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My boyfriend's debit card was stolen at a laundromat and he did not realize until the next day. By that point, the person who stole it had already drained the account in ONE night (on a Tuesday no less) at a very fancy club in Boston. Around $5000 gone. My boyfriend immediately went to the bank on Wednesday morning when he realized it was missing, but the damage was done.
This is the point that I learned that my boyfriend only had the one debit card attached to his one checking account, and does not have any credit cards. Dumb. Super dumb. There's no good excuse except to say that he grew up in the foster care system, was homeless as recently as 5 years ago, and despite being of genius level IQ, was never prepared with normal life skills. Had I known that all of his money was wrapped up in one checking account and that he had no credit card for emergencies, I would have put a stop to that a year ago. This is a very painful, scary life lesson for him.
It has been almost a week since the money went missing and the bank is being of no help. He filed a police report (and has an alibi - I was with him the night of the incident and I can't imagine two people less likely to go drop a hundred dollars, much less thousands at a club, in addition to the signature looking absolutely nothing like his own) and was within the 2 business day limitation so his liability should only be $50. However, the bank has been telling him that it's unlikely he will see his money. I do not know if that's really what the bank is saying or if that's what he's hearing in his understandable panic. It's a local bank, not a big conglomerate like Bank of America.
My questions: is there a legal timeline for when his money must be returned to him? I've read in several places online that it can take "up to" 20 days to retrieve money drained from an account... but I don't know if that's a hard and fast rule or how much longer it can take. I am going to help him out as much as I can (luckily there was a sale on pasta and pasta sauce the other day so I have plenty to spare!) and give him some cash so his car insurance doesn't lapse, but I'm unfortunately not in a good position to give him much and it's especially difficult to give him much not knowing what the timeline is for getting it back. Can the bank just not give him the money back even though it's quite obviously a case of a stolen card and fraud?
Any recourse? Steps he should be taking beyond the police report and keeping on the bank? After this fiasco is over, he and I are having a serious sit-down about finances and how to keep him protected, but now isn't the time to make him feel worse.
What bank? Well, you are somewhat in luck. There is a federal law to limit your boyfriend's liability. The liability should be around $50.00 if reported within 2 business days.
I would also contact the bank and state if the bank will not refund the money back into the account by the end of the week, I (your boyfriend) will have no other choice but to file a complaint with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency & Federal Reserve.
In addition, it is very very important your boyfriend states he will ALSO be contacting the local newspaper and ABC/NBC/CBS news to inform them of what happened and how my bank will not help at all.
Rest assured, if you do this, you will have $4950.00 back in your boyfriend's bank account within that time period. Nothing more a bank hates then negative publicity and the feds on their butt. Banks, big or small, do not want to mess with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. I had an issue with Chase a while back. I immediately contacted the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, who put me in touch with the CEO's office and my issue was resolved within a few days.
Follow what I suggested and you will be made whole up to the legal limit.
He is with a small bank called Cambridge Savings that is located in the Boston area. We talked it over last night and the issue the bank is having is that before he realized the card was stolen and that money was taken, he called his phone company to make a payment with the debit card. He has the card number memorized so he never looks at it. They are saying that it's proof that he is trying to fraud them and that he was the one who spent the money. Personally, if I was going to try to fraud the bank a few thousand dollars, I'd do it with actual goods versus buying an entire club a few rounds of drinks like the thief did but the bank is probably used to dealing with people with less logic. :headsmack:
I encouraged him to raise the issue to the bank manager and offered to step in because I am much more aggressive than him. My boyfriend is still really panicked. :\
Have him go to the bank, Go right into the managers office and sit down, and camp out there until he fixes the problem. It can be fixed in 5 minutes.
BTW: This is what I don't have a Debit Card. If there is a problem, its your (my) money that is gone. If a credit card get compromised it the Banks money.
I know it's in hindsight, but this is something to keep in mind for the future. He shouldn't keep large amounts of money in his checking account, where it would be easily accessible through theft. I keep the majority of my money in savings, and transfer money on an as needed basis. A thief wouldn't be able to access the money in savings.
BTW: This is what I don't have a Debit Card. If there is a problem, its your (my) money that is gone. If a credit card get compromised it the Banks money.
Oh right there with you. I just have an ATM card where you need the PIN, not a debit.
The good news is that this is a wake up call for him to get his act together and to be more cognizant of his finances rather than just *hope* everything works out, and has also helped open the door for us to talk more candidly about our financial future together without him feeling like I'm judging him for being less financially stable than me. He's run his own business on a shoestring for the past few years, and this has pushed him to look into getting at least a part time job so that he'll have a paycheck coming every week or every other week.
I know it's in hindsight, but this is something to keep in mind for the future. He shouldn't keep large amounts of money in his checking account, where it would be easily accessible through theft. I keep the majority of my money in savings, and transfer money on an as needed basis. A thief wouldn't be able to access the money in savings.
I told him that as soon as this is straightened out, we're going to open him a savings account. He said he has one, just doesn't keep money there.
This whole experience has showed me just how financially naive people can be without guidance. I hate to blame the whole thing on him being a former foster care kid, but the mechanics of a checking and savings account were things that were taught to me by my parents when I was 16. He never had that benefit and despite being a really smart guy, he's apparently never done much research on his own. It now makes so much more sense how people run themselves into tens of thousands of dollars of debt over nothing - people don't have the best financial background or people to look up to.
I told him that as soon as this is straightened out, we're going to open him a savings account. He said he has one, just doesn't keep money there.
This whole experience has showed me just how financially naive people can be without guidance. I hate to blame the whole thing on him being a former foster care kid, but the mechanics of a checking and savings account were things that were taught to me by my parents when I was 16. He never had that benefit and despite being a really smart guy, he's apparently never done much research on his own. It now makes so much more sense how people run themselves into tens of thousands of dollars of debt over nothing - people don't have the best financial background or people to look up to.
Very true. I was fortunate to seek knowledge on my own, but when I first came out into the world on my own, I was destined for failure.
I know it's in hindsight, but this is something to keep in mind for the future. He shouldn't keep large amounts of money in his checking account, where it would be easily accessible through theft. I keep the majority of my money in savings, and transfer money on an as needed basis. A thief wouldn't be able to access the money in savings.
That's not true.
Many checking and savings accounts are linked.
My friend's parents had their debit card number swiped and the thieves wiped out their checking, then their savings, and then NAILED MY FRIEND'S ACCOUNT (which was still linked from when she was in college).
Debit cards are a nightmare. Having to talk to a bank or prove anything isn't worth the hassle. With a credit card, all you have to say is, "That wasn't me," and you are done.
Op, I am sorry this happened to him. That is total b.s. what his bank is doing to him. I would advise him to make a HUGE fuss about this and report to any authorities as well as local news, etc.
You mentioned a signature. This means it was apparently run on the credit function, in which case the fraud should be covered by Visa or MC credit protection, whichever the case may be.
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Dumb. Super dumb. There's no good excuse except to say that he grew up in the foster care system, was homeless as recently as 5 years ago, and despite being of genius level IQ, was never prepared with normal life skills. Had I known that all of his money was wrapped up in one checking account and that he had no credit card for emergencies, I would have put a stop to that a year ago. This is a very painful, scary life lesson for him.
I do not know if that's really what the bank is saying or if that's what he's hearing in his understandable panic. It's a local bank, not a big conglomerate like Bank of America.
