"Only twenty-four dollars"

[Cellista]

My bank recently rejected a $24 reimbursement check from my health insurer, costing me the $24 plus a $10 penalty. It's not clear who is at fault, the bank or the insurer.

When I went to the bank today the staffperson called the insurer on my behalf.  On the phone she seemed embarrassed that it was such a small amount of concern:  "It's a grand total of twenty-four dollars!" [chuckle - like it was so funny]

I know twenty-four dollars is a small sum but it is MY money, and coupled with the penalty it's actually thirty-four dollars that I'm paying through no fault of my own.

Maybe the bank doesn't care about my money, but I do. 

I'm actually changing banks, not originally because of this but now I'm more determined.

[Cassie]

Before you change banks I would make sure the bank makes this right. They need to waive the fee and deposit the check.

[Cellista]

I will definitely resolve this before changing banks.

[JZinCO]

  On the phone she seemed embarrassed that it was such a small amount of concern:  "It's a grand total of twenty-four dollars!" [chuckle - like it was so funny]

I would be offended. At a bank, they are not paid to make judgements about what their customers should be doing with their money.

Heck I have even used a bank app to deposit a $0.57 check. The amount was small, but it only took a minute (for a value of $34/hr).

[11ducks]

I once had an old daycare service charge my card $3.56 by accident. I hadn't used them for 2 years at this point, so I phoned them and asked for a refund. The owner was so snappy, and kept replying, but it's only $3, It'll cost me more than that to reverse the charge? She got quite cranky at me, that I wouldnt just let it go (which of course made me determined not to let it go). Sorry, but it was your mistake, and it's my $3 dammit!

[I'm a red panda]

I once had an old daycare service charge my card $3.56 by accident. I hadn't used them for 2 years at this point, so I phoned them and asked for a refund. The owner was so snappy, and kept replying, but it's only $3, It'll cost me more than that to reverse the charge? She got quite cranky at me, that I wouldnt just let it go (which of course made me determined not to let it go). Sorry, but it was your mistake, and it's my $3 dammit!

That is extremely annoying. It might be a small amount- but it's YOUR money.  If it costs that much to reverse the charge, send a check to refund.

[nobody123]

I once had an old daycare service charge my card $3.56 by accident. I hadn't used them for 2 years at this point, so I phoned them and asked for a refund. The owner was so snappy, and kept replying, but it's only $3, It'll cost me more than that to reverse the charge? She got quite cranky at me, that I wouldnt just let it go (which of course made me determined not to let it go). Sorry, but it was your mistake, and it's my $3 dammit!

That is extremely annoying. It might be a small amount- but it's YOUR money.  If it costs that much to reverse the charge, send a check to refund.

I would have asked if they knew how much time / effort it would take to deal with the disputed charge.

When small charges like that happen, I wonder if they needed money and just charged a bunch of old customers a few bucks hoping they wouldn't notice or bother to seek a correction for such a tiny amount.

[mm1970]

I once had an old daycare service charge my card $3.56 by accident. I hadn't used them for 2 years at this point, so I phoned them and asked for a refund. The owner was so snappy, and kept replying, but it's only $3, It'll cost me more than that to reverse the charge? She got quite cranky at me, that I wouldnt just let it go (which of course made me determined not to let it go). Sorry, but it was your mistake, and it's my $3 dammit!

I paid off my student loans in 1996.  I wrote a check to pay off my last 2 payments at once.  Then I got another bill for the last month.  For...$0.01.

I called them and asked them if they really wanted me to buy a stamp and mail a check? 

I would have insisted on the $3 too.

[YYCMomma]

I closed a "free" savings account at a bank after they charged me a service charge or $1/month.(They were already giving me next to nothing for interest). The teller asked in a mocking tone "do you want your dollar back?"  I said yes...its my dollar. After some talking with his manager and button pushing I got the dollar back and proceeded to leave. A homeless guy was outside the bank and I dropped it in his cup making sure to smile at the watching teller ;)

[SimplyMarvie]

I paid off my student loans in 1996.  I wrote a check to pay off my last 2 payments at once.  Then I got another bill for the last month.  For...$0.01.

I called them and asked them if they really wanted me to buy a stamp and mail a check? 

