William H. Geiger III wrote:
I didn't think one could debit a bank account without signed documentation by the holder of the account giving permision to do so.
Your thinking is incorrect.
Personaly I would never give somone such authorization to do so.
If you have a credit card, call up customer service, and ask if you can do a check by phone. There are a dozen services that do it. A verbal agreement is all that's necessary. I'm not even sure the calls are recorded; I recall no telltale beeps, which are required in California and other states. Western Union may do such transfers for a fee.
If they are capable of getting access to funds in an account just by a phone conversation this is truly a sad state of affairs for the banking community.
I quite agree. Sad, but true.
Could somone here with more banking background clarify this?
I don't have a banking background, but I've done exactly the above as a standard-issue idiot consumer. All they need is your account number, a unique check number, and the central bank routing information. And your SSN, which your credit card company has already (how convenient). Oh, and I'm sure they need a hell of a lot of liability insurance. -rich