by "Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
Published 08/12/2017 at 15:39
by "Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
Published 08/12/2017 at 15:39
Tags: Banking
STARS: 3
My bank account turned into a shared account when Miss Tesla and I moved in together. So when we broke up, I still had to pay for her monthly subs (of which there are so many) among other things. I tried stopping the flow of those things, but they just keep coming.
Instead, I decided to just close my Bank of America account and start fresh. I opened up a Chase account last Saturday. The Chase next to my house has the nicest bankers I’ve ever spoken to. These people don’t even flinch or double take at my ID and other legal docs. They even skip the small talk and get straight to legitimate and fulfilling conversations!
On the other hand, two Bank of America branches today proudly showed me why I will never bank with them again.
The morning I destroyed my BofA card (something I now realize to be a terrible mistake) and made my way to branch #1 (the one I opened my account with). Here’s how the conversation went:
Teller: “Hi! How may I help you today?”
Me: “Good morning! I’d love to close my account.”
“That’s not good! Well, just sit over there and our banker will speak with you.”
**1 hour of waiting ensues...I eventually just decide to make a withdrawal and close the account on another day. I approach the teller again.”**
“I’ve had a change of heart, keeping this account open will be good for me in the long run. I’d instead like to make a withdrawal.”
“Awesome! Go ahead and swipe your card.”
“Oh I’m sorry, I lost my card moving into my new house.”
“No problem, may I have your ID?”
“Sure! Here you go!”
*Hands her ID*
*She takes a 1 second glance at the ID then becomes slightly irate.*
“Yeah, I’m going to need your real ID.”
“Sorry, this happens a lot! Haha. That’s me, I’m transgender. I can give you my Social Security card or my birth certificate if you need it. I’ll also pull my hair back so you can see that I’m the same person that’s on that ID.”
*I pull my hair back.*
(Usually my willingness to pull out this documentation quenches anyone’s thirst for proof.)
“Uh....uh....I’ll speak to my boss.”
*She walks over to her boss, shows her my ID, then the boss laughs and shakes head.*
“I’m sorry, you will have to get this ID changed before we’ll give you money.”
“Erm, okay. The DMV isn’t open until Monday, plus I would need money out of this account to pay to fix my ID anyway.”
“Oh, that’s too bad.”
“Hmmm...Can I order a new debit card then so I can have some way to use my money?”
“You’ll need a new ID for that.”
“But that costs $30 and now I have no way of obtaining $30. I opened my bank account here in 2014, I can even show you that paperwork!”
“I’m sorry, come back when you have a new ID.”
“It’s okay, thanks for trying! :)“
Alright, a swing and a miss. I’ll try another branch. This time I decided to skip the whole ‘closing the account’ thing. Unfortunately all the BofAs in my area also closed their drive-thrus, so bank teller we go!:
Teller: “Hello. How may I help you today?”
Me: “Good afternoon! I’d love to make a withdrawal.”
“Great! Go ahead and swipe your card.”
“Oh I’m sorry, I lost my card moving into my new house.”
“No problem, may I have your ID?”
“Sure! Here you go!”
*Hands him ID*
“Ah, man. I’m going to have to see your real ID please.”
“Sorry, this happens more often than you think!! Hehe. I promise that’s me, I’m transgender. I can give you my Social Security card or my birth certificate if you need it. I’ll also pull my hair back so you can see that I’m the same person that’s on that ID.“
*I pull my hair back.*
“Uh, right. Be right back”
*I utter “fuck” quietly*
*Boss returns.*
“I’m sorry ma’am you’re going to have to change your ID before we’ll do any transaction.”
“Will my birth cert work? Here, I even have my SSA card!”
“That’s not going to work.”
“What do you want me to do? I have tons of ways of proving my identity, I just don’t have an ID that shows me as a woman.”
“Get a new ID.”
“What made you not do the transaction? Especially when I pulled back my hair and showed you that I look like my ID when I have short hair?”
“You have makeup on and longer hair.”
“So you mean to tell me that any time I want to grow my hair or dare to put on lipstick you want me to go to the DMV and get a new license?”
“Yep. That’s how it works for normal people.”
“Right, okay then. How am I supposed to get the money for the DMV if my bank is effectively holding my money hostage until I prove that I’m a transsexual?”
“You should have thought of that when you decided not to update your ID.”
“Oh, I’m sorry that I wanted to consolidate my transition changes all into one DMV visit instead of having to visit the DMV three or more times. Silly me for trying to save money, be a good employee at work, and saving time. I should have totally considered banking discrimination first.”
“Sorry we couldn’t help.”
“No don’t apologize, you aren’t sorry. If you were you would have done the transaction, bye.”
So now on Monday I have to either try another branch or call in to work to spend a day at the DMV. Then spend another day at the DMV a few months from now when I get my name changed. Cool. Either way, I have no access whatsoever to my own darned money.
Sod off Bank of America, this is why everyone hates you.
"TomServo (Resides on the Satellite of Love)" (mk7silkblue)
08/12/2017 at 15:47, STARS: 1
There has to be some kind of law In place about this crap.