My husband's lender kept sending him bills for $0.00, every single month for a year after he consolidated and didn't owe them anything. That's $5 in postage, plus whatever it cost them in processing.

[greytbigdog]

My husband's lender kept sending him bills for $0.00, every single month for a year after he consolidated and didn't owe them anything. That's $5 in postage, plus whatever it cost them in processing.

That happened to my Dad too.  It was a department store credit card, and they wouldn't stop sending him bills until he wrote a cheque.  For $0.00.

[MgoSam]

I once had an old daycare service charge my card $3.56 by accident. I hadn't used them for 2 years at this point, so I phoned them and asked for a refund. The owner was so snappy, and kept replying, but it's only $3, It'll cost me more than that to reverse the charge? She got quite cranky at me, that I wouldnt just let it go (which of course made me determined not to let it go). Sorry, but it was your mistake, and it's my $3 dammit!

That is extremely annoying. It might be a small amount- but it's YOUR money.  If it costs that much to reverse the charge, send a check to refund.

I would have asked if they knew how much time / effort it would take to deal with the disputed charge.

When small charges like that happen, I wonder if they needed money and just charged a bunch of old customers a few bucks hoping they wouldn't notice or bother to seek a correction for such a tiny amount.

Yeah, I can imagine that happening. Worst case, he has to reverse some of them.

[MgoSam]

My husband's lender kept sending him bills for $0.00, every single month for a year after he consolidated and didn't owe them anything. That's $5 in postage, plus whatever it cost them in processing.

That happened to my Dad too.  It was a department store credit card, and they wouldn't stop sending him bills until he wrote a cheque.  For $0.00.

That's funny. One company I used to business with had a screwy way of doing invoices. I had two invoices due in January so I paid them all on one check, this is after talking to my salesmen who said to just go ahead and do it. I think little of it and then two months later, I show that I owe money from one of the invoices, and that's it's 30 days past due. I look at 60 days past and see a credit for the same amount. I ignore it until I get a harassing phone call from A/R.

Me: Hello?
A/R: Hello ___, I'm calling from ___ about your overdue balance.......(goes on to give a spiel about wanting payment)
Me: Have you looked at my balance?
A/R: Yes
Me: Be honest, have you looked at it?
A/R: Yes I have, why are you asking?
Me: Because if you had, then you wouldn't be wasting my time with such a stupid call.
A/R: There's no reason to take that tone
Me: Look at my balance statement, it shows an overpayment that's exactly the amount you claim I have open.
A/R: (understanding dawning on her mind), I see your point. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, I'll get this take care of. We value your business
Me: Well you would get more of it if you didn't look like a bunch of maroons (yes I used that word).
A/R: What do you mean?
Me: I can understand a computer making this mistake, but you and whoever assigned you to call me should have looked at this and then fixed it without calling me. Now have you reported me to Dunn and Bradstreet?
A/R: No, that's why I was calling (silence for a moment as she realized my point), you're right sir (tone completely changed to respectfulness). I will mention this to your sales rep, we'll make sure we take care of you better from now on.
Me: Thank you

This was a few months ago and I haven't heard a peep from the salesmen. I should have contacted him but honestly I thought they would fix this once it went to a human eyes.

[Sibley]

A few years ago, I found an error on my bank statement and called the bank to get it fixed. It's my $0.02 dammit.

[meghan88]

I biked to the grocery store the other day and bought a few things.  When I got home I realized I was charged more for an item than was advertised.  My bad, I should've been more vigilant when the cashier was scanning them.  So I hopped back on the bike and happily did the 3 km each way to get my $0.70.

The extra exercise was free!

[KodeBlue]

My bank recently rejected a $24 reimbursement check from my health insurer, costing me the $24 plus a $10 penalty. It's not clear who is at fault, the bank or the insurer.

When I went to the bank today the staffperson called the insurer on my behalf.  On the phone she seemed embarrassed that it was such a small amount of concern:  "It's a grand total of twenty-four dollars!" [chuckle - like it was so funny]

I would have asked her if she were willing to reimburse you out of her own pocket. After all it's only $24.

[Kaybee]

Me: Well you would get more of it if you didn't look like a bunch of maroons (yes I used that word).

Ok, I'm in Canada (although I actually hold dual citizenship due to my family from the Southern States) but I only know that term from my US relatives as referring to escaped slaves of African descent (or the members of communities descended from escaped slaves).  Is that term also synonymous with idiot or is there another meaning I don't know of?

