Other than the fact that I don’t have enough money in it, I’ve got a great relationship with my bank. They seem to do business the right way and don’t send me too much junk in the mail. I’ve always thought of a bank in similar terms as a baseball umpire…. they do their job you forget that they’re there. In any case… I got a letter from them the other day that was such a waste I just had to share.
The title of the letter was “Important Information About Your Escrow Account”. This type of letter comes once a year and typically tells me about an overage or a shortage in my yearly escrow account. No big deal. So I’m reading through the details and get to the nitty gritty. I’ve got a shortage… of a whopping 4 cents.
And here’s where it gets good.
“Our analysis of your account has resulted in an Escrow Shortage of $0.04. Please be aware of the following two payment options that are available to you:
- Your $0.04 shortage will be collected as part of your monthly mortgage payment over the next 12 months, interest free.
- Pay the total shortage amount now by including the bottom portion of this page with a check or money order made payable to ….
So… they’ve done their analysis, determined that I owe them money, typed the letter, printed the letter, stuffed an envelope and paid the postage to mail it to me. All over 4 cents.
Needless to say, I’m not going to choose option 1 which would cost me more to write a check and mail it than the “entire” shortage. I’m very interested to see how they take a additional third of a penny out of my account every month for the next year. *shrugs*
