Pay too much (debt) and you could raise the alarm-Homeland Sec

[PetraPooh]

http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=RAISEALARM-02-28-06

By BOB KERR
The Providence Journal
28-FEB-06

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Walter Soehnge is a retired Texas schoolteacher who traveled north with his wife, Deana, saw summer change to fall in Rhode Island and decided this was a place to stay for a while. <snip>

They just paid a hefty chunk of their credit card balance. And they learned how frighteningly wide the net of suspicion has been cast.

After sending in the check, they checked online to see if their account had been duly credited. They learned that the check had arrived, but the amount available for credit on their account hadn't changed.

So Deana Soehnge called the credit-card company. Then Walter called.

"When you mess with my money, I want to know why," he said.

They both learned the same astounding piece of information about the little things that can set the threat sensors to beeping and blinking.

They were told, as they moved up the managerial ladder at the call center, that the amount they had sent in was much larger than their normal monthly payment. And if the increase hits a certain percentage higher than that normal payment, Homeland Security has to be notified. And the money doesn't move until the threat alert is lifted. <snip>

More at link . . . this is freaky and scary. What happened to ENCOURAGING getting out of debt??

http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=RAISEALARM-02-28-06

[LaurenG]

1. Why would that be a threat?

Nothing makes sense anymore...

[Ecumenist]

2. You don't really expect that they're over the moon

about people paying off their credit cards, do YA?:sarcasm: After that disaster of a bankruptcy bill was passed in a slimey way supported by the credit card companies, nothing surprises me anymore about these people.:eyes: The next thing you know, you'll have penalties added when you pay substantially more than your minimum payment, al la mortgage prepayment penalties.

[pitohui]

3. well it probably isn't true to begin with

the credit card company was not under oath when they made up the excuse for why they hadn't yet credited their bill probably

however the usual reasons why large transactions are tracked is to make sure that the person does not have an illegal source of income, most people do not suddenly get $6000 all in one pay period if they have a real honest job you know

but since people routinely get bonuses, or gifts from generous parents or other kind relatives, or inheritances, or win small jackpots at the casino, or get tax refunds, or sell a used car, or for any of a dozen other reasons suddenly have a few extra thousand dollars, i haven't found that the gov't invests much time worrying abt it unless the person shows up at the bank or financial institution with CASH -- in which case if the large payment is more than $10,000 there must be a currency transaction report filed, and if the payment is less than that, it's a judgment call on the part of the institution whether or not to file a suspicious activity report

since they paid by check, there was no reason for the suspicious activity report, and i strongly suspect that no suspicious activity report was ever made, i think someone just misplaced the check and then they scrambled for excuses when the bill-payer complained

[PetraPooh]

4. If you read the whole article. . .you conclusion doesn't hold

water. It says that the credit card company DID show the payment received, but that the amount of credit available did not increase reciprically as it should have. Furthermore, many people do in fact get over $6000 per pay period, just not most Democrats. But my ex and my parents easily pay off $6000 or more credit card balances each month. However it is interesting to note that it has nothing to do with the AMOUNT of the payment, but instead to the comparative percentage of the payment versus previous payments percentages.

So I wonder what will be happening with my next payment to the credit card company. I will be paying about $20K on payments made this month. BUT it is my habit to pay my credit card 100% per month so my average payment percentage will remain the same. Hmmmm.... I'll have to see if I can keep track of the payment when I send it in. Just a note, the payment is coming from a line of credit against my home where the checks from that line didn't arrive in time to pay for a large purchase, so I used the credit card as an interim purchase situation. Also should something go wrong with the purchase, I can use the credit card company and put the purchase into dispute easier than a bank line of credit offers.

[pitohui]

6. i did read the whole article actually

but thanks for the random slam anyway

i am still not convinced that homeland security was in the least bit interested in receiving this bit of paperwork, if they did receive it

too many news stories lately that turned out to be complete fabrications

quebec teen killed by a peanut butter kiss, anyone?

[Gormy Cuss]

5. Weird, but probably true

I thought this story was not credible until I dug around a bit. Thanks to the 1996 revisions to the Bank Secrecy Act there are greatly expanded grounds for suspecting customer behavior beyond the old 10K rule. I looked this up after reading an earlier thread on this same story. Here ya go:
http://www.occ.treas.gov/handbook/bsa.pdf
Read the pages in the high teens. Essentially the financial institution can use all sorts of lamebrain excuses to report you to Vaterland Security.

[Rainscents]

7. Sometimes, I pay off my high credit bills off from my saving account

that, I have saved. I don't understand why, credit company wants to delay the payment unless, this is an excuse for them to delay the payments, so they can charge more interest fees and also possibility of late feeds too. This is what I call it, "highway robbery!"