[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

But, the penalty for paying the bill late is 5 percent of the bill, not $40. The $40 sounds like a bank fee for a bounced check. The OP said that there was sufficient money in the account to cover the check, but someone told him that the fee was for a transaction with insufficient funds in the account. Both statements cannot be true.

I think that, if the OP made a mistake, he/she should pay the fees and move on. Why should someone else pay for the OP's mistake? The bank has probably spent more than $80 handling the transactions anyway.

I see that 5% but that is listed as a late fee when you don't pay at all. There might be an additional fee for attempting to pay with an account that has insufficient funds and entering an account number that is not accepted could be seen as just that. You're correct that he needs to clarify who he was talking to and who (the bank or the District) is charging the $40.

I also agree with your last comment. It seems unlikely that the bank would receive an EFT against a nonexistent account then trace that back to another account using the name on the bill and charge the existing account an NSF fee.

The clarification, if it ever comes, will be useful.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

It seems to me that the bank would reject the check rather than charge an insufficient funds fee. I'm not an expert on banking procedures, but don't they have a system to verify that the person trying to execute a check from someone else's account is the owner of the account, like matching the name and address? I cannot imagine that the bank would release money from an account without verifying who owns the account.

I don't disagree, but banks collecting fees with zero incremental cost, makes quite a bit of extra income. Its about the top and bottom line, which is why I think that the personal face to face meeting will correct the issues.

I have written checks to vendors, sent them to the wrong vendor, and both the bank and incorrect vendor honored the check. These issues only get resolved internally with an audit and over a significance threshold, or the customer brings up the issue, and it gets resolved manually. . that is about speed for money availability before fraud became rampant. Compare your solution to the recent post about Fidelity and others taking 21 days to cash checks. that's due to the cashiers check fraud. Janet Yellen also mentioned fraud at banks is becoming a real issue in a speech recently this week i believe.

have made honest banking mistakes and had them resolved in the managers office many times. . . speed versus accuracy with very large volumes and federal rules written for an honest system.

YMMV

[frayedends]

The original post makes no sense in any way you look at it. OP said they entered a wrong number somewhere. Presumably, this mean a 4 instead of a 5 in a long account number. I didn't read it to mean that it was a different account number. OP said there was money in both accounts. If it was the entirely different account number then it wouldn't have matter. OP said they got payment confirmation. Usually a confirmation has an electronic check. While the amount may not clear right away, they can check that the account info is correct and there are sufficient funds.

Op isn't saying who is charging the fee. But if there were sufficient funds it wouldn't matter. If the account number was wrong they wouldn't even have the correct person. Op hasn't replied since posting a few days ago.

[CarlR33]

OP was a post and run kinda guy.

[retiredguy123]

I have concluded that the OP bounced 2 checks and doesn't want to pay the bank fees of $80, without any justification. The OP even admitted to making a mistake. I have never bounced a check, but if I did, I would pay the fees and be more careful the next time I executed a check. I wouldn't expect someone else to pay the fees. It costs the bank money to process a bounced check. Too many people think the rules should not apply to them.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by midiwiz

Here is the reality of "the Dream" the IT dept. of TV is lackluster at best. That website is horrible and they don't get it. The reason you have to enter the account number every time is because they don't know how to code it properly. I've complained about it before - no answer. Go figure. I'm not sure if it's they don't get it, they are waiting for me to teach them how to do it, or they simply just don't care. I'll bet it's all 3.

Anyway I feel your pain, I've had to triple check it every time, because I knew they'd never say "hey you messed something up" for being the 'conservative stronghold' it's pretty woke around here..... simply amazing.

They are a nepotistic type of corporation, with a captured customer, which equates to a monopoly. Monopolies don't care much for their customers, until they have to. Simple as that. .

It's much easier to push a check to them monthly for a higher amount, and then true up once a year. That way, one is seldom behind, always in good standing, and one doesn't have to worry about writing checks or going to a web site each month. Just check the bill monthly to see if there is a negative balance (2 minutes per month) and then enjoy on's day. .

foolproof and lazy is my mantra, automation is always the answer because when hoomans get involved, there is an exponential increase in mistakes