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Feb 19, 2010 - 03:03 AM |
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Would It Be Fair to Sue This Company? |
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There are ATMs in my store. They're not owned by any particular bank but are instead the type supplied by financiers who make a profit off each use.
Last week, I checked the balance in my checking account. The little slip of paper informed me that I had $220. This was a bit more than I thought but it was also payday, so I shrugged.
I went out and purchased $120 in groceries last Friday, and that was the last time I used any money from my account.
Several days later, I received an overdraft notice in the mail. My account was overdrawn by $360. This worked out to be $220, plus the $120 I'd spent. And a nice $20 overdraft penalty as well. I was pretty confused. I checked with the credit union and found that, indeed, the sum was accurate and that I never had the $220 available. I'd been put under by an automated deduction for my auto-loan payment, which I hadn't authorized and was given no notification for.
It turns out that since January's loan payment was late, due to mitigating circumstances beyond my control, they saw fit to auto-deduct February's payment to make sure they got their money. This is what put me into the negatives. I really don't think it should be fair to make an unauthorized payment that wipes out someone's account and then some, THEN charge an overdraft fee, but that's what they did. Apparently this auto-deduction is the new policy for members who have made late payments the previous month. It's so members don't default. No, I'll just go into bankruptcy another way now, thanks.
Anyhow, turns out what they did is fully legal. It's in their fine print. The credit union isn't who I'm mad at.
I got an account statement from the credit union and it showed that, after today's paycheck, I am still in the negatives for $77. I went back to the ATM at my store and got a balance statement. That statement claims I have $77 available. It neglects to print out a negative sign!
The same machine refuses to allow one to simply view his or her balance on the screen. Printed balance is the only option. You don't even get the option of seeing a negative on the monitor.
So, basically, the ATM company's negligence in this matter has cost me severely. Had I known the original $220 was negative, I certainly wouldn't have gone to buy groceries, incurring more debt and fines in the process.
I'm pretty pissed. And I wonder if this has happened to others. I really would like to nail this company for their flagrant disregard for important details.
But does this sound like a legitimate claim?
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