[Sturton]

"Maroon" is a comical euphemism for "moron."  Nothing to do with octoroons or whatever.

[Kaybee]

"Maroon" is a comical euphemism for "moron."  Nothing to do with octoroons or whatever.

Crazy, I had never heard it used that way!!  My American grandfather had only ever used the term very carefully and explained that it had been used to refer to escaped slaves so had a negative connotation, even though the Maroons were actually granted independance after their fight for freedom.  I'm always behind on slang!!

[JAYSLOL]

I closed a "free" savings account at a bank after they charged me a service charge or $1/month.(They were already giving me next to nothing for interest). The teller asked in a mocking tone "do you want your dollar back?"  I said yes...its my dollar. After some talking with his manager and button pushing I got the dollar back and proceeded to leave. A homeless guy was outside the bank and I dropped it in his cup making sure to smile at the watching teller ;)

That's awesome.  Thanks for the laugh.

[TheGrimSqueaker]

"Maroon" is a comical euphemism for "moron."  Nothing to do with octoroons or whatever.

Crazy, I had never heard it used that way!!  My American grandfather had only ever used the term very carefully and explained that it had been used to refer to escaped slaves so had a negative connotation, even though the Maroons were actually granted independance after their fight for freedom.  I'm always behind on slang!!

"Maroon" as a mispronunciation of "moron" goes back to the Bugs Bunny cartoons, which did form part of Canadian popular culture. Bugs used the word to refer to Elmer Fudd, who didn't really look as though he was of African descent. As in "Eh... what a maroon!"

There's also a corruption of the Spanish word cimmarón which was sometimes used to refer to escaped slaves, but that was never part of Canadian popular culture because slavery wasn't as much of a thing there as an institution. Indentured servitude, yes. But not slavery as such.

[Metric Mouse]

"Maroon" is a comical euphemism for "moron."  Nothing to do with octoroons or whatever.

Crazy, I had never heard it used that way!!  My American grandfather had only ever used the term very carefully and explained that it had been used to refer to escaped slaves so had a negative connotation, even though the Maroons were actually granted independance after their fight for freedom.  I'm always behind on slang!!

"Maroon" as a mispronunciation of "moron" goes back to the Bugs Bunny cartoons, which did form part of Canadian popular culture. Bugs used the word to refer to Elmer Fudd, who didn't really look as though he was of African descent. As in "Eh... what a maroon!"

There's also a corruption of the Spanish word cimmarón which was sometimes used to refer to escaped slaves, but that was never part of Canadian popular culture because slavery wasn't as much of a thing there as an institution. Indentured servitude, yes. But not slavery as such.

Bugs Bunny used racist terms? No wonder it's so deeply ingrained in North American culture...

[ender]

My husband's lender kept sending him bills for $0.00, every single month for a year after he consolidated and didn't owe them anything. That's $5 in postage, plus whatever it cost them in processing.

That happened to my Dad too.  It was a department store credit card, and they wouldn't stop sending him bills until he wrote a cheque.  For $0.00.

That's funny. One company I used to business with had a screwy way of doing invoices. I had two invoices due in January so I paid them all on one check, this is after talking to my salesmen who said to just go ahead and do it. I think little of it and then two months later, I show that I owe money from one of the invoices, and that's it's 30 days past due. I look at 60 days past and see a credit for the same amount. I ignore it until I get a harassing phone call from A/R.

Me: Hello?
A/R: Hello ___, I'm calling from ___ about your overdue balance.......(goes on to give a spiel about wanting payment)
Me: Have you looked at my balance?
A/R: Yes
Me: Be honest, have you looked at it?
A/R: Yes I have, why are you asking?
Me: Because if you had, then you wouldn't be wasting my time with such a stupid call.
A/R: There's no reason to take that tone
Me: Look at my balance statement, it shows an overpayment that's exactly the amount you claim I have open.
A/R: (understanding dawning on her mind), I see your point. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, I'll get this take care of. We value your business
Me: Well you would get more of it if you didn't look like a bunch of maroons (yes I used that word).
A/R: What do you mean?
Me: I can understand a computer making this mistake, but you and whoever assigned you to call me should have looked at this and then fixed it without calling me. Now have you reported me to Dunn and Bradstreet?
A/R: No, that's why I was calling (silence for a moment as she realized my point), you're right sir (tone completely changed to respectfulness). I will mention this to your sales rep, we'll make sure we take care of you better from now on.
Me: Thank you

This was a few months ago and I haven't heard a peep from the salesmen. I should have contacted him but honestly I thought they would fix this once it went to a human eyes.

