"Not Going to Beg"

[Ghel]

One of the tellers brought a young man to my desk just now. He wanted to open a checking account. So I got his information and the check he wanted to deposit, then this conversation happened:

SC: Do you have a free checking account?
Me: No, nothing we can call free. However, with this type of account, as long as you keep $100 in it, you won't have any monthly fees.
SC: What about free checks?
Me: With this type of account, you get your first box of checks free, and then you have to pay for them after that.
SC: And debit cards?
Me: We pull credit for all new customers, and especially with debit cards, but as long as your credit is decent, that shouldn't be a problem.
SC: Well, never mind the debit card. It's almost not worth opening a checking account. You know you lose customers that way.
Me: Yes, I know we do. <We lose customers we don't want anyway.> Do you still want to open the account?
SC: Yes.
Me: Ok. I'll go ahead and pull your credit.
SC: What's that for?
Me: We pull credit for all new customers. As long as it's not horrible, there'll be no problem.
SC: It's 503.
Me: <That's horrible.> to SC: Then I'll have to check with my manager.
SC: *grabs check* Never mind! I'm not going to beg to give you my money! *storms out of bank*
Me: <I'm not going to beg you to open an account, either.>

[XCashier]

Guy with abominable credit score has an awful lot of gall telling you how to run your business and saying how you lose customers! Obviously he has no concept of how money works...

[taxguykarl]

More likely all too well....

[Ghel]

The teller who brought him over said the SC had gone through bankruptcy within the last year. And yet he's buying a house.

He either doesn't know how to handle money or he's using the system to his advantage. Either way, I don't think that's the sort of customer we want.

[roxtar]

worked as a credit education specialist (call center monkey) for a summer and saw lots of people with scores under 503. I have no clue how that even happens without you just being either stupid or shady.

e.g. my sister and her husband. spending all kinds of money they didn't have, being unemployed for 6-8 months at a time, then as soon as a paycheck comes in, they buy crap they don't need.

they owe me somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 grand, and I never expect to see it.

[Deserted]

they owe me somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 grand, and I never expect to see it.

Hey, roxtar, you got a few bucks I can "borrow"? Brings to mind Wimpy from the Popeye comics: "I shall gladly pay you back Tuesday for a hamburger today."

[Mystic]

worked as a credit education specialist (call center monkey) for a summer and saw lots of people with scores under 503. I have no clue how that even happens without you just being either stupid or shady.

It's called people buying things with no intention of ever paying the company for the goods so the company sends the account to collections and the people deal with the 7 or whatever years of bad credit till it's no longer on their report. But hey, as long as you don't want a house... or a car... or a credit card... or an apartment... or in some cases, a job... then FREE STUFF! Right?... Right??? *crickets*

Seriously though, I was terrible with money in my young adult life and my credit sucked for a long time because of it which prevented me from being able to do quite a bit. Now my credit is very good and I refuse to ever let that score drop again.

[Jester]

If I was a guy with bad credit and no bank account, and needed a bank account, I'm sorry, but I wouldn't be too proud to beg!

[sirwired]

Honestly, I'm surprised that banks bother with consumer checking at all, instead of foisting it off to Credit Unions. Interest rates are so low that they make little money off the deposits, and check processing and teller services are quite expensive. The only way to make money is by charging your worst customers fees for overdrafts if you can get them to sign up.

I understand the argument that retail banking customers might become auto loan, mortgage, or business customers in the future, but I can think of other ways to attract those customers besides selling them money-losing checking accounts.

[Ghel]

Banks also have to have a certain loan to deposit ratio, by regulation. Too high in either direction, and the bank could get in trouble for it. Of course, checking accounts aren't really the way to build deposits. That's more in CDs and savings accounts.

[Deserted]

Banks also have to have a certain loan to deposit ratio, by regulation. Too high in either direction, and the bank could get in trouble for it.

I'm wondering how they could get in trouble for too much deposits. Is that implying that they're not "spreading the wealth", so to speak?

[mhkohne]

I'm wondering how they could get in trouble for too much deposits. Is that implying that they're not "spreading the wealth", so to speak?

Too much deposits means you are paying out interest on money that's sitting in a vault, which means you have a long-term cash flow problem.

[Ghel]

Yep. And not making money is a red flag for examiners. They'll worry that the bank will start making bad loans just to make money.

[Sapphire Silk]

worked as a credit education specialist (call center monkey) for a summer and saw lots of people with scores under 503. I have no clue how that even happens without you just being either stupid or shady.

Two ways: Medical debt and/or divorce.

That's how it happened to me: I ended up in debt paying off my ex-husband's car loan, insurance (state pool), and first months rent+security deposit with money in an over draft protection line of credit I had (because when I got it, I had excellent credit).

Granted, my credit problems were my own fault; I could have cut the ex loose and let him deal with his own bills. But at the time it seemed both worth it and manageable.

Until I had a series of illnesses and no insurance. I got swamped with medical debt with no way to repay it. Cue plummet of credit score. I was stuck in the lower 500's for six or seven years until I finally managed to start paying it off and pulling myself upwards and out of it.

The difference between me and the SC was I understood why the banks treated me the way they did.

[aqutalion]

Two ways: Medical debt and/or divorce.

That's how it happened to me: I ended up in debt paying off my ex-husband's car loan, insurance (state pool), and first months rent+security deposit with money in an over draft protection line of credit I had (because when I got it, I had excellent credit).

Granted, my credit problems were my own fault; I could have cut the ex loose and let him deal with his own bills. But at the time it seemed both worth it and manageable.

Until I had a series of illnesses and no insurance. I got swamped with medical debt with no way to repay it. Cue plummet of credit score. I was stuck in the lower 500's for six or seven years until I finally managed to start paying it off and pulling myself upwards and out of it.

The difference between me and the SC was I understood why the banks treated me the way they did.

Also layoffs. Mine was in the upper 500's after two year-long stretches of unemployment, with not enough income in between to really catch up. It's gotten better, but I'd probably still have to beg to get credit anywhere.