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"Only Feds can carry in here..."

jahwarrior

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originally posted on www.pafoa.org:



8/1/08:

so earlier today, i took the g/f to Penn Security bank, to open a new account there. i've had a checking account there for at least 10 years, give or take. i like banking there, as opposed to bigger banks like Fleet or Wachovia; service is more personalized, and friendlier. so anyway, as i sat with my 3 girls, a large, rather heavyset woman, the kind that reminds me of that one substitute teacher i hated, click clacks by us. suddenly, she stops, and says, rather loudly, "SIR, YOU CAN'T HAVE THAT GUN IN HERE. YOU HAVE TO LEAVE IT OUTSIDE."

"SIR, DID YOU HEAR ME? YOU CAN'T HAVE THAT IN HERE."

"i heard you, i just don't understand what you mean. i have an account here, for a long time. i've been in here many times...."

"WELL, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY NO ONE EVER TOLD YOU WHAT THE LAW WAS."

Worf_is_Frustrated.gif


"the law? what law? what are you talking about?"

"THE ONLY PEOPLE ALLOWED TO CARRY IN THIS BANK ARE FEDERAL AGENTS, AND ARMED SECURITY GAURDS UNDER CONTRACT WITH US, SIR. SIR! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

"actually, there's no such law; that's an urban legend, lady. banks aren't federal property, they're private property, like any other business. i don't know where you got your facts from, but i'd check them again."

"SIR, YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT HAVE THAT IN HERE! YOU'LL HAVE TO LEAVE, NOW, BEFORE I CALL THE AUTHORITIES."


"sure, fine, whatever." i thought for a second, then said, "i'll leave, and i'm taking my money with me. i've been banking here for about a decade, and this is the first time i've ever seen you, and this is for sure the first time anyone working here has acted like an asshole, and been so profoundly rude to me. looks like PNC's getting my money from now on." i got up and walked out, with my daughters, leaving the g/f there to finish her business.

my g/f walked out, with a piece of paper in her hand. "her name's Linda, if you're going to do what i think you're gonna do."

that's why i love that girl.

we immediately drove to the main branch in downtown Scranton. i talked to the branch manager there, explained the situation to him, and filed a complaint, and made sure to include how she made it a point to embarrass me in front of all the other customers in the bank. i also made an appointment to see the bank's head of security on monday, as he wasn't aware of any policies regarding customers carrying firearms in the bank.

oooooh, this is still pissing me off, even 4 hours later...



8/4/08:

so...i went to the main branch of Penn Security bank today, to try and get this issue resolved. i had some paperwork prepared, to show thier head of security, plus a letter with a written complaint about the manager of the Cedar Ave. branch. as i walked to door, carrying, of course, imagine my surprise when i was greeted by this:

013-2.jpg


seriously, they didn't even wait until after my meeting to pull this crap. so, i was left with only one option. i went back to my van, left my gun with my g/f, went back in, asked for the manager, and informed him that i would be CLOSING MY ACCOUNT TODAY, RIGHT THIS MINUTE. period. when he asked why, i told him. i don't appreiciate being treated like a dog by ignorant managers, i don't appreciate being ambushed by corporate policies aimed at me, and i don't appreciate my rights being trampled by local business. and, that they should expect more accounts being closed within the coming weeks. having been a customer for over 10 years, i have referred a lot of people, who are more loyal to me than a faceless company. have a nice day. i'm still submitting my letter to the bank president to let him know about the conduct of his employees. not that it'll change anything...
 

Prophet

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A bank that has no idea what customer service is.

I had a similar issue with Iron and Glass Bank but before i closed my account i found out that they sold out to First National Bank. Does anyone know what their policy is toward the 2nd amendment? If it follows the I&G or Penn Security I may be looking for a new bank aswell.
 

david.ross

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May 24, 2008
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Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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For those who want to protest as a result of the actions of PennSecurity, I'm listing the Manager's email below, plus the contact page.


