Pounds and Sense (common) are in short supply

My mother called tonight from Ohio. She told me a story that perfectly illustrates why I don't bank with Chase bank anymore.

She wanted to change some US dollars for pounds to have actual money on hand when we get to the UK. She had called ahead to her local bank and was told Chase would convert the money for a small fee, even if she did not have an account there. She called Chase and confirmed that they would change 1000 pounds' worth. The man at Chase said she should open a checking account as well. My mother told him she did not want a checking account and confirmed that it wasn't necessary to open one to exchange money.

She went to the bank and explained what she wanted. They told her there would be a $5 fee for the conversion. She agreed, only to be told doubtfully by the girl at the counter that she wasn't sure they were allowed to change that much and wouldn't my mother like to open a checking account while she was at it?

My mother said no, she didn't want a checking account, thank you, just to exchange the money. The girl said she needed to ask a manager about it. Another woman came and my mother explained the situation again, also telling her that she had called ahead to make sure she could exchange the money there. The manager assured her that of course she could exchange her money, there was no problem with that, but didn't she want to open a checking account as well?

My mother explained again that she did not need another checking account and just wanted to exchange the US worth of 1000 pounds. ( This is the point where I would have been fed up, but my mother knows how to catch her flies with honey and persevered). The woman said again that exchanging money was not the issue, but it was possible that they would be unable to exchange that MUCH money. She suggested that my mother speak to another gentleman at the bank- the man my mother had spoken to earlier in the first place.

My mother said no, she had spoken to him already earlier, had told him she did not want a checking account and had been told she could make the exchange here. Nevertheless, the bank manager insisted on getting him.

My mother explained that she had called earlier and what she wanted. The man told her she really ought to consider opening a Chase checking account. My mother refused and said again that she did not want one, she had a bank check from her regular bank and could they either exchange the money or not?

He said of course they could- but of course if she DID open the checking account with just TEN DOLLARS, she would not have to pay the exchange fee. My mother pointed out again that she did not need another checking account. The man from the bank said that she could open the account but that she WOULDN'T NEED TO USE IT- that there were some fees involved, but only about $36 dollars!

At this point, my mother burst out laughing in the middle of the bank. She said she actually had tears in her eyes as she pointed out to the man that he wanted her to pay $10 with an additional potential $36 in fees for an account she did not need and did not want- to avoid paying a FIVE DOLLAR exchange fee.

Sheepishly, the man from Chase bank agreed that it did seem a little 'silly' when you looked at it that way. He then assured my mother that they could in fact change the money for her- he just needed to find out how much. But he wasn't sure. Really.

My mother spent some more time trying to pin them all down to an actual dollar amount. She offered to go to her bank and bring back cash to exchange. She was told that wouldn't be necessary. Finally they decided that she could exchange 800 pounds' worth, but no more. When she asked why, they couldn't tell her, so she decided to take what she could get. She was told the money would be available by Friday and to come in and pick it up.

My mother left the bank, but as the day wore on and she thought of all the ridiculous trouble this had been, the thought of those last 200 pounds irked her. She had wanted 1000 pounds, darn it, not 800! So she called a friend and got HER to go into the bank and ask to exchange another 200 pounds' worth of dollars.

They are both supposed to pick up the money at the same time. I think they ought to go in together, skipping arm in arm. Without opening checking accounts.

I hate Chase bank.