Tellers? Anybody? Can you help?

[Deactivated member 42515]

Hi there. So I have a question... I deposit my money into the bank through the drive thru every friday.

Whenever I have any cash to deposit, I count it over and over just to make sure and then calculate the total over and over for accuracy.

Today, I pull up to the drive thru, count my cash, make sure my checks are there and send it thru the machine. The teller tells me I am 20 short...

I tell her there is no way, since I JUST counted it before I gave it to her. But I still do a search of my car and outside my door, thinking maybe it dropped after I counted it, but its nowhere to be found. I tell her that the money should be correct but she continues to tell me its short.

At this time, I would like to tell you that I know that I am not wrong. I know this because this has happened 2 times already. The first time it happened, I blamed myself. So from then on, I am very very very careful and precise about my deposits.

Since this is cash, there is no way for me to prove that the amount is correct. And why is it always a 20 that is missing? And the same teller... I don't know what to do...

Has this happened to anyone else before?

I'm thinking that from now own, I am just going to go inside or use the atm machine. This will probably solve my problem, but I'm still kind of upset from the 60 that disappeared... I wouldn't think a teller would risk their job just to steal a 20...

And I have also asked my DH if maybe he took cash out of my wallet that day, but he assures me that he didn't...

I know that there is probably nothing I can do, but just wondering if this has happened to anyone before? Or if anybody here works at a bank or is a teller, is there anything I can do? Its cash... so I wouldn't think so.

The bank I use is bank of america so I would think that things like this would not happen?

 

[Smurfysmiles]

I don''t have any advice but that is a really crappy situation

I hope you figure it out soon...could you file a complaint with the bank manager?

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Bummer. I assume you think she''s skimming off your deposit? Next time I''d ask for the deposit back and take it out front to the ATM machine. The machine will tell you if it''s all there. Or, you can go into the bank and ask them to run it through their counting machine before depositing it. If you''re concerned about her skimming, you should report it. From now on document your interactions with this teller.

 

[Deactivated member 42515]

Date: 1/15/2010 3:21:08 PM
Author: Smurfyimproved
I don''t have any advice but that is a really crappy situation

I hope you figure it out soon...could you file a complaint with the bank manager?

thats actually what I was thinking when I was writing this, but I live in such a small town that basically everyone knows everyone and I don''t really want to start any drama... so I dunno...

If I lived in a bigger city, there would be multiple branches of Bank of A and so I would just go to a different branch... but not here...

 

[D&T]

what I''ve seen nowadays is security camera both inside and outside. Can you go talk to the branch manager and ask them if there is a security camera to review the footage? just a thought usually banks are tight with security cameras all over.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

There are three scenarios that could be going on here:
1. you''re miscounting
2. she''s skimming
3. she''s an idiot and is miscounting

You say you''re super careful with counting and recounting. Trust your instincts. The last two options need to be reported regardless.

 

[Deactivated member 42515]

Date: 1/15/2010 3:22:48 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
Bummer. I assume you think she''s skimming off your deposit? Next time I''d ask for the deposit back and take it out front to the ATM machine. The machine will tell you if it''s all there. Or, you can go into the bank and ask them to run it through their counting machine before depositing it. If you''re concerned about her skimming, you should report it. From now on document your interactions with this teller.

I always ask the teller to send back the money after they tell me its short, but of course it wouldn''t matter by that time if I count it again, u know?

I don''t want to assume that a teller would take my money, I like to try to think the best of people. The first two times... I was like ok... maybe I did something wrong... but I KNOW I counted the money and it was all there.

I counted my money the second time it happened also but I let it go...

 

[Smurfysmiles]

Date: 1/15/2010 3:25:24 PM
Author: D&T
what I''ve seen nowadays is security camera both inside and outside. Can you go talk to the branch manager and ask them if there is a security camera to review the footage? just a thought usually banks are tight with security cameras all over.

Ditto this, and I think keeping your money safe is more important than not creating drama, I come from a small town as well and I would let them know exactly what was on my mind lol

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Who counts the money going through the ATM? If it's the tellers, then seems like that could result in the same. The person saying the envelope was short of $20? When I deposit cash in the night deposit or ATM (because the bank is closed), I first run into the grocery store and get a .75 western union money order so there is no chance anyone takes money.

There is no way to prove that the teller took the cash, however, considering millions are fraudulently taken every year from high up people, it's probably 100% that at least a few tellers skim off the top.