[font="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"]CENTRAL CITY OFFICE
Carl Baruffaldi, Mgr.
[/font]
[font="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"]150 North Washington Ave.
Scranton, PA 18503
[/font]

C.Baruffaldi@pennsecurity.com


http://www.pennsecurity.com/contact.htm

Email addresses should in the format <first initial>.<last name>@pennsecurity.com
 

rayven

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Jul 22, 2008
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You know that you can ignore that sign, right?

Signs mean absolutely nothing. If you go in carrying, the most they can do is ask you to leave. If you refuse, THEN they can get you for trespassing.

I've carried in my local mall many times and there is a sign near the door that prohibits firearms. A few merchants have seen me open carry, asked the usual questions, and that's it. Never been asked to leave, nothing. I would if asked though.

But you did the right thing though. Close the account, and post it on here to have more carry proponents complain. I plan on calling them tomorrow, considering I am shopping around for a new bank. And since I have a fairly sizable amount to deposit, I'm sure they're not going to appreciate losing that kind of business due to a stupid policy (which I plan on asking about).
 

armueller2001

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Joined
Jun 9, 2008
Messages
16
Location
, Illinois, USA
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Just emailed this


Hi, I'm a new Scranton resident and I stopped by your location to open a new account when I saw the sign on the door, notifying me that my civil rights (2nd amendment) were not welcome there. I own non-resident Florida permit that legally allows me to carry a concealed firearm in 28 states, including Pennsylvania. To obtain that permit, I took a firearm training class, had fingerprints taken, and had an FBI background check/mental health history check. I can defend myself and my family virtually everywhere else, but your bank does not trust me to do the same in your facility. A sign on the front door is not going to stop someone who is intent on causing harm or robbing your bank. Such signs and policies only disarm the law abiding citizens who have gone through the time and effort to obtain legal means of self-defense. The people who rob banks are not concealed carry permit holders, in fact, a majority of them are repeat felons who are not even legally allowed to OWN their guns, much less carry them. I'm assuming you haven't heard many stories like this one, when law-abiding citizens are a benefit to businesses such as yours --> link

I am at a total disagreement with your ban on self defense, and will be opening a business account at one of your competitor's banks.

Thank you for your time, and have a great day

EDIT: I forgot to add that CCW holders are over 13x less likely to commit a crime than the average person... D'OH!
 

mrbiggles

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i don't see the need to drone on and on and on about how you passed a background check, passed a mental health bs, get a permit, blah blah blah.

you should be able to carry without all that nonsense, i don't personally think its a good idea to use those lame points in situations like this because those laws are restricting your rights as more than their policy for no "weapons" is. and you're pretty much conceding that those are good and necessary things
 

Thundar

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Joined
Sep 12, 2007
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Newport News, Virginia, USA
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Hey their poster asks you to call their 800 number immediately if you have any questions..

What is your technical definition of a firearm? Does it include pre 1898 guns?

What is a dangerous weapon? If my BB gun has the safety on it isn't dangerous, right??

Lots of fun to be had

Penn Security 1-800-327-0394
 

mbaltuskPA

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Oct 13, 2008
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Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA
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Thundar wrote:
Hey their poster asks you to call their 800 number immediately if you have any questions..

What is your technical definition of a firearm? Does it include pre 1898 guns?

What is a dangerous weapon? If my BB gun has the safety on it isn't dangerous, right??

Lots of fun to be had

Penn Security 1-800-327-0394
Yeah along these lines, the sign says "firearms and dangerous weapons" are prohibited... If I went in there and threw the harassing yenta that told the OP he couldnt have the gun in the bank out the window, wouldn't that make the window dangerous and as such, they would all need to be removed from the bank? This crap makes me shudder...
 