"CB" (jrcb)
08/12/2017 at 15:50, STARS: 6
Do you have access to online banking through your Bank of America account? Because you could just send your money as an e-transfer and then collect it with your Chase account.
"facw" (facw)
08/12/2017 at 15:51, STARS: 1
Yeah, that doesn’t sound right or legal, though I guess you are more expert on such things than me. Best of luck getting it dealt with.
"Leon711" (leon711)
08/12/2017 at 16:23, STARS: 1
That’s some shit. What an absolute bunch of assholes.
It’s not gonna make you have any cash but a while back I snapped some pictures of some Smarts with the intention of posting them here for you, I lost most when I broke my phone but I got a couple still.
The orange roadster has scissor doors!
Poor images but it’s all I got. I hope you get your BoA account closed soon.
"garagemonkee" (monke)
08/12/2017 at 16:27, STARS: 5
“Yep. That’s how it works for normal people.”
Fuck ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooff with your bullshit, BoA teller.
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
08/12/2017 at 16:43, STARS: 2
I’ve never like BOFA, not even remotely. I had them quote a mortgage for me once, it was 2-3 pts higher than others at the time. They are just being royal dicks. Seriously you could sue them and actually get some $$$, because this is just blatant discrimination.
"Bricks" (bricks)
08/12/2017 at 17:14, STARS: 2
piece of advice, ask them over twitter or another social media platform to get it closed, those guys tend to do better than the fuckwits at the branches or the callcenters
"Tapas" (tapas)
08/12/2017 at 19:07, STARS: 1
Holy fucking shit. This is so fucked up :(
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
08/12/2017 at 19:35, STARS: 0
I do! However any online based service requires debit card info...which I didn’t get before I obliterated the card. :(
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
08/12/2017 at 19:42, STARS: 0
My state has me as a protected citizen, though I bet BofA could wriggle themselves out of a suit with their fancy fine print.
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
08/12/2017 at 19:43, STARS: 0
Ooooh that’s a fantastic idea!!! I’m totally going to do that! thanks! :)
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
08/12/2017 at 19:45, STARS: 0
A couple Miatas, a couple fortwos, a Robin, and two smart roadsters?!???? That’s like the most Oppo parking lot ever!
"FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
08/12/2017 at 22:54, STARS: 0
BoA branches suck. I had a nowhere near as bad but still absurd interaction with them when I was on my way to closing on my house. Went in and told the teller I needed to make a withdrawal. Ok swipe card enter PIN everything cool. Ok how much? $XX,XXX Uh OK since that’s over $5k you need to sign this form. Ok cool. Sign it. Teller disappears for 15 minutes. Comes back and tells me the signature doesn’t match. Try again. Still not a good enough match. OK let’s see your ID. Fine. Manager comes over. Tells me I need to try signing again. Why? ID doesn’t look enough like me and ID’s are “easily faked.” Eventually end up in the manager’s office having a discussion about options since I need that money pretty much right now. Ends up that I can log into my oniline account and just wire the damn money no questions asked. But there was like a $100 fee to do that which I was trying to avoid by coming in. So finally I was like I’ll sit here with my laptop and wire my entire balance to another bank account at a different bank while you watch or you can just give me my damn money. They caved and got it. But first I had to sign again. And of course the manager makes a comment about how it’s closer this time and why didn’t I just sign like that the first time.
It’s a total theatre of absurdity there. You shouldn’t have had to put up with the shit you did but it doesn’t surprise me at all unfortunately.
"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
08/13/2017 at 00:17, STARS: 0
Wow....that is one of the most discriminatory things I’ve heard in a long time....seriously, screw them! Hope you get it sorted out! :/ I mean, you offered to provide paperwork which would prove without a doubt it was your account and they DENIED that? That makes NO sense!
On a random side note, I wish Oppo had private messaging as I wanted to pester you and your phone expertise with two questions! Sorry for doing it here but you’ve been an awesome help to many of us before on that topic so I appreciate your input! :) I’ve got an ancient, used Samsung Galaxy Core LTE android that works fine but the GPS signal is crap and disconnects a lot... GPS works fine when it is connected, but my side job is computer repair and tutoring and having my directions cut out on the way to places I’ve not been before is hella annoying! Any ideas how I could improve the signal? :( Barring that, my funds are a bit low right now, but any suggestions for a used android that wouldn’t suck I could find online running android 4.4.2 or higher for around $100 CAD including shipping...probably a tall order, I know...8GB of space would be fine for me even.
I thank you for any and all suggestions!!! :)
"GLiddy" (GLiddy)
08/13/2017 at 12:16, STARS: 0
Do you have computer access to your account? How about a checkbook? Many banks will close accounts automatically or more easily when the balance is zero. So my two suggestions is go to your online Chase account and see if you can link it to your BOA account. They may do the thing where they make 2 small deposits to verify it, so you need computer access to your BOA to do this. Then simply transfer the money from BOA and walk away.
OR
Write a check on your BOA account to your Chase and deposit it. Zero balance. Closed account. (or at least you may now be able to close it over the phone since there is zero balance).
Good Luck!
"d15b" (d15b7)
08/14/2017 at 12:53, STARS: 0
Good lesson to learn there. Only share an account with your future spouse.