British Expatriate Network

Did you know that if you pay a largeer portion of debt than usual your bank may have to notify Homeland security before they do anything about it? I couldn't find a link to this without a registration requirement, but if you google the title you can find it.

Pay too much and you could raise the alarm

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. So the Soehnges live in Scituate now and Walter sometimes has breakfast at the Gentleman Farmer in Scituate Village, where he has passed the test and become a regular despite an accent that is definitely not local.

And it was there, at his usual table last week, that he told me that he was "madder than a panther with kerosene on his tail." He says things like that. Texas does leave its mark on a man.

What got him so upset might seem trivial to some people who have learned to accept small infringements on their freedom as just part of the way things are in this age of terror-fed paranoia. It's that "everything changed after 9/11" thing.

But not Walter. "We're a product of the '60s," he said. "We believe government should be way away from us in that regard."

He was referring to the recent decision by him and his wife to be responsible, to do the kind of thing that just about anyone would say makes good, solid financial sense.
They paid down some debt. The balance on their JCPenney Platinum MasterCard had gotten to an unhealthy level. So they sent in a large payment, a check for $6,522. And an alarm went off. A red flag went up. The Soehnges' behavior was found questionable.

And all they did was pay down their debt. They didn't call a suspected terrorist on their cell phone. They didn't try to sneak a machine gun through customs. 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.

Walter called television stations, the American Civil Liberties Union and me. And he went on the Internet to see what he could learn. He learned about changes in something called the Bank Privacy Act.

"The more I'm on, the scarier it gets," he said. "It's scary how easily someone in Homeland Security can get permission to spy."

Eventually, his and his wife's money was freed up. The Soehnges were apparently found not to be promoting global terrorism under the guise of paying a credit-card bill.


That makes me somewhat uncomfortable considering the amount omney we want to transfer.

They should have investigated more thoroughly. If there's one case of blatant subversive, they are it.

Seriously though....I wouldn't mind so much if it didn't cost you extra money because, while they are investigating, your interest is accumulating. That is when the government needs to chip in.

I believe the DHS was created more so to keep citizens in check(i.e. Gestapo), than to save us from terrorist. They enforce the law of the PATRIOT ACT IMO. It is disturbing to read this. Gestapo translated is secret state police, which translates to the purpose of the DHS IMO. Sure they have not lived up to the Gestapo's ruthless reputation YET, but we're not done yet. Eventually after they have established complete control over us as the sheeple are more so worried about Tom Cruise, Jennifer Aniston, and Fox News it will get that bad, just give it time. I have never in the history of the world, I could be wrong here seen a power hungry government say, we're getting out of control, lets give the citizens some power back. Don't think America is not beyond a police state. Just read the writing on the wall and give it time. It is one of the reasons why we're leaving, a small reason but one of about 8 other things. It is going to get bad after Bush gets out of office I believe- financially- which will lead to more control as crime becomes rampant.

I may be wrong I may be right but why take the chance?

I'm not at all surprised by this. Not least because a somewhat more discreet and hopefully more effective system has existed in the UK for years to deal with money laundering, funding terrorism, organized crime and large scale drug trafficking.

Even Solicitors can have obligations to report unusual transactions, where people turn up and ask to pay you with a suitcase of Roubles.

And yes that did happen, but not to me.

Banks,car dealers,etc have to notify the 'Feds when they handle more tha $10,000 cash from a customer.
This is has been on the books for a long time,
therefore pay in amount of less than $10,000 or I would say based on that story amounts less than $5,000.

I get these letters every week from my credit card company, saying I'm such a great customer and manage my credit so well that they want to give me these cheques so that I can transfer balances to the card at low interest rates or use them in stores to rack up my credit card balance.

Yesterday's installment was that I now rank 'SUPERIOR', yet it's the same cheques they sent the previous 3 years and at the same rates.

I am obviously triggering some automatic system that is trying to encourage me to get more into debt because even when I make a large charge to the card, it is paid off before any interest accrues. I guess they are getting a bit annoyed at not making any money from me, relying on the charges they levy against the merchant when I buy something with the card.

You can slow the offers down, if not stop them for a while. The credit reporting bureaus produce lists of people with good credit ratings for the card companies, and others.

You can call 888-5-567-8688, (888-5-OPTOUT) This will stop the three bureaus from including you in the searches requested by the card companies, for two years.

Or you can write to the companies individually

Trans Union
Name Removal Opt-Out Request
P.O. Box 97328
Jackson, MS 39288

Equifax Options
P.O. Box 740123
Atlanta, GA 30374-0123

Experian Marketing
P.O. Box 919
Allen, TX 75013

I have heard that there is a fourth bureau but I havent checked it out yet.

This procedure doesn't stop companies with whom you have an established relationship.

Which is what I was describing.

I opted out of the card stuff en masse about four years ago and it was well worth it. Not sure that the opt-out lasts forever though.

It is wierd, isn't it. The OPT-OUT is legally good for only two years, so you are lucky if it is still working.

I get calls from the companies that run the two cards that I carry, and I tell them they are nuts, they pay me for using their cards, I pay in full each month so I don't pay interest, and I get "rewards" of a penny on the dollar for using the cards, so I use them for everything. It is a handy way to find my expenses when I'm itemizing at tax time.