Ch1pster23

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Nov 6, 2008
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Erie, Pennsylvania, USA
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Here is my letter

Dear Mr. Carl Baruffaldi Friday December 5, 2008





I am taking some time to write you this letter thanking you for helping me make a decision today. This morning I woke up having the day off and I received a honey do list from my wife, one of the tasks to complete was open a new checking account. Having said that I am not too much on big banks, I prefer the little ones with small town appeal. Just a little history of my self, I served our country serving in the U.S. Army for over five years. In that five plus years I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Today I went to one of your offices and to my surprise I saw a sign saying that you and your company fail to support the Constitution of the United States. I was in shock and I am still in disbelief that your company would do something like that. I could completely understand if your sign said, “No unlawful carrying of weapons, firearms, ect” but your sign clearly states, “regardless of whether or not the person is licensed to carry the weapon”. Apparently you’re unaware that in order to receive a license to carry a firearm you must not be a criminal, have never committed a criminal act and have had an intensive back round check. Are you aware that if someone was going to rob your bank that chances are there not an license to carry holder and that someone with a license to carry is 12 times less likely to commit a crime. Have you thought about what if a criminal would see your choice not to support Constitution, they would target your branches knowing that everyone in the bank are unarmed.

In order for me to service your banks you need to remove those signs and put in their places that Penn Security supports the Constitution and apologies for any misunderstanding. What’s now going to happen is, I am not only writing you a letter I am writing Scranton Times, and any and all news papers in the area, so I can to explain how Penn Security Bank and Trust Company fail to support our Second Amendment rights. My personal goal is to turn at least ten perspective customers away and send them to your competitors.





Thanks For the help



"Name"

Veteran / Concerned Citizen
 

Sig229

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Hopefully they never get robbed.

But.....

If they do. Im sure they will think back and wished that a fine armed law abiding citizen was there.

What happened to America?
It seems like I woke up one day and people cannot process logic via grey matter braincells.
 

Jim675

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Dec 17, 2007
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Bellevue, Washington, USA
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Nope. They will not regret that armed John Q. Public was not there. They have insurance for the cash if they get robbed and hiring a new teller or two is why they have an HR department.

The only thing that will make them express regret is if you can actually take away enough business to impact their bottom line.

If a branch doesn't do well they'll replace the branch manager, a few times. Then they may decide that's just a bad location and close the branch, laying off the employees.

Only if you can consistently impact profits over time and multiple locations can you impact the decision makers.
 

FoGKeebler

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Dec 1, 2008
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North Richland Hills, Texas, USA
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First I want to say good job on taking your business elsewhere as that is a positive stance against business institutions that do not support the right to bear arms. I live in Texas and there has not been 1 place I shop at or do business with that feels they need to remove my rights. If I do encounter this ever i would do as you did.

The idea of sending the local papers letters informing them of a business's policy to remove ones constitutional right is a good idea, but if the paper supports the ideals of the business then your message goes nowhere but the round file.

It seems to me that in order to change how people feel about these issues is to do what we all have done in the past, educate and inform our fellow citizens.

We continually exercise our rights to carry, but maybe its time to exercise our right to protest. If the object is to inform people about a bad policy and get them to do business with other entities then it shouldn't be too difficult to stand in public in front of a business with a few polite and good mannered signs that explain their policies and why they are bad. you would gather much more interest from customers future and present. You may even get the local news and/or papers to present your feelings to the public in a whole. Besides that a business may be quick to change its policy faster then normal to keep from being bludgeoned to death by public opinion bad or otherwise.
 

Sonora Rebel

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You did the right thing... 'Close the account... encourage others to close their accounts. I can walk into any Wells-Fargo 'round here openly heeled. Opened my last account with them with a 1911-A1 on my hip. Bunch'a pansies!
 

Wonderer

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Sep 11, 2008
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Hypothetically:

If A person who normally carries everywhere, continues to honor/patronize this establishments order for disarmament-(perhaps has to do business there for some unforesaken reason); and then if an unscruplous character should harm this 2A unarmed person at this establishment during the course of official business there, thenis there potential for legal action/ramifications?



Is that one sentence?
 

Sig229

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Wonderer wrote:
Hypothetically:

If A person who normally carries everywhere, continues to honor/patronize this establishments order for disarmament-(perhaps has to do business there for some unforesaken reason); and then if an unscruplous character should harm this 2A unarmed person at this establishment during the course of official business there, thenis there potential for legal action/ramifications?



Is that one sentence?
That would depend on the business and if there were any other options for that 2A person to do business elsewhere.

But Im sure you could get a case like that heard in civil court.
The question is, would a jury decide in the victims favor and not in favor of the business.
 
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