“Back in the day” we did not have the massive tree-killing disclosure requirements we do today. That doesn’t mean a member shouldn’t read them but it is deceptive, IMHO, of that’s their only option and to think that they will.

I don’t expect them to sit for an hour as we drone on about the rules either. I agree, I’d leave. Where I think we need to be is somewhere in the happy middle ground. Marketing brochures, for the most part, are useless. We were taught somewhere along the way to talk features and benefits rather than – how the dang thing works!

I worked for Portland Teachers CU in the late 80s. We were the first in the state to offer a debit card. No matter how many times we tried to explain that it came out of your checking account – they saw the word VISA on there and went crazy! We were so thankful when B of A introduced their cards – you see, they had a great marketing budget and started running commercials explaining this great new convenience.

We switched to telling members ‘It’s just like B of A’s card.” Of course we’d never compare ourselves to them today – LOL.

Anyway – I really do think marketing needs to create “toos” for MSRs to help them explain how the products work. One of my pet peeves? All the hoops you have to jump through to get signed on to home banking, bill pay and the phone teller. I was really put off when an exasperated MSR told me after I couldn’t figure out how to log in: “Your temporary password is the last four digits of your SS#” as if this was somehow so logical and how did I not figure that out.

So, I think we need to rephrase the way we explain the accounts to members – then they are on their own.

Brochure: Now you can save time and money with automatic bill pay!

Sign-up tool: The first time you log into bill pay use the last four digits of your SS# as your password – then you can change it if you like. Oh, and you’ll save yourself a stamp – duh!

I agree, you need to take responsibility for your actions – once you can actually use the product!

Since I couldn’t immediately identify the discrepancy, I printed out the online detail, got out another pen and calculator and went though my ledger line by line again. Sure enough, I plain old wrote down an incorrect figure in the middle of my line of running totals. Or I pressed the wrong button on the calculator – at any rate, I mistakenly thought 155 minus 45 equaled 145 or some such egregious math mistake. What I should have done was run through the list of bills twice in the first place, double-checking my figures so that I would catch my mistake.

Furthermore, I had ironically almost added overdraft the week prior by linking this account to my savings, but neglected to do so. I only have a few dollar in savings right now so it was a moot point, but still…

I called up customer service and humbly admitted that I was completely responsible for having made a mathematical error when I try to be so careful and should have taken the time to double-check. Since I’ve never done that before, they kindly and cheerfully refunded the $29 fee without even a scolding I thought I would get about how important it is to monitor accounts. I love USAA.

I’ve done the same with my local bank. I realize that they should only be expected to be so courteous once every so often, though, so recently we just ate a fee (gulp) – it was my husband’s account, but he had been granted mercy a few months prior. Bottom line is that we totally take responsibility and it’s nice when the bank is kind enough to reverse a fee as a goodwill gesture. After all, they pay the check (or ACH payment or whatever it is) and they’re not using my money at that point, they’re using their money! Which is pretty courteous of them, if you ask me. I guess I’m the polar opposite of the lady in the article, huh?