EW and her 3 sons (long and ranty)

[Ghel]

I had a customer and her 3 sons come in at 10 minutes to close last night to open accounts for each of the boys. I was too nice; I should have told her that it was too close to closing time and to come back another day. But I didn’t. I smiled insincerely and opened the accounts for them.

I almost wish they hadn’t had their ID with them. It would have given me an excuse to tell them I couldn’t open the accounts right then.

Of course, each of the boys wanted debit cards. Two of them were minors, though, so they couldn’t get checking accounts or debit cards, only savings with ATM cards.

I explained to the eldest boy that it would be better to have his mom on the account, both so that she could help him out with it and because he wanted a debit card. See, we pull credit reports for all new accounts and new debit cards, and since he didn’t have any credit, we couldn’t issue him a debit card. With his mom on the account, she would be equally responsible for the account, and we could go to her if there were any problems.

This, however, means that we make the credit decision based on the mom’s credit. I pulled her credit report this morning. It’s horrid. Sometimes, if they’re a good customer, we’ll overlook that. But she’s repeatedly overdrawn – 6 times in the last year, and it’s getting worse as time goes on.

The minor boys opened savings accounts. Since they’re minors, we require an adult on the account, so they opened them jointly with their mom. Same deal with ATM cards as with debit cards – the mom will be responsible if there’s any problems with the account.

I went over the credit report with my manager this morning, and she said that we could do the ATM cards but not debit cards, so that’s what I’ll be ordering for the oldest boy, as well.

Each of the boys had a big wad of unsorted cash from graduation and summer jobs to deposit. While I was in the middle of opening the second boy’s account, it was time to close the vault. The head teller came over and asked if there’d be any more cash, and of course there was. So she took the second boy’s deposit and processed it. And that was when the mom said that she needed to make out a check to deposit in each of the boys’ accounts.

So I used that check to open the third boy’s account and had them deposit his money in the night deposit, since I couldn’t accept any more cash. By the time I was finished with the 3 accounts, ATM cards, and internet banking forms, it was a full hour after closing.

None of them apologized for coming in so late or making me stay late. I know that the mom was off work yesterday, so there was no reason she couldn’t have come in earlier. It sounded like the boys were working summer jobs for their father, but if they couldn’t come in earlier, they should have come in a different day.

The only thing close to an apology that she said was, “I didn’t realize it would take so long.” Really? I opened 3 accounts in just over an hour. That’s an average of 20 minutes per account. That’s quick, especially with them being new customers.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

I wouldn't say that was close to an apology at all. It sounded more like a whiny complain that you wasted her precious time twaddling off opening her angel babies' accounts.

I hope those boys are more responsible with their money than their mom is, but I have the sinking feeling that those three accounts are going to be additional piggie banks for mommy to draw from.

Sorry you had to deal with it. I swear bank tellers get the worst some time.

[Slayer]

Yeah, I hope they're more responsible than their mom, too. You should have been thanked for staying later.

Question though, why can't you have a debit card as a minor with a savings account? Or is this a Canadian/American thing where the same name means something else lol. I ask because I got one when I was 13. When I worked retailed, I had lots of teens using their brand new debit cards. It wasn't an ATM-only card.

[Ghel]

Regarding minors and deposit accounts: In Minnesota, you have to be 18 to sign a legally-binding contract. Since the checking or savings account documents are a contract between the customer and the bank, we require an adult to be on the account, so the contract will be legally binding to them, at least.

As part of bank policy, we won't open checking accounts for minors, and you have to have a checking account in order to have a debit card. (I'm not sure if that's true of every bank, but it is at mine.)

[barainga]

AAARHG!!!

I hate when people come in/call shortly before closing. Its like THEY KNOW you want to get things cleaned up for closing.

Whats worse is when they get mad because they are behind the other 50 people who decided to call in at the last second.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

*snip snip*

...you have to have a checking account in order to have a debit card. (I'm not sure if that's true of every bank, but it is at mine.)

I believe that is true of most if not all banks. I have a single card that works as both a debit and ATM card, but I cannot draw from my savings account when using it at a store as debit.

You can get two separate cards, one debit and one ATM. If they have a savings account only, they cannot have a debit because debit cards cannot be used to draw from a savings account.

