What follows is the message I wrote to MidFirst Bank's headquarters in Oklahoma City. A woman named Monica there passed it along to Gary Beach, who runs the Altus branch. I have put his reply further down.
Dear MidFirst Bank,
I have reached my limit. According to the online records, my account was never in default until your bank began piling on overdraft fees that I had no reason to owe. I am thoroughly disgusted with how this has been handled, and I have asked a lawyer about MidFirst's practices. I tolerated this sort of treatment far too long, and that ends now.
Since what happened at the drive-thru, I have stayed out of the Altus branch entirely. My deposits now go into the night drop box, and I will not return in person, whether at the drive-thru lane or inside the building.
That day, Mr. Beach came up to me while I sat at the drive-thru window and started discussing my private account matters over the intercom. Other cars were waiting nearby, and I am certain the drivers heard every word. Staff in the drive-thru area heard it too, and they seemed unhappy with me, most likely because of my email, which I suspect more people than Mr. Beach had read. Somebody at that window must have told him I was there, since he would not otherwise have come out to confront me and put my affairs on display. That was wrong. He has a computer, so he could have replied to my email or invited me to come inside, rather than catching me at the window. My daughter, who is 14, was riding along, and I normally keep her out of such things. Having my finances aired before strangers and in front of my teenager was mortifying and humiliating. The other employees on duty seemed annoyed at me, I assume for having complained, because once I finished my transaction they said nothing more, not even a friendly goodbye.
Your bank is now charging me upwards of 300 dollars of overdraft charges that never should have been assessed. They are totally unjustified! My account should not have gotten into this condition. You are taking my money, and I refuse to accept it this time. The balance was enough for each check I wrote and each debit card purchase, yet once again your bank found a way to make them fail.
Mr. Beach also lied about my completely free checking account, claiming it had been switched to a Performance Checking account only a year earlier. That is false, and he knows it. The switch happened more than three years ago, closer to five or six. For all those years I asked why the account type had been altered without my consent, and nobody ever answered. Out at the drive-thru lane that afternoon, Mr. Beach himself admitted he did not know why the change was made, yet he insisted it was just a year back. That was a lie. I have paid 5 dollars every month for at least five years, wrongly.
In my view, every overdraft fee must be refunded. As of this morning there are eleven of them, at 27.50 each, which comes to 302.50. Since I was lied to, I also demand back the 5 dollar monthly charges from the past five years, for an account change that neither my husband nor I ever authorized. The bank did it without telling us or asking us. At 5 dollars for 60 months, that is 300 dollars. In total I am asking for 602.50 back. Given what this bank has put me through, that is hardly a lot to ask.
Once again I have been wronged, and I am worn out by it. I earn my money through hard work, and I resent being cheated out of it, which is exactly what has happened. Beyond the money, Mr. Beach's conduct left me embarrassed and humiliated past words. As a result, I no longer visit the bank while it is open. I never will again, knowing my private affairs may be broadcast over the drive-thru intercom for everyone nearby. I only wanted to get away. The driver in the car on my right stared at me, and so did my daughter. It was more than I could bear.
This was not the first time my private matters have been discussed over that intercom within earshot of others, and I intend it to be the final one.
I am taking my banking elsewhere. I doubt any bank is truly honest, but there must be something better than MidFirst, of that I am sure.
The headquarters in Oklahoma City never replied to my email.
Reply from Gary Beach, president of the Altus branch:
He wrote that he got my email and was sorry I was unhappy with my MidFirst account. He apologized for hurting my feelings during our talk at the drive-thru and for not inviting me inside. According to him, he only meant to tell me my email had arrived and that he was looking into the account type change, and he had no plan to reveal confidential details. He admitted he had talked over my email complaint with his staff, as he always does, to learn whether they had heard anything from the customer. He said they were not upset with me at all and had remarked that I was consistently pleasant whenever they served me at the drive-thru.
He went on to explain that the figure I see when I look at my history online is the ledger balance, a running total as my transactions are posted. Whether an item is declined for insufficient funds depends on the available balance, which is the ledger balance less any authorized transactions the bank has not yet received and posted. He said my ledger balance on July 18th was positive, and that a deposit came in on Monday the 21st, so the ledger never showed a negative figure. However, there were also four approved Visa check card purchases handled on July 17th and 18th, and these came off the available balance used to pay items.
Mr. Beach then described at length how his bank handles transactions.
My answer to Gary Beach:
None of that matters to me. No apology can erase the way he made me feel. "Hurt my feelings" is not what you did, Mr. Beach. You humiliated me, and those are two different things. I will keep using the night deposit until I can open an account at a different bank, which I hope happens soon. MidFirst has dropped me into yet another money crisis. I will never again visit MidFirst to deposit, withdraw, or do anything else. I did not need my account explained to me. I know what I have, what I deposited, and what I spent, and I knew my balance. Your ledger talk means nothing to me; it is simply how banks hide things. I trust what I can see online, not what is hidden from me. My checkbook matched the online figures exactly, minus your unjustified overdraft fees.
Yes, I am normally a very pleasant person, until someone treats me badly and unfairly. That is what took place at the window, and at other times too. Until now I let things slide, but this time I cannot. It was too much. I do not talk about my private life with anyone at that bank, only impersonal topics, and I would never tell anyone there about my personal affairs. You and one other person chose to discuss my business over the drive-thru intercom. There will be no more conversations in person, ever. I repeat: I will not walk into that building or use its drive-thru while the bank is open.
Notice that Gary Beach never addressed my complaint that my account was changed without my permission. He also ignored my complaint that he lied to me about that change.
He has never responded to this reply, and I do not expect him to. He knows the bogus overdraft fees took me for a ride. I saved copies of my account ledger from the bank's website, and in my opinion they prove I am right.
They will not return the money they took from me.
Everyone should keep far away from MidFirst Bank, whether in Altus or in any other town in the country.
0 comments