On 11/06/15 I went to Guaranty Bank and arranged for 2 CDs as well as for a checking account and a debit card. This was done with the assistance of Mss. Tatiana. Cano, Guaranty Relationship Banker and a few months later branch manager, and L. Mock. I explained to Ms. Cano the nature of my stay in Europe and that I would be depending heavily on this card and my checking account for everyday expenses while in Europe. She assured me that there would be no problem and gave me my debit card and her Guaranty business card with telephone number and e-mail address and told me to call or e-mail her whenever I needed help or encountered problems. She assured me that the card would be good for the two years that I was in Europe.
I also received a copy of the CD contracts and checking account documentation, where it clearly stated my address in Sweden and the duration term of two years for my CD arrangement with Guaranty. After arriving in Sweden later on in November, the use of the card, etc. in Sweden went smoothly with no problems other than the occasional very late bank statement, which Ms. Cano took care of when I e-mailed her about it. In late April and early 05/15 I made a short visit to Spain and discovered that the Guaranty card was blocked. I contacted Ms. Cano, and she unblocked it immediately. It was then for the first time that I was told that I must notify her in advance of the country to be visited and the inclusive dates of the visit, but that the card was always open for Sweden and the U.S.A.
Thereafter I financed my expenses in Spain with the card. Upon returning to Sweden in early November I continued to use the card as needed without any problems until August 2015,when I was planning a trip mainly to Germany. On August 26, 2015 Ms. Cano e-mailed me that the card was set to open for the period of my planned stay (09/2-09/23/2015) in Germany Later the same day I received an e-mail from a Wade White, vice-president at Guaranty, that due to information that he had read stating that Sweden and Germany were at the top of the list of 15 countries suffering from debit card fraud and that due to the risk for Guaranty my card would be blocked in the near future but I would be given a period of grace to take my assets out of their bank and arrange for investing them elsewhere.
In connection with earlier trips to Sweden and other parts of Europe, I had already done some research concerning this problem and found that Germany and Sweden were at the bottom of lists globally when it concerned debit and credit card fraud. I e-mailed Mr. White an article with statistics on Global card fraud indicating that Sweden was at the bottom of a list of 20 countries and Germany was third from the bottom. He sent me a seething e-mail claiming I was accusing him of being a liar and that if I was displeased with Guaranty's blocking my account I should get out of their bank as soon as possible. He also stated that the information he had was correct and that my information was out of date as it was compiled in 2013 for the year 2012. Sometime later I sent him an article from cardhub's http://www.cardhub.com/edu/credit-debit-card-fraud-statistics/ showing the most recent statistics from ACI Payments Systems compiled in 2015 for the year 2014 indicating the same information as the previous statistics
Apparently R. Hamilton, president of Guaranty Bank and Trust, intercepted my e-mail to Mr. White and had seen that Sweden was not a risk to Guaranty, and this was not a valid motive for blocking my card.There were several e-mails back and forth between us. Hamilton stated that his position was in total agreement with Mr. White's inasmuch as my card should be blocked, albeit the motive was no longer the extreme dangers of card fraud in Sweden. In fact, he stated that Mr. White's concerns in this way were irrelevant. Now he introduced the fabrication that it had always been the policy of Guaranty to limit cards used abroad to short periods. He also claimed that Ms. Cano was well aware of this policy and could not have agreed to let me use the card abroad for such a long period, and it must have been someone else who no longer worked there that had given me this incorrect information– he had no idea who and could not provide names. Furthermore, he stated that even if the assurances were erroneously made by Ms. Cano or someone else, I had nothing in writing and therefore no proof. This, of course, is not quite correct. I have e-mails from Ms. Cano and many bank statements indicating purchases made with the Guaranty card in Sweden, Spain, and Germany dating from 11/14 to 10/15. Mr. Hamilton further stated that as of 10/16/15, my card would be blocked for Europe, which has left me financially cut off at the knees to finance my stay in Europe.
