MAC Daddy

I just had it out with my bank … again. My main account was running a bit low (by a bit, I mean very, very, very low), so I was definitely keeping track of my purchases. After paying for lunch with my debit card I knew I had 10 cents left in the account and no outstanding transactions. All good.

After work, I stopped by an ATM, which, since I have been living in the Philly area for a while, I still call a MAC. MAC, or Money Access Center, was the name used for all ATMs until recently. Big colorful MAC signs would be posted around any ATM machine in the area and, since MAC flows off the tongue better than ATM, that became the term used by all. When I was coming out for college, a person in the administration building was shocked that I had no idea what a MAC was. “You don’t have MAC machines in Alaska?” she asked incredulously. She started to explain what it was, and I pipe in, “Oh, like an ATM.” Yep. Same planet, different worlds. MAC hasn’t been used officially for years, yet people from this area still “tap MAC” to get money.

So there I am MAC-ing away. I walked to the bank and it was a drive-up machine. I got some funny looks from the driver that pulled up while I was there, but hey, I was in line first. Anyways, I transferred money into my account and got a receipt that said “Available Balance: $60.10.” Happy to have increased my funds by 60,000%, I went on with my day. My next stop was the store for a drink and a few snacks before going to my night job. Out came the debit card and $4.68 later I was on my way.

This morning my bank balance alert said $-35.58. Huh?

Hello online statement. The bank failed to post the $60 deposit as available funds until this morning, even though their receipt (and the debit card authorization) said the money was available. They also failed to post the lunch and store purchases until today, but they put holds on the account for their amounts. Since not enough funds were available, I got hit with a $31 NSF charge on, of all things, my lunch.

So I call the bank. It took some persuasion (read: talking like an asshole), but the customer service agent reversed the charge. Yet she refused to say it was an error. According to her, the refund was a “courtesy refund.” The bank has a policy about courtesy refunds that is similar to instant replays in football. If I have another issue in the next 6 months I am not allowed a replay, no matter how bad the call is.

Oh, and the refund to the account doesn’t credit until tomorrow morning. I’m out $31 until then. Ugh.