Can we sue my girlfriend's bank?

[sswingle]

How do you know for sure the card wasn't canceled when you first called? Most charges on mine take at least a day to show up, usually two.

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: sswingle
How do you know for sure the card wasn't canceled when you first called? Most charges on mine take at least a day to show up, usually two.

You can check the data of authorization on transactions.
All of mine have what date and time they were authorized + the posting date.

 

[LTC8K6]

Yep. They probably did cancel the card the first time. They just needed to wait for the charges to stop coming in.

I have had charges take several days to show up.

 

[TheTony]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
A normal debit card requires a PIN number for all transactions and is safer.

This must have been a Visa or MC debit card, which does not require a PIN for all transactions, and is quite dangerous to have, IMO.

Most banks' debit cards come with Visa acceptance and therefore can be used as a debit OR credit card, at POS.

 

[slugg]

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: sswingle
How do you know for sure the card wasn't canceled when you first called? Most charges on mine take at least a day to show up, usually two.

You can check the data of authorization on transactions.
All of mine have what date and time they were authorized + the posting date.

Originally posted by: TheTony

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
A normal debit card requires a PIN number for all transactions and is safer.

This must have been a Visa or MC debit card, which does not require a PIN for all transactions, and is quite dangerous to have, IMO.

Most banks' debit cards come with Visa acceptance and therefore can be used as a debit OR credit card, at POS.

Yes and yes.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Wheezer
LOL...this is why I love ATOT...very rarely is there sympathy.

I have sympathy for the guy. It's a really sucky situation he was in. But I don't think there's anything he can do about it, and I don't think the bank is responsible for his ruined vacation.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: slugg

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: sswingle
How do you know for sure the card wasn't canceled when you first called? Most charges on mine take at least a day to show up, usually two.

You can check the data of authorization on transactions.
All of mine have what date and time they were authorized + the posting date.

Originally posted by: TheTony

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
A normal debit card requires a PIN number for all transactions and is safer.

This must have been a Visa or MC debit card, which does not require a PIN for all transactions, and is quite dangerous to have, IMO.

Most banks' debit cards come with Visa acceptance and therefore can be used as a debit OR credit card, at POS.

Yes and yes.

Exactly. It swipes like a CC to a retailer or a Debit, but sometimes it defaults to either one. EITHER WAY, with a debit card it functions the SAME WAY to you where the funds disappear and you're screwed.

With a true CC this shows up on your bill, and let's say your CC got stolen instead and you're a day away from your monthly statement. So what? They still give you what 3 weeks to pay it off? You have 3 weeks to resolve it AT THE very minimum before you have to pay anything. At most? If you got owned day 1 of your billing period, you get that 1 month + however long you have to pay your bill once your billing period ends.

This is why I urged my gf to finally get a CC and if ever she needs to use her debit card and they ask her credit or debit to select credit because even if you get screwed that way, you won't lose/compromise your PIN which could be even more deadly.

I think you should expect banks to take their time ESPECIALLY if weekends are involved. I say that it sucks to be the OP, but I can't imagine your GF's debit card being your only source of funds. If you're a guy I expect you to have a certain line of credit or at least your own debit card. And come on, with that discussion of how much you keep in your checking account, don't keep the bare minimum. Have SOME cash you can get your hands on.

Moreover, vacation? Carry some cash. I'm not talking oodles, but enough for certain problems. $200 at least you know? That way you can stop by a motel if something goes wrong. I also make it a point to carry 2 debit cards. If BoA isn't around I can hit up Chase for cash.

You can't really sue and it would be retarded.

But let this be a lesson learned. If you're 18+, don't think your Debit card is the shit because it's got a MC or Visa logo on it. Get a real CC ASAP even if it means you gotta jump through hoops to show them you're a college student, etc. I made every effort to get my first CC and a year later I could apply to anything I wanted. After that it was instant decisions.

 

[soulcougher73]

Just get back at them by saying this "new" debit card was stolen. Then go buy a bunch of expensive things the same day. Profit

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: DLeRium

I think you should expect banks to take their time ESPECIALLY if weekends are involved. If you're a guy I expect you to have a certain line of credit or at least your own debit card.

No.
It doesn't matter if it is Christmas morning the visa and mastercard policy, not sure about amex, is to immediately flag the card as invalid. We aren't talking a lot of work. Its a couple key presses to flag a card as stolen. Friend works for a processing center, she told me about one guy who called in his card lost, so they canceled it, then he found it, so they reinstated it, all in the same day.

What does being a guy have to do with it ?

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: soulcougher73
Just get back at them by saying this "new" debit card was stolen. Then go buy a bunch of expensive things the same day. Profit

hopefully this is sarcasm...fraud is a crime.

Debit also don't offer the same protections as a CC.

To others bragging about how easy CC's were to get, it's a different ball game today.

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
I do see one problem. When the bank said the card was canceled that is supposed to take effect in minutes, not a few days.
The problem would be proving when you called them the first time and told them the card was stolen.



Many people do not have multiple credit cards or travelers checks.

But OP was at home when this all happened. Him and his gf could have gone to the bank and bought the necessary amount of travelers checks, avoiding this whole mess.

It's a moot point, the OP will deny all responsibility and insist everyone at the bank should have fixed everything in LESS than a business day to cover for his complete lack of planning.

 

[Rifter]

This is why i ALWAYS have cash on me and take cash only on vacations.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: DLeRium

I think you should expect banks to take their time ESPECIALLY if weekends are involved. If you're a guy I expect you to have a certain line of credit or at least your own debit card.

