MEETIC Fees Refunded

The Meetic fees are back in my account - at least they are pending.

Of course, the NSF fees are still missing...

Someone asked me today when I was taking the blog down. I'm leaving it up for 90 days after the account is closed.

I figure 90 days is long enough to be sure there are no outstanding "charges" that were "preapproved" before the account was closed. I don't want the beast waking back up to terrorize me.

The right hand doesn't even know there IS a left hand...

...let alone know what it's doing!

A few days ago, I was told by Regions customer support that they had no idea what this Meetic is, what their phone number is, etc.

Well, I just received my bank statement.

There it is: MEETIC BOULOGNE-BIL

I love Google.

Goliath not only has an address for the company, they have a phone number, a fax number, and a web site URL for MEETIC.

Meetic S.A.
International Private company
66 Rte. de la Reine, Boulogne-Billancourt, , France
()33 01 58 17 05 70, 33 01 58 17 05 71 fax, http://www.meetic-corp.com/
Primary SIC: Miscellaneous Personal Services, Not Elsewhere Classified, Primary NAICS: All Other Personal ServicesDescription: Services: Operation of on-line introduction and dating service

That's fairly definitive, don't you agree?

Why does Regions shield information from their employees that later shows up on its customers' bank statements? That is just so silly! All they had to do was tell me the words "MEETIC BOULOGNE-BIL", and I'd have looked it up and then filed a fraud complaint immediately.

I wasn't sure what MEETIC was at the time, but I for dag-gone sure never sent money to a French dating company!

So, I printed the page from Goliath and will take it to the bank - not that anything will come of it. I thought about going to the MEETIC web site, but decided I don't want it on my computer - just in case someone in a lime-green trench coat shows up to examine my computer for evidence.

May Have Assumed Some Things About Jill

So - Jill let me down.

I finally made it to the bank yesterday to get the cash that had been deposited last week, but that Jill had been unable to access because of the "no post" status. She was waiting for someone who was in a meeting to help her, and promised to call me at home as soon as she got the money.

Anyway, when I got there yesterday, she told me she actually did find out how to do it herself after all (this is 4 days later), and it would only take a minute.

She left me sitting at the desk for...ten...min...utes...popping back in to say she had "figured it out", and it would only be two more minutes.

She did bring the cash to me, but I was pretty irritated by that time - after all, I'd been left there long enough to have time to contemplate what she'd just said.

I was there last Friday to get that money, and she didn't know how to do it? Where in the world did she get her training? She's not even a teller - she has an office! I had to borrow the money I needed to get through the weekend because she didn't know what she was doing!

I checked my account online this morning, and the debit was noted with the phrase "forced check". Apparently Jill didn't know how to do that until my situation put her in a position to have to learn it.

I've got the money now, so that's OK. Payroll stopped my direct deposit, and the paper check is on the way, so Regions can't get their hands on that. I've left a few dollars in my account so that it won't close before Regions returns the stolen funds and the immoral fees, but I'm about, quite frankly, to give up on ever seeing my money.

What a pack of monkeys they turned out to be.

Exhausting Weekend, Still No Money

Well, Jill did call me and leave a message on Friday. She said she'd been able to get an agreed-upon amount of money out of my account that had been deposited the day before.

However, she called at a time when I was unable to answer the phone or even go to the bank (about 2:30 PM).

I checked my account today, and apparently she returned the money to my account, because it's there. The money I'm actually looking for (the money stolen by "MEETIC" and the fees unjustly taken out by Regions) is still missing. What a bunch of greedy creeps to hold onto my money even after they know the scoop.

Unlike my new bank, First Tennessee, Regions closes early on Mondays so I was unable to go up there today and speak with Jill.

I have it on my list for tomorrow's lunch break.

Why does a little pat on the head make me feel better?

What is it about me, that Regions can pat me on my head, return a fraction of my money, and I start to feel victorious, rich and successful again?