Did you even indicate on the check you were trying to pay the second invoice with the same check? This doesn't surprise me at all since it's entirely likely the first invoice was closed and the second was still open.

I have my credit card and auto insurance through the same company, if I pay both on a single payment is it really surprising that their processes won't recognize that? Not really.

[TheGrimSqueaker]

"Maroon" is a comical euphemism for "moron."  Nothing to do with octoroons or whatever.

Crazy, I had never heard it used that way!!  My American grandfather had only ever used the term very carefully and explained that it had been used to refer to escaped slaves so had a negative connotation, even though the Maroons were actually granted independance after their fight for freedom.  I'm always behind on slang!!

"Maroon" as a mispronunciation of "moron" goes back to the Bugs Bunny cartoons, which did form part of Canadian popular culture. Bugs used the word to refer to Elmer Fudd, who didn't really look as though he was of African descent. As in "Eh... what a maroon!"

There's also a corruption of the Spanish word cimmarón which was sometimes used to refer to escaped slaves, but that was never part of Canadian popular culture because slavery wasn't as much of a thing there as an institution. Indentured servitude, yes. But not slavery as such.

Bugs Bunny used racist terms? No wonder it's so deeply ingrained in North American culture...

Everyone thought it was an odd pronunciation of the word "moron". He was using it to describe Elmer Fudd, who was lacking in both brain power and melanin. Bugs Bunny mispronounced a lot of words. "Albuquerque", for example (where he famously should have taken a left turn).

[seattlecyclone]

I paid off my student loans in 1996.  I wrote a check to pay off my last 2 payments at once.  Then I got another bill for the last month.  For...$0.01.

I called them and asked them if they really wanted me to buy a stamp and mail a check? 

My husband's lender kept sending him bills for $0.00, every single month for a year after he consolidated and didn't owe them anything. That's $5 in postage, plus whatever it cost them in processing.

My previous employer used Merrill Lynch for their stock compensation, so I had an account with them for that purpose. When I left that job I tried to move all my money out, but I must have missed a penny.

Ever since, they have been sending me quarterly statements in the mail telling me that I still have $0.01 in my account. That was two years ago and I still get them. Not worth my time to wait on hold to get them to stop wasting their money on postage.

[Papa Mustache]

Back when I was in the military I could not entirely close a bank account I had near the base when I got out b/c they would not refund that final $5 for some reason.

As far as I know I still have a bank account up there with 25 years of interest piled on top of that $5. Probably up to $20 or so... ;)

[auntie_betty]

I was short-changed by 2p. Pointed it out to the cashier who said 'it's only 2p'. 'Yes, but it's MY 2p, can I have it please'. :)

[TravelJunkyQC]

I was short-changed by 2p. Pointed it out to the cashier who said 'it's only 2p'. 'Yes, but it's MY 2p, can I have it please'. :)

Ugh, same thing happened to me. My friend next to me was embarrassed when I asked for my FULL change. Why are you embarrassed, it's my money?!

[MNBen]

As far as I know I still have a bank account up there with 25 years of interest piled on top of that $5. Probably up to $20 or so... ;)

I have been finding lots of friends/family on here recently:  http://www.missingmoney.com/

[Reynold]

My wife has more than once gotten puzzled looks at the local Chinese restaurant when she has pointed out that they are overcharging for sales tax, and rounding the bill up about 8 cents to the next dollar.  They really don't seem to understand why it is an issue. 

On a two orders of magnitude larger note, my wife took over "checking" her dad's checkbook balancing late in his life.  Twice in about 3 years their bank, Citibank, charged $10 with no explanation on their checking statement.  Each time when she called, they would apologize, and say they would take that right off, but there was never an explanation offered.  I wonder, though, how many people don't check their statements at all (most people I've ever asked), and how much the bank makes each year on those "innocent" mistakes.  For all the moronic things I see class action lawsuits over, I'm surprised nobody has latched on to that.  I've never seen a small bank do that, but I suppose the complex programming needed to handle a checking account is really hard for a big bank like Citibank. . .  :p

[accountingteacher]

Years ago I emptied a small TFSA account at TD Waterhouse in order to buy snow tires.  I had $7 left in the account and tried to code it.  TD charged me $100 to do this.  When I complained, they agreed to reverse it but I had to keep the account open.  It's almost worth $7.15 now!

