The bank (Citibank) lost our money

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Mr Big Dog: Hmm, I doubt they bounced. One was from Columbia University, which seems unlikely to bounce a check. Wouldn't they tell us if a check bounced?

It could be an error in the lockbox where the check was processed.

Those appear to happen - rarely but they do happen. They'll fix it for you.

I don't think it was hacked. It sounds like human error with data entry.

I would assume that. But you'd think they'd get their arses in gear to correct the error. Instead, we've had days of calls to (presumably) India and nothing is happening! This is the worst banking service I've ever experienced. I've never heard of a bank losing your money and not caring about fixing the situation.

Have a branch around? That might be the better course of action.

And do let Citi know how you feel about the "service" the call center in Shennai provided to you.

[Alex+R 0]

Mr Big Dog: Hmm, I doubt they bounced. One was from Columbia University, which seems unlikely to bounce a check. Wouldn't they tell us if a check bounced?

It could be an error in the lockbox where the check was processed.

Those appear to happen - rarely but they do happen. They'll fix it for you.

I don't think it was hacked. It sounds like human error with data entry.

I would assume that. But you'd think they'd get their arses in gear to correct the error. Instead, we've had days of calls to (presumably) India and nothing is happening! This is the worst banking service I've ever experienced. I've never heard of a bank losing your money and not caring about fixing the situation.

Have a branch around? That might be the better course of action.

And do let Citi know how you feel about the "service" the call center in Shennai provided to you.

I'm glad to hear it does occasionally happen, which means they do fix these sorts of errors. (Also glad someone with experience working in banking happens to be in OT at the moment!) Actually, Rey went into a branch today to deposit another check (not without trepidation, of course) and was told he couldn't withdraw 50 dollars cash because he didn't have any money. (Up to this point we thought the problem had been solved.) He tried to explain, but no luck.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Mr Big Dog: Hmm, I doubt they bounced. One was from Columbia University, which seems unlikely to bounce a check. Wouldn't they tell us if a check bounced?

It could be an error in the lockbox where the check was processed.

Those appear to happen - rarely but they do happen. They'll fix it for you.

I don't think it was hacked. It sounds like human error with data entry.

I would assume that. But you'd think they'd get their arses in gear to correct the error. Instead, we've had days of calls to (presumably) India and nothing is happening! This is the worst banking service I've ever experienced. I've never heard of a bank losing your money and not caring about fixing the situation.

Have a branch around? That might be the better course of action.

And do let Citi know how you feel about the "service" the call center in Shennai provided to you.

I'm glad to hear it does occasionally happen, which means they do fix these sorts of errors. (Also glad someone with experience working in banking happens to be in OT at the moment!) Actually, Rey went into a branch today to deposit another check (not without trepidation, of course) and was told he couldn't withdraw 50 dollars cash because he didn't have any money. (Up to this point we thought the problem had been solved.) He tried to explain, but no luck.

Nani actually used to process checks in a lockbox up in Cincinnati. That's about the extend of my experience with this sort of thing. While I work in banking, retail banking is something I am not particularly familiar with.

Gotta ask them next time around what "Let's get it done" actually means at Citi and whether it is more than just a slogan for the ads...

Edited December 8, 2007 by Mr. Big Dog

[Alex+R 0]

Gotta ask them next time around what "Let's get it done" actually means at Citi and whether it is more than just a slogan for the ads...

Yeah, seriously. I always thought the "Let's get it done" was supposed to be a polite way of validating people who want to spend money they don't have... stupid stupid bank

[russ 1]

[quote name='Alex+R' post='1394912' date='Dec 7 2007,

Have a branch around? That might be the better course of action.

And do let Citi know how you feel about the "service" the call center in Shennai provided to you.

I'm glad to hear it does occasionally happen, which means they do fix these sorts of errors. (Also glad someone with experience working in banking happens to be in OT at the moment!) Actually, Rey went into a branch today to deposit another check (not without trepidation, of course) and was told he couldn't withdraw 50 dollars cash because he didn't have any money. (Up to this point we thought the problem had been solved.) He tried to explain, but no luck.

I've worked for Citi before - it is a big place. Lots of room for making mistakes, no one is ever responsible. Complain now, as loudly as possible. Take the deposit slip to a branch, and get a manager. Make them get on the phone (they won't be able to fix it themselves). Do this at the branch where you made the deposit. They will have a log of the transaction there. If not, have whoever issued the check do a stop payment and get a new check. (You will then have to fight with Citi about the 'bounced' check that you got a stop payment on, when they eventually find it) Cash the check at the bank it was writen on, and deposit cash at Citi.

Write a mean letter to whoever you can think of as well. (this is not acceptable for a bank to do).

I had a Citi credit card a few years back. They "accidentally" debited my checking account three times the same month to pay my bill. Took a month before they gave me the money back. Their mistake, though they did nothing to help me while I had NO MONEY to pay my bills for a month while they fixed it. They did send a letter immediately acknowledging their mistake. They did nothing to fix it quickly though. (I found out about the screwup from their letter). It has made me very wary of ACH / ETF transfers though.

[Alex+R 0]

[quote name='Alex+R' post='1394912' date='Dec 7 2007,

Have a branch around? That might be the better course of action.

And do let Citi know how you feel about the "service" the call center in Shennai provided to you.

