TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida man born without arms says a Tampa bank would not let him cash a check because he couldn't provide a thumbprint. It was supposed to be a quick stop at the Bank of America. "I said, 'I'm going to run over downtown on my break, cash the check and bring the cash back.' No big deal," Steve Valdez said. "It turned out to be a very big deal." Valdez said he was cashing a check from his wife, who has an account at Bank of America. But the teller told Valdez she needed a thumbprint in order to cash it — it was company policy. It's not that Valdez didn't want to provide it. He couldn't provide it, and the teller even acknowledged it. "'It's obvious that you can't give us a thumbprint.' She goes, 'Let me go check with my supervisor,'" Valdez recalled the teller told him. Valdez was born without arms and wears prosthetic devices. While at the bank, Valdez said he provided two photo IDs. And still that wasn't enough. The bank supervisor offered him two options. "One is, you can bring your wife with you. And the other one, you can open up an account with us. And I said, no, I don't think so," Valdez added. Valdez said he reminded bank officials the American for Disabilities Act would have a problem with their unfair treatment, but that didn't seem to bother them. "You do realize this is in violation of federal law and really you haven't heard the end of it," Valdez said. "And she goes, 'Whatever.'" They never let Valdez cash his check, but he said days later he received a phone call from a bank regional manager with an apology. Bank of America spokeswoman Nicole Nastacie says the bank should have "offered alternative requirements if an individual is not able to give a thumbprint." Valdez had a message for them too: "They need to alter their policies and procedures, or have alternate plans should something conflict with that." Source
that's messed up... i feel so bad for the guy to be treated like that. that bank teller's a bitch. he should ditch bank of america and switch to citi, wells fargo, etc.
thumb print .. i bank with bofa and they're fine .. never heard of the thumb print policy though. anyway, citi and wells fargo are far worst than bofa .. these banks really know how to take your money from all the fees they imposed on you. it was ridiculous. i closed all my citi and wells fargo accounts after a lengthy fight and reimbursement for pathetic fees. so no .. stay the hell away from these two banks.
i've been to citi for a while now and the service there has been great. don't think i've had to pay that many fees too. maybe it's the employees? but i'm loving citi rewards. i believe it's when noncustomers cash in a check.
I don't understand .. if his wife has an account with BofA, then he too has access to it unless his name is not on the account which I highly doubt it. Most if not all married couple have some sort of share account.
This is crazy, and the supervisor should know s/he has the power to handle it differently, or call a regional manger.
lol, the whole bank would be filled with nasty foot odor and some people don't take very good care of their feet...
It can't be that bad, it's not like there are a lot of people who are in his situation. But it would look weird. Still better than nothing. I remember some places take photos.
disability policies are rough.... this guy was totally in the right, but some handicap people take thing way to far and complain about the most stupid things...
i think the supervisor should be fired .. that's not how you talk to customers. i had really bad services before at Wells Fargo, rather than making a scene; i asked for the rep's name, went home and wrote a complaint letter to the branch manager, and sent a copy to the regional manager. all i know is that since then, i haven't seen her at the branch again .. thank God.
