Penny for your thoughts?
CHERRY HILL TWP. -- TD Bank -- which is based in Canada, but has its banking headquarters in Camden County -- has pulled all of its Penny Arcade coin-counting devices following claims of miscalculations.
The bank came under fire after news reports showed the devices, acquired in 2007 after TD took over Commerce Bank, returning inaccurate counts of deposited coins.
While TD continues to inspect the counters, Coinstar, PNC Bank, Republic Bank, Community Bank of Bergen County, Provident Bank and Valley Bank all offer similar services -- some free, some not.
Do you think you were shorted by TD Bank's Penny Arcade devices after utilizing the service during an earlier visit? Take our poll and let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Here's what NJ.com readers had to say about the coin-counting controversy.
- bospherus: "I always thought these machines were full of it, but to everlasting shame I used them -- too lazy to count my change and roll it up. I guess we are kind of forced to use them since the bank has to unroll your hundreds of coin rolls while you wait, never mind the time needed to do all this. Hopefully, there will be weekly count certification challenges posted for the consumer from now on."
- marleysmom: "Why am I not surprised by this? I always used to take my change to TD Bank in Hillsborough and always felt the total at the machine was short of what I put in. Last time I had rolls of all my coins and double checked them twice before I used the machine. Sure enough, the total came up close to $7 short. I made them come out and open the machine and "magically" they found about $4. If someone starts a class action suit, count me in! I now give my coins to nieces and nephews and they are thrilled to have them."
NGH144: "I always pay for things to the highest dollar even if I have the exact change. I bring all my change home and put it in a beer mug. When the mug fills up I take it to TD and deposit into my savings account. When I write a check when I enter it into my register, I round it off to the next highest dollar and put the overage in the "fee" column and at the end of the month I add all the "fees" together and transfer that amount into the savings account. I can save $200-250 a years that way."
tony1493: "The banks I used wanted you to put your name and account number on each roll of coins when you brought them to the counter -- I guess because they don't trust your counting or got ripped off. What's to say that these other banks and Coinstar machines don't have a problem with counting? TD employees told me they check the machine twice a day; now I wonder what and how much they used for the test. I put a lot of loose change in their machines."
Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.