Groceries For Me!

The manager at my local Wainwright branch called today. Since I happened to be in the neighborhood (ironically making a deposit in my new checking account down the block), I went in to talk with her in person.

Maria was extremely polite and apologetic. She refunded my fees, and offered to help me set up a line of credit to protect against future overdrafts if I would keep banking with them. But she also defended the banks’ actions in processing my debits out of order as a) unavoidable – “that’s just how the system is set up” – and b) legitimate because they were legal.

Their actions were legal, but still wrong. One set of reforms has been approved to curtail this, and another is in the works. Why is a bank that prides itself on progressive values not on the side of reform in this issue?

I’m glad they’re working with me on this, and am genuinely grateful for the warm treatment I received today. I believe the staff at this branch to be basically good people. Rio was at this meeting and remembered a time Maria gave her a band-aid and a lollipop when she slammed her finger in the door.

It’s not enough to make it better for me, though. I repeated to Maria my main point: that an accounting system that deliberately processes bank transactions out of order to create additional overdrafts, is a corrupt and exploitative system. It may be the way the system is set up, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Wainwright should be a leader in changing it.

I want to see Wainwright treat all their customers fairly, not just the squeaky wheels.

In the meantime, I am off to buy $92.97 worth of badly needed groceries.

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Tagged as: money

Rich Wilson

Thank you for holding firm. You're exactly right on the squeaky wheel thing. One should not have to go to such extraordinary measures to be treated decently.

[Reply]
http://www.forrestsnyder.com/ Forrest Snyder

This comment is unrelated to the post, but I don't know where else to contact you – and that's the problem!

I read your Wainwright article on Wise Bread and was intrigued to see that you had this problem at the Davis Square branch; that's my branch and I always thought Wainwright was a community minded, stand-up bank. I'm sorry to read it's not so.

At any rate, I was interested enough in the Wise Bread posting to follow it back to here, ChildWild, but there are several problems. First, I can't find out who you are! From recent comments on the sidebar, I see that your name is Sierra, but on the “About this Writer” page you don't give your name. The same is true on the “Cast” page. Second, you don't have any email or other means of contact that I can find. Perhaps this is intentional, but it is pretty standard practice for websites or blogs to have a means of communicating with the owner/author.

As a reader, I find it frustrating and perhaps somewhat suspicious that someone who is running a blog of this caliber won't provide such basic details.

[Reply]
http://decentralyze.com Sandro Hawke

Yeah, odd that she doesn't have her e-mail address there. (Okay, I just nudged her about that. Hopefully she'll fix it shortly.)

Anyway, she's not trying to be anonymous. Most of the inks on the About This Writer page (eg facebook, twitter) tell you her name is Sierra Black. Web search on “Sierra Black” and you'll see her postings here, on Wise Bread, etc, etc.

[Reply]
http://twitter.com/theophile theophile

Well I for one would like to add my voice to the growing tempest of concerned readers here. Who is this “Sierra Black,” anyways, and why would she be posting on the internet without first showing some credentials beyond her social networking links? I think we should all be at least somewhat suspicious.

[Reply]
http://childwild.com Sierra

Come closer. I have my credentials right here in this suspicious, unlabeled can of whoop-ass. Let me open it for you.

[Reply]
http://childwild.com Sierra

Forrest, sorry it took so long to respond to this. The kids kept me away from the computer all day. There's no malice or scheming behind the lack of contact info; it was a simple oversight. Thanks for calling it to my attention.

You can e-mail me at sierra@childwild.com

[Reply]
Rona

Im new here, but I laughed my ass off at your reply to that insane comment. Thanks for the lunchtime giggle. People kill me it's a blog.. What are you supposed to post your license & social security number..

[Reply]
Rona

Im new here, but I laughed my ass off at your reply to that insane comment. Thanks for the lunchtime giggle. People kill me it's a blog.. What are you supposed to post your license & social security number..

[Reply]
Rona

Im new here, but I laughed my ass off at your reply to that insane comment. Thanks for the lunchtime giggle. People kill me it's a blog.. What are you supposed to post your license & social security number..

[Reply]

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