re: Capital One made a deposit then took it back - WTF? (resolution on pg. 2)

When an item is pending, the bank gives you a memo credit to make the funds "available" to you as a courtesy. This is very common. Just because the bank made it available to you it does not mean it has been collected by the bank. They absolutely can and will reverse the memo credit if that pending deposit goes away and is not collected.

After not receiving a call from the bank yet, I called today. After much yelling and screaming I was finally put in touch with the person handling the case. Here's what happened: For years I had a 7 digit account number. Several years back, they added 3 numbers to the front of the account number, with the original 7 numbers remaining intact. My accountant sent the IRS the original account number without the front 3 numbers. However, this apparently wasn't an issue the past couple years. And Capital One still had put the direct deposit into my available balance, so it's not like it got sent to some random incorrect account number. At some point they changed their mind and cancelled the deposit (after I used it), and they are returning it to the IRS.

I spoke to the IRS twice today (they informed me of the account number issue when verifying all of my info before I spoke to the bank today), and their policy when funds are returned is to send a paper check to my mailing address - they won't send another direct deposit to a new account number. This should take around 5 weeks, though they said they'll refer my case to the taxpayer advocate service to try to speed it up.

I totally understand the account number screw up and don't have a problem with it. However, after Capital One researched the issue and discovered the account number problem, they STILL have NO RECORD of there ever being a pending deposit or of the funds showing in my available balance on Thursday. That is not only mind-boggling, but is disturbing as well. How can the bank not have a record of my available balance at any given time in their system??? Funds can appear then disappear without a trace??? The woman from Capital One said, "My advice would be to not use any funds until the deposits are no longer pending." I told her, "My advice is DON'T TELL ME I HAVE AVAILABLE FUNDS THAT AREN'T AVAILABLE!!!"

Lesson learned. I obviously won't use funds again from a pending deposit regardless of whether or not it shows as "available balance." But I just can not freaking believe that in this day and age a large bank can move money into and out of my account with NO RECORD of it.

The part about their system having no record of what you saw is what disturbs me most about this saga. I would switch banks for no other reason than that.