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I guess now and then they can actually do something right. I know when dealing with them over my suddenly closed checking account there was one person who was helpful, but a lot of dead wood was there also. This is just a bank to avoid. Maybe someday they will get their shit together, but right now they Suck. See: [bankofamericageorgiasucks.blogspot.com]
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While they actually shouldn't be charging their customers at all for this service, I've found that if you go in there and are really smiley and nice to the clerks and ask them how their day is going they'll waive the fee. This has worked 100% of the time, the 7 or 8 times I've needed one.
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I suspect it was a no-brainer for the CSR. The withdrawal from the account would likely have had a memo with the serial number of the M/O - for audit purposes. The CSR likely found both debits had the same serial number and just had to have his/her supervisor countersign the reversal of the last one. (At least that's how we used to do it.)
I have noticed a few of the companies I have had to deal with actually had functional customer service as of late. Maybe corporate America is actually learning? I still wouldn't use BoA under any circumstances.
I have 2 checking accts, my IRA and my wife has a bunch of accts with them. Whatever problems I had with BoA were corrected very quickly, never a hassle. Maybe all out there just had the wrong people to talk to, I go directly to the branch and they take care of things pronto.
I know when i was a teller if we did stuff like this it would usually put us out of balance at the end of the day. Often this kind of thing would get corrected in the back office. Its very possible they were already in the process of fixing it.
I love how when a company does what's expected, it's newsworthy!
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@hillsrovey: Well it gets kind of depressing reading about all the crap that happens on a daily basis. Gives me hope, you know? As faint as it may be.
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It was resolved easily probably because they do it all the time!
Like when my CVS overcharges me.
I catch it.
They say whoops, and rebill it correctly.
Same with doctor bills.
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Recently I saw a duplicate charge on my B of A checking account for a debit-card purchase I'd made. I called the merchant to ask for a refund of the duplicate charge, but the woman I talked to just made excuses ... e.g. \"We didn't issue the second charge, we can't refund it, the transaction company will have to do that.\" Finally she agreed to ask the transaction company to \"research it.\" They might, or might not, issue the refund, she said. I thanked her for doing next to nothing.
Took them 5 days. Five days! But at last the refund appeared. However, that's not the whole problem. In the one day between when the duplicate charge was first made and the time I discovered it, another debit-card transaction had put my account in the negative. It cost me a $35 NSF charge. I immediately transferred oodles of money from my savings to cover it along with whatever else might come in, but that one NSF charge had been assessed.
I called the merchant about this, once the correction had been made and showed up in my account (thus documenting the error). The woman was not interested in correcting that problem. No way. I heard the \"we didn't do it, wasn't our problem\" mantra. She again merely promised to ask the transaction company to \"research\" it and decide whether or not to refund my $35. Entirely up to their whim, according to her.
In the meantime I called B of A 'cause I was concerned the NSF charge might show up on a credit or Chexsystems report, when it wasn't actually my fault. The guy I talked to there was sympathetic, looked at my account, did all the necessary math, and said, \"You're right, this isn't your fault.\" He then gave me back my $35!
So, B of A happily corrected a problem that was not even their doing ... it was, rather, the fault of whatever transaction company put through a duplicate charge on my account ... when that company was apparently not even willing to acknowledge the mistake in the first place — they only issued the refund when they were asked to, not because they'd found out about it during their own nightly \"balancing of the books.\"
B of A is not exactly everyone's favorite company, it's true, but they did right by me even when they didn't have to. Now if I could just find out which transaction company charged me twice and were willing to hold onto their ill-gotten gain, and expose them as a crooked outfit they are ... !
@PsiCop: they have been getting better about those kinds of situations. Next time that happens try calling the bank, they may be able to remove the authorization so you dont get the NSF in the first place.
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In theory, a bank should do everything right, all the time. A double charge should never have happened. But mistakes do sometimes happen. They shouldn't be allowed to happen very much. Mistakes should be rare. But even more important, every mistake should be corrected when it is pointed out. It is NOT \"above and beyond\" to correct a mistake. It should be standard operating practice all the time, every time. We should be able to judge a business on how many mistakes they make the first time, not on how many mistakes they fail to correct.
Nathaniel's story (the article) is a case of what the bank should have done. By contrast, PsiCop's store (a comment) is a case of BoA going somewhat above and beyond. Still, I would expect BoA to actually charge the transaction company the $35 and make 'em pay. The transaction company in PsiCop's story is more evil than BoA in this case. But these two stories don't give the broader picture so we don't really know from this.
I have used BOA for 14 years. I have never had a problem caused by their system. The couple times I have disputed charges the rep put money back in my account while I was on the phone. I have no complaints.
The really sad part is that this is at all newsworthy. Banks, like every other business, will make mistakes. Like everyone else, they should recognize and correct the mistakes.
The fact that this rates a story shows the pathetic state of customer service in general.
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What, paying in cash doesn't prevent fraud moreso than a money order?
Now people know how to get two money orders and pay for only one.
LOL Money orders to prevent fraud look at all those nigerian scams going on with money order