Harris Bank Sticking it to the little guy!

Mom to the rescue. My son was in a bind and grandma was going to lend him some money(I don't get paid till next week and we just made a nice down payment on our dentist's granddaughter's college fund). Only problem was that gramma and son are 50 miles apart! "Mommy!!!!!"

So, I go to my mom's and pick up her check. I figure, since her bank is in town, it'd be easier for me to get the check cashed there and head up to my son's...stupid idea. See, my mother banks at Harris. The last time I got a check cashed for her, I had to show ID, go inside instead of a drive thru. I do this. I get to the teller(her name just happened to be Kim also) and she tells me flippantly that there will be a $5 charge since I'm not a customer of the bank. But I am a customer of the bank, I'm cashing a check for my mother who is in a wheelchair. Its not made out to her, so its not for her--it will be a $5 charge and she points to a card with the title of changes to our System or something like that...the title was nice and large, maybe 24-30 pt font...the rules and changes were in 8pt font! She then says in a demeaning manner, "This has been policy for over a year!" I say, I usually use the ATM for my mother, how would I know? Nothing was sent to her....then dipstick states, "Well, of course not, she's a customer! You can take it to your bank and you won't be charged anything, probably..." My bank is in the other direction of where I'm going, I can't go to my bank without wasting time and gas so that's not a solution. So I say "OK" hand her my ID and check and ..... she says, "you need two ID's, not one" now, I'm fuming...I go back to my car and get another ID.

I return and she's still the only teller available....I flip the 2 ID's at her(slid on the counter--it!s fine for her to flip her hand towards me) and she says, "you don't have to throw things at me", I respond, "I didn't, and I could do worse". She calls her supervisor over and says that I threatened her and that I should not be waited on. I laugh, stating you're the one that's over reacting, I flipped the ID's and responded to your inane comment.

She is told to complete the process....I ask for a receipt for the $5 charge(yes, now I'm being belligerant, correct, but pushing it). She says we don't give receipts...its just a charge. I look at her and state, anytime I'm charged something, I am legally entitled to a receipt, unless, of course, its illegal or unethical. I want a receipt for my mother. Again, she tells her supervisor who comes over and asks what the problem is. I want a receipt for the $5 charge--this is my mother's money, I'm cashing a check for her and I need to bring her a receipt for her money. "Most people don't ask for receipts" I'm not most people and, probably, most people aren't doing business for their 80 year old mother who's in a wheelchair! I get my receipt.

I wouldn't have gotten so aggravated if I had received a bit more customer service--to be told that since I wasn't a customer(which I was...I wasn't a member) so too bad was ridiculous. To not have this information somewhere large enough to read without going to the teller is not a way to gain customers. I could understand a charge for large checks, but the bank charged me more to cash a check written on one of their accounts more money than if I'd gone to a currency exchange--there's something wrong with that!