You balanced 10 months ago, but only went back 6 month.
You need to go back another 4 months, until the last time you balances.
No. Maybe I didn't make myself clear. The bank and I agreed in April last year what was in my account. That's a matter of record. Since then I have balanced it three times using the bank's statement. I write almost all of my checks at the first of the month, so most of the time around the 20th of the month I can tell by my deposit receipt that the balance agrees with my check register, so I don't bother doing the math. There's even one place, because of that, where the guy at the bank said today, "It balances here."
Right now I'm guessing there are some transposed numbers we haven't noticed. I can't imagine the bank's computer making a simple math error.
Many years ago I remember bouncing a check and the bank called me. They found that they inadvertently put my payroll check into someone else's account. I don't k now how that happened, but it got corrected real fast.
Steve.
"I was a deerhunter long before I was a man." ~Gene Wensel's Come November (2000) "A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user." ~Theodore Roosevelt
Last year there was a deposit of $110,000 into my account. Wife and I are retired mill workers so I knew she didn't make the deposit. I guess they found the mistake because the account went back to four digits.
"Only Christ is the fullness of God's revelation." Everyday Hunter
You balanced 10 months ago, but only went back 6 month.
You need to go back another 4 months, until the last time you balances.
No. Maybe I didn't make myself clear. The bank and I agreed in April last year what was in my account. That's a matter of record. Since then I have balanced it three times using the bank's statement. I write almost all of my checks at the first of the month, so most of the time around the 20th of the month I can tell by my deposit receipt that the balance agrees with my check register, so I don't bother doing the math. There's even one place, because of that, where the guy at the bank said today, "It balances here."
Right now I'm guessing there are some transposed numbers we haven't noticed. I can't imagine the bank's computer making a simple math error.
Many years ago I remember bouncing a check and the bank called me. They found that they inadvertently put my payroll check into someone else's account. I don't k now how that happened, but it got corrected real fast.
Steve.
I spent 20 years in the industry. Never once was I not able to find the discrepancy if there was a point in time where our balances agreed.
You didn't use logic or reason to get into this opinion, I cannot use logic or reason to get you out of it.
You cannot over estimate the unimportance of nearly everything. John Maxwell
I am sure that you have checked this but it has happened to us a couple of times in the last ten years or so.
If you look in the lower right hand corner of your cancelled check there is a number that corresponds to the amount the check was written for. Do these agree on all of the checks? $300 is a lot of discrepancy for this but you never know. The two of ours were much smaller than that.
Larry *********** "Speed is fine but accuracy is final" - Bill Jordan "We do not exaggerate when we state positively that the remodelled Springfield is the best and most suitable "all 'round" rifle".......Seymour Griffin, GRIFFIN & HOWE, Inc.
About two weeks ago I had two checks bounce. I went straight to the bank and asked what happened because my records seemed perfect. The "personal banker" guy sat down and went over it with me, and even refunded the overdraft charges without me even asking.
Then he and I sat and matched up every deposit and every debit going back to April last year, even though the checkbook had been balanced at least three times since then. The mistake is in the neighborhood of $300, and we can't find it.
He complimented me on the neatness of the check register, and I did all the math again and still can't find any errors. He made copies of the pages in my check register last week and did the same thing. Nothing is in the credit column that should be in the debit column, or vice versa. We're both at a loss to find any mistake.
Late today we passed it off to a female "personal banker" who will look at it again, just to get a set of fresh eyes on it. I'm not optimistic, but hey, who knows?
Here's question #1 -- Could the bank have made an error in math? Seems impossible because it's all done by computer, but right now I don't have any other explanation.
Here's question #2 -- If we can't find any error on the on my side and the bank can't explain why I was overdrawn, what happens? If the bank can't prove I've made an error, how can I get them to consider my checkbook to be correct and credit me approximately three Benjamins?
Here's question #3 -- Have you ever heard of such a thing? This has been unresolved for at least two weeks now.
Thanks. Steve.
Private Client Banker here...
Question #1: The bank cannot make an error in math. Where the bank very well COULD have made an error, would have been on a deposit. I have seen multiple times where a deposit goes missing because a tellers scanner reads a deposit slip as another number.
Question #2 and #3: If you guys continue to disagree typically it's too bad for the customer. For my customers, it depends on the relationship. I am not going to lose a large customer over something like a $300 dollar discrepancy, but we would have to profit enough off the customer (balances, loans, investments, etc) to be able to offset the written off loss. For the average customer I would only balance the checkbook if you balanced in the last 2 statement cycles, otherwise it gets force balanced to the bank balance. If you come in and talk hunting, fishing, and shooting, we would go all the way back to the point we both agreed and we would find the error. Any banker worth their salt should be able to find it IF they put in the time.
