Highway bank robbery

Here we are again, Concordia.
I don’t hate school, but coming back to it is definitely on the list of things I hate. This summer I was unfortunate enough to add another institution to that very long list. Maybe you can draw some insight from a boring, but expensive experience.
Recently, I was politely informed, by my bank, that they have been screwing me for the past four years. No, they haven’t been raising the interest on my loans, or accounts, or messing around with my credit card debt. They’ve been stealing from me!
I’ve had the same savings account for years, apparently you’re supposed to change it or something every once in awhile.
For those of you who are thinking “duh!”, go home to your printable little account book with little stars and exclamation points. I track my finances; when I can’t buy beer there’s a problem.
So, long story short, since the age of 19 I haven’t had the correct savings account and they have been overcharging me a $1.25 on every single transaction I’ve ever made. That includes debit purchases, withdrawals, and money transfers.
Now, that’s a lot of money. If you think about it, it’s safe to say that I used my account in some shape or form an average of four times a week, every week, for the past four years. I’m not even including the dozens of times over Christmas. That comes out to just over a $1,000.
How didn’t I notice? Well, it’s about $5 a week, I never really thought about the service charges on my account. I got my statement once a month, and as long as I had money I was happy. I never looked at the charges and went “Oh, wow, I don’t think they should be charging me this much now that I’m 19”.
So, the bank says come on down, we’ll you another account and we’ll see what we can do. “See what we can do!?” I want my money back! Apparently they sent me a letter when I was 19 included in one of statements. And no, they never called me about it before. And I bet they only sent one letter. That one time. The bank politely tells me that I can’t get the money back. They sent me a letter. I should have noticed my service charges.
So, here I am, having lost over a $1,000 to the bank, which they refuse to refund me. Even though they have a record of how much they over charged me, and could very easily do so.
When you owe the bank money, they’ll nag you until you pay up. But if they owe you money, it’s like you’re asking them for a lung. FYI, Canada’s six largest banks earned over $19 billion in profits last year.
So take this little chestnut of wisdom folks, check your bank statements. Make sure that whether you’re in school, or out of school, that you have the right account. Don’t let them screw you around.
As for myself, I’ll probably have to bite the bullet and just forget about the cash. Or, I could just refuse to pay a $1,000 of the money that I owe them in retaliation. Maybe I’ll steal $1,000 worth of pens and envelopes from them.
What do you think?