Some may remember my previous two-part “tale of woe” involving a TON of stolen money, multiple financial institutions, and lawsuits I had to file.
It all started when a certain large bank that started with a four letter name that started with a “C” allowed a TON of money to be stolen from our account in a very obviously fraudulent way I might add. (I can’t say their name now because of the terms of the settlement) When we reported it, they refused to honor our claim in a timely manner and fought us every step of the way. Eventually, I was forced to file a lawsuit against them and to see it through. Because another large investment firm was involved in receiving the stolen money (again, in a very obviously fraudulent way), I sued them too. Needless to say, that experience changed the way I handle our finances. Since then, I have become MUCH more diligent about watching every single penny. I set up alerts, regularly review our transactions, check our credit reports, and froze our credit with Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. I also went back through old transactions looking for anything suspicious. I HIGHLY recommend that everyone do the same.
Just weeks after that incident, a TON of money mysteriously disappeared from our credit union account too. Fortunately, I caught it immediately and called them. They had no idea what had happened and assumed it was fraud. They made us complete an affidavit and jump through several other hoops, which we did. After all of that, I asked them a very simple question: “When this is determined to be fraud, or otherwise not our fault, we WILL get this money back, right?” The response was essentially, “Maybe. It depends.” Ummm… NO. Those are NOT the words you want to hear when a large amount of your money has disappeared, especially when you’re already dealing with another bank that is fighting you over stolen money.
After an investigation, we eventually found out what had happened. A credit union teller at a branch hundreds of miles away had accidentally taken a BUNCH of money from our account while processing a wire transfer. They had simply used the wrong account because it had a vaguely similar name. Ooooopsies! Thankfully, I eventually got the money refunded. But here’s the scary part: if I hadn’t noticed it, I’m not convinced anyone would have. There are also important deadlines for reporting unauthorized electronic transactions, so don’t assume you have unlimited time to catch something like this. The sooner you identify and report a problem, the better. And despite the fact that this particular mistake was 100% on their end, we never received anything resembling a meaningful apology for the stress, time, and trouble it caused. As I continued going through our transactions, I started noticing other charges that made us scratch our heads. The latest was a $7 monthly fee on our checking account. Apparently, at the end of 2022, our credit union had switched us from a free checking account to a different account that carried a monthly fee. We never knowingly or actively agreed to make that change. When we questioned it, they agreed to move us back to the free checking account and refund SOME of the fees. Again… really? I understand that mistakes happen. People make mistakes. Computers make mistakes. Companies make mistakes. But when the “mistakes” repeatedly seem to involve YOUR money disappearing from YOUR account, you start asking questions. At time of this writing/revision, these events happened about three years ago in 2023, but guess what, the credit union was up to it again. Just a couple weeks ago I caught them doing a monthly charge on a business account out of nowhere. After 15-20 minutes on the phone, they refunded the money and said it wouldn’t happen again…..AGAIN.
At this point, I don’t have a tremendous amount of trust in the credit union, but honestly, after everything we’ve experienced, I’m not sure I’d trust any other bank either. The lesson I’ve taken from all of this is pretty simple: WATCH YOUR MONEY. Don’t assume your bank will catch every mistake. Don’t assume unauthorized transactions will automatically be reversed. Don’t assume a huge financial institution will immediately do the right thing when something goes wrong. Check your accounts. Set up alerts. Review your transactions. Check your credit reports. Freeze your credit if appropriate. Keep records. And perhaps most importantly, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Make sure you have enough accessible money to cover your bills and basic expenses for at least a month or two if something goes catastrophically wrong. Without access to online banking of some form, it is nearly impossible to live in this modern world, but at least if you have cash, you can give it to friends or family so they can help you pay your bills online. Once there is massive fraud, any account with it will be frozen and if it is widespread enough, you will want all the rest frozen as well until you can get to the bottom of things. If someone empties your account, you may not get that money back immediately, and depending on the circumstances, there are reporting deadlines that can affect your protections. If you want to understand the rules surrounding unauthorized electronic transactions, look up “Regulation E” and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.
That’s the first sad part of the story but I thought it was worth combining that with the follow-up because the ending of this story is something I honestly never expected when all of this started.
