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.