A few months ago, I lost my checkbook. It was later found, but when I first realized it was missing, I took swift action. I got the account restricted, opened a new account, and worked my way though my bank. Which was something of an ordeal – they are all incredibly polite and friendly, but not always good at the follow through.
I also had to update my direct deposit. So, as soon as I got my new account number I headed over to the payroll office and filled out the form. When I submitted it with my new number, I was told that I had missed the payroll cycle and my next check would be printed. Which doesn’t make much sense to me – if you can stop a process, can’t you just update it while it’s stopped?
So, I picked up my next check and figured that was it.
I watched my old account (with a little money left there to cover outstanding bills) like a hawk and tried to sort out which parts of the accounts were active.
A few weeks later, my checkbook was found and returned to me. Issue resolved.
Except yesterday, I got a call from payroll. I had a check waiting for me. The woman I talked to made a joke about how I must be rolling in money to have an unclaimed check from months ago.
Now, I’m not rolling in money. At the time, I was far more worried about money going OUT of my account and since it was right around the holidays, a dip in the funds in my checking account wasn’t unusual.
But even with the holidays, it took two pay cycles to re-establish a direct deposit?
So:
1. I should have been watching my account more closely.
2. They didn’t have to call me and I’m glad they did.
But – it’s still odd the way it all went down. I’ve now got a little more money in my pocket than I realized and it’s a nice surprise after having to pay out on my taxes this year and not getting a refund.