So Much For The Digital Age

We were psyched last week when we got our refi check. Ultimately, I planned to open a new savings account for this money, but I was lazy and decided that I would open the account online rather than try to make it over there with Lisa during their regular hours (9-4). Big mistake. Our credit union has now had the money on hold since last Wednesday (we technically deposited it Tuesday, though it was almost 7pm by the time we deposited), and is not going to release it until Thursday. I called up to complain and find out what’s going on. It was a local business check, which should have eliminated two of the normal reasons for a hold (the other being the large amount, which we couldn’t do anything about). The first person said they would call and have a copy of the check faxed over from where we deposited it, and then a manager would take a look and see if the hold could be released. So much for “Check 21,” the revolutionary law that was supposed to make everything electronic and make check processing faster. Instead, two banks that are physically located within 10-20 miles of each other can’t even figure out if the other one has the money. That rep said she would call me back after getting the copy. 3 hours later, no call yet, so I called again. The second person said that they don’t call over, that it’s the member’s responsibility. So I asked if the first person lied, and she got all flustered and said the original person would call me back. Finally, the first rep called me back to say that she hadn’t heard back from the service center yet, and she called again and it should be 15-20 minutes until she finds out. At this point, it’s pretty much pointless because the hold is being lifted after COB tomorrow, but it’s the principle of the thing, as it often is for me. It just bugs me that I put this big fat check into a non-interest earning account, with the goal of getting it into an interest earning one fairly easily, and it’s turning out to be the complete opposite. This is exactly the kind of thing that makes me switch to a different provider.
Update: They finally called back about an hour later and said that the hold had been lifted on the check. Now how hard was that, really?