"Not Sweating the Small Stuff" - My $36 Mistake

[fartface]

Like most mustachians I have multiple bank accounts for various reasons: GE Capital online savings, business checking, personal checking and personal savings at my local bank.

I decided after doing some number crunching that I won't be itemizing this year, so won't be paying my property taxes this month.

The money had been sitting in local savings for this reason, but since changing my tax plan, I figured I'd put it back into GE Capital for the 1.05% interest rate -- even for just a few months.

Well, I accidentally drew the funds from local checking instead of local savings...costing me a $36.00 service fee from the local bank.

Not realizing my error, I initially called them over this charge I thought was a mistake on their end.

The local bank lady said she'd look into it and call me right back. In the interim I logged onto all my accounts to double check all the transactions...sure enough I realized it was a one click error on my part. I resigned myself to eating the charge.

The bank lady then calls me back and starts explaining the error. At that point I'd already made up my mind that I wasn't going to "fight" this charge - even though the funds were in the local bank - just a different account number - and I'm a long-time customer who has given them lots of business over the years.

Next thing you know the local teller is saying to me that she's going to waive the fee and credit it back to my account!

More important than the trivial $36 was the fact that, even when I thought I'd have to eat it, I didn't let it ruin my day or outlook or get irate with a customer service rep who is just doing her job.

This was a powerful step for me, psychologically liberating, and I attribute it to the lessons I've learned from this blog.

[Exflyboy]

I am not surprised. I have had numerous fees over the years get cancelled for the same reasons. Clearly an honest mistake and a boatload of money in this other account, high income, always paid my balance in full etc.

Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but a nice gesture in the name of customer service.

Frank

[arebelspy]

Peace of mind > $36.

But great that you got both!  :)

[Mortgage Free Mike]

Glad they recognized an honest mistake. Something similar has happened to me before and the fee was forgiven as well. One bank that did NOT forgive my first mistake was BB&T... way back when I was a teenager. It was my only mistake with them... I closed the account immediately.

[deborah]

One of the pains about buying stuff online in the US is that they are a day behind us, and the banks credit stuff on the DATE paid rather than the actual time, so, if I work out how much I need to pay, put it in my low interest account, and then buy it. Unfortunately, that means that I put it in on 20/12 (my current date), and the charge from the US is 19/12 (probable US current date), so I have overdrawn my account (actually I haven't because it didn't happen that way). And of course, if I go through the motions, I don't know how much it will be until I have got halfway through paying, and they have worked out how much the international postage will be. So, I need to almost finish buying something, stop, move the money, and go back the next day and order again. Absolute PAIN.

Anyway, the first time this happened and I got a "overdrawn" fee, I rang up to complain, and the person waived my fee, explained very nicely why it had happened, and advised me how to stop it from happening.

Of course, I could use a credit card rather than a debit card, but then I would open myself to all those internet fraudsters.

[Michael792]

Last night I accidentally did the same thing. (Except I have much less of an excuse. I only have two bank accounts, both with the same bank.) It was twenty dollars, which on my salary is a lot of money. I emailed the bank and they waived it, too, even with a couple overdrafts earlier this year when I was running low on money. I was fairly surprised.

[arebelspy]

Last night I accidentally did the same thing. (Except I have much less of an excuse. I only have two bank accounts, both with the same bank.) It was twenty dollars, which on my salary is a lot of money. I emailed the bank and they waived it, too, even with a couple overdrafts earlier this year when I was running low on money. I was fairly surprised.

More and more people have been switching to credit unions, online banks, etc.

Banks have been trying to keep customers lately.

[TreeTired]

In an extremely rare event for me,  I recently forgot to pay my credit card bill online.  I noticed the bill sitting on my desk and immediately paid it - 2 days late.   I just paid the $25 late fee (and maybe $3 of interest) and will not call them looking for a waiver.   I have had fees waived in the past when I had some kind of legitimate excuse or felt it was their fault.   No excuse this time!

It is nice tho, when they pull up your record and see you have been a cardholder for 20 years and they waive the fee based on relationship and previous stellar payment history.  It almost makes you feel like there is a human being on the other end of the phone.

[Michael792]

Last night I accidentally did the same thing. (Except I have much less of an excuse. I only have two bank accounts, both with the same bank.) It was twenty dollars, which on my salary is a lot of money. I emailed the bank and they waived it, too, even with a couple overdrafts earlier this year when I was running low on money. I was fairly surprised.

More and more people have been switching to credit unions, online banks, etc.

Banks have been trying to keep customers lately.

Mine is a credit union, and they're fairly small. I guess it's a nicer environment than I thought it was.

[Kansas Beachbum]

Good for you for getting over that emotional hump...it's a big one.  MMM did a blog entry a while back on a very similar vein...you are at a point where you live a financially sensible life, have built up a certain level of stache, so don't allow yourself to get all wrapped around the axle over little stuff like this...not worth the excess stomach acid.  Cheers!