Apparently, a U.S. bank pocketed the money when deposit slip errors were in the bank’s favor.  From Bankrate.com:

It’s pretty much inevitable that checking account holders will occasionally make mistakes when filling out deposit slips, and that banks will sometimes misread deposit slips. Usually, those errors equal out in the end, and the bank maintains that was the case here. But the way Citizens handled those mistakes was unfair to consumers who weren’t on the receiving end of a bank error in their favor, the CFPB found.

When the discrepancy between the amount on a deposit slip and the amount deposited was large, Citizens had a policy of reviewing the deposit and correcting the amount. But when the discrepancy was smaller, below a limit of $50, or later, $25, the bank would do a limited review or no review at all, instead simply taking any additional customer funds and keeping them for itself.

So, the next time you find yourself hastily completing a deposit slip, take a deep breath and check your math again…

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Check out the NGPF Activity  on Conducting Online Banking

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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