We didn't take your money!

[Headset Hellion]

I took a call from a customer today who had paid off the balance on her credit card last month. During that same billing cycle, a second payment came through, which caused an overdraft on her checking account.

She had that checking account linked to this credit card for overdraft protection. $100 was charged to her credit card and the funds were transferred into her checking account to cover the overdraft.

She wanted the charges removed because "the account was already paid off. I really didn't think you guys would take a payment for an account with no balance!"

There are a number of things wrong with this argument:

1. The account did, in fact, have an outstanding balance after the first payment had posted. She had paid the statement balance, not a payoff to include residual interest.
2. That account balance had never been paid in full before and she never requested a payoff estimate. What reason would we have to assume that she was suddenly going to stop using this card?
3. We did not "take" the second payment. She had her checking account set up to transfer a set amount of money to her credit card on the same day each month.
4. $100 was transferred into her checking account. It was never returned to the credit card by deposits or paid back by the customer.
5. The last associate she spoke with about this had already credited her account for the ODP transaction fee, as well as the interest she had been charged, as a courtesy.

Me: "Ma'am, that payment was not a debit from us. That was a monthly transfer that you set up with your checking account. You have to stop those transfers through your checking account."

SC: "I know but I don't understand why you didn't stop the transfers after I paid off the card! Why should I have to call someone about my checking account to stop payments to a card that's already paid off?!"

Me: "We don't have access to your checking account, and even if we did, we can't make those types of changes without your permission."

SC: "Well that just makes no sense! The Bank is The Bank; you should all have access to everything! This is just ridiculous that I have to call someone else about my checking account. You need to remove that $100 charge because that payment should never have been taken from my checking account in the first place to make it overdrawn!"

How about, no? The money was deposited into her checking account and she kept the money. And BTW, I really don't have access to checking or savings accounts, but I can see the account numbers and balances for verification purposes, and guess what? That $100 is gone.

[ViolaPlayer]

Stop at number 1. You know that SCs don't understand things like residual interest! :P

[kpzra]

This would be why when we paid off the truck we called first to make sure that was the payoff amount for that day. Of course, we have common sense (most days )

[MadMike]

You know that SCs don't understand things like residual interest! :P

I got into an argument with my ex about the same thing. Back when I was with her, my credit card was always maxed, since she had this habit of running up all the bills and not keeping a job. Once, when I made a payment of $100, she thought that meant that we could go out and charge another $100 to the card. She couldn't understand why, if I had sent in a payment of $100, that didn't mean that I now had $100 available on the card. I tried to explain the interest, or "finance charges" to her, and she just yelled at me and acted like I was the stupid one.

[draco664]

Back when I was with her, my credit card was always maxed, since she had this habit of running up all the bills and not keeping a job.

My wife tends to think the same way - if there's room on the card, she can spend the money. I keep telling her that the number in the top corner of the credit card statement is the *limit*, not a *target*.

[Caractacus_Potts]

She couldn't understand why, if I had sent in a payment of $100, that didn't mean that I now had $100 available on the card.

My wife tends to think the same way - if there's room on the card, she can spend the money. I keep telling her that the number in the top corner of the credit card statement is the *limit*, not a *target*.

I don't think I realized how lucky I am until now that my wife has the same attitude about credit cards that I do, don't carry a balance and don't pay any interest or fees. Hell, she's worse than I am. I at least throw the CC companies a bone every once in a while so they make a little money off of me.