Can a bank employee do this?

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

My dad has money in a couple of banks.

Routinely he will withdraw cash from one of his savings accounts and walk it into his other bank and deposit it into his checking account.

Last week he went to do this and because taxes were due etc he was taking out more cash than he would the rest of the year.
He wanted $7,500. He has done amounts like this in the past no issue at all.

This time he was told "we don't have enough on hand to give you that amount". We know that is absolutely ridiculous so he said as much.
After some back and forth they said okay we will give it to you but you can't do it at the front we have to go sit in the office and make the transaction.
My dad said whatever that's fine. He did get his cash and made the deposit at the other bank.

Yesterday his bank statement came and it showed the cash was taken out of a different savings account than what was on the slip he gave them.
He NEVER takes money from that account and doesn't even know what that account number is without looking it up.
He then recalled that when the employee walked out of the room to retrieve the cash he ripped up a piece of paper but he wasn't really thinking about it at the time.
Now he realizes that must have been the slip with the account number of the account he wanted it taken out of.
He went in today and it was a different employee and he apologized and transferred the money from the account he wanted it taken out of back into the account it was taken out of.

The other employee clearly did this on purpose and did not inform my dad what he was doing.

I'm just wondering is this normal/okay/does the employee have the right? to do this?

 

[Southernmiss]

My dad has money in a couple of banks.

Routinely he will withdraw cash from one of his savings accounts and walk it into his other bank and deposit it into his checking account.

Last week he went to do this and because taxes were due etc he was taking out more cash than he would the rest of the year.
He wanted $7,500. He has done amounts like this in the past no issue at all.

This time he was told "we don't have enough on hand to give you that amount". We know that is absolutely ridiculous so he said as much.
After some back and forth they said okay we will give it to you but you can't do it at the front we have to go sit in the office and make the transaction.
My dad said whatever that's fine. He did get his cash and made the deposit at the other bank.

Yesterday his bank statement came and it showed the cash was taken out of a different savings account than what was on the slip he gave them.
He NEVER takes money from that account and doesn't even know what that account number is without looking it up.
He then recalled that when the employee walked out of the room to retrieve the cash he ripped up a piece of paper but he wasn't really thinking about it at the time.
Now he realizes that must have been the slip with the account number of the account he wanted it taken out of.
He went in today and it was a different employee and he apologized and transferred the money from the account he wanted it taken out of back into the account it was taken out of.

The other employee clearly did this on purpose and did not inform my dad what he was doing.

I'm just wondering is this normal/okay/does the employee have the right? to do this?

I'd need to hear the employees' side, too.

Bank employees are trained to be aware that elderly people can get scammed out of their money and to be cautious when giving large sums.

I would wonder if it was more of a protective reaction, than anything else.

 

[Marrila]

I'd need to hear the employees' side, too.

Bank employees are trained to be aware that elderly people can get scammed out of their money and to be cautious when giving large sums.

I would wonder if it was more of a protective reaction, than anything else.

I think asking to talk to a bank manager might have been prudent before making the 2nd transaction.
They could clear up questions about what are normal procedures and what is not following policy.

 

[kymom99]

When my son was buying a car through a cash sale, the bank rep told us he would need to give advance notice to withdraw a large amount of cash. He misunderstood us to mean we wanted to carry 25k in cash to the dealer. We actually wanted a cashiers check. But I can see where they might have to make sure they have that much cash available.

Now taking it out of the wrong account was probably just a matter of clicking on the wrong account under your father’s name.

 

[_19disnA]

I can't comment on the apparently wrong account being used, but the idea of anyone taking out a large sum in CASH is probably something all banks try to discourage. Going to a private office I would assume was to prevent the transaction from taking place out in the open where any other customer who happened to be there could see the cash being handed to him. I think a better option would be to have them write a cashier's check payable to the other bank. I don't think it is wise for ANYONE to be walking around with $7,500 in cash regardless of what they plan to do with it.

Many transactions can all be handled online from home so he could easily transfer the money from one bank to the next. If you dad isn't good with computers, perhaps you can help him do an online funds transfer next time he wants to move his money around. Walking around with that much is cash is a really bad idea.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

I'd need to hear the employees' side, too.

Bank employees are trained to be aware that elderly people can get scammed out of their money and to be cautious when giving large sums.

I would wonder if it was more of a protective reaction, than anything else.