I spent 20 years in the industry. Never once was I not able to find the discrepancy if there was a point in time where our balances agreed.
I'm confident some kind of mistake will turn up. What's funny about it is that he said my check register is one of the most orderly he has ever seen. Should be easy.
Originally Posted by pal
Originally Posted by Everyday Hunter
...The problem is that the bank can't reconcile my account...
Again, it is you who cannot reconcile his account, not the bank.
OK, OK, you're right. I can't reconcile my account. No question about that. And it's also true that the guy at the bank -- the guy representing the bank -- can't reconcile it. Neither of us can. We've worked on it together, and we've worked on it separately. His title is "personal banker." It's his job to help customers with things like this. He has been trying for two weeks. He hasn't been able to do it. That's a fact, even if it is actually my responsibility.
Steve.
"I was a deerhunter long before I was a man." ~Gene Wensel's Come November (2000) "A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user." ~Theodore Roosevelt
I spent 20 years in the industry. Never once was I not able to find the discrepancy if there was a point in time where our balances agreed.
I'm confident some kind of mistake will turn up. What's funny about it is that he said my check register is one of the most orderly he has ever seen. Should be easy.
Originally Posted by pal
Originally Posted by Everyday Hunter
...The problem is that the bank can't reconcile my account...
Again, it is you who cannot reconcile his account, not the bank.
OK, OK, you're right. I can't reconcile my account. No question about that. And it's also true that the guy at the bank -- the guy representing the bank -- can't reconcile it. Neither of us can. We've worked on it together, and we've worked on it separately. His title is "personal banker." It's his job to help customers with things like this. He has been trying for two weeks. He hasn't been able to do it. That's a fact, even if it is actually my responsibility.
Steve.
Steve, I didn't say it was easy, just that I was always able to find the issue. Of course, I was the guy thing were sent to after the likes of your personal banker had failed.
Hint: Excel is your friend.
Last edited by antelope_sniper; 02/12/16.
You didn't use logic or reason to get into this opinion, I cannot use logic or reason to get you out of it.
You cannot over estimate the unimportance of nearly everything. John Maxwell
Hang in there - Banks employ people - and people make mistakes. I would personally sit and compare entries, side by side, with the bank statements - starting at the last time we agreed (balanced) Sounds like the 2 of you have overlooked the problem so many times that it's habitual - a new set of eyes may just look it over, and say "Well, there's the problem - right there in plain sight" I HATE when that happens
I've always been a curmudgeon - now I'm an old curmudgeon. ~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
You're both just chasing your tails if your going back and forth just comparing a list of items. You must do an airtight two-part reconciliation to the penny based on the closing date of your bank statements. Learn to do that and you will turn up the error(s).
Last edited by GunReader; 02/12/16.
National Rifle Association - Patron Member National Muzzleloading Rifle Association - Life Member and 1 of 1000 Illinois State Rifle Association - Life Member Carlinville Rifle & Pistol Club ~ Molɔ̀ːn Labé ~
Something just isn't adding up. If you've been balancing your checkbook each month with your statement, how can $300 be missing? Are you saying your checkbook matched your statement last month but is off by $300 this month?
Steve: Don't get frustrated. Errors in balances are very easy to find. It just takes time and diligence. I've done work like this with large amounts of money and have never been stymied.
First get the bank to print out a monthly statement on the account since it was opened. If it is really old, go back two years. Then simply find a month where the ending balances are the same and go from there. Regardless of how far back in time that is. There has to be a point in time where both balances match. Then just reconcile each month going forward until a mismatch appears. Keep in mind that it could be more than one mistake. It just takes time. You and your banker shouldn't do this together. That can increase the chances of overlooking the problem.
Also, not trying to be a jerk but maybe you are not exactly sure how it all works because you made a couple statements that were incongruous. Your initial post says, "About two weeks ago I had two checks bounce." But later you say "For the record, I have another account at the same bank in which I have a lot more money than I keep in this one. So overdraft protection isn't the issue here." This doesn't make sense since the overdraft protection would have prevented the bounced checks. You might have to fill out some paperwork to link that larger account to your checking account so you will have overdraft protection in the future. Just focus and go slowly and you will find the discrepancy. Good luck. -tnscouter
I had the same exact same scenario happen about 10 years ago. The bank was very rude and scoffed at the very notion they had made a mistake. We had to go all the way to the bank manager who sat there and basically insulted my wife and her bookkeeping. After he and others audited my wife's books they found that the error was on their part. They reluctantly refunded the fees. No apology. The next day i pulled every penny out of their bank moved all loans and had to restrain myself from putting my middle finger in the face of the manager. I will never for the rest of my days do business with a bank. I have used credit unions ever since and they almost fall all over themselves to help u.