[ExitViaTheCashRamp]

My father ran a small business, he is scrupulously honest, he used to notifiy his suppliers when they accidently sent him too much stock and not charged him or made errors that were in his favour. In return, they never, ever questioned or quibbled when it was an error in the opposite direction.

 Then sometime around the mid nineties one of his suppliers moved to a new computer system and after he had paid the last shipment sent him a letter demanding the outstanding balance of £0.00 . He rang them up, smiles and laughter all round and said they would deal with it.
One week later, a new letter:  "Dear Mr X, Please pay your outstanding balance of £0.00". Another call, less laughter and smiles but promised again to deal with it.
One week later, another letter this time in nasty red 'OVERDUE' tones on it: "Dear Mr X, Please pay your outstanding balance of £0.00 now or we will have to take the amount you owe further and will begin legal action".

 So this time, he writes them a cheque for £0.00 and posts it.

 Two weeks later, a phone call from his bank. "Mr X - did you write a cheque for £0.00 ?", "Ummm... yes" he replies sheepishly... "Well don't do it again, it broke our cheque  handling system" was the slightly angry reply !

 

[meghan88]

Years ago I emptied a small TFSA account at TD Waterhouse in order to buy snow tires.  I had $7 left in the account and tried to code it.  TD charged me $100 to do this.  When I complained, they agreed to reverse it but I had to keep the account open.  It's almost worth $7.15 now!

If you transfer your TD Waterhouse TFSA account to another brokerage, the other brokerage should pay the account transfer fee (usually $150).  I wonder if they have an account value threshhold.  Might have to add some $ to the TD TFSA before transferring it elsewhere in order for the new brokerage to cover the cost of transfer.

[Dezrah]

At one point I started getting letters from a major bank saying they had money in my name and to contact them.  The phone numbers and addresses were legitimate so I called.  After verifying my identity, it turns out I had Profit Sharing funds due to me from my very first job from almost three years prior.  I had already cashed out the entire amount when I originally left, but apparently working for 1 week in January was enough for their system to kick me some money. 

It was a grand total of $42ish.  I actually felt embarrassed that they had apparently spent years tracking me to get me this fairly small amount.  Now if I had learned about this some other way and realized they've kept it for themselves and refused to give it to me because "it's such a small amount", you can bet I'd have a different feeling about it.

Also, I'm a hypocrite because I frankly can't be bothered to file an amended tax return to get the feds their $10 in early withdrawal penalties and taxes.

[YogiKitti]

I once went to a restaurant and paid in cash. They told me they don't give change and though I'd be ok overpaying 85 cents!

So I yea I understand.

[TheGrimSqueaker]

My father ran a small business, he is scrupulously honest, he used to notifiy his suppliers when they accidently sent him too much stock and not charged him or made errors that were in his favour. In return, they never, ever questioned or quibbled when it was an error in the opposite direction.

 Then sometime around the mid nineties one of his suppliers moved to a new computer system and after he had paid the last shipment sent him a letter demanding the outstanding balance of £0.00 . He rang them up, smiles and laughter all round and said they would deal with it.
One week later, a new letter:  "Dear Mr X, Please pay your outstanding balance of £0.00". Another call, less laughter and smiles but promised again to deal with it.
One week later, another letter this time in nasty red 'OVERDUE' tones on it: "Dear Mr X, Please pay your outstanding balance of £0.00 now or we will have to take the amount you owe further and will begin legal action".

 So this time, he writes them a cheque for £0.00 and posts it.

 Two weeks later, a phone call from his bank. "Mr X - did you write a cheque for £0.00 ?", "Ummm... yes" he replies sheepishly... "Well don't do it again, it broke our cheque  handling system" was the slightly angry reply !

Brilliant! Especially since they not only asked for it, but they threatened him with legal action if they didn't get it. Then they went into a snit when he gave them what they said they wanted.