So I have a bank account (Bank N) that I basically treat like a “free trial” account. I used to use it regularly, but I mostly switched to another bank (Bank S), so the Bank N one just exists.
Years ago, my mom’s workplace used to send her salary to Bank N account because something was wrong with hers. That got fixed a long time ago. Fast forward to now: someone, different from who normally pays the staff, at her job accidentally sent her pay to *my* Bank N account.
Here’s the issue. I completely forgot about a free trial subscription because I recently had lost my phone and could not actively check the account, nor my email, nor set a reminder of the trial like I normally do. I also wasn’t expecting any money to be sent to that account because I normally give people my Bank S account information.
So, due to the sudden appearance of money in the account, the service collected payment. I didn’t even realize this happened until my mom asked me to check my account in the event that the funds had gone into my account (she was questioning why she hadn’t gotten paid as yet).
Now my relatives are upset with me, asking why I would subscribe to anything if I “had no money,” even though I knew no money would be on it in the event I do forget to cancel it, which I did due to not having my phone. I also didn’t ask for or expect anyone to send money to that account in the first place.
For context, I’m usually very cautious about people sending me money to my Bank N account, specifically because of situations like this.
So… AITA for using a free trial while broke and then being caught off guard when money was mistakenly sent to my account and triggered a charge?
Classic case of misplaced anger, it seems. Were you aware that she was about to have this payment sent to account N? Did she know a whole payment was going to account N? If it’s been this long since she used account N, I’m curious to know what the arrangement even was if she wasn’t actively having money moved through there. It doesn’t really make sense and would need a little more context, but generally I don’t think she managed risk well and that is not your fault if you didn’t know.
NTA
How do your relatives even know about your old account?
Is your mom gossiping about you?
Cancel the trial, get them to refund your money.
\*\*Question: If the trial company tries to collect when you have a zero balance, doesn’t your bank charge you an insufficient funds fee?
Doesn’t your bank charge you or close your account for having a zero balance and/or having not activity for months/years?
Both of those are SOP for all the banks I’ve used (even though they don’t actively tell customers, just stick it in with all the fine print).
I use no-fee banking and I’m guessing (judging by contextual information) OPs family isnt super wealthy so they’d likely choose no-fee banking too. It straight blocks charges you can’t cover. (And some allow a fee-free deficits based on monthly deposits) perfect to use for a “free trial” junk drawer
NTA
Why does anybody else have the authority to send money to your bank account?
nta. completely your mother’s employer’s fault.
ESH. Your mom’s work sucks for not sending the money to the right bank, you suck because it is your negligence that lost the money and you are dodging responsibility.
Okay, i understand but i did say that i lost my phone (it was actually stolen). It’s not something i always do. I normally use free trials for when i am not necessarily sure i want a specific service and I am normally aware as i normally set reminders on my phone. I guess I should be sorry for someone sending money to my account without evening knowing.
You sign up for free trials but don’t cancel them, and just rely on your account having zero balance to avoid paying? That’s just wrong. YTA
I never said that. Just for clarification, it’s not my day to day account but i still do business with it once in a while. However, I normally use it if I am signing up for a free trial. I normally set reminders on my phone in the event that i do forget. Normally I do cancel them but my phone was stolen with all my emails and banking apps.
YTA It’s your fault. You owe your mom the money.
NTA. It’s obvious they want to shift the blame for their mistake but ultimately you didn’t put that money in your account nor did you get a warning so how do they expect you to feel a disturbance in the force and lock your account. And I applaud you using the free trials, these corps are pushing prices higher consistently so its always good when you can keep a couple bucks in the people’s pockets.
I use them whenever they are offered so it does not become a case where i have subscriptions that i forget about that ends up taking money every month/year. For example, I would do a little graphic designing and I remember using photoshop for the first time. I used the free trial with Bank N and when i realized that I really like it and that i am using it frequently, I switch the payment method to my main bank account.