A few months ago, I became very fed up with my bank and its hidden fees that I decided to close my checking and savings accounts. Since then, whenever I can't pay in cash, I use my credit card.
I recently got a coupon offering some free money if I opened a checking account and I decided to go for it since I really needed direct deposit for work. So I went back to the evil bank, this time speaking with a much more honest and helpful banker, and he helped me set up a checking account that would work well for my low income situation.
Then on Friday, I decided to pay my credit card online using the money I deposited into my new checking account. I used to pay my credit card online and I didn't realize that it was still linked to one of my old accounts. The thought hadn't even crossed my mind because like I said, I closed both of them and they've been missing from my online banking account ever since.
I realized the error after the payment appeared on my card but no money had been deducted from my new checking account.
I know the moral thing to do would be to go to my bank and have them pull up my accounts and make the corrections. And its probably the smart thing to do since I don't want them to figure it out later and deduct the credit and/or penalize me for not reporting it. But at the same time, that's $75 and while that may not sound like alot to some people, a massive payroll cut has made it difficult for me to pay my bills.
I'll probably suck it up and be a good girl because karma is nasty, but I'm still confused about how this could have happened. Why process the payment from a closed account that was completely emptied?!? Is it just a good-faith credit that'll take a few more days to be corrected? I'm tempted to see when the error would be noticed by the system.
Posted by Xann. (Member # 11482) on :
Personally i think it will be noticed, but why not wait and see? They cant charge you with something thats there fault. And you might even get credited the money, sounds like karma for the bank.
Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
You're better off getting in front of this. It'll get noticed and there will be rampant fees.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
quote:Originally posted by Xann.: Personally i think it will be noticed, but why not wait and see? They cant charge you with something thats there fault. And you might even get credited the money, sounds like karma for the bank.
What bank do you have? My bank has charged me for things that aren't my fault many times...
Posted by rollainm (Member # 8318) on :
You might want to try talking to the credit card people first. See if they can "fix" it on their end. I foresee much confusion and hassle from the bank if you go to them talking about money coming out of an account that was already closed.
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
my guess is that when the bank realizes what happened, it will reverse the payment, charge you a bounced check/overdraft fee...then the credit card company will charge you a late fee...plus interest. I'd advise calling the credit card company and fixing the problem...now.
btw: The credit card company tried to use your old account...because that is what you told them to do when you hit the submit payment button. That is the account that you had linked to your credit card. They don't know that you closed it...it is similar to if you wrote them a check on an account that was closed. If you want your new account to be used, you need to link that new account to your card. They will catch the error, it is just a matter of when. Of course with the electronic transaction, it will be much sooner than if it were done with a check.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
What Lupus said...it IS still your responsibility, and could even be considered fraud. You are better off taking responsibility for it and letting them know, as you will be the one to pay if you don't.
Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
My understanding is that it's your responsibility to remove all automatic payments and other links to any checking account that you want to close. That's why we still have our account in Arizona open with a little bit of money in it, over two years after we moved away, to be sure we didn't miss anything.
If you paid your bill through the credit company's website, than it absolutely is your responsibility to change which account it links to. You need to call them immediately and give them the correct account number, otherwise you will be hit with fees from both the bank and the credit company.
If you paid your bill through bill pay from your checking account website, and they're the ones who linked to the wrong account, then it's their fault but you still need to deal with it ASAP. It's not clear from your post which situation is correct, but the second one seems very unlikely to me.
--Mel
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
It's almost certainly cheaper in the long run if you take care of it yourself. It might be cheaper in the short run, too. I would contact the credit card company to fix it, not your bank.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
They'll notice. I have had the occasional bank error in my favor, and they have always, always noticed, usually at the quarter of the year if not sooner.
Everyone has good advice about what to do next.
Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
I don't know if this will make a difference but the credit card was issued by the same bank that I handles my checking accounts. So its not like I have a Bank of America credit card linked to a checking account at another institution. Or is it still considered a secondary party because its a Visa/Mastercard/etc regardless of the fact that its "Whatever Bank" listed on the card?
Usually, when fees were processed in the past, the additional charge was made to the account from which the money was coming from. Say if I tried to transfer more money from my checking account to my savings that I actually had, then the fee was charged to my checking account. But since this original account no longer exists (closed out, any change remaining was collected, etc) I am hoping that if the error is noticed, my credit card wouldn't be penalized.
Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
I don't know if this will make a difference but the credit card was issued by the same bank that I handles my checking accounts. So its not like I have a Bank of America credit card linked to a checking account at another institution. Or is it still considered a secondary party because its a Visa/Mastercard/etc regardless of the fact that its "Whatever Bank" listed on the card?
Usually, when fees were processed in the past, the additional charge was made to the account from which the money was coming from. Say if I tried to transfer more money from my checking account to my savings that I actually had, then the fee was charged to my checking account. But since this original account no longer exists (closed out, any change remaining was collected, etc) I am hoping that if the error is noticed, my credit card wouldn't be penalized.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
Then they will DEFINITELY catch it themselves, and you'd be better off calling them to straighten it out. Otherwise you might get slapped with fees, but if you call them to point out their mistake or the mistake, then probably not.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Shanna: Why process the payment from a closed account that was completely emptied?!?
They haven't. Many cards show a payment credit days before the transaction has actually been processed.
quote:Originally posted by Shanna: I don't know if this will make a difference but the credit card was issued by the same bank that I handles my checking accounts. So its not like I have a Bank of America credit card linked to a checking account at another institution. Or is it still considered a secondary party because its a Visa/Mastercard/etc regardless of the fact that its "Whatever Bank" listed on the card?
Usually. It certainly adds time to the processing.
quote:Originally posted by Shanna: But since this original account no longer exists (closed out, any change remaining was collected, etc) I am hoping that if the error is noticed, my credit card wouldn't be penalized.
I would bet that they will charge you. Quite possible twice -- for both ends of the failed transaction. You need to contact the 800 number on your credit card ASAP.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
They are within their rights to charge you...probably twice.