I remember clearly as a young girl, going into the bank with my grandfather as he discussed co-signing a loan for my parents to purchase a house. My grandfather already had a house and rather large piece of property, and wanted to help his daughters purchase a house with land. It was such a nice experience at the bank. Everyone knew my grandfather and was happy to meet me, his little granddaughter. Of course, as a little girl, I had no idea what transactions were happening, but I knew it was a pleasant experience and months later my mom & dad started searching for a house.
Fast forward to Today.
Year afer year, it just seems all of my banking experiences have been getting worse. My latest experience lasted for four months and just ended a few days ago. My debit card information was comprimised. I have yet to figure out how, who, when, or why, but someone ran up charges on my account . $700 worth of charges. The big bank covered all the charges and told me to fill out a fraud claim. I said no problem. I filled out the form. Then three weeks later, the payment to cover the fraudelent charges was reversed, citing the bank denied my claim. What? Ok ? I work hard. $700 isn't an amount to just disregard. So, I filed a police report and gave the bank my police report. They still denied my claim.
The charges on my card were from local area shops about an hour away like grocery stores, fast food, etc. So, I keep calling the bank and coming up with ideas to prove that it wasn't me. I tell them to check the video at the store, do you need a picture of me at work that day? They just flat out decline me. I say that I want to close my account immediately. Now, my account is overdrawn. The bank says you can't close your account if it is overdrawn. I explain it's not overdrawn by me. So, they leave the account open to incur additional charges to me. So, of course my payments tied to my account are rolling in and they say they can't stop the automatic debit payments until the next month.. So, more charges.
Ok, so I debate whether to just pay the overdrawn amount just to close the account. If I pay it, then it looks like I am responsible for the charges. So, I decide against it.
I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out where someone accessed my card information. They I narrowed it down to a few places that I paid with my debit card over the phone.
The worst experience ever! Now, I am considering not using banks at all. This experience makes me more interested in cryptocurrency.
By the way, the bank credited my account and paid for all the overdraft charges. Apparently, a few other people had the same experience and they found out that my card was comprimised. Great, thanks for torturing me for four months and finally recognizing what I was saying was true. I have closed the account. Luckily, it wasn't my main account where I have my money deposited, or else I would have been stuck without any funds.
I know alot of people have these kind of experiences lately, that's why it is so nice to have Steemit that allows new comers to learn about Bitcoin, Steem, etc. and use it. Steemit is such a great site. I love the way it includes women, tech, and other fun content. Plus, it's soooo easy to use. Steemit-potential is endless!
Thanks to @dan and all the Steem makers!
I worked in a bank for 5 years, and believe me. There's not a single thing good going on there. It's an evil place, with a negative atmosphere. Cost cutting everywhere and the managing board doesn't respect the lower workingforce at all. I'm glad I told them good bye :) I'm a firm believer in cryptocurrencies. A world where there is an infinite source of imaginary money (cause that's what the dollar & euro and other currencies actually stand for) that is being flooded on the market at the will of a couple of entities is just surreal. Away with these middlemen. Peer2peer is the way to go!
You worked there, so you know..Yes Peer2peer is the way to go! Thanks for your comment.
Don't consider leave the banks alone:)
The experience was so horrible. I think you are right!
that is a heavy story
If your main account is at a bank, you do not have that money in the same sense that you have your Steem account. One is high interest paying ownership, and the other is risky lending (for usually negative return). Take a guess at which is which... :-P
So true!! Steem account is a much better option:)