I should check into some counseling sessions - maybe watch a little Dave Ramsey today.

So, the update on my account is this: the money stolen from me yesterday by MEETIC, along with the international fee and the NSF fee, have been returned.

A deposit from PayPal is pending, and I can see it. (Due to the time it takes to set up bank account info on PayPal, I didn't have time to direct the deposit into my new First TN account, or believe me, it wouldn't be in my scary Regions account right now.)

I'll go to the bank as soon as it's open and see if I can free it - or if this "no post" thing is going to protect my money from me as well as from the thieves.

Jill probably won't be surprised to see me standing by the front door when she comes to work this morning...

Maybe Regions isn't all that bad...

...they put 44 cents in my checking account today. Check card rewards!

That makes it almost worth it.

That Jill. She's My Friend in the Tall Grass

I'm glad to know that I've had just enough calmness to not alienate Jill, the only Regions employee to even come close to helping me out.

So anyway, my sister went to the bank with me this morning, but first we discussed what we would do - close our accounts and leave? Yell and holler? We agreed the best thing to do was to work with Jill and get this behind me before burning all of our bridges.

When we walked into the bank, Jill was ready. She had already been looking at my account, and had printed everything out for me. She had even called the secret hotline and spoken to a secret person who had already hit the special green button to refund the fees and charges that had rolled in overnight.

I just checked my account, and the NSF refund is pending, rocketing my account balance straight up to a negative $21.16. Soon I can expect to be back at zero. Of course, I still haven't gotten any of the other fees and charges back yet, but - baby steps!

My sister and I had questions, and Jill did her job to the best of her ability.

"What about all those pre-authorizations", we asked, "how many are there? Can we make them stop? Why can't anyone see them coming? Why can't MEETIC just be blocked?"

Jill informed us that preauthorizations only last for 48 to 72 hours, so having the card closed should finally put an end to all that.

"But, I protested, "the charge I got hit with on the 13th was preauthorized on the 8th. That's five days."

"Oh. Yeah. I don't know...72 hours...I thought, well..." her voice trailed off hesitantly.

So then Jill recommends that we close the account entirely, but of course we can't do that to an account that's in the red - and besides, we don't want to do anything that will keep Regions from putting my money back into the account. Jill tells me that what she can do is change the account status to "no posts" - this means that nobody can post any charges to my account, with or without preauthorization. I can't write checks, use the ATM, or do anything in my own account without doing it in person at her desk now.

She assured me that an incoming credit from PayPal will make it through, and any payroll deposits.

I'm scared to believe it, and scared not to. I told her to go ahead and mark it "no posts". As I walked out the door, I wondered why it took so long to come up with that idea...but, no. Shake it off. Vent on the blog - not in the bank.

Now I wait.

If I had any money left, I might go to Sam's and buy a case of pencils to sell on the street corner.

I need some money!

My Closed Debit Card is Still Being Hit By Thieves

So.

This morning I got up to look at my account online (I do this about every 15 minutes now - I've turned into a nut.) I'm typing so mad my hand is flopping around on the keyboard like a beached goldfish. I promise to come back later and clean this up.

There's the check for $135 I wrote to myself yesterday to get my money before MEETIC and Regions could.

Balance: $1.18.

Good.

Whoa! What's this?

INTERNATIONAL SERVICE? For 65 cents?

MEETIC? For $21.69???

New balance is $21.16 in the hole!

And here comes Regions, bless their nasty, gangrene-laden hearts, to slap me around the room and charge me ANOTHER $35 NSF FEE -new balance: $56.16 in. the. hole.

Even after they know I'm being robbed by thieves in a far-off foreign land, they assault me with their fees.

Looks like Regions is getting more out of this than MEETIC is.

Yes it's a - check card purchase. Huh. MEETIC must've gotten up early a few weeks/months/years ago and started running approvals on my account that were dated to land only after the check card was actually closed - and the completely incompetent boobs at Regions are too idiotic (or - here's a sickening thought - calculating) to be "unable" to find the lurking pre-approvals in any of their tables anywhere.

