{"id":19506,"date":"2014-12-20T07:30:50","date_gmt":"2014-12-20T12:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/canadianbudgetbinder.com\/?p=19506"},"modified":"2025-01-29T08:30:52","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T08:30:52","slug":"online-banking-errors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitalskyweb.co\/canadianbudgetbinder.com\/2014\/12\/20\/online-banking-errors\/","title":{"rendered":"We almost made this huge online banking error : The Saturday Weekend Review #102"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEVER RUSH YOUR FINANCES!<\/span><\/h2>\n

Online banking is a no-brainer for most people these days even though a percentage of people still opt to mail in bill payments or even go into the bank.<\/em><\/p>\n

What would you do if you wiped out your bank account because of your own error?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That’s right if you aren’t careful with your fingers you can easily do what Marla did below or like I almost did earlier this year. If you are a fan of online banking I suggest you take a moment to make sure you are protecting your bank account from costly errors.<\/p>\n

Online Banking is not for everyone<\/span><\/h2>\n

A couple of weeks back I was telling you about my mother-in-law who is one of those people who wants nothing to do with online-banking because she’s scared to have her personal information online. She is comfortable with putting a stamp on an envelope and mailing a cheque <\/a>to the bank so the bills get paid.<\/p>\n

Even though my wife and I tried to assure her that online banking to pay the bills and that her money would be protected up to $100,000 (assuming she’d never given her banking passwords info to any third-parties) she wasn’t budging.We were happy enough that she used a computer and was able to Skype with us and our son.<\/p>\n

After reading what Marla did below I wonder if at the time the seriousness of what happened really registered with me because I caught the error before I was put in the same position as she was.<\/p>\n

Online Banking Errors<\/span><\/h2>\n

I know what you are all thinking… What happened to Marla?<\/p>\n

I was reading an article online the other day about Marla Kay who overpaid her Rogers bill <\/a>while completing her online banking with Scotia Bank. Instead of paying $213.54<\/strong> Marla from Vaughn, Ontario indeed made a small but costly mistake.<\/p>\n

What was that mistake?<\/strong><\/p>\n

She didn’t review her numbers before paying the bill and wound up paying $21,354 instead of $213.54. We’ve all made typing errors before but this one was a big one!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why costly?<\/strong> Well, Rogers customer service at the time told her it could take 5 to 8 weeks to get her money back. Ouch! Sure, she will get her money back as it was an accident but if she needed the money she was SOL.<\/p>\n

Of course the money was needed as she paid the bill from her catering business account. The money was to pay the salaries of her employees plus business expenses and now she had nothing to pay them with.<\/p>\n

This would have created a ripple effect for those she needs to pay because their finances are in limbo because they don’t have the income they were relying on. Not everyone lives pay to pay but for those that do this could mean serious consequences if they don’t get their pay on time.<\/p>\n

With nowhere else to turn she contacted Consumer SOS who then contacted Rogers and she had an apology and her money back with-in hours which should have happened from the start.<\/p>\n

Online banking errors happen all the time and no one should have to wait to get their money back. Whether it’s thousands of dollars or hundreds of dollars that money means something to someone especially if they are depending on that cash.<\/p>\n

I’m happy that Rogers handled this appropriately and I hope that they put measures in place so that other customers don’t have to jump through hoops to get their money back as errors will continue to happen.<\/p>\n

Banks should be able to put protocol in place so that the computer recognizes a potential payment error (out of the ordinary payments). It would ideal to have the customer enter the amount twice or like President’s Choice Financial they have the customer review the payment before agreeing to process.<\/p>\n

Mistakes can happen to anyone<\/span><\/h2>\n

Just because you think you are a financial guru or that you would never make the same mistake Marla did, think again. It was a simple error and all it takes is that one split second that you hit enter and you can’t turn back the clock. Then you have to make phone calls wasting your time so you can get your money back. Yes, time is money!<\/p>\n

\"online-banking\"<\/p>\n

This is why when I read about Marla’s error it caught my attention because I almost made the same error paying Rogers with online banking.<\/p>\n

I was too tired and shouldn’t have done my banking at that time. I was happy to have caught the error before processing it but had I of not I would have emptied my chequing account of all the money sitting in it.<\/p>\n

I could have had my bank reverse the payment but if I didn’t notice it on time like Marla the bank at that point would have used the money to pay Rogers and it would be out of their hands.<\/p>\n

My advice…<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Be alert when you are paying bills with online banking or any other way to avoid errors<\/li>\n
  2. Make sure you are organized and review all of your documents to make sure they are correct.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Normally it takes about 3 business days for a full transaction on my PC Bank account to go through and pay my bills once I authorize it. This is why it’s important to pay your bills days before the due date to avoid interest or late charges.<\/p>\n

    I don’t normally keep all of our money in the chequing account thankfully. I only transfer money between our projected expenses account <\/a>and chequing account most months.<\/p>\n

    Although I was saved from making an online banking error I did once double pay my Reliance bill. I did not get that money back as they kept it for the next time they billed me which was fine with me. Others may have an issue with that and again it’s another reason for us to be organized and alert when completing online banking transactions.<\/p>\n

    I’m sure Marla isn’t the only one who has made this type of mistake or will she be the last.<\/p>\n

    Have you ever made online banking errors? What happened? How would the above scenario affected you if your bank account was wiped out?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Around our house and the blog<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Well this is the last weekend we will be home as we are heading to the relatives to celebrate the Christmas holidays and New Years. First off I’d like to thank my fans for another successful year here at Canadian Budget Binder.<\/p>\n

    Without your support this Canadian blog would not still be running today. Thank you to everyone who passes by each day to share, read, comment and contribute to the blog.<\/p>\n

    Shop, Shop, Shop..<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    I didn’t think we would get the shopping done in time but we did. Both of us had dentist appointments this week and it’s been jam-packed with things to do.<\/p>\n

    I did manage to wrap the gifts (the wife is rubbish at it and she agrees 100%) and listened to her whine about her ugly sweater that I donated two years ago. It’s amazing how many people want an ugly Christmas sweater this year. We were also in Goodwill last night and two teenagers were looking for an ugly Christmas sweater. It might just be the next big holiday business.<\/p>\n

    I don’t think I’ll be posting as much over the holidays but you’ll definitely see the Grocery Game Challenge posted on Tuesday. I’d like to take some time to enjoy family time. I remember the first year I blogged I don’t think I missed a day blogging all year.<\/p>\n

    I’ve come to realize that I don’t need to blog every single day even though I would if I had the time. It’s more the time with my second full-time job and of course the birth of our son that is holding me back.<\/p>\n

    On that note, I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Get your finances ready to go for 2015 Budget and the Grocery Game Challenge which will begin again in January. I hope to see you all join in Saving with Mr.CBB!!<\/p>\n

    Weekly Blog Posts<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Just in case you\u2019ve missed any of my blog posts this week I will link to them all below. If you have a question that you would like to ask Mr.CBB fill out the contact Mr.CBB form on the Home Page and send in your questions. Mr.CBB will look in his mailbag weekly and pick a question to answer on the blog.<\/p>\n