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For all the readers who have been frustrated with Bank of America recently, here's something that will make you laugh: The banking giant just accidentally gave a Detroit man $1.5 million. It doesn't look like the bank will be recovering the funds anytime soon, either.
Ronald Page, a BofA customer whose checking account supposedly only had a few hundred dollars, didn't receive any insufficient funds notifications when he attempted to make cash withdrawals at the ATM. In fact, he didn't even receive the traditional alert that he had reached his daily withdrawal limit. Instead, a rare ATM error allowed him to continually take out as much cash as he pleased at ATMs and casino cash windows.
So what did Page do with the money? Invest it and change his name? Squirrel it away in a Swiss bank account and leave the country? This was no criminal mastermind. This was just a man who stumbled on a treasure, and his luck appeared to stop once his ATM card dispensed the cash. He gambled it all away at three Michigan casinos. Now, he's facing federal charges, and it looks like he'll wind up in jail.
The story is laughable on both sides. It's hard to believe that any checking account holder could believe that he would get away with collecting that much cash (and lose it that quickly). However, I think Bank of America looks even more foolish here. With all the advanced banking technology, you would expect the institution to catch on to the problem relatively quickly, but it took the Charlotte-based bank 15 days to put a stop on Page's account. For a corporation that has seemed so concerned about profits for shareholders, that seems like quite a long time to let a rogue account holder drain his nonexistent cash flow.
I think it's fairly safe to assume that BofA won't be able to cash in on these overdraft fees or out-of-network ATM charges.
Blame BOA and the man. If the customer is dumb enough to withdraw that much money without thinking he will pay the consequences, then too bad. BOA--dumb, dumb, and dumber.
Not the guy's fault really ...this is Detroit....he most likely thought the unlimited money flow was part of Obama's re distribution of wealth...nothing wrong with that.
I LOVE BOA! (Please don't hate on me). I've made about 2K in the past 2 years with their cash back program
We should have let all the banks go bankrupt. I will be voting for anyone but Obama on that issue alone.
He should have invested in lotterty tickets.
What goes around, comes around B of A.
BOA sucks! Their problems are systemic. I'm totally fed up with their credit division who obviously don't want to keep longstanding good-paying customers. They deserve the quagmire they're in and I feel for the innocent employees who work for this troubled mess. I will gladly pay out my cc balance and bid them ariva derci. As far as I'm concerned they are NOT too big to fail. Let them go.
Jack,
I don't know what to say about this. These banks are doing this intentionally to get the fees.
@RNJ - Not a fan of BofA or any big bank for that matter. (I use a credit union and haven't worked with a big bank in over a decade.)
But in keeping track of one's account the responsibility firmly rests on the account holder and one should NEVER under any circumstances spend based on the ATM balance statement, for the reasons stated previously.
@RNJ - That's what a check register is for. It is YOUR responsibility as an account holder to keep track of what you spend and what your balance is. Spending based on the ATM balance is foolish beyond belief. The bank most times (not always, but most times) frequently has no way of knowing about a transaction (especially check) one did until it is posted. Some merchants do not process transactions but every few days so the fault is mainly the account holders.
No, I do not work for a bank, but did once in Customer Service. Once had a cust. who wrote a check for $700 the receiver did not cash for 6 months, yet he blamed me (and the bank) for his overdraft. Like I told him, how is the bank supposed to know you wrote a check 6 months ago?