Consumer issues: June 2007 Archives

An update from the Associated Press:

A computer glitch Friday at regional bank M&T Bank Corp. that delayed funds posted to customers’ accounts at the close of business Thursday has been fixed.

M&T Bank spokesman Mike Zabel said any transactions posted overnight Thursday had been processed as of 5:30 p.m. EDT Friday.

A problem in the bank’s automated system that updates customer accounts caused the glitch Thursday night, affecting all 650 branches in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. It was the first time a computer system breakdown has affected the bank’s customer accounts.

The biggest problem was for customers who had been counting on cash withdrawals immediately after regularly scheduled direct deposits of paychecks to their accounts Thursday, said Zabel.

The bank notified customers of the glitch through their Web site, phone banking service and at local branches. Area managers were sent to local branches to help customers access funds.

“People are generally very understanding when you make a mistake or when you have a problem,” said Zabel. “Everybody knows what it means to have a computer glitch. It’s happened to everybody.”

Shares of M&T Bank rose $2.28, or 2.1 percent, to close at $109.57 Friday.

Last weekend, my wife and I went camping. It was my first time sleeping outdoors, so I didn't know what to expect.

When we arrived at the campground, I was told by the young clerk at the general store that I would need to buy wood if I wanted to make a camp fire. Buy wood? I'm surrounded by it.

I decided to play by the rules and said I would take one $6 bundle of split logs. I handed her my credit card and was told that the store had a minimum charge of $10 for credit cards. Minimum charge? In today's world, where a great deal of the currency is plastic, to demand that someone buy more things before a crddit card can be swiped is just wrong.

Feeling a bit frustrated, I grabed a soda and a couple bags of ice to put me over the $10 finish line. I still feel cheated, even though I did enjoy the soda.