No.
It doesn't matter if it is Christmas morning the visa and mastercard policy, not sure about amex, is to immediately flag the card as invalid. We aren't talking a lot of work. Its a couple key presses to flag a card as stolen. Friend works for a processing center, she told me about one guy who called in his card lost, so they canceled it, then he found it, so they reinstated it, all in the same day.

What does being a guy have to do with it ?

Because, you're expecting your gf to have all the money for a vacation? Who's wearing the pants in this relationship? 1 debit card compromised the entire vacation? Ok, let's say she's treating or whatever like a date, but shouldn't YOU have your own money still? Where is your money if things go wrong?

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: DLeRium

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: DLeRium

I think you should expect banks to take their time ESPECIALLY if weekends are involved. If you're a guy I expect you to have a certain line of credit or at least your own debit card.

No.
It doesn't matter if it is Christmas morning the visa and mastercard policy, not sure about amex, is to immediately flag the card as invalid. We aren't talking a lot of work. Its a couple key presses to flag a card as stolen. Friend works for a processing center, she told me about one guy who called in his card lost, so they canceled it, then he found it, so they reinstated it, all in the same day.

What does being a guy have to do with it ?

Because, you're expecting your gf to have all the money for a vacation? Who's wearing the pants in this relationship? 1 debit card compromised the entire vacation? Ok, let's say she's treating or whatever like a date, but shouldn't YOU have your own money still? Where is your money if things go wrong?

Believe it or not some people share finances.
I know several couples where they only have one bank account, and they are not joint accounts. Either it is in his name or hers.

 

[TheTony]

Originally posted by: DLeRium

Exactly. It swipes like a CC to a retailer or a Debit, but sometimes it defaults to either one. EITHER WAY, with a debit card it functions the SAME WAY to you where the funds disappear and you're screwed.

Agreed. While it swipes like a CC, it is still funded like a debit card. So no grace period with which to dispute charges. It's your funds that are gone, not a line of credit. So, while they may both be protected because of the Visa designation, it's your (liquid) funds that are tied up during the dipute/research rather than part of that line of credit.

I just didn't fully agree with a previous poster's assertion that Visa debit cards were "dangerous" because they didn't require a pin. While technically accurate, by that logic, so are normal credit cards, and they'd actually have saved the OP some grief, in this situation, if they'd have been the card in question. Moreover, most debit cards issued carry Visa acceptance.

 

[kalrith]

This is why I canceled my debit card and solely use credit cards now. I wouldn't want to have my funds frozen and have to go through all the crap of making sure I had the right amount of money in my checking account. I pay off the cc balance in full every month (i.e. no finance charges), and I get 1.25 - 5% cash back every month too.

Oh, and I have two back-up credit cards just in case.

 

[CPA]

What are you going to sue for? You technically didn't have any monetary loss.

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: slugg

Originally posted by: Modelworks
I do see one problem. When the bank said the card was canceled that is supposed to take effect in minutes, not a few days.
The problem would be proving when you called them the first time and told them the card was stolen.



Many people do not have multiple credit cards or travelers checks.

They actually called HER. Not only that, but they have a complete record of all the calls. And of course, so do we.

Edit: the reason why they called her is because she wasn't at home when the first bit of fraudulent charges were happening, so she hadn't discovered that her card was stolen yet. Bank of America found suspicious activity, then called her.

Thank you for omitting this bit of detail in your original post. Sounds like all the charges happened first, then the card was canceled. And all the batch processing happens after the fact.

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: DLeRium

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: DLeRium

I think you should expect banks to take their time ESPECIALLY if weekends are involved. If you're a guy I expect you to have a certain line of credit or at least your own debit card.

No.
It doesn't matter if it is Christmas morning the visa and mastercard policy, not sure about amex, is to immediately flag the card as invalid. We aren't talking a lot of work. Its a couple key presses to flag a card as stolen. Friend works for a processing center, she told me about one guy who called in his card lost, so they canceled it, then he found it, so they reinstated it, all in the same day.

What does being a guy have to do with it ?

Because, you're expecting your gf to have all the money for a vacation? Who's wearing the pants in this relationship? 1 debit card compromised the entire vacation? Ok, let's say she's treating or whatever like a date, but shouldn't YOU have your own money still? Where is your money if things go wrong?

Believe it or not some people share finances.
I know several couples where they only have one bank account, and they are not joint accounts. Either it is in his name or hers.

As Judge Judy would say : STUPID ! You should never share bank accounts if you're not married.

 

[Eug]

How did they get the PIN for the debit card?

EDIT:

Ah I see. So CC-like debit cards have no real protection? If not, that's stupid.

 

[Q]

As long as you get your money back what the hell are you going to sue for

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: Eug
How did they get the PIN for the debit card?

Don't need one.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: slugg

So we spent many hundreds of dollars to come here to Texas and we couldn't even do anything because the bank royally screwed us.

well, you couldn't do anything b/c it was Texas, not because of the bank.

and does your GF always pay for everything? I need me one of those.

 

[blahblah99]

Originally posted by: guyver01
If the bank refunds the money back to the account, and removes all the overdraft fees..

What more do you want? That's all they can do.


Good luck suing a bank, getting a lawyer, and going thru the legal process for YEARS (yes years... banks can keep you tied up in litigation) ... if losing $1700 screws you... financially you cant afford to sue.

There's always small claims court with a statutory limit. No need for middlemen in that case.

 

[idiotekniQues]

you screwed up. not with the bank, but with your vacation choices. who the hell would want to vacation in texas?