And now an Uncontrolled Outburst

I'd like to take this time to mention how much I hate BANKS.

And I hate the people that answer the phone when you call the bank's 1 800 number.

Especially the woman that I spoke with this morning when I called to try to wheedle myself out of a $30 service charge that occured when I overdrew my account by $0.28.

Did I mention it was 28 CENTS?? This woman was hideous. I know they can remove the charges, they've done it before, and when I asked if why they couldn't remove the charge she said "because it's not a BANK ERROR. Can I help you with anything else?" Then she said goodbye and hung up.

Let me explain. I'm not freaking out because I screwed up. I screw up all the time and am more than willing to suffer the consequences. But the reason why I overdrew my account was beyond my control. I had to get gas. I had my tons of bills to pay last pay period and I had it down to the penny. Then I got lost in Atlanta and used an entire tank of gas getting out and getting home. I was beyond empty, I got the gas on credit from my debit account (not realizing they would hold the $1 that would send me over the edge) and prayed that the check I'd mailed 2 weeks ago would somehow wait just 12 more hours to go through. I have a direct deposit going in tonight at midnight. I thought banks kept track of that somehow... if it was a smaller bank, they would know me and know that the money will be there because it's always there and would sympathize with the fact that if I had not gotten gas to be able to get to work, there would be no more deposits, no more withdrawals, no more overdraft fees to keep their fucking pockets padded!!

This hideous woman, I wish I had gotten her name, just kept repeating that the money should have been there. I hope she never makes a mistake in her lifetime because if she does, I hope that no one gives her a break and she gets screwed from every angle. I hate people like that.

I do realize that this is my fault, at least that I could have overdraft protection or deposited $1 to cover the missing dollar but who wants to go into the bank and deposit just ONE DOLLAR? So now my gas has cost me $55. What's kind of funny about that is that there are people who actually pay that much on a regular basis.

I'm going to call the bank again tomorrow. If I get any shit from anyone, I'm going to ask to speak to the manager and tell them that their new merger makes their customer service SUCK and that although they wouldn't notice at all, if they are unwilling to help me, I'm going to pull every cent out of my account and tell anyone that would listen to never ever set foot in there again because they don't know how to treat people.

(now, let's just think about this for a minute.)

Yeah, they might just have to shut their doors if I do all that. Hell, the national bank would probably go under if I pulled all my money out. And if I spread the word that they suck, man, no telling how many people would pull their savings out. It would be the Great Depression all over again.

All kidding aside, what really does suck is that banks are so far removed from the people they're supposed to serve that when it comes to choosing a bank, one must choose not on the basis of what one wants, but what one doesn't want. The lesser of the evils.

Now, that just ain't right. I really wish I had gotten that hideous woman's name. I was so mad I almost broke my phone to try to hurt her. I'm so rational and logical, it's a wonder that the world doesn't revolve around me....