The generosity of community banks
This is an open letter, because I can no longer afford a stamp.
Dear Mr Vigus,
I refer to your letter dated February 7 regarding my overdrawn account. You ask whether I was aware that my account was overdrawn by $10.54 at the time of writing. I must answer truthfully that I was not.
You state that “Believing this was merely an oversight and as we were unsuccessful in contacting you, we have transferred $10.54 to your overdrawn account from the available funds in your account number xxxxxxxx”. Thanks dude! You were right. It was an oversight. Last time I looked at the account it had a few cents in it. I forgot to allow for your banks’ bullshit fees for 1) being a customer and having an account in the first place; and 2) actually using the account approximately three times last month. Thank you for pointing out the obvious oversight, because I now have cause to actually look into your fee structure.
I’m most pleased that the other account had sufficient funds to cover this. Actually it had roughly 1,000 times the amount needed, a sickenly obscene amount of money given the pathetic and minuscule interest rate your bank pays me for leaving it there.
You state that you completed the transfer on my behalf “to avoid the possibility of you (me) incurring a $27.50 overdrawn account fee”. No, you did it because you can. To charge me an overdrawn fee when the overdraw is simply your fees, would be illegal. To swipe money from another account, without a standing arrangement to do so, is also illegal. But a theft I’m much less likely (or any other customer for that matter) to complain about as you then write to explain how magnanimous your institution has been towards me, the poor customer.
You ask that I ensure my account is conducted on a credit basis and has sufficient funds for all future debits. I promise I will. On the off chance that I don’t, please help yourself to any of my accounts that I hold with Bendigo Bank that have thousands upon thousands of dollars in them. Be quick, I’m closing them all.
Regards,
Greg Anderson
10 year account holder
