back to article Bank of America demands thumbprint from armless bloke

A Florida man is a bit hacked off with the Bank of America after it refused to cash a cheque made out to his missus unless he provided a thumbprint - a slight impediment to the transaction, because he has no arms. Steve Valdez, 54, explained to the Today show yesterday that he went to his wife's branch, but "teller and branch …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    BOA SOP

    Idiots... The whole lot could screw up a one car parade.

  2. Charles Smith
    Coat

    He is lucky not to be in the UK

    With NuLabour's National Id Card Scheme he'd be a "Non-person".

  3. Dave Harris

    Maybe I'm missing something*

    but why is he trying cash a cheque, sorry, check, made out to his wife, and how did his own bank accept said check?

    *insert your own taste-free gag

  4. John Hughes
    Unhappy

    See, this is why you need an ID card

    Oh, hang on a minute...

  5. LuMan
    FAIL

    Commerce.

    So he can open his own account and pay the check (sic) in. So, basically, the bank get another customer. Brilliant. Nothing to do with policies or prejudisms against people with no arms, as such. Just another (and somewhat insensitive) way of getting more custom.

    The Bank Of America is showing its true colors (sic) there - predominantly green.

    I suggest Mrs Valdez move her bank account to somewhere more accommodating.

  6. skeptical i
    Thumb Down

    corporate tick-list mentality

    It seems that more and more local/ branch/ regional managers are becoming nothing more than glorified cashiers, since they are not being allowed to exercise any local judgement. I'll charitably assume that the bank manager her-/him- self would personally not have had a problem with the two forms of ID, but had to follow Procedure lest s/he get a shitload from higher up the food chain. Also, remember that BofA (and chain banks in general, I'll wager) takes great glee in charging fees every time one turns around, presumably to prop up an otherwise sagging bottom line as customers flee to credit unions, local banks, and other institutions that treat customers like people and not like inventory.

  7. Graham Marsden
    FAIL

    Umm...

    ... unless you're a *very* dedicated criminal, not having arms is pretty much of an identifier, isn't it...?

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Special needs or special wants?

    He would rather play on others' sympathies toward his handicap to cash a check, which isn't in his name, than face a two-day hold at his own bank? The policy at Bank Of America may seem a bit on the ridiculous side concerning the requirement of a thumb-print, but it seems Valdez needs to realize that the world does not revolve around him.

  9. Tel
    Coat

    Dear me...

    I'm sure it was just an armless misunderstanding...

    (Sorry!)

  10. Dave Bell

    All our associates are belong to us.

    People make mistakes.

    But calling the "Associates" makes them sound like people the bank doesn't have much control over.

    I'm an "associate" of an American web site. I buy stuff from them, occasionally.

    Want to trust me with your money?

  11. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Bank of America - not MY America, thank you

    Typical Bank of America crap. They are without a doubt the most evil, foulest bank in the known universe. BofA isn't about banking or customer service, never has been - it is all about mergers and acquisitions - customers are a nuisance to them. Should you need a US bank, talk to any one of several hundred smaller regional banks where you are a person, not just a number.

  12. gollux
    Grenade

    Bank of A...

    Insert humorous A word. Yep, they're this stupid. Why I used to bank there.

    My savings account slowly kept getting lower and lower interest, so I pulled it out to go with the competition. As I was getting the draft check, the teller asked my why I was leaving. I replied that the service was kind of lax and the interest was poor. She told me that they could up the interest rate, and that I'd only had to ask for a better account. My reply was that it was a little too late as I'd already opened the other account. I checked with other customers and found that BOA basically creates new account levels every six months and demotes the previous savings account offering, so you have to ask at six month intervals for the new account offering, or you don't get the current rates being offered by the other banks.

    My mom is still with them, and over the years, they've bolloxed up some rather simple, but very important things like getting SSI numbers correct, names on the accounts correct, things that could be rather devastating and needing a lot of proof to reverse any account fiascos.

    Just remember, "They're too big to fail" so I guess the incompetence is justified.

  13. Wun Hung Lo
    Coat

    Evil bank

    I'm sure the poor bloke was quite 'armless.

    Stop pushing, I'm going...

