I have had a checking account with BB&T Bank, formerly Colonial Bank, for six years. I opened a savings account on the 7th of December. Throughout the years, I have experienced some minor problems with deposits into my checking account, where the teller who made the deposit transposed numbers, and with fees appearing on my statement for unknown reasons, in small amounts such as 2 or 3 dollars. These errors were quickly corrected and the money was deposited back into my account. I was satisfied but am always cautious.
I ordered checks for my checking account back in October, in person at the bank. The teller who helped me that day said she would place the order. After five phone calls and one additional trip to the bank, I received my checks by mail around the 1st of December. I was a little disgusted with their work ethic but decided to overlook the clerical error and hope for a better new year.
I opened a savings account on December 7th. I specifically set the account up to not link with my savings account. This linking is available should a person get close to overdrafting their account. I do not overdraft my account, so I see absolutely no need in allowing the bank to transfer money from my savings to my checking. I also have direct deposit into my checking account and signed up to transfer a certain dollar amount to my savings from my check on certain days of the month. I specifically asked the lady who opened the account for me if I needed to contact my work's payroll department to have them route the money to the separate accounts. The lady, who is also the branch manager, told me there was no need for that and that she could make it happen in her office. I will add that the lady who helped me open the account was interrupted twice by a personal phone call from her daughter that had her distracted during this process. She actually took both calls and discussed her personal problems right there in my presence.
I went to the bank today with the intention of depositing a small amount of cash I had into my savings account. The teller handling the transaction said I could not make a deposit into the account because it was closed. After a brief discussion with the teller, she directed me to one of the ladies who handles account problems.
It turns out that the person who helped me open the savings account, the branch manager, set it up to transfer the specified amount of money bimonthly from my savings account to my checking account instead of the other way around. All of this happened before I received my first statement for that savings account, and it depleted my savings account to a zero balance. The account was closed because of the branch manager's error when she opened the account. I was so angry at the time that I did not even check my checking account to see if the money was actually transferred into my checking from my savings. After I cooled off a little, I went home and pulled out my statements to review them. Nothing on my statements indicates that a deposit was made into my checking account from my savings account. I am at my wits' end with this bank. I have to take more time off from work to get their mess straightened out and get my money back into my account where it belongs. I do not know where the money that was in my savings account went. I am not a rich person, but the few hundred dollars that are missing are a challenge for me to save each month. Banks just keep on taking from the poor.
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