Consumers can get results by taking a problem up the chain
Q. Last summer, TD Banknorth instituted a special program for children: read 10 books and TD Banknorth would open an individual savings account in the child's name and fund it with $10.
Our three children thought this was a great idea. They did the requisite reading, and TD Banknorth opened a savings account for each of them in September. We heard nothing more from the bank until early March when we received three unsigned letters . . . that the three accounts had all been overdrawn and that we owed TD Banknorth $2 for each account to bring the balances back to zero.
Understand that from the time the account was opened, we neither took money out nor deposited any new funds. But every month, without sending us a bank statement about what was occurring, TD Banknorth was subtracting $2 in "maintenance" fees on each account. They continued doing this for six months and then notified us that we owed them money.
We called and explained the entire situation. The result? As a "courtesy," Banknorth would forget about the $2 that we owed them on each child's untouched savings account. But all the money awarded the children for reading last summer would stay confiscated.
A. That certainly didn't go as it was supposed to. How disappointing for the kids to see their rewards disappear.
When dealing with big institutions, errors and miscommunication can doom what was clearly a well-intentioned program. But all is not lost. There is good news in this bungle.
First, TD Banknorth apologized for what bank spokeswoman Jennifer Carlson said was a coding error that mistakenly had assessed account fees. Children's savings accounts are not subject to maintenance fees, she said.
"We regret the error, and we are very sorry for the inconvenience," Carlson said.
Carlson said the charges have been reversed and the money restored. She also said the bank sent gift cards to the kids so that they can buy more books.
Carlson said the mistake was an isolated one and that these accounts were the only miscoded ones the bank is aware of among the 15,000 in this program. She said the bank contributed $150,000 to children who completed the reading requirement.
This highlights that flying your complaint up the flagpole can get results. The bank's higher-level staff realized this was a problem easily fixed and did so.
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