Posted on 01/18/2020 6:52:51 PM PST by Hojczyk
Emily James worked as a senior banker at a U.S. Bank call center in Portland when she received a call from a customer last month whose paycheck had been placed on hold,
James worked to help Marc Eugenio, a Clackamas resident, get access to the more than $1,000 that should have been in his account before telling him to go to his local bank the next day to get the money cleared by a manager.
The following day, on Christmas Eve, Eugenio visited his local branch but because of the holiday, no one was able to help him.
A devasted Eugenio called the 1-800 line from a gas station where, according to report, he was stranded with no money to fill his tank to get home.
He requested to speak to James, explaining what had happened before adding: I wish I had just 20 bucks to get home.
James, realizing how close the man was, decided to act.
Eugenio told the paper that the woman from the call center told him to wait for help, as she was just a few miles away.
I didnt want her to do it, he said. But Im not proud to the point that Im going to refuse help.
According to the report, James said she received permission from her supervisor to drive out.
I handed him $20 in cash, said Merry Christmas and went right back to work, she said.
But days later, she was informed by a service manager that her job had been terminated
Eugenio said he feels bad that James lost her job trying to help, but James seemed to not mind after seeing how the situation was handled.
I dont think I would want to continue to work for someone who would do that, she told The Oregonian.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
That's what the article says. It doesn't say he did have it. Only that he was "supposed to." Later he calls the bank when he can't get the money and asks for her specifically to say he needed $20. She leaves work to give it to him.
Even if on the up-and-up, that situation sounds to too close to someone working a scam. It's $20 today, but maybe in a month he calls (because now he has a presumed friend in the bank) asking for her to help out with just a little more. Or maybe next time it's someone else with a hard-luck story and things don't go so well for her when she tries to help out. We'll never know because the bank didn't want to find out.
I wish her the best, though. If an attorney helps her with a case, I'd love to know how it all turns out. I hope Eugenio got the payday money, too.
Your assessment of the situation sounds correct. JMHO - the bank didn’t have to fire her, but someone could’ve had a long talk with her.
When I was young, I worked in an office at a museum for a short time. One day, a lady walked in and said a lost kitten was in the parking lot. She asked for an empty box. I started to look around for a box, but a coworker jumped in and told her we couldn’t give her one. After the lady left, that employee had a little talk with me: “This is a museum filled with valuable artifacts. Were you going to give her a BOX?” lol
With that said, I do believe there was a lost kitten in the parking lot. I also came across a lost kitten in a parking lot around that time. I don’t know why people were abandoning kittens in parking lots, but it was actually pretty common. That didn’t matter, though, just like it doesn’t matter that the man in the story really was broke.
I probably shouldn’t be standing up for US Bank because I really have no dog in this fight. But have folks forgotten about scams like this?
It happens!
“But this situation is different!” I can hear folks say.
Maybe it was a genuine situation. But a kind soul left work to give a guy across the street $20 just because he says he needed it. And he knew who to talk to to get action.
A running car...but no working debit or credit card if he didn’t have cash? No other friends to help him out? It just doesn’t add up to me.
Just my opinion!
She did not sound like a teller, but knew his paycheck was being held. Both she and her supervisor must have both been on the same page, as he was a customer of their bank. He was not a STRANGER asking for help. And he was stuck, even though a bank had $1000 of his paycheck that would be released later. They appeared to have access to verify that info. I’m sure those are the facts a seasoned supervisor and a senior bank employee would take into account.
I would not use US bank if you paid me...unless it would make my loans 0% with no fees. I like my credit union and they know me by sight.
DK
The man needs to get a credit or debit card....or both...
The cash was probably available if he had a debit card...they work all year around...
Who ever fired her should be fired..she right to not want to work for them..
I worked construction for forty years...the best thing if the superintendent was an ass...you could find another job and quit...
A job. A car. But no credit, debit, nor ATM card. No friends, family, or coworkers he could call on to help him out. But he knows one person he can call who might...
God bless Ms. James for being the only soul who could!
Agreed. The bank shouldn’t have fired her, at least not based on this one incident.
Someone should’ve pulled her aside and had a long talk with her, though, and a talk with the supervisor who agreed to let her go out to meet with the customer.
She was lucky that this customer was telling the truth (?).
I worked at a bank for a year just out of college.
Bank employees are prime targets for kidnap and ransom.
I agree that she did do a stupid thing, but I’m not sure firing her was correct. I guess it depends on whether or not she had received training by the bank regarding the security risk...
With permission from her supervisor.
I approve of your response.
wouldn’t it be weird if she turned around and robbed the bank as paybAck?
You seem to believe that all bums have a thousand dollars in the bank they are trying to get money from.
Or you didn't read the article.
What position do you understand ?
Then say no the next time. Case handled.
"Ms. James, YOUR'RE FIRED!! What does your type of action gets us? A discontented, lazy rabble instead of a thrifty working class. All because a few starry-eyed dreamers like you fill their heads with a lot of impossible ideas."
That a bank can't have an employee who handles their money but can be manipulated over the phone to open their heart, leave work, and open their purse to a stranger (even though a bank customer in this situation). Next time, it might be the bank's money or the employee's well-being at stake.
I don't think she's a bad person, but I can see how the bank can view her as a vulnerability to them and possibly to herself. I can agree that firing is overly punitive if she was an otherwise promising employee. I can also understand her not wanting to work for US Bank for their draconian action if there were no opportunity for retraining or specialized training for such situations.
She sounds like she'll land on her feet after this and I hope she does.
“If I were her I would contact several attorneys to get their opinions about possible unlawful termination.”
Oregon is “at will”; ain’t gonna happen unless she can prove some sort of related discrimination.
I hate US Bank. Unethical, dishonest, they’re a Hollywood parody of a corporate villain.
She took a break to assist a friend with personal help.
the bank’s position is to protect their assets against all comers, particularly so-called customers. The bank exists to extort interest by withholding customer’s money until the very last second allowed by law.
The bank’s response demonstrates their absolute rejection of any interest whatsoever in the inconvenience they cause their customers, regardless its emotional, psychological, financial, and material impact. Banks are by any standard of human decency, utterly devoid of moral concern.
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