Definitely not looking out for my dad.
This employee has been jerky to my dad a couple other times when he wants to do certain things or not do certain things with his large amount of money in the one savings account which is why I think he took it out of that account.
My dad is very sharp when it comes to finances and he owns several properties which is why he has quite a large around of property/school taxes.
The employee more or less wanted him to take a money transfer instead of cash but my dad knows when you do that there is a holding period that he doesn't like to deal with. Cash out cash in is how he likes to move his money.
He also does not mind telling the bank that he is taking down the street to the other bank to put into his checking account because he doesn't want to open a checking account at this bank.

 

[tony67]

Lots of odd things with banks these days.
I had to show ID to deposit some cash - was not all that much - but they made it very difficult and did not want the deposit slip at all.
It seems they don't want to deal with deposit slips anymore - they were annoyed I did not have or want a debit card.
As for ripping it up- that's inappropriate- they should have given it back to him - I've had that happen.

They are also more difficult about taking out large amounts of cash - I've seen several anecdotal stories of people not being allowed to take out their own money in cash. Yeah sometimes its because they are worried about scams.

Since there does not seem to be any fraud I'd probably not worry too much -just continue to monitor the accounts - thats always a good idea regardless.

I assume all the accounts at the same bank are linked and they choose the wrong one - but if it does bother you than speak to the branch manager about it.

Last thing is - if this is a regular thing - which I can understand - then maybe he should set up something either automatic or that can be done electronically.

Taking out a large amount of cash on a regular bases and then depositing it in another bank is risky IMO - if a teller connects the dots then they could set something up - its not that far fetched. Also just having that much cash on you is risky - another customer may take notice etc..

 

[MillauFr]

This is a good example on why it is far safer to make these transactions electronically. Less chance for screwups. Less chances to get robbed of large amounts of cash.

 

[tony67]

Definitely not looking out for my dad.
This employee has been jerky to my dad a couple other times when he wants to do certain things or not do certain things with his large amount of money in the one savings account which is why I think he took it out of that account.
My dad is very sharp when it comes to finances and he owns several properties which is why he has quite a large around of property/school taxes.
The employee more or less wanted him to take a money transfer instead of cash but my dad knows when you do that there is a holding period that he doesn't like to deal with. Cash out cash in is how he likes to move his money.
He also does not mind telling the bank that he is taking down the street to the other bank to put into his checking account because he doesn't want to open a checking account at this bank.

Hmm - well then either talk to the bank manager or find a new bank - not always easy for various reasons - like who pays the best interest rates.

 

[focusondisney]

I'd need to hear the employees' side, too.

Bank employees are trained to be aware that elderly people can get scammed out of their money and to be cautious when giving large sums.

I would wonder if it was more of a protective reaction, than anything else.

I thought that was a possibility too. Until the part about the different account. I’d need a better explanation for that.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Definitely not looking out for my dad.
This employee has been jerky to my dad a couple other times when he wants to do certain things or not do certain things with his large amount of money in the one savings account which is why I think he took it out of that account.
My dad is very sharp when it comes to finances and he owns several properties which is why he has quite a large around of property/school taxes.
The employee more or less wanted him to take a money transfer instead of cash but my dad knows when you do that there is a holding period that he doesn't like to deal with. Cash out cash in is how he likes to move his money.
He also does not mind telling the bank that he is taking down the street to the other bank to put into his checking account because he doesn't want to open a checking account at this bank.

You say this employee has been "jerky" to your dad. I will take yours and his word. But, having worked in a bank that last sentence you posted could be interpreted as your dad being "jerky" to the bankers as well. Two different sides of the counter I guess and both could be interpreting things differently.

Previous poster is also right about safety, especially for the elderly. You would be surprised how many times elderly people fall for scams and want huge amounts of cash withdrawn to get their grandson out of jail, fix their roof, or pay off something. A good bank will look out for it's clientel.

 

[disneychrista]

Sounds like an error on the banks part, not something that was done maliciously. Simply talk to the bank and have them correct the error.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

You say this employee has been "jerky" to your dad. I will take yours and his word. But, having worked in a bank that last sentence you posted could be interpreted as your dad being "jerky" to the bankers as well. Two different sides of the counter I guess and both could be interpreting things differently.

Previous poster is also right about safety, especially for the elderly. You would be surprised how many times elderly people fall for scams and want huge amounts of cash withdrawn to get their grandson out of jail, fix their roof, or pay off something. A good bank will look out for it's clientel.

