 Bank error isn't in her favor
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 Dear
Dr. Don,
A couple of months ago, I had to cash in some savings bonds to help
with my financial situation. The bonds were in my daughters'
names and I also opened savings accounts for them. About a
week ago I noticed that the accounts had been cleaned out! I
figured there was a slight discrepancy and the bank rectified it.
Too easy!
I just opened a letter from the bank stating that the person who calculated the bonds did so in error and because of that error there was an almost $800 mistake that I must now pay for!
I am a divorced mom with a huge mortgage payment,
with other bills and a salary that leaves me in the hole by no less
than $500 per month. This "little boo-boo" on the
bank's part is now causing an undue hardship on me and my family. It
was not my fault and I could not know that there was a mistake. I
believe the bank should absorb this error, but with my luck, I have
a feeling your reply to me will be "Too bad, so sad, little
lady"! If the consumer is held responsible why are the
banks so "high and mighty"?
I apologize for using this forum as my sounding board,
but I am going to lose my mind. I am doing the best I can to
keep up with this unbelievable financial burden and I can't handle
this added hardship on myself. How do I handle this when I
go to the bank to discuss it?
-- Josie Jumble
 Dear
Josie,
A bank error in your favor just doesn't work the way the Monopoly
game suggests. That's especially true given that the bank was acting
as agent for the U.S. government in redeeming the savings bonds.
The Bankrate feature, "Bank
error in your favor,"
discusses the issue of bank errors in greater depth.
Your willingness to let the bank clean out your daughters'
new savings accounts and chalk it up to a minor discrepancy doesn't
quite match up with your position that you had no way of knowing
that there was an error surrounding the cashing in one of those
savings bonds.
I suggest you file
a complaint about the bank's actions in raiding your daughters'
accounts with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, if
the bank is a national bank, or the Federal Reserve, if the bank
is state-chartered.
As to the rest, running a $500 per month spending
deficit won't solve itself. You need to look at some combination
of reining in spending, finding more affordable housing or restructuring
your debt in an attempt to live within your means.
To ask a question of Dr. Don, go to the "Ask
the Experts" page and select one of these topics: "financing
a home," "saving & investing" or "money."
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