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Finances & Money

The stupid thing I did today

March 12, 2007
By Clever Dude
- Leave a Comment

OopsThere’s a reason we Personal Finance sites have disclaimers. We make mistakes too.

Yesterday, I transferred a large sum of money from my recently opened HSBC Direct account to my Bank of America account in order to then take advantage of Citibank’s promotion. Citibank is offering $100 for opening an online savings (plus checking) account with a minimum of $5,000.

This morning when I logged into my laptop, Gmail Notifier popped up to say I had an email from BOA with a warning that I was overdrawn. My first thought is that someone hacked into my account. Then immediately after I realized that I must have done something really stupid. I did.

When I set up the Bank-to-Bank transfer on HSBC’s website, I accidentally set it to transfer FROM BANK OF AMERICA TO HSBC!

I immediately set up a transfer with HSBC THE CORRECT WAY, but it may take a day or two for the funds to move back into my account. I also canceled any pending online bill-pay transactions. I called HSBC and BOA, but neither could stop the transaction.

Right now, there’s only a hold for that big amount, but everything will commit overnight. I’ll get charged $35 for each overdraft, but I only have 5 transactions pending, counting the big transfer. If the transfer is the last thing to post, then I’ll only get hit for $35…or it could be the first and I get hit for $175. We’ll find out tomorrow.

I did look into cash advances from my BOA credit cards, which would be an immediate deposit and cover my butt, but that would cost me 4% of the transfer, with no cap, plus charge at 25% interest. Also, a balance transfer wouldn’t post in the time that I need. And I don’t have enough in my BOA Savings to cover the overdraft if I linked the accounts, since I moved my funds from BOA to higher yield accounts (I was getting 0.50% APR from BOA).

So, read my advice, comment on my advice, and maybe even use my advice. But, as I said in my About page and on my Questions About Clever Dude article, follow my advice “at your own peril”.

The moral of this story is to PAY ATTENTION! At least when dealing with thousands of dollars!

Boy, I feel stupid. And yes, I already informed Clever Dudette.

Update: See how we fixed the problem and even got some overdrafts reversed!

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Comments

  1. Amy says

    March 12, 2007 at 1:52 pm

    That really sucks! I am sorry that happened to you. I hope it helps to know that there are many PF bloggers out there who have mistakes like that. Maybe that is how we become experts? 🙂 Hang in there and here’s hoping the overdraft charges aren’t too many…

    Reply
  2. Blain Reinkensmeyer says

    March 12, 2007 at 11:01 pm

    Ya total bad beat man, that sucks majorly! One of those live and learn situations. Hope it turns out for the best :p

    Reply
  3. Stephanie says

    March 14, 2007 at 2:02 am

    I’ve done stuff like that before – never with numbers that big, but I’ve never had numbers that big to play with! Usually acts like that lead to me banging my head on the edge of the desk, chanting “double-check, double-check, DOUBLE-CHECK before you hit submit!”

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Bank of America Overdraft Resolution at Clever Dude says:
    March 15, 2007 at 11:34 am

    […] the beginning of this week, I told you that I did a stupid thing. I initiated a bank to bank transfer in the wrong direction! I moved $5,500 FROM Bank of America TO […]

    Reply
  2. Clever Dude’s Week in Review Mar 11-17, 2007 at Clever Dude says:
    March 17, 2007 at 12:47 pm

    […] started out the week by doing something stupid. I didn’t resolve the problem until later in the […]

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  3. Don't Mess With Taxes says:
    March 20, 2007 at 1:59 pm

    Trading tales at the Carnival of Money Stories…

    The 7th Carnival of Money Stories is open, boasting a wide range of personal financial tales at this week’s host, Wisebread. My long-time infatuation with snail mail is included, but several others also caught my eye. There’s Clever Dude’s admission…

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  4. Money Walks - Personal Finance » Carnivals around the corner says:
    March 27, 2007 at 4:10 am

    […] Clever dude shares his story on The stupid thing I did today. […]

    Reply
  5. Carnival Of Money Stories #7 at Wise Bread at Clever Dude Personal Finance & Money says:
    January 20, 2008 at 1:53 pm

    […] Because of my stupidity last week, I was able to submit a story to the Carnival of Money Stories hosted at Wise Bread. […]

    Reply

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