When I say jerky I mean that the employee wants my dad to set up something with his large savings account which would basically make it impossible for him to take money out of it if he ever wanted to. My dad has told him several times that he likes knowing that if he wants it he can have it instead of it being tied up in some investment etc. The employee argues that he'd make so much money but my dad says yeah and I could lose so much money as well.
The employee even calls once in a while to try to get my dad to change his mind.
I am inclined to believe that he took it out of that account to say look you wanted to be able to get your money out whenever you wanted so here you go.
My dad is someone that doesn't get mad just gets even.
He's annoyed he had to go have it fixed but at least its fix.

But to give an example of my dad's mindset...
When he was young he went to purchase a car and said he wanted to pay xyz. The dealership said you can't even afford this car if we gave you that price.
My dad went to the dealership down the road and bought the same car for the price he wanted and then drove it to the dealership that turned him away and asked how they liked his new ride.
So like I said doesn't get mad gets even haha.

 

[Turn the Page]

I also worked for a bank, it was about 17 years ago now so things may have changed, but back then, the lead teller had to print a cash tracker report every so often. The bank kept track of how much cash came in and how much went out. They did NOT want us having too much cash laying around.

It was monitored so closely that sometimes we had trouble having enough cash on hand for me to be able to fill up the ATM sufficiently for a holiday weekend because we might run out of cash at the counter.

So no, it is not "utterly ridiculous" that wanting to withdraw $7500 in cash with no notice would have caused problems for the bank. It very well may have. It does seem unnecessarily complicated and convoluted to do it the way your Dad is doing it. I'm going to make a few assumptions here. He likely has different banks because he has more than the FDIC insured limit and didn't want to have too much in one bank. If that's the case, fine. But even if that is the reason why on earth would he not have a checking account at that bank even if just to write checks to pay his taxes directly rather than running it through different accounts. Banks are trained to look for money laundering and bank fraud and having large amounts of cash in and out like that is a red flag. Surely setting it up eletronically somehow would be better for everyone. But at the very least, he should give them a call a few days in advance so they can plan to have that much cash on hand.

 

[starry_solo]

Banks don't like to give out large amounts of cash.
I tried to withdraw $1000 once to deposit into another account and got a run around, are you sure you don't want a cashiers check, etc.

 

[Allison]

I mean it clearly sounds like you have your mind made up that this was malicious and just not a bank employee doing their job and also making a mistake.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

the employee wants my dad to set up something with his large savings account which would basically make it impossible for him to take money out of it if he ever wanted to.

It's not unusual for tellers (or any other job) to do suggestive sales (Would like fries with that order?) Now, the teller may not handle the manner in which he/she suggests it well, but it may not be because they are "jerky"

 

[Wesley815]

This employee has been jerky to my dad a couple other times when he wants to do certain things or not do certain things with his large amount of money in the one savings account which is why I think he took it out of that account.

Have you (calmly) addressed this with the branch manager?

Moving around large amounts of cash will always cause red flags, it's a fact of life.

 

[Turn the Page]

When I say jerky I mean that the employee wants my dad to set up something with his large savings account which would basically make it impossible for him to take money out of it if he ever wanted to. My dad has told him several times that he likes knowing that if he wants it he can have it instead of it being tied up in some investment etc. The employee argues that he'd make so much money but my dad says yeah and I could lose so much money as well.
The employee even calls once in a while to try to get my dad to change his mind.
I am inclined to believe that he took it out of that account to say look you wanted to be able to get your money out whenever you wanted so here you go.
My dad is someone that doesn't get mad just gets even.
He's annoyed he had to go have it fixed but at least its fix.

But to give an example of my dad's mindset...
When he was young he went to purchase a car and said he wanted to pay xyz. The dealership said you can't even afford this car if we gave you that price.
My dad went to the dealership down the road and bought the same car for the price he wanted and then drove it to the dealership that turned him away and asked how they liked his new ride.
So like I said doesn't get mad gets even haha.

Yeah......I'm starting to get a picture. He wants to do what he wants to do and nobody is going to tell him any different. Anti fraud and money laundering procedures can take a hike. He's going to do what he wants to do.

If he insists on doing it this way, convoluted and risky as it is, the very least he can do is give the bank some advanced notice so they can plan to have that kind of extra cash on hand.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

I mean it clearly sounds like you have your mind made up that this was malicious and just not a bank employee doing their job and also making a mistake.

I could have seen it being an honest mistake if he had not ripped up the withdraw slip.