If this didn't happen to me, I'm not sure I would have believed it.

Earlier this month, while paying bills, I accidentally put my rent check ($885) into my student loan envelope and my student loan check ($85) in my rent envelope and mailed them off with the rest of my bills.  Fast forward 3 days.  I receive a note on my door informing me of my mistake and that my rent is now late and that I now owe a $40 late fee on top of my rent and I can only pay my rent for this month with a cashiers check.  After I found the top of my head and calmed myself down I went to  the club house gym with my son to work out.  The manager had stayed late and saw me in the gym and told me to ignore the note about the late fee and cashiers check, since it was an honest mistake and they should have caught it earlier.  (I felt better, not any smarter, but better.)

While this was going on my wife was working nights in the ER.  One morning I get up and find that I have an email from her.  The email states that she looked at our bank account we pay bills with and that it is overdraw.  I can not for the life of my figure out why this is so.  Upon inspection of said account I quickly figured out why.  The check that I had made out for the rent but mailed to my student loan company had been drafted from my account after I replaced the check to the rent company.  Are you with me so far?  Yes that is correct.  The student loan company cashed the check that was not made out to them or for the correct payment amount. ($885 vs. $85)  Essentially a double dip in my account for rent this month.

So here we go.  First I called the student loan company.  After being on the phone for 15 minutes with an automated system and having to push one for English, I finally got to talk to a real person.  Just not the person I needed to talk to.  After being shuffled down though the chain of command, I finally reached my destination.  This woman, I'll call her that instead of what I'd like to call her, asks me 45 different questions about who I am and where I live so as to verify it is really me on the phone.  After which she asks "How my a assist you today?"  So I go through the entire story with her and explain that they have cashed a check that was not made out to them and was not for the correct payment amount and that I am now over drawn at the bank.  She informs me that it will take no less than 45 to 60 working days to have funds sent back to my account.  As she is looking at my account and I am making my protest through gritted teeth at this point she stops me in mid plea and informs me that the funds have in fact all ready been electronically transferred to my account and that there is nothing to be done.  Can't have my money back.  I state again that they cashed a check made out to another party and that I am now over drawn on the account because of this.  She simply stated that I would have to take that up with my bank and that she could not help me further in this matter but on the bright side I didn't have to make another payment on my student loan until July 2011 and that I should have a great day. (MELT DOWN!)

Next phone is to my bank.  I go through the entire story with my banker.  She can't believe they would not help me in any way so she tells me to go to my local branch at my earliest convenience and she will have paper work waiting for my signature.  Not to worry they would place funds in my account to cover the over draft until we had this all cleared up.  (Feeling some what better at this point, not any smarter but better.)

In between the bank phone call and going to sign the paper work at my local bank branch I had some major dental work done.  So I lost most of a day of productivity on this little endeavour.

A couple of days later I check my account and the check has been reversed and as instructed by my bank I sent a new check, with the correct name and amount filled in, to the student loan company. (Problem solved)

Now for the kick to the pills.  Friday afternoon rolls around and I receive a call from my bank.  Someone is trying to use my debt card at the WAL-MART in Brownsville, TX to the tune of $250.  I say that it is not me and answer some security questions about my account.  The guy at the bank shuts down the purchase and promptly cancels my debit card.  (Damn it!  What else can go wrong!)

Next phone call is to my banker to order a new debit card.  She was actually still at work on a Friday just before 5 pm.  While she is getting my new ordered she is looking at my account and she tells me that my account is overdrawn and would I like her to transfer some funds for me.  (Face and ass getting red)  I tell her that everything was just the way it should have been when I last checked the account.  She says "Well it appears that your rent check has cleared and you are now overdrawn by $75."  (Starting to think about going to the liquor store at this point)  So I log onto my account and look at the check that has cleared. 

Have you guessed what has happened yet?  No.  Well here it comes.  After my bank had the funds reversed back to my account from the check that the student loan company cashed that was not made out to them, they went ahead and sent it through manually and cashed the check a second time!  Hit my account twice with the same check that was not made out to them and was not for the correct payment amount and that I had called and made inquiry into not 3 days before!  Can you believe it?  Can you believe it?  I still can't and it happened to me and is still happening as I am typing this out.  Can't make anything happen until Monday when the bank reopens.  (Nerves shot!  Eyes, face and ass all red!) 

TO BE CONTINUED!