We almost made this huge online banking error : The Saturday Weekend Review #102
NEVER RUSH YOUR FINANCES!
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.
What would you do if you wiped out your bank account because of your own error?
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.
Online Banking is not for everyone
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 to the bank so the bills get paid.
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.
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.
Online Banking Errors
I know what you are all thinking… What happened to Marla?
I was reading an article online the other day about Marla Kay who overpaid her Rogers bill while completing her online banking with Scotia Bank. Instead of paying $213.54 Marla from Vaughn, Ontario indeed made a small but costly mistake.
What was that mistake?
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!
Why costly? 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mistakes can happen to anyone
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!
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.
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.
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.
My advice…
- Be alert when you are paying bills with online banking or any other way to avoid errors
- Make sure you are organized and review all of your documents to make sure they are correct.
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.
I don’t normally keep all of our money in the chequing account thankfully. I only transfer money between our projected expenses account and chequing account most months.
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.
I’m sure Marla isn’t the only one who has made this type of mistake or will she be the last.
Have you ever made online banking errors? What happened? How would the above scenario affected you if your bank account was wiped out?
Around our house and the blog
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.
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.
Shop, Shop, Shop...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!!
Weekly Blog Posts
Just in case you’ve 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.
- The time I overpaid for a house cleaning service
- Nielsen Homescan Shop, Scan and get Rewarded
- 15 Frugal City-Living Tps to Save Money in your Budget
- 5 minute Hazelnut Chocolate Fudge
- Does your neighbours home improvement really affect your property value?
Popular Blog Posts This Week
I thought it would be fun to share the Top 5 pages and posts each week for those of you that are new reading Canadian Budget Binder. These are in no particular order but were among the most viewed apart from the posts of the week.
- Scanning Code of Practice in Canada: Did you know?
- How much should my grocery budget be?
- Free Money-Saving Tools (Free Downloads)
- How to make money fast without going crazy
- Easy Chicken Curry in a Hurry
Fan deals and inspirations
Submit your Brag or Inspiration If you have a brag that you want me to share email me at canadianbudgetbinder (@) [yahoo] [.ca] or fill out my contact form by Friday each week to have your brag considered for the Saturday post.
Today Canadian Budget Binder fan Samantha wanted to share the deals she found at Target which saved money from being spent from the budget.
Hey Mr.CBB and Fans!
So here is the breakdown for my recent Target shop. I only have my one receipt because I buy things separate for my home daycare. I threw out the receipt for things that I can’t claim but I’ll try to remember the prices as best I can…
For sure the prices are as follows…
Slap bracelets…$1
3x 8pk markers….$1 each
Sticky spiders…$1
2x gift bags…. 17 cents each
34x gift bags….29 cents each
11x gift bags…..30 cents each
6x gift bags…..59 cents each
3x tissue paper….29 cents each
2x wrapping paper….89 cents each
Halloween book…$1
Total $29.03 (the gift bags alone averaged $2 each (some more, some less) so originally would have been around $106!!
My other stuff was….
Owl lantern….$16.50 if I remember right
Corn syrup…$2.69 if I remember right
2x pots…59 cents each for sure
Fan….$2.40 for sure
Total $22.77 plus tax...was around $25 and then I had a $10 gift card so out-of-pocket I paid $15. So the $15 plus the $29.03, I paid out-of-pocket approx $45
Making A Difference
Note: If you are a personal finance blogger (anywhere around the world) and would like your blog to be MAD featured simply drop me an email and I’ll explain the process to you. This is my way of giving back to the personal finance community through networking and sharing knowledge with my fans.
Hi everyone! I’m Zach, the Froogal Stoodent, and I’m currently a graduate student in Ohio.
Since my career goal is to be a professor, I’m obviously invested in teaching others: this is the whole purpose of my blog, The Froogal Stoodent.
I think that an important part of ensuring financial stability and independence is to develop the knowledge and the discipline to make smart choices for your future. To that end, my blog emphasizes adopting a productive mindset.
Like many people, I’m interested in how to be financially successful, and I share advice and tips as I learn. If one of my posts can help get someone on the path to financial solvency, then my goal for this blog has been achieved. If several of my posts help many people get on that path, then I’m even happier!
My blog is intended to focus on students–from high school through graduate school–to inform young people about the mindset they’ll need to get a successful financial start! What I call the Millionaire Mindset does not entail being cheap or having to go without nice stuff: it means you’re buying your own freedom!
Thanks for your time, and I hope you enjoy my blog! Happy saving!
Top recipe
If you don’t already know I have a second Facebook page called The Free Recipe Depot where I share recipes from other Food Bloggers from around the world.
From now until the end of the year I will be sharing holiday recipes with all of you!! This week I couldn’t resist this Coconut Cream Pie from Bunny’s Warm Oven. Mary certainly knows how to make me drool!
Editor’s Pick
Every week I will pick a blog post of the week from around the web that I found interesting and want to share with you and an Editor’s top blog post pick.
Editor’s blog post pick of the week goes to Big Cajun Man at Canadian Personal Finance Blog. He wrote a post titled “Sure Fire Investing Scheme” and it wasn’t what I expected, it was better. I know there is no miracle concoction when it comes to investing as it’s all risk based.
The type of investing he talks about makes sense and many of us could take note of the points he brings up because sometimes we put them on the back-burner to worry about other things in life.