  14. Marvin O'Gravel Balloon Face
    Thumb Down

    see below

    I'm glad we have an icon for this kind of story...

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Policy

    Only bank bosses can get a handout without a leg to stand on.

  16. Dick Emery
    WTF?

    In b4

    'armless jokes.

  17. Andus McCoatover
    Welcome

    Similar...

    ..thing happened to me when I tried to cash Travellers Cheques at Bank of America, McArthur Blvd, Irving, TX.

    "Two forms of ID, please"

    ID - Sure, here's my passport (OK for entry into US) and my Finnish driving licence.

    "Nope, your driving licence is foreign, we can't accept it" Er, so is my passport...(Sound of deaf ears flapping in the breeze)

    OK, so why would I wanna cash Euro travellers cheques if I was a 'merkan?

    Flapping sound again.

    OK, how about my work identity tag? "Yep, that's fine" (Freshly printed in Finland, recently the ink dried by that same muppet's ears flapping...)

    Godalfuc*kingmighty.

    I for one welcome my new cretinous overlords.

  18. A_Crane
    Coat

    re. The last paragraph

    Pretty handy...

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    BofA's Finger Print Collection

    Bank of America's policy to collect biometric data is questionable at best. A few years back it was either left or right index finger, now it seems to be a thumb print. I understand their motive to cut down on fraudulent check cashing, but in my opinion it is not appropriate for them to get to a customer's finger print for free (it is valuable information that should cost them quite something), and they probably don't know how to handle this sensitive data with the required care (at least a few years back their personal was not able to provide information about what happens with their finger print collection and who has when access to it, etc.).

  20. Scott 26
    Coat

    Hopefully, I'm not repeating 1000s of other posts

    "Don't mind 'im - he's 'armless"

  21. Murray Pearson 1

    Well, it's even, actually.....

    He's short two arms; the teller and manager are short two brains.

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    (Untitled)

    Ah, as the recession bites, the blame culture flourishes, and the number of jobsworths increase trying to cover themselves.

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Oh come on!

    Surely there's no 'arm in it?

    I'll get my coat, its the one without the sleeves that wasn't on the hanger ta.

  24. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    This raises so many quesitons...

    How did he enter the bank with no hands?

    How did he hand over a cheque?

    How does he produce photo ID?

    Hell, how do you even get married?

    AND WHAT KIND OF A WIFE SENDS A MAN WITH NO ARMS OFF TO RUN ERRANDS? THAT'S PRETTY COLD.

  25. Kotonoha
    Go

    Wow

    Wow, a whine that was even remotely justified for once... I think.

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    "a bit hacked off"

    That's just mocking the afflicted.

  27. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    Shame on u BoA

    BoA statement reads a bit like "We don't give a s*it about the armless geyser but we do give a very strong s*it about Americans with Disabilities Act"

  28. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    The wonders of the corporate world

    A classic piece of "cover your ass".

    We all have to play the CYA game, and the larger the corp. you work for the more it has to be played.

    I'd bet that there is some rule on BoA's books along the lines that any cheques cashed that turn out to be fraudulent have to have the costs paid by the teller who cashed the cheque. The teller is probably the most poorly paid employee who would be involved in the transaction too. If the teller sticks to the letter of the rules then they don't have anything to worry about, so that is what happened.

    And of course, if you are disenchanted with your job - which I would be if I worked in a bank where the fat cats are getting huge bonuses whilst the rest of the economy appears to be going down the pan - then you will stick to the rules and hide behind an equivalent of "computer says no", without a care in the world as to the reputation of the business. And the reputation is worth a lot. One helluva lot. But it is an abstract concept and difficult to quantify, so the bean counters who don't understand that there are people in the world smarter than them just ignore reputation because there isn't a number for it to go into their beloved spreadsheets. And it's spreadsheets that drive corporate decision making.

    Hell, I've been in a job where I got burnt out. When it happened that I had to enforce rules or policies or procedures that sucked, when the user complained I would simply refer them straight to the policy writer. Yeah, management types don't like that - they want the people in the trenches to take the flack. And this mentality is widespread - this is why so many companies have call centres that focus on apologising and keeping customers sweet with BS rather than actually helping the customer get a better deal than the competition are offering.

