I recently closed an account as part of my streamlining efforts so that I would have fewer accounts to deal with. I had only opened that account to get the sign on bonus and since the interest rate was low I did not keep any money in there.
I transferred the balance out back to ING and stopped any transfers between the two accounts and then called customer service a few days later to close the account. The process went through smoothly and I put the debit card in the pile of things to shred on the weekend, removed the account from Mint.com and promptly forgot about that account.
Then yesterday I received a check in the mail….for $0.02.
Yes, two CENTS.
I thought it was a joke but saw that there was a letter with the check, explaining that this was interest owed to be on the balance on the account at the time of closing.
So the system sent me a check for two cents!!!!!
I really wish that this waste of paper and a stamp had not taken place…but even if there was human involved the bank is legally obligated to send me the interest on the account…so I now have a check for $0.02.
I am not sure what to do with ‘all’ that money. Should I
- deposit the check
- frame the check
Let me know what you think I should do.
(And remember to check out the Money Thought For The Day and let us know what YOU can do with a dollar.)
That’s crazy. I would think that most banks and companies that do billing would have some sort of trigger in place to not bother with anything under $1. My wife had a blood draw done, and the insurance company paid $5.50 and our co pay is 10%. We didn’t get a bill for the $0.55. I think in that case they just held the balance and tacked it onto the next time we had something done that was more money. I’m surprised your bank doesn’t have a ‘don’t bother’ trigger in their program somewhere.
I’m sitting here laughing because something similar happened to me years ago. I closed an account that accrued $0.01 and yes they cut and mailed me a check for that amount.
I have the check in a document folder and once in a while I pull it out and get a good chuckle.
I got a bigger check than you…..I win.
Yes that is really silly when you think about it but that is just one of the dangers of automated systems. The computer was programmed to print the balance on a check and someone mails out all the printed checks.
This is similar to when you get a bill for $0.00. Oh well.
Yes what a waste of paper and resources. Businesses really need to tighten up on that kind of waste. I’d be tempted to not deposit it as it just leads to more wasted resources. I say either frame it or recycle it.
I do not know why they even bother to send a check for that amount. Definitely a waste of paper and the money to send it.
– Robert