So I use electronic bill pay for many of my, well, bill paying activities. I just enter the information into Quicken, connect to Wells Fargo and off it goes.
One of The Wife’s student loans is $45/month and there is, oh, about $550 left in principal. Today I get a letter from Wells Fargo about an overdraw situation. This includes one very suspect check written for $4500.
I run to my PC and look up my online payments. Sure enough, I had typed $45.00 without the ’.’ Not good. So I call Wells Fargo. My feeling is that online bill pay is drawn from the account as the check is cut, rather than when the check is cashed. I mention to the customer service representative that I don’t really think the check has been cashed. Why would they have cashed it? She assures me that “Yes, sir, it has definitely been cashed.”
So maybe the loan collection agency needs some sort of flag that notifies a user when an account holder overpays their principle nine fold? I believe so. Wells Fargo assured me that if I get the collection agency to reimburse the money to my account they will forgive all overdraw charges, which are currently at $165. I somehow doubt this fiasco will end anytime soon, though.
Incidentally, as I was gathering the customer service rep’s personal information, I found out she was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Yep, she is currently attending Augustana College, my alma mater.