I'm glad to hear it does occasionally happen, which means they do fix these sorts of errors. (Also glad someone with experience working in banking happens to be in OT at the moment!) Actually, Rey went into a branch today to deposit another check (not without trepidation, of course) and was told he couldn't withdraw 50 dollars cash because he didn't have any money. (Up to this point we thought the problem had been solved.) He tried to explain, but no luck.

I've worked for Citi before - it is a big place. Lots of room for making mistakes, no one is ever responsible. Complain now, as loudly as possible. Take the deposit slip to a branch, and get a manager. Make them get on the phone (they won't be able to fix it themselves). Do this at the branch where you made the deposit. They will have a log of the transaction there. If not, have whoever issued the check do a stop payment and get a new check. (You will then have to fight with Citi about the 'bounced' check that you got a stop payment on, when they eventually find it) Cash the check at the bank it was writen on, and deposit cash at Citi.

Write a mean letter to whoever you can think of as well. (this is not acceptable for a bank to do).

I had a Citi credit card a few years back. They "accidentally" debited my checking account three times the same month to pay my bill. Took a month before they gave me the money back. Their mistake, though they did nothing to help me while I had NO MONEY to pay my bills for a month while they fixed it. They did send a letter immediately acknowledging their mistake. They did nothing to fix it quickly though. (I found out about the screwup from their letter). It has made me very wary of ACH / ETF transfers though.

That's probably a good idea, complaining and bringing it to a manager. I never had any of these experiences with my old bank. Certainly it was strange when I sent money to my credit card at the old bank and it didn't show up there for 4 days after when Citi said it would. All in all, this is just an awful bank. I wish it didn't theoretically damage your credit to close an account quickly (right?) or I'd close this one.

[mawilson 2,133]

Alex - is it a new account?

There are some rules regarding the availability of funds for new accounts

(< 90 days old).

When I first opened my Citibank account, my pay checks took forever to clear

(especially checks over $10k.) They only made $400 available the same day

and delayed the rest (for like a week!)

Now whenever I deposit a check (regardless of the amount), they make the

funds available immediately.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I've worked for Citi before - it is a big place.

The RSC here in Tampa?

[ready4ONE 5,400]

I don't think it was hacked. It sounds like human error with data entry.

I would assume that. But you'd think they'd get their arses in gear to correct the error. Instead, we've had days of calls to (presumably) India and nothing is happening! This is the worst banking service I've ever experienced. I've never heard of a bank losing your money and not caring about fixing the situation.

That is also why the "C" in Citibank in pronounced "SH." Once you get this fixed, and your money back, I would close out the account and find another institution to bank with...

Seriously though, good luck, sounds like a sucky situation!

[Alex+R 0]

Alex - is it a new account?

There are some rules regarding the availability of funds for new accounts

(< 90 days old).

When I first opened my Citibank account, my pay checks took forever to clear

(especially checks over $10k.) They only made $400 available the same day

and delayed the rest (for like a week!)

Now whenever I deposit a check (regardless of the amount), they make the

funds available immediately.

Naw, that's not it. The check actually vanished. Otherwise they wouldn't tell us it was lost and it wouldn't not appear on our account. They seemed perfectly comfortable taking the check Rey deposited today and putting toward the "missing" sum (so now we're still x bucks in the hole or something...sigh)

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Alex,

Like the Dawg says, you'll get your money back. Once you do, do your banking with a bank that has lots of branches near where you work and live. I hear good things about Peapack-Gladstone, I don't know if there are any in Manhattan but there's plenty in Northern Jersey.

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

Interesting... Had a friend with a similar situation a year ago with, I believe, Citibank too. He had to fill out more paperwork than a well put together K-1 petition. He did eventually get his money back after a long investigation.

[yassmine2878 1]

I don't think it was hacked. It sounds like human error with data entry.

I would assume that. But you'd think they'd get their arses in gear to correct the error. Instead, we've had days of calls to (presumably) India and nothing is happening! This is the worst banking service I've ever experienced. I've never heard of a bank losing your money and not caring about fixing the situation.

Ive never dealt with Citibank, but this sounds disgustingly familiar to what Wells Fargo did to me. I put money in, and they 'lost' it. One day its there in the available balance, the next its flippin gone. Checks and debits start raining in and every single one bounced and got charged an NSF fee. On top of that my direct deposit was still going in and all it did was fill up the negative hole created by all the NSF mess. What happened to my deposit? No one knows. I spent weeks arguing with WF about it and they flat out refused to even investigate it, despite my reciepts. After losing almost 2 whole paychecks to their great debiting caper I cancelled my direct deposit and closed the account, leaving it with a negative balance. I opened a new account with Chase and explained to them what WF had done to me. They were terribly sympathetic more than happy to have my business. 2 months later they closed my account with no warning. I had to talk to 5 different CSR's before someone finally explained that WF reported my negative account with them, so Chase decided to close my account. My direct deposit was lost for a week because of that stunt. I got a letter from Chase in the mail 2 weeks after my account was closed, explaining they were going to close my account at their discretion and no reason given.

So in light of my experience with those two money-grubbing, theiving corporations, if you decide to switch banks I would not recommend Wells Fargo or Chase. Instead, buy a nice cookie jar that makes noise when you open it. At least then you can catch whomever is stealing from you.

[Ban Hammer 14,297]

wow. alex, i thought one of your parents was retired military. should that be the case, why aren't you in usaa?

[Fandango 1,440]

Hope it's resolved soon, Alex!