Guaranty Bank & Trust Reviews
On 11/06/15 I went to Guaranty Bank and arranged for 2 CDs as well as for a checking account and a debit card. This was done with the assistance of Mss. Tatiana. Cano, Guaranty Relationship Banker and a few months later branch manager, and L. Mock. I explained to Ms. Cano the nature of my stay in Europe and that I would be depending heavily on this card and my checking account for everyday expenses while in Europe. She assured me that there would be no problem and gave me my debit card and her Guaranty business card with telephone number and e-mail address and told me to call or e-mail her whenever I needed help or encountered problems. She assured me that the card would be good for the two years that I was in Europe.
I also received a copy of the CD contracts and checking account documentation, where it clearly stated my address in Sweden and the duration term of two years for my CD arrangement with Guaranty. After arriving in Sweden later on in November, the use of the card, etc. in Sweden went smoothly with no problems other than the occasional very late bank statement, which Ms. Cano took care of when I e-mailed her about it. In late April and early 05/15 I made a short visit to Spain and discovered that the Guaranty card was blocked. I contacted Ms. Cano, and she unblocked it immediately. It was then for the first time that I was told that I must notify her in advance of the country to be visited and the inclusive dates of the visit, but that the card was always open for Sweden and the U.S.A.
Thereafter I financed my expenses in Spain with the card. Upon returning to Sweden in early November I continued to use the card as needed without any problems until August 2015,when I was planning a trip mainly to Germany. On August 26, 2015 Ms. Cano e-mailed me that the card was set to open for the period of my planned stay (09/2-09/23/2015) in Germany Later the same day I received an e-mail from a Wade White, vice-president at Guaranty, that due to information that he had read stating that Sweden and Germany were at the top of the list of 15 countries suffering from debit card fraud and that due to the risk for Guaranty my card would be blocked in the near future but I would be given a period of grace to take my assets out of their bank and arrange for investing them elsewhere.
In connection with earlier trips to Sweden and other parts of Europe, I had already done some research concerning this problem and found that Germany and Sweden were at the bottom of lists globally when it concerned debit and credit card fraud. I e-mailed Mr. White an article with statistics on Global card fraud indicating that Sweden was at the bottom of a list of 20 countries and Germany was third from the bottom. He sent me a seething e-mail claiming I was accusing him of being a liar and that if I was displeased with Guaranty's blocking my account I should get out of their bank as soon as possible. He also stated that the information he had was correct and that my information was out of date as it was compiled in 2013 for the year 2012. Sometime later I sent him an article from cardhub's http://www.cardhub.com/edu/credit-debit-card-fraud-statistics/ showing the most recent statistics from ACI Payments Systems compiled in 2015 for the year 2014 indicating the same information as the previous statistics
Apparently R. Hamilton, president of Guaranty Bank and Trust, intercepted my e-mail to Mr. White and had seen that Sweden was not a risk to Guaranty, and this was not a valid motive for blocking my card.There were several e-mails back and forth between us. Hamilton stated that his position was in total agreement with Mr. White's inasmuch as my card should be blocked, albeit the motive was no longer the extreme dangers of card fraud in Sweden. In fact, he stated that Mr. White's concerns in this way were irrelevant. Now he introduced the fabrication that it had always been the policy of Guaranty to limit cards used abroad to short periods. He also claimed that Ms. Cano was well aware of this policy and could not have agreed to let me use the card abroad for such a long period, and it must have been someone else who no longer worked there that had given me this incorrect information– he had no idea who and could not provide names. Furthermore, he stated that even if the assurances were erroneously made by Ms. Cano or someone else, I had nothing in writing and therefore no proof. This, of course, is not quite correct. I have e-mails from Ms. Cano and many bank statements indicating purchases made with the Guaranty card in Sweden, Spain, and Germany dating from 11/14 to 10/15. Mr. Hamilton further stated that as of 10/16/15, my card would be blocked for Europe, which has left me financially cut off at the knees to finance my stay in Europe.