The one thing I would tell anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation is DON’T GIVE UP. This was an extremely distressing and depressing situation. There were mistakes, setbacks, an enormous amount of frustration, and a lot of time spent trying to get answers from companies that had far more resources than I did. There were also moments when I genuinely wondered whether continuing to fight was worth it. I spent MANY, MANY hours learning how to navigate the legal system and figuring out which bureaucratic hoops I needed to jump through. I learned how to file complaints with the appropriate agencies to exert pressure and how to properly write and submit demand letters, how to file lawsuits, how to fill out summonses and subpoenas, and even how to serve companies in other states. I spent hundreds of dollars on filing fees, service fees, postage, and other expenses, and there were plenty of times when it felt like I was throwing good money after bad. I didn’t really expect to recover all of our money, if I’m being completely honest. I mostly wanted to make sure these companies couldn’t simply take our money, tell us “too bad,” and move on as if nothing had happened.
But guess what?
I now have ALL of our money back and then some. I actually ended up MAKING a pretty significant amount of money on this nightmare. After the stolen money, the mistakes, the hours of research, the paperwork, the legal expenses, the frustration, and all the times I wanted to give up, we actually got to the other side of this thing. Being the little guy doesn’t necessarily mean you’re powerless. When you’re dealing with a giant corporation and legal departments, it is very easy to feel like you have no chance. They have lawyers. They have departments dedicated to handling complaints. They have systems designed to make you wait, transfer you around, fill out forms, and jump through hoops and the government entities that are supposed to help, have even more. You have a job, a family, bills, and only so many hours in the day. They know that most people aren’t going to spend dozens or hundreds of hours fighting over a problem, and I suspect that companies understand that many people will eventually get discouraged and walk away.
That’s why, if you ever find yourself in a serious dispute, my advice is to document EVERYTHING. Keep detailed records. Save emails, letters, statements, screenshots, receipts, and anything else related to the situation. Write down dates, times, names, and exactly what was said. Get responses in writing whenever possible. If someone won’t communicate by email, use registered or certified mail when appropriate. If you record phone calls, make sure you understand and follow the applicable recording and disclosure laws. Learn which government agencies, regulators, consumer protection organizations, or other entities have jurisdiction over your particular problem, and be thorough, factual, reasonable, and organized when you file complaints. Don’t make threats you can’t back up and don’t exaggerate your claims. Just keep documenting the facts and keep moving forward.
Most importantly, be patient and persistent. There were MANY times during this process when I thought, “This isn’t worth it.” There were times when I was angry, exhausted, discouraged, and completely sick of dealing with it. But every time I got close to giving up, I reminded myself that walking away guaranteed one outcome: we would lose the money forever. Continuing to fight at least gave us a chance that turned into a reality with time.
I have little doubt that huge companies do the math. They know most people don’t have the time, money, knowledge, or energy to pursue a dispute all the way to the end. They know some people will eventually get discouraged and walk away. If only a small percentage of people fight back, it may still make financial sense for a company to deal with those few cases rather than change an entire system. I’m sure there are plenty of perfectly legitimate reasons for some of the things that happened to us, and I’m not claiming that every mistake is intentional. But regardless of whether something happens because of fraud, negligence, incompetence, an innocent mistake, or some combination of circumstances, consumers have to be willing to hold companies accountable when something goes wrong.
So if you find yourself in a similar situation, don’t automatically assume you’re going to lose just because you’re going up against a giant company. Sometimes the little guy really CAN win. And when consumers take the time to document problems and pursue legitimate complaints, it doesn’t just potentially help the individual involved. It can also create consequences for companies when they fail to take care of their customers.
Although I won by any reasonable measure even after all the time and money invested, would I choose to go through this again for the gain? Absolutely not. Would I wish this experience on anyone else? Absolutely not. But would I do it again if I had to? Yep. In a heartbeat. Because giving up and letting the turds prevail wasn’t something I could live with.
Finally, there were definitely a LOT of prayers said throughout this whole ordeal. I believe those prayers were answered. But I’ve also come to believe that God helps those who help themselves. Sometimes the miracle doesn’t arrive as a check in the mail. Sometimes it looks like having the strength to make one more phone call, file one more complaint, write one more letter, learn one more thing, or take one more step when you’re absolutely exhausted and wondering if any of it is going to matter.
Do what you can to help your miracle manifest.