Somebody in that company can fix this mess - they just don't want to. Are they intending to just wait until I die, then fight my estate for the mounting fees?

I'm on my way to the bank again.

Why these monkeys won't program a system that will clearly display ALL approvals to both their customers AND the front-line employees is beyond me.

Any 14-year-old programmers out there who'd like to volunteer at Regions, give them a hand over the weekend and fix their systems?

Go look at this web site: www.badregions.com.

If you have an account at Regions, and if you don't pull it after reading this site, you deserve what's coming - and it most certainly is coming.

I'm off to spend yet another day of my vacation chasing international thieves, Regions, and my money. I just hope I can come up with enough cash to get a glass of water later.

Regions Bank Customer Support Needs Better Training!

Maybe it's a good thing you can't talk to a live person on the phone 24/7 at Regions Bank. Maybe we're safer when they, like Congress, aren't at work.

I went to my local Regions branch today to ask them for my money back. Jill (not her real name - this isn't her fault) pulled up my account, listened to my story, and asked if I had signed anything in order to start the investigation. After I told her I hadn't, she called the fraud department herself to check on the status of my claim.

Fact is, the report filed yesterday was a "duplicate charge" claim. Apparently the people who work in customer support leave their ears at home and can't hear what the customer is actually saying to them. The only relief I was scheduled to receive was about $40 - I was going to have one of the MEETIC charges refunded to me, as well as one of the International Fees.

Now, I had spoken by phone to several people in customer support. You'd think that one of them could have figured out that the crazy lady on the phone wanted a whole lot more money returned than just $40 - especially when I repeatedly stated that those charges weren't mine.

Jill was able to get the confusion/stupidity/idiocy corrected, and they emailed the form to her that I needed to sign, which I did.

Now...we'll see how long it takes to get my money.

Jill's OK. I think she did a good job for me today. Too bad she won't be at First Tennessee.

Yet Another NSF Fee

At midnight this morning, a utility company bill was electronically drafted from my bleeding and dying Regions account.

Of course, that meant another $35 fee for Regions.

Here's the part I love - also at midnight this morning, my paycheck was deposited.

Of course, the draft and overdraft had to come first or how else would they make any more money off my free checking account...but I'm back into positive numbers now.

I'm going to go up to the bank and draw out all but a dollar, and put it into my new First Tennessee account.

I wrote the first check on my FT account to my sister yesterday to re-imburse her for the money she loaned me to open the account yesterday - she's holding the check until I can get my own money into the account. She'll be glad to know she can have her money back this afternoon.

Need to go to the utility company today and change my direct draft to First Tennessee.

Regions Bank sucks for making me have to do all this!

Changing Banks Is Easier Than It Looks

One of my sisters came by after work today and picked me up. She banks with First Tennessee, and thought I should look into opening an account there.

While speaking with the lady at the bank, I found that if I had been banking with them when MEETIC stole money from me, they would have replaced the funds and fees within three business days - sometimes the money is back in the account the next day.

Also, First Tennessee is actually open until six Monday through Friday, and until one on Saturday. AND, unlike Regions, their customer service department is available by phone 24/7.

So, I switched. My sister gave me the cash I needed to open the account, and as soon as all my transactions clear at Regions and I get all my direct deposits and drafts moved over, I'm giving them the boot.

Regions and I would have been fine had they continued to treat me with respect, but they are holding my money hostage to their policies, and we just can't have that.

OK, You Can Comment Now

I wasn't going to allow comments, and I might turn them off again, but here you go.

I'm moderating, so watch your mouth!

Does Regions Bank replace your money if someone steals your debit card number?

Not right away, and possibly never.

