We recently closed a branch/ATM but still have about 16,000 envelopes that list all of our locations, including the branch/ATM that is now closed. Our Ops Manager wants to continuing using these envelopes to send statements, NSF notices and invoice notices but I think they are misleading to our customers. Can anyone give me some ammo on this one?

I'll give you another reason not to use them.

When I first moved out on my own, the first telephone number I had assigned to me used to belong to a large national bank. They elected to continue using old stock that still had the phone number from a closed branch on it. Our friends at AT & T put that number back in the pool and ended up assigning it to me. My voicemail filled with customer account information from this large national bank. When I contacted them regarding my concerns about their customer information, they told me I should contact the phone company to change my number. Since I am a fellow banker and an honest fellow, I resisted to opportunity to commit rampant ID theft, but I was miffed that they didn't care enough to get things right, so I tried a little passive aggressive technique.

Here are some samples of my voicemail messages:

"Thank you for calling. I am open from 10-3 on days that start with the letter T. That's easy to remember cuz it rhymes."

"Your call is important to me. Your estimated wait time is however long it takes a slug to cross an 8-lane highway."

"For English Press 1, Para Espanol el numero dos, Orfay Igpay Atinlay, esspray umbernay eethray."

And so on. You do run the risk of frustrating and inconveniencing your customers, but there may be additional risk of subjecting them to me. Sadly, instead of the big bank wising up and changing their paper stock, their commercial loan officers starting calling my apartment to see what new message I had come up with.

Well that settles it - they're going in the shred bin. Thanks for the reply, BrianC!

Nobody looks at envelopes for branch location information so it probably was always just a waste of ink anyways as they get chucked the minute the mail is opened. I hope everyone is aware of what the real solution to this problem in the future might be.