Question for all you attornies

[Bob K]

This is long and probably should be in the off topic forum but it is related to my Final Edition GTS. It is in regards to breach of confidentiality of my finacial transaction when purchasing the car.
I went to the bank to get a certified check to send to the dealer. The teller who waited on me was a young man who apparently knew who I was (through my son) based on his greeting. He was also a high school intern at the bank. The transaction took a little time because of the amount of the check and he needed some assistance from the other tellers. At any rate, I left with the check and everything seemed fine.
The other night my 19 y/o son came home from a small party and told me that several of the kids there were fully aware of my transaction for this "new Hennessey 800 HP Viper" and that I sent out a very large check. They had gotten the information from the kid who waited on me at the bank. I was dumb founded to say the least! Not only that but he has access to all my financial records at the bank. To top it off, my daughter, who lives on her own, went to the same bank the other day and was helped by the same kid. Once he saw her name he couldn't wait to tell her the same thing. ***?
I tried to talk to the branch manager - on vacation. I called the regional manager - on vacation. I did talk to the asst. to the regional manager and she was appalled. She promised to look into it. Got a call today from the Employee Relations person who monitors the intern program. She too was appalled and said it was a violation of bank policy - DAH! She said she would get back to me on Monday.

What is my next step? Do I wait to see what they do to resolve this or do I contact my attorny now? What might I expect to accomplish from a legal stand point? What would you do?
Help!
Bob K

 

[Gerald]

Sorry, non attorney here.. But what are you after, an apology or compensation against a 19 yr old? The boy acted in extreme bad taste, I take it he will get fired and you'll be "pounding sand"


Good Luck w/ the Hennessey viper......Hope all goes well


Regards,
Gerald

 

[2charmed]

Are you asking about getting an attorney because of dealing with
Hennessey or the 19 year old kid?

In any case I think your out
of luck. I may not be a lawyer but I have plenty of legal experience. What are your damages in dealing with the bank?
I think the kid will be reprimanded or let go and you will or already have gotten an apology from the bank.
You will be driving the viper soon (well maybe) and so it's not going to be a secret from your sons friends anyway.

As a matter of principle you may want to switch your banking
affiliations to further get your point across to the bank managemnet, but I think this is your only recourse unless your
money or credit has been taken or damaged.

Good luck,
2Charmed

 

[Bob K]

Forget the Hennessey thing. That came from his imagination. It was just the Final Edition GTS.

I forgot to add that he also asked my daughter to tell him her PIN number.

Bob K

 

[RedGTS]

Bob--I'm not an attorney, but I play one on TV

. OK, actually I am an attorney, but I don't specialize in financial privacy issues, nor would you be likely to find someone that does outside the in-house law departments of the major financial institutions. In any event, you would be amazed to learn how little legal protection your personal financial data has, despite the recent Financial Services Modernization Act, which did little to curb the ability of banks and other institutions to sell your most private information.

I'll spare you a discussion of all that though, because it probably doesn't matter. To the extent you have legal recourse against the bank or the young man, your claim is more likely governed by your state's tort or contract laws, but as noted above, you would be hard pressed to prove any significant damages. Better to pursue the issue as you have done with the bank, because the teller's conduct was clearly inappropriate (both as to you and your daughter) and he will likely be fired as soon as someone with authority hears about it. If that doesn't satisfy you, then I would take my business elsewhere.

Oh, and unless I miss my guess, you have more than enough business that some enterprising individual in another bank's Private Banking or whatever they're calling their unit that deals with professionals and other well heeled folk would gladly give you some very personalized service with an emphasis on privacy (someone who very likely would have delivered your cashier's check to you personally instead of requiring you to stand in a line and deal with an intern and a bunch of helpers). As much red tape as banks seem to have to the average customer, they can be like dealing with your favorite concierge if you get hooked up with the right people.

Ronnie

 

[Gavin]

YOU MISSED THE FIRST MOVE
THAT WAS
CLOSE YOUR ACCOUNTS WITH THIS BANK
NOT TOO LATE

SECOND MOVE - WRITE A DETAILED LETTER TO BRANCH MANAGER - COPY THE BRANCHES MAIN OFFICE.

THEN ACCEPT THE BANKS APOLOGY AND GET ON WITH LIFE.

 

[Bruce]

Get the kid fired from the bank? This will leave him with a poor employment history that will follow for a long time. The punishment doesn't fit the crime.

If it was me, I'd let it go and do nothing. The kid was obviously excited and spoke out of turn.

 

[Bonkers]

Coming from someone who works in banks -

If the kid was impressed buy your purchase your trying to catch the wind. Unless you were planning on jipping the IRS out of some tax money I don't see where you would have a case. Everything the teller says is just plan hearsay anyway.

Asking your Daughters PIN# isn't that big of a crime either. If he was at a terminal it was only a matter of a few keystrokes and the information is there anyway. At some (small) banks it could be used for security purposes "If this is really your account then what's your PIN...ect"

Its a shame your privacy was compromised, but in the long run it wasn't like he was giving out your DNA. Personal money information is incredibly easy to access from the inside of a bank (or companies that work with a bank) so I think its more of an ethical vs. legal situation.

Now if he were giving out your account numbers or PIN numbers that would be a different story...

 

[Bonkers]

But another note though I would get the kid fired myself. Not for the personal hit, but because if he can't be trusted with customers purcahses how could he be trustworthy enough to move customers cash...

 

[LETHAL GTS]

Bob,
I understand how you feel.
Your p*ssed off!
I would be too, don't most banks have a list of policies for new employees (part or fulltime).
Someone like that should not be working in that type of business if they don't know how to conduct them selves in a professional manner.
If you wanted everyone to know I'm sure you could have put the news in the local paper.
No, it's not a big secret. Or is it? I guess that's what makes it your business and not everyone else's.
It really doesn't matter what it is you are buying (Viper or a new shirt), it is YOUR BUSINESS.
Maybe the bank you deal with needs to be a little more selective when it comes to hiring new employees.
Cheers,
TJ

 

[Bob K]

Follow up to my original post:

I received a call from the branch manager today who apologized for the actions of the intern and stated that they take such breaches of bank policies very seriously. When I asked her what action was taken she said she couldn't tell me because that would be a breach of the intern's confidentiality. I found that to be a bit ironic. When I pressed her she did tell me that he would no longer be helping me at that branch. I took this as a clue that he was let go.

In my profession (medicine) a breach of confidentiality is extremely serious and is grounds for immediate termination. I feel one's financial information is on a par with one's medical records. The bank did the right thing in my mind. Now I can let it rest.
Bob K

 

[Vreracing]

Man, you obviously don't live in a small town.


I work under the supposition that everyone knows exactly what I'm doing and when I'm doing. Privacy is only an illusion.

 

[unclgreggy]

I'M an attorney and I agree with the other attorney. You don't have much of a claim. Keep in mind that sometimes the weakest of cases still bring in money based on the fear the other side has of the consequences. Some attornies will pursue anything. I call it "legal extortion." I don't ethically agree with it.

 

[Lawboy]

Uncle Greggy:

how do y'all spell "attorneys" up there in big NY???

 

[Will]

You know the one thing no one has mentioned is the effect this will have on Bob's kids (namely his son). The kid that got fired (possibly) will certainly know why and distribute that info. Bob will certainly get a rep as being stuck up Viper owner and an a** and his son will hear about it.
Bob, I'd be careful where you park your new GTS, you never know how vindictive people can be.

-W