I believe the reason for that is that your savings account is supposed to be... well.. your savings account, it's not meant to be accessed on a whim, willy-nilly because someone wants a shiny new dinglehopper. That's what checking - and the debit part of the card - is for.

[Slayer]

As and you have to have a checking account in order to have a debit card. (I'm not sure if that's true of every bank, but it is at mine.)

Huh, that's interesting. Strange to me, but interesting haha. The contract part makes total sense.

Here in Canada, at least Quebec, debit works for both savings and checking. It's never solely for checking. That's why I had debit cards since 13. Cool.

[Ghel]

I remembered something else. Right before the woman left, she said that she had two other children that wanted to open accounts, but they were busy that afternoon. That means she would have brought 5 children in to open accounts, all at 10 minutes before close, and expected me to stay as late as it took to open the accounts.

This customer also has an older daughter who has an account with us. The mom has taken money out of the account on several occasions, causing her daughter to be overdrawn when she tries to pay her rent. I'm thinking it's a good thing that all her kids are getting internet banking, so they can keep an eye on what their mom's doing with their accounts.

About a year ago, the mom applied for a debit card with us. Her credit was just as bad then, so we declined to issue the card. Maybe it's karma, or maybe just humorous, that her children are getting ATM cards, but we wouldn't give one to the mom.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Oh man, I called that. My selfish-bint sense is still spot on!

It might be overstepping a bound, but since the daughter is now on her own (I'm assuming since she's paying rent/living on her own) can you offer her an account that is hers alone? I get calls from my bank all the time offering different services and such, so could it be masked as one of those calls?

Also, WTF? That's 6 children and she's constantly overdrawn and yet they somehow have enough money to put into all the kids' accounts (which will probably end up back in mummy's pocket anyway.)

[chikenlady]

I am confused.
What is the difference between a debit card and an ATM card.
Is a ATM card just a deposit card?
Would a debit card be an ATM card with withdrawal or point of sale privileges ?

Like Slayer, I'm in Canada so maybe our system is different.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

I am confused.
What is the difference between a debit card and an ATM card.
Is a ATM card just a deposit card?
Would a debit card be an ATM card with withdrawal or point of sale privileges ?

Like Slayer, I'm in Canada so maybe our system is different.

In the USA baking system the most common accounts are a checking and a savings account.

A debit card can only access your checking account, and you can use it to make purchases at stores/online, etc. (It is basically a "Check Card.")

An ATM card can access both checking and savings accounts, cannot be used to make purchases at stores/online, and is only used at an ATM to do transactions (such as deposit or withdraw funds.)

A card can be both an ATM and a debit card, but if it is, it can only access the checking account during a purchase (you cannot draw directly from your savings account using your ATM/Debit card at point-of-sale.)

[chikenlady]

Thanks,
Here we have ONE card that can do it all unless the you or the bank has put restrictions on it for some reason.
ie amount of cash back on deposit, daily/weekly limit,deposit only, pos limit

I am just starting to see visa debit/credit cards tho.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Thanks,
Here we have ONE card that can do it all unless the you or the bank has put restrictions on it for some reason.
ie amount of cash back on deposit, daily/weekly limit,deposit only, pos limit

I am just starting to see visa debit/credit cards tho.

Most people here have only one card as well (combined debit/atm.) I only have a single card from my bank that I can use to make purchases and access the ATM.

[Ghel]

At my bank, the debit cards are Visa branded, meaning that they follow Visa's terms regarding returns, charge-backs, and liability. A purchase made using a debit card can be run through the credit card system (meaning you sign for it), or it can be done using the PIN. These purchases come directly out of the customer's checking account. If a customer wishes to make a credit card purchase on the internet, they can almost always use our debit cards instead, since they use Visa card numbers.

The debit card can also be used like an ATM card, drawing cash out of either checking or savings at an ATM machine. Some merchants will accept ATM cards as a form of payment, using the PIN, but not all do. ATM transactions tend to process much faster than debit card transactions. (Not sure why, just that it has to do with the way they're processed.)

tl;dr: A debit card is much more versatile that an ATM card, so customers usually prefer it.

[Slayer]

Ah, Visa branded. I get it now. Our debits are straight with the bank. Access to both checking and savings. Can pay in store from whichever account. Withdraw from either.

Visa debits are pretty new here. Rare to see them and even when I do, it's still run as debit lol.