Google search terms
Every week I get thousands of people visit Canadian Budget Binder because they did a search online and found my blog. Keep in mind any spelling errors below are because I share with you the exact way they typed their search engine query to land on my blog.
- Easy gingerbread cookies without “frigerating”– That’s new.. frigerating! Refrigerating! Ah…
- Is Zweet worth it?-Depends if free money is worth it to you.
- Wife spends all of our money and is jeopardizing our marriage– That seems to be a common search here at CBB but doesn’t surprise me. It goes both ways though.
- Foodland Turkey Bucks How it works?– I don’t know but I’m betting CBB fan Christine knows. 🙂
- Will OSAP know if you are hiding one of your jobs?– Why even bother, really? Pay off your debts!
Thanks for dropping by and I’ll catch you next week for the last update for 2014~
-Mr.CBB
Are You New To Canadian Budget Binder?
- Follow Me on Social Media by clicking on the social media links below.
- Check out my new Free Recipe Index
- NEW! My Ultimate Grocery Shopping Guide Canada!
- If you like FREE then click this link for my FREE Excel Budget Spreadsheet and all my Free Money Saving Lists!
Related articles
- The Saturday Weekend Review #97: Are photos with Santa a budget expense worth paying for?
- The Saturday Weekend Review #98: Million Dollar Baby Should Travel Insurance Be Covered?
- The Saturday Weekend Review #99: Rent-to-own can be an easy debt trap
- The Saturday Weekend Review #100: Postage stamps can hit the budget hard at Christmas
- The Saturday Weekend Review #101: Does your neighbours home improvement really affect your property value?
Photo Credit: Freedigitalphotos.net/sixninepixels
August 14/16 I paid a Bell Expressvu bill of $85.67 thru my CIBC on-line account but wound up paying $8567.00 ((tired also as we had a roof leak 2 days before). I forgot to press the decimal period and what’s worse I did not notice the error when asked to confirm payment and also did not see the error on my print copy. On Aug 24 only when wanting to pay another bill I saw my gaff. Immediately called Bell 800 # and was told by someone in India to have my bank reverse the payment. Went to my bank and was told it would take about 48 hours to do this but as of today Aug 27 I’m still waiting. Funny it takes a computer a second to deduct your money but days to fix the matter-I know -it was my fault. Somebodies idea of putting in the amount twice seems like a good idea as in when you put in a password it has to be re-entered a second time .
I also like the idea of the brainless computer being set up to notice/alert you that an abnormal amount of such proportion was entered compared to the usual payment amounts per bill
Regards
I made this same mistake once. I accidentily paid $1,000 to a company I no longer did business with. I spent hours and hours dealing with customer no service before finally getting my money back. A month or two later, another check showed up, they had refunded my money twice. I decided it wasn’t my money and I intended to give it back just as soon as they called and asked for it, and waited several hours on hold just as I had done. Ten years later I am still waiting for them to ask for it.
Ugly sweaters are popular now! Even my girl asked her brother for one for xmas!! Lol, she got an “old lady” obe not a tacky one she said!! Last year and this year there have been little pop ups in the mall selling ugly xmas sweaters for $40-$80 each!! And people were buying them! To each their own I guess. 😉
Hubby is usually the one here to pay bills online. I’ve done it, using his bank card and passwords when he was in the hospital and unable to do it himself. I used his big computer as well as it does have the bank on his setup. The only time I think we overpaid was a couple of years ago. Our Union Gas is on the budget plan and we overpaid by a good chunk. This was when hubby was first diagnosed and there wasn’t much coming in. They true up the account in Sept and give you the new rate for the next 11 months. The y offered to send us a cheque for that overpayment but I decided to let it ride. Had I got the money back I would have still had to pay Union Gas, as it was I didn’t see a full bill until December!! We finally had soem money coming in by then but that overage paid Octobers bill and all but $7.95 worth on Novembers bill. It worked out OK for us there.
Yes I do know all about the Foodland turkey bucks and my turkey is thawing in the fridge right now!!! It makes for a sweet deal when buying the turkey!!!
You do what you need to do with life, the little one, work, and the blog……We will be here for you!! Hugs for that little man of yours!!! Hope you have a lovely visit with family, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!!!!!
I’ve definitely paid some of my bills that are auto-paid, so in effect double paying the bills.
I’m actually pretty shocked that Rogers wasn’t willing to refund the money quickly until contacted by a third party.
There have been a few times where a bill was double paid but it didn’t hurt the budget because it happened to be summer and some of the bills are quite low. We do double up payments on our bills before summer so we have extra spending/mad money while my kids come to visit.
You have done so much blogging that taking some time away and just resharing some great older posts is awesome! There are lita of fans that haven’t read every post and as the new year comes people relook at the budget and all your posts will be able to help them!! I hope you and the family have a great family visit and a break from work and the busy routine! We wish you all the best for the new year and good luck on your new job, dont forget to sleep while working two full time jobs!!! Also wish you all a merry christmas and there will be so many photo opts, lol, we have over six thousand pics on our computer so far and she isnt one yet!(they arent all perfect quality but phone cameras can take some amazing pics).
I don’t know if it was really so much an on-line banking error, but I did once double pay my utility bills. I was working ridiculously long hours at the time and thought it had been over a month since I paid bills, so I sat down and paid them all again.