Also, talk to the manager because for all you know there have been one or two other complaints. Another option is going to a different branch.

 

[luv2sparkle]

at our BofA machines, it counts the cash and verifies it for you and photos the checks. But if I were you, I would deposit my cash inside the bank from now on
just to make sure. Bummer. That would make me totally nuts.

 

[rierie26]

If it''s always the same teller that this happens with, I''d be suspicious. I''m always unnerved by drive-up-banking. I''m always afraid I might drop the deposit or it woud fly away if it was windy.

 

[Octavia]

YayTacori, you need to address this with the branch manager. Go inside, ask to speak to him or her, and address it behind closed doors. Nobody else needs to know right then, so don''t worry about "drama" -- worry about your own finances first! The bank SHOULD have procedures in place to address issues like this, when I worked at a bank we had security cameras focused on the front and back of the teller line so it would have been pretty much impossible to get away with anything...but the tapes weren''t really reviewed unless someone reported a problem. If she has been skimming, chances are you''re not the only one and they''ll be able to pick it up pretty quickly. If she''s been making mistakes, it should have showed up by now when she balances her cash box, but those kinds of things can also be pinned down easily. $60 isn''t a fortune, but it''s a significant amount of money and you shouldn''t have to deal with this.

As an aside, this kind of thing is why I never use the drive-through...If I have to deposit cash, I want to see the teller count it in front of me. Drive-throughs tend to be really hectic and the potential for mistakes (in addition to flat-out shadiness) just seems much greater there.

 

[luckystar112]

Date: 1/15/2010 3:39:57 PM
Author: Octavia
YayTacori, you need to address this with the branch manager. Go inside, ask to speak to him or her, and address it behind closed doors. Nobody else needs to know right then, so don''t worry about ''drama'' -- worry about your own finances first!

Ditto. If she''s doing it to you then it is likely that she is doing it to other people as well. I once had an employee (restaurant-counter service) would would add a $1-$3 tip for herself whenever someone paid with a credit/debit card. It wasn''t enough money for people to notice (especially since most people throw out the receipts), but when we finally caught her it was revealed that she literally stole HUNDREDS from our customers.

 

[dragonfly411]

I agree 100% with Octavia. You need to report this and get it straightened out. Trust me, It''s not a their word against yours... it is YOUR WORD against THEIRS. She''s a teller, she should know how to count. Coming up 20 short regularly is not ok.

 

[partgypsy]

You don''t know the crazy things that happen. When I worked at my Dad''s restaurant as a teenager, someone would have to take all the change out of the vending machine and deposit the big bags of change at the bank next door. We almost always had the same friendly teller do our change. There started to be slightly less income than there should be for the amount of cigarettes sold. So two weekends in a row we had to coint all the change before putting it in the big bag that gets handed over to the teller. Sure enough the receipt we got was not what we counted. The manager was informed and the teller ended up being fired.

 

[sbde]

this has happened to a friend of mine once, and it was $100 dollar bill. she had also counted her money at the teller''s desk before handing it over.

she complained to the bank manager who essentially discredited her. she asked to see the security camera video in which she herself counted out the bills, which was denied. she spoke to someone else higher up in the branch and was essentially called a liar

at this point it was less about the $100 and more about the treatment she received from the bank. she later sent a letter to the bank head office, closed her account at that branch and was later sent a cheque for the $100 once an investigation had been made.

so no, i don''t think it odd that you are suspicious!! i would definitely speak to someone in the bank about this and let your concerns be known.

 

[yssie]

Date: 1/15/2010 3:51:33 PM
Author: dragonfly411
I agree 100% with Octavia. You need to report this and get it straightened out. Trust me, It''s not a their word against yours... it is YOUR WORD against THEIRS. She''s a teller, she should know how to count. Coming up 20 short regularly is not ok.

+1.


What an ugly thing for someone to do

 

[Haven]

What a rotten thing to do!

Definitely go into the bank from now on and ask the teller to count the money at the counter right in front of you. That''s what I do whenever I deposit cash. I never deposit cash using an ATM (my bank''s ATM doesn''t count the cash for you) nor do I use the drive-up.

Once I brought change in to the bank so I could swap it out for bills. The woman who used the counting machine told me it came to $138, but then after moving the coins somewhere she came back and handed me only $130. I assumed that I just heard her wrong, and told DH the story when I got home. He said I probably heard correctly and she just gave me $8 less and pocketed the difference.
SO, the next time I brought in change (to a different branch) the girl counted the change up, and then left to grab the amount in bills. As she was handing me the bills I asked for a receipt showing the total, at which point she pulled the bills back, left again to the cash area, and came back with the receipt and the bills. It was pretty obvious that she was trying to short me, and had to change the amount she was giving me when I asked for evidence of what the machine had counted.

