To be candid, I didn't have a lot of faith that BBVA Compass Bank would help the man from Ovilla. He told me a banking mistake cost him $16,500.The Watchdog's past experiences with Compass were troubling. A decade ago, before the bank's previous owners drove the bank into failure and new owners from Spain took over, the bank didn't have much of a heart.I didn't believe I could be of much help to Philip Ham, who told me how he cashed in two certificates of deposit only one day before their actual maturity date - a move that cost him a whopping $16,500 early withdrawal tax penalty.If only he'd waited another day, there'd be no penalty. But he says the bank employee didn't tell him he was a day early; and he didn't realize it either. That's one horrific mistake.Ham told me his story. A bank official told me the bank's side of the story. (The bank says it warned him. Ham and his wife say they didn't.) I had a gut instinct about who was telling the truth, but I couldn't prove it.Originally, this was to be a story about how we often can't count on anyone to protect us, not even our bankers. (Don't laugh. Banks once upon a time gave you a free toaster and treated you like family.) But then this story changed. Something amazing happened. Continue reading...
Man Says If Only His Bank Warned Him Not to Withdraw His Money One Day Early, He Would Have Saved a $16,500 Penalty
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