Shredding Your Hopes Of A Deposit

(I made a deposit of $185 in my bank account on Friday night, using the night deposit box. It is now Tuesday, and the deposit has not been applied to my account. Due to overdraft protection, a check I have written is processed in spite of insufficient funds, so I now have a negative balance. I go to the bank several times a week to deposit checks I receive from my clients, so most of the tellers know me. I walk into the bank.)

Teller #1: “Hi! What can I do for you today?”

Me: “Well, I have a problem. I made a deposit on Friday in the deposit box, and the money is not in my account.”

Teller #1: “Okay, was it in an envelope?”

Me: “Yes, with a deposit slip from this checkbook.” *hands her my checkbook*

Teller #1: *looks up my account* “Okay, the good thing about banks is we keep records of everything. If it is here, we will find it.”

(She goes into the back, and several minutes later, a second teller approaches me.)

Teller #2: “How much was your deposit?”

Me: “$185.”

Teller #2: “And when did you make it?”

Me: “Friday night. You had already closed, and I think it might have been 6:30 or 7:00.”

Teller #2: *nods and goes back into the same room as the first teller*

Teller #3: “Hi, [My Name]! How are you today?”

Me: “Well, they are trying to find a deposit I made Friday, but other than that I’m fine.”

Teller #3: “Oh! Well, I’m sure they’ll find it.” *runs off to help them*

(A few minutes later…)

Teller # 1: “We’re going to take the deposit box out, and we’re still looking. Don’t stress about it. Everything will be fine.”

Me: “Okay.”

Teller #1: “We will find it. You know what? How about you sit down over there.” *points* “It’s better than you pacing and worrying here at the counter.”

Me: “Okay.” *sits*

(I wait for several minutes, watching people scurrying back and forth from the vault and listening to [Teller #2] and [Teller #3] trying to help other customers at the same time that they are looking for my deposit. Finally, [Teller #1] comes out to talk to me.)

Teller #1: “Okay. We have eliminated everything except the security camera and the shredder. We are going to go through both, but that will take a while. So, how about you give me more information about what we are looking for and go home, and we will let you know.”

(A little over an hour after I got home, I got a phone call, but I didn’t answer it in time. Soon after, I got a text message from the bank to login to my account. I did and saw that the balance was adjusted to reflect my deposit and my overdraft fees were removed. This is why I now take pictures of all deposits I make.)

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