They didn't debit my account

[cptacek]

I keep good records of my check book, and am balanced to the penny. But, I have entries in my checking spreadsheet from more than 3 years ago where the vendor never got the money out of my checking account.

For instance, for 2003, there is $112 that should have been paid to someone but never was. For 2004, $50.02; for 2005, $151.25.

How long should I hold this money in my checking account in case they try to withdraw it later?

None of these are checks...they are all from my debit card.

[Mathew Green]

Did you contact the merchants and ask what's going on?

Most banks won't pay a check if it's not presented within a reasonable lenght of time. IIRC there's a legal time limit too. Not sure how it works with debit transactions, but probably similar.

At this point, I'd contact the highest muck-de-muck I could at my bank, explain the situation, and ask them to give me a written statement of what the cut-off time is for paying debit card transactions. That way, if the debits ever do get paid you'll have written proof that they shouldn't have been. BTW: Speak to the bank's "compliance officer" if you can. It's their job to keep the bank out of regulatory trouble, so you'll get the straight scoop from them.

[Raisecapital01]

I believe most banks allow 90 days for business accounts. If it is a personal account, it could be a year.

[cicy33]

without knowing what you spent on, I can only suggest this. I bought some stuff from an online store and deducted what the total bill was. But the store shipped seperately and billed in more than one transaction. If I had not been paying attention I would have thought that I forgot to write something down. Not saying that this is what it is, just an idea. I do know that anything over 3 years or even 1 year is not going to happen.

[Bookie]

(Edited because the posting reference has been removed.)

[Raisecapital01]

Originally Posted by Bookie

This one seems to be making the round of various threads.

Merry Christmas!

I have seen people do this to get their answers. However, they are looking to get a good answer to respond to a problem.

[Bookie]

Sorry about that. My post was concerning something that has been deleted. We had a holiday spammer.

[instantinfo4you]

I have had this happen to me before. I had like 2 years go by, and the money stayed in there. I think it must have been a problem with the merchants cc account. Probably had some problems batching out at the end of the night, and somehow your transaction never went through. This has always bedazzled me.

[cptacek]

Well, it is for things like mcdonald's or barnes and noble. I am sure that they will never come back for the money now, but it is kinda like, if I account for the money they were supposed to have taken out and not spend it, it is less like stealing. Stupid, I know

[instantinfo4you]

I could see why you would think of it that way.