 

[jewelz617]

Next time you get that teller say "I''d prefer someone else to count it, thanks."

Don''t accuse her of anything, just politely ask for a different teller. If she is stealing maybe it will make her nervous enough to stop.

 

[Porridge]

Definitely report this! As others have said, there may have been others who have made complaints already or who will in the future. $60 is a lot of money to have stolen from you! No more drive through ATM''s YayTacori. You can''t be too careful can you.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

If you are sure it is always the same teller I''d report it, deposit from the ATM from now on (f it auto counts your cash), and I''d check to see if any of your close friends have had issues.

 

[Miss Sparkly]

Teller - 2.5 years
Banker - 2 years
Auditor - 2 months

Anyway, first, I would say DO NOT USE THE ATM TO DEPOSIT MONEY! The time frames for when your deposit will actually make it into your account are very confusing for an ATM. Also, if your deposit is short, once again too bad so sad. Some banks process the money themselves while others will contract that service out. Either way, it becomes the word of a single person against the word of the company. As for your current situation I would go in and speak with the manager of the bank. This teller may have had other complaints or balancing issues that you don't know about and you may stand a chance of getting your money back. I would always advise that when depositing money, go inside the bank.

ETA: BofA - I'm sorry, they are one of the most difficult banks to deal with

Hopefully being in a small town will help

 

[that_someone_special]

They don''t have cameras at the bank that they can check?

Every single bank I''ve been to has like a billion cameras --- and can be used for this exact problem!

Hope it works out.

 

[pinkstars]

I was a teller for over 3 years, but I was an honest teller.
I would absolutely tell her supervisor. I also wouldn''t go through the drive thru anymore. If I were you, I would only deposit checks while going through the drive thru and go into the lobby to deposit cash so that you can watch the teller the whole time.

If she''s done this to you more than once, it seems very likely that she''s doing this regularly. Do you know if there are cameras there? At the bank I worked at, we didn''t have cameras that were watching over the tellers.
I would suggest going back and asking her supervisor to look over her transactions to see if she did something funny with her calculations. I would think that if she''s doing this, then she would at least be clever enough to not show that she counted the actual amount that you gave her.

I''m really sorry this happened to you. It really aggravates me that she was able to do this to you.

 

[Steel]

It is a bit fishy.

Does your teller look like this?

 

[Cehrabehra]

I got a call at 4am the other day from Wells Fargo insisting that I had withdrawn $3000 from a man''s checking account and me trying to say I''m in China and there''s no way but yes he was our landlord so if money was out of his acct then it was probably money he owed us.

Turns out when my husband deposited the check from him at our bank (not wells fargo) and then took cash out to bring to china the teller withdrew the money from the landlord''s account and almost 3 weeks later someone finally noticed.

He said they didn''t even apologize - I hope they apologized to our old landlord!!!! A 3k mistake! Griefs!

I would talk to her manager. Seriously.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 1/15/2010 3:58:02 PM
Author: part gypsy
You don''t know the crazy things that happen. When I worked at my Dad''s restaurant as a teenager, someone would have to take all the change out of the vending machine and deposit the big bags of change at the bank next door. We almost always had the same friendly teller do our change. There started to be slightly less income than there should be for the amount of cigarettes sold. So two weekends in a row we had to coint all the change before putting it in the big bag that gets handed over to the teller. Sure enough the receipt we got was not what we counted. The manager was informed and the teller ended up being fired.

and don''t feel guilty if she''s fired for STEALING - she''s a thief!!! she''s lucky she isn''t thrown in *jail*!!!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 1/16/2010 12:42:12 AM
Author: Sparkly Blonde

ETA: BofA - I''m sorry, they are one of the most difficult banks to deal with

Hopefully being in a small town will help

Yesterday on the radio, there was a discussion of banks and all the crap they do. BOA and it''s crazy service charges. What kind of example does a bank set for its employees when it practically steals, as well, by charging crazy service fees over everything?

They said the best solution is to switch out to a small locally owned bank!

Just to add: I had closed my accounts at larger banks and moved to a local one and now they all know me and send everyone in my family birthday cards - a tad weird. lol