"We Can't Return Your Card"

I had a list of errands the other day, plus a timetable. I gave plenty of time from leaving the house to making the one I really had to be on time for. But things change. 

I needed to deposit some checks I had. My credit union's "sister" in Arizona was fairly close, but a run there still took more time than I had while in the middle of the mad scramble to pack up the house in the final few days. I had decided to just bring the checks north with me. I ran into them in my pocketbook a few days back and made a mental note to deposit them some day soon when it was convenient.

We - my son Paul and I - used to be able to deposit into our credit union from a local US Bank since we live well out of the metro and the credit union doesn't. When I was working it wasn't an issue. As a courier I was all over, so one was always convenient. Paul is still working and for him it still isn't an issue. Before heading out I asked him, not needing to know for years, whether that local US Bank still worked with the credit union for deposits (and free ATM withdrawals). He said it did.

I endorsed my checks, popped  my card into their ATM, followed by the checks, answered the questions about how I wanted my receipt, and waited. At no point did the ATM say "you can't do that here". Finally I got my paper receipt. I looked at it and it had no numbers on it. What???? Then my first check came back out. A full minute later my next check came out. I waited for my card. 

And waited.

And waited.

Finally figuring out that my card wasn't coming back, I headed inside. I explained to the teller what had happened. Why didn't I get my card? It wasn't like it was stolen, or I'd been declined for a withdrawal for insufficient funds. So WTF???? She asked me to wait a second while she tended to the drive up window, never mind that she'd called me up to her window. Once she finally returned, she asked me what credit union I was working with. I answered and she informed me that they no longer worked with my credit union. (Since when?)

But what about my card? The machine "ate" it. I've never seen a machine do that to a rejected card. Either they won't take it in the first place, or they spit it back out at you once your business was completed, and apparently mine was completed.

According to them. But why no card?

There was no apology, no explanation of stupid or bad programming, no "It's a glitch we're working on", or anything of the sort. All I got was, "We don't service that machine so we can't get your card back." No suggestion that there was a fix if I talk to ________. Nothing. 

I began to remember why I stopped doing business with US Bank a couple decades ago, the lack of service plus their need to gouge their customers for every possible penny in every situation. I guessed they weren't going to get any money from me here so... So Long!

I checked the clock. I had just over an hour to deal with this if I dropped the rest of my errands and headed straight to the metro's nearest credit union branch. It was doable if the inside business didn't take too long. I had not only to complete the deposit but deal with my missing card. Cancelling the old one might negate a PayPal purchase I'd made the evening before, and I didn't want to do that.

I walked  in and made my deposit, also explaining about the "eaten" card and my concern about yesterday's purchase.  First, I was reassured that my purchase would go through. Then she asked me for the 4-digit code I wanted for using the replacement at an ATM. I wrote that down, and she whisked my checks away and went to a different station. I figured she was working on my card's paper work, and wondered how many days the new one would take to arrive. I almost never use it, but still. Most transactions are online these days, and I don't do much with cash anyway.

Oops, that reminded me. I needed to swap a $10 bill for a roll of quarters when she got back. We're using laundromats much of the time as Paul's machines are in the basement, and each year that gets harder. My back still hurts from straining it with a huge basket of laundry after we arrived.

I expected to see a handful of paperwork in her hands when she finished. Instead of that, she handed me my new card! And yes, it does have a new number. Whoever has the old one can use it for a mini window scraper! I was in and out in plenty of time to make the timetable for the most important errand left to complete, and so much happier with my credit union even than I'd ever been before, over nearly 40 years!