  29. Norfolk Enchants Paris

    An outrage but...

    I'm wondering how he presented two forms of ID with no arms. He may have used his feet but I'm going with a prehensile tongue.

  30. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Verification?

    How would the bank have verified his identity even if he had given his thumbprint. Do they do some kind of check with the FBI (or somesuck body). If he hadn't an account there he might not have ever visited so it would be unlikely that the bank had his prints already to check against.

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    As a banker...

    I've completely read the wrong part of the story here...

    A man, took a cheque made out to HIS WIFE, to a bank where he had no account and asked to get it cashed.

    Is it just me or is that the most ridiculous part of this story??

    Move to America gents, steal your missus's money

  32. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    May I be the (probably) 52nd to say

    that they should have cashed his cheque (check),

    After all, he looked armless enough...

    Was that bad taste? Was it? It was? Soz.

  33. Goat Jam
    Joke

    A Mighty Big Thumb

    He should have just given them a stump print.

  34. b166er

    A bit hacked off indeed ;p

    and rightly so.

  35. Charles Manning
    Thumb Up

    All I can say is

    nuff said

  36. JC 2
    Coat

    Me too!

    I'd have given them the finger too.

    (I'll get my coat)

  37. Bad Beaver
    FAIL

    WTF?

    Why oh why under the good burnin' ball o'fusion would one have to produce a freakin' thumbprint to cash a check? What is *wrong* with these 'Mericans? And where is the creativity? If such inane insanity is demanded by company policy (fuck it), have him press whatever he has onto the paper. Like a toe, toes have prints. Or just the blunt stump of his birth-defected arms. If there was a gang of grifters out cashing in by the help of cripples, the bank would have been told so. This way, he can very likely sue due to discrimination, and I hope he does.

    Anyway, here in good old continental Facististan I simply produce my nationally issued ID-CARD which is designed to keep the machinery of control via of labour and money in good working order.

  38. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Cha-Ching!

    He should respond in the only way banks, corporations understand.

    Sue their arse off!

  39. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    I smell..

    ... a multi million dollar lawsuit...

  40. Jay Castle
    Thumb Up

    Marvellous!

    He's 'a bit hacked off', is he? The 'from birth' nature of his disability notwithstanding, that is the BEST line this article could have started with!!!

    Good work!!

  41. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Isn't?

    This is the same Bank of America who blamed a dead woman for the banking crisis whilst trying to collect from her, right? http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/266767

  42. Christopher Rogers
    Coat

    too soon?

    You would think the bank would give him a hand....

  43. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Well..

    To be fair, with 2 forms of ID, he was almost certainly armless...

    Coat.

  44. Jon Teda
    Unhappy

    why couldn't the give him a hand?

    This underscores that disabled people might need a leg up in this world.

    :(

  45. dunncha
    Joke

    Reminds me of a friend I had

    He had no legs. The harassment he received was terrible.

    He was once throw off the Bus for standing on the seats.

  46. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    BoA didn't have a leg to stand on.

    They're prepared to let him open an account and pay the cheque in using the two photo-IDs but he couldn't cash the cheque with the same IDs? I suppose they could have argued that he would have to wait for the cheque to clear before he could withdraw the funds, but since electronic fund transfer allows the bank to take the funds from the payee immediately after reading into the bank's system (that's how long it takes to show when you check your balance at an ATM, after all), he shouldn't have had to wait too long... should he?

  47. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Rules on cashing spouse's checks (/cheques)

    So this is all new to me - can I cash cheques made out to any Mrs A Coward then? Or any Mrs Coward? Or is one of the forms of id a marriage certificate?

  48. Peregrine
    Thumb Up

    The banks in the US

    sure seem to want an arm and a leg. You'd think they'd have just given him a hand with it.

    Thumbs up because... well...

  49. Iain 25
    WTF?

    Language, Timothy

    "We have ensured those policies have been underscored with all our associates across the bank."

    When did American corporations stop speaking English? What's wrong with saying "We've reminded all staff not be idiots".

  50. Eden
    Joke

    Oh dear...

    Maybe it's their new ploy to get new customers?

    not working to well.

    Thumbs up to the guy for walking away, lets give him a hand!

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