Yes. I had to close an old trust account of my mother’s at Citi Bank. They gave me a big run around about it. Finally I went in and told them that I was going to write a check for deposit in another bank and I wanted the know the exact amount that was left in her account at that moment so that I could close it. I got the balance and went directly to another bank and deposited a check for that amount in one of her other accounts. Lo and behold, the account is still open and shows a balance of 12 cents. This happened in July. Arrrrrgggggghhhh!
No, this isn’t a new thing. It’s a scam the banks and credit card companies have been playing for decades. Wells Fargo wouldn’t let me update the signature cards when the president of our club died. A couple of the tellers went to the funeral and the bank sent an arrangement because she was a long time customer and well known in the community. Still, they gave me the run around and wanted me to bring her in. What?!? Idiots! Funny thing, she’d already told me they wouldn’t let her update the signature cards a few years before when she first became an officer for the account so she just left it alone. WF admitted they never check signatures... real secure there, huh. They wanted me to sign over mortgage to my house and give them all my info - uh, NOOO! So, I went over to the teller and wrote out a check for the full amount. Yes, I signed my name and ...drum roll... they didn’t check to see if I was on the account. I got the money and told them what they could do with the account.
Citibank kept the interest running after we’d paid off their credit card. I’d call to find out what the amount would be a week later so they’d have my check within that time but for some reason, they never managed to get it posted in time. Imagine that! I let loose on them and they finally closed it with a snippy attitude that they were doing me a favor.
All of that is part of why I’d never have automatic payments. That’s just giving them more reason to mess things up