for you. May they rot in their unreasonableness.

[Rita Arens]

That. Sucks. Ass.

[Twinmama]

MSNBC just ran an article on this horrid bank practice: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13104714/