Let’s play a game. Can you spot the problem below?
Like a smart consumer, college student Beth uses her debit card as a credit card at the store. She was then dismayed last Thursday to find National City Bank charged her an overdraft fees for pending charges. The pending charges would run her into the red, but she had a check in pocket for deposit later Thursday to cover it.
When she called to complain, National City Bank told Beth that, “depending on the company that you were buying from, when you swipe your card, the funds are taken out instantly.”
Unless someone changed bank law, credit cards place a “hold” on the funds for later processing. Debit cards process instantly, but only when actually used as debit cards,
National City Bank owes Beth a refund, an apology and we would say, her next overdraft waived, to compensate for the troubles. And a lollipop.
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I think what people are getting confused about here is how things work when your money is taken out of the account via ATM network vs. Visa Checking network. I dine out quite frequently, and the “hold” goes through immediately on a Visa credit account, and I’m assuming the same is true with the debit Visa accts as well. Usually the holds are for more than the purchase price, but not always.. Then 2-5 days later, the actual charge posts, BUT, during that interim, the “hold” amounts are temporarily deducted from my credit limit. I don’t run my cards anywhere near their limits, so I’m not sure what happens if you get close to the limit, but I’m assuming you’re still not allowed to borrow/use the “hold” money until the transaction hold is either posted or cancelled. I believe this is what happened with this particular statement — temporary holds put them over their limits.
Kos: I totally forgot about the e-mail & SMS deal. Wachovia does that, but I’ve never used it. I don’t think my MBNA credit card does it (not surprised, as they’re the only bill/account I have where the due date changes every month, bastards)
To those who can’t manage cold, hard cash… please don’t get a credit card. If you can’t manage cash in-hand, you’re going to have a more difficult time managing invisible cash.
SexCpatatoes: Maybe the bank he worked at did that, but I’ve never seen a bank (and I’ve been “on the inside” of many banks) which could cover interest based on the tiny amount of revenue raised from overdraft charges. Maybe your soc. prof worked at a ghetto bank with small savings accounts and high # of overdrafts.
I stopped using my debit card for small ticket items at convenience stores (Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Wendy’s) because I had my account info stolen. The hubby noticed it because he’s diligent about online balance checking and wondered why the balance was so low — $900 less than it should be.
Someone took my account info and used a card with some other name but my info and bought 3-$300 gift cards in California (I’m in Mass.). Two at GameStop, one at Sears. MasterCard says the transactions were legit because the purchaser (thief) had the physical card. Except he didn’t. I believe he used any old card and re-encoded the magstripe, hoping the clerk wouldn’t notice the names and numbers didn’t match the card. The electronic signature doesn’t matter — it might even have matched the one on the card.
This happened shortly after I started using my debit card for those small-ticket items. My theory: some clerk kept a copy of my numbers or — swiped my card twice: once in the store’s reader, once in their own. Easy way to get tons of card numbers, no one would really notice. These transactions all involved me handing the card to the clerk, not swiping it myself.
Thankfully, my bank ended up covering the $900 — they reimbursed my account very quickly and ultimately ