Responding quickly to Noah’s gripe about ING Direct canceling his debit card without his permission, the bank called him and sent him a new debit card.

Noah writes:

I did get a call from Andrew, a representative from the office of the President for ING, and he did apologize about what had happened. He did state that he reviewed some phone conversations and notes regarding the incident, and he doesn’t know why they just didn’t tell me that my card would be canceled when I first called in last Thursday. He was nice, seemed sincere and didn’t give the old “I’m taking this seriously” line. He did say that he has contacted members of management about the situation in order to find out exactly what went wrong regarding their process in handling something like this, and how they can make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone in the future. He also offered to wire money to my other bank account linked with ING, but as I was speaking with him I checked my mail and received my new debit card, so there was no need for the wire transfer. (Kudos to ING for getting a new card out quickly!) He also doesn’t know why someone didn’t try to get a wire transfer done earlier when I had requested that several times. If they would have done so, I still could have paid what needed to be paid, and the situation could have been avoided.

Regarding some of the comments about have an account at a B&M. I do have another bank account linked to ING, but by the time I could have transferred money it would have been too late because that takes several business days. That’s why I kept asking for a wire transfer to that account when I found out my card was canceled. If they would have told me right away that my card was going to be canceled last Thursday, I could have tried to transfer the money, or at least try to get a new card sent overnight.

Also, I do know how debit cards and transactions work. Last year when an unauthorized debit was “pending” on my local B&M account, they stopped it from even posting. So that’s why I can’t accept their excuse of “there’s nothing we can do.”

The money has now been temporarily put back in my account pending the conclusion of their investigation. Overall this was a frustrating event, and now I am just going to open up an account at a local credit union and use that as my primary account.

Thanks for the suggestions and comments Consumerist readers!

Consumerists, where do you bank and why?

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.