On May 9, 2008, I noticed a pending transaction in my checking account from MEETIC for $30.34. I had just purchased an airline ticket online using my debit card, and wondered at first if this was some kind of adjunct charge.

It wasn't.

A friend of mine Googled MEETIC and discovered it is the same name as an online dating service in France.

No problem at Regions, though - they disallowed the approval and the transaction was deleted and my balance returned to its pre-MEETIC state. They also looked at the vendor information and found there was nothing by which we could identify or contact this "MEETIC" - no phone number, nothing.

I still wasn't sure about the charge - I mean, there might be more than one "MEETIC", and it could be a legitimate charge that I just didn't recognize - I use my debit card a lot, for both online purchases, paying bills, and local shopping, and I had just made various reservations online.

By May 10, I knew this was no legitimate charge. There was another pending transaction from MEETIC, this time for $38 and change. Again, the helpful Regions associate removed it.

Later that afternoon, more charges. The card was reported stolen and closed.

I called Regions back on Monday, the 12th, to have the pending charges that had popped up over the weekend removed - and they were. All of the charges were under $40 - but enough to make Regions Bank fat with NSF fees had they gone through.

The Regions associates were so kind and understanding. We laughed and joshed each other some, we figuratively scratched our heads, and we handled the problem.

Almost.

Apparently, MEETIC had somehow obtained an authorization behind my back on May 8, it went through, and the money was deducted from my account today, May 13 - after the card had been closed.

I never knew they were debiting my account on the 8th. I never saw the pending transactions, and apparently, neither did any of the helpful associates at Regions Bank. Today, after my debit card has been cancelled, there are two identical charges from MEETIC for $38.61, plus something called "INTERNATIONAL SERVICE" for each charge. Seems Regions charges me $1.16 every time this MEETIC creep steals from me.

And although Regions has been releasing their authorizations (that means the authorizations were denied) all weekend, once MEETIC got through to my account I was screwed.

I'm now $216 in the hole. NSF fees alone total $140. (Previous NSF total was a typo - sorry!)

Although I was furious when I saw these charges and the various fees, I was counting on my new friends at Regions. I just knew they'd return my money, make my world right, and cheer me up. Some of these people have a great sense of humor, and I was looking forward to the call - then I crashed and burned.

Regions will be investigating these charges, and it could take 17 business days for them to return my money.

(CORRECTION: They will return the disputed amounts along with the overdrafts in 7 - 10 business days.) They will then investigate the transactions, and determine whether or not I actually made the charges. If not, we'll all bump along as we were, none the worse for wear except for the stress and worry I experienced.

I was told that since I had gotten my request in before 4 PM, it would be sent up today.

If they determine I did authorize an online dating company in France to bankrupt me with one $38 charge after another, well, Regions will take all that money right back out of my account.

I've just spoken again with two other customer service reps at Regions Customer Service. Here's what I found out:

Customer Service reps are unable to see where the previous authorizations were denied. They don't know how to look them up. I have no idea whether or not the investigators can see them, or if they will even look for them.

If customer Service reps keep a log of conversations with the customers, they're not telling. They don't appear to be able to see them, anyway.

Bank customers are not allowed to talk to the "fulfillment group". That's the department that does the investigating. I wonder if they will call me? Will they ever want to know my side of the story? Folks in Customer Service don't know. Will I ever be told the results of the investigation? Not likely - unless I wake up one morning to find myself a couple hundred dollars poorer again.

What if The Fulfillment Group does decide the charges were authorized and comes back and take it away from me again? What recourse do I have? Nobody in customer service seems to know.

My original intent was to list the name of every customer service rep I spoke with, but that's not really fair. These people are just mice in a wheel. They don't make policy, and they have no authority.

But Regions Bank should be a whole lot better at protecting their customers' debit cards. If I call to deny authorization to pending charges, they should take it on faith that I will dispute charges that sneak through the grate - and they should return my money immediately.

Not in 7 - 10 business days!

I'll post the updates as they happen.