Us Banks Has policies that they can't show proof of having Lawrenceburg, Indiana

OK , for your information just to recap what you are saying here.

so if this isn't my property then why do I have it in my possesion? So does this mean since it's not my property that anyone would just be able to use it even though it has my name on it? Bottom line is I don't care what bank you work for or have worked for it's still bad business to tell people it's our policy, but, not show proof of that policy when it's requested. The card was not shredded in the machine. READ....she sent someone to shred the card even though I was there to retrieve the card before the bank even opened and had called in advance and spoke with someone and was told to come pick the card up as long as I had proof of id to show the card belonged to me.

OK , for your information just to recap what you are saying here.

so if this isn't my property then why do I have it in my possesion? So does this mean since it's not my property that anyone would just be able to use it even though it has my name on it? Bottom line is I don't care what bank you work for or have worked for it's still bad business to tell people it's our policy, but, not show proof of that policy when it's requested. The card was not shredded in the machine. READ....she sent someone to shred the card even though I was there to retrieve the card before the bank even opened and had called in advance and spoke with someone and was told to come pick the card up as long as I had proof of id to show the card belonged to me.

The card is not your property. It belongs to the bank who name issued it. It has your name to allow you to use it but the bank can decide at any time that they will not issue you a card. Having worked at a bank, I can tell you that some ATMs are set up to shred the card if it is left in the machine. As Robert said this is to protect the bank from liability. Especially if the ATM is serviced by a third party contractor for the bank. If the ATM is in the wall of a branch you maybe able to retrieve your card. If the ATM is free standing, it's best to have your bank issue a new card.

As far as showing a customer the policies and procedures used by a business: You say that you're willing to show every customer all of your policies. Does this include showing a customer what you policy/procedure is for depositing the days income to your bank? Are you willing to tell them who will take it, when they'll take it and how they'll take it? All businesses have policies that customers can see (such as return policies, information on account fees, etc) but each business will have internal operating policies that don't get shown to the customer.

although i understand what you are saying I would hope that she was not doing anything out of the way here...The fact still remains that this policy so they say they have should be posted somewhere and if it is not posted they should be able to back there policy up by showing this policy to a customer when they want to see the policy.  The truth of the matter is this is very bad PR..and business practice. As a owner of a company myself I would never say to a customer well it's policy, especially if i had no policy to show them. The reason that companies make policies and guidelines for our customers is the standard, because, we want to make sure our policies and guidelines are carried out and our business runs at ease. But, in the same hand we as business professionals should have these policies and guidelines written for everyone to see and understand. The fact still remains that this was my personal property and as long as I had proof to show that this property was mine then there should have been no problem returning the property to me. Let me ask you a question, Let's say Fred dropped his wallet in this bank on his way out the door and his license and everything in it fell out, does this mean that they are immediatly going to pick up his wallet and shred all of it's contents? No I would hope not, well with this bank the possibility is there, but, if it was a good business that had upstanding PR they would probably hold on to the wallet and await his return or call the police to turn it in. COrrect. So explain how this is different? The point you have missed is this...if you are going to have policies then post those policies or atleast make them available to consumers and biggest point is exactly what happened to a little common courtesy and good PR? It's no wonder the world is in such bad shape we have completely forgotten how to treat our fellow man with any kind of respect at all. SAD really.

There are generally two reasons why a card is "captured" by an ATM.  The first is that the issuing bank has flagged the card and requested that the card be returned, remember the card is not yours it is property of the bank.  The second is that an error occured, such as leaving the card in the slot too long.

Most banks have the same "policy" as to when a card is captured they cut/shred the card.  Whether or not there is an official "written" policy at this or any bank I can not say.  However, the main reason behind this "policy" is liability.  Because if they returned a card to you that should not have been returned, they may become liable for any charges on the card. 

Now, is your bank going to want to see their policy..doubtful.  They will just send you another card.

While I would have doubts about the "we didn't reach anyone".  To make the leap from shredding a card when they probably should not have to "she may be doing things with people's money that she should't be doing" is quite a leap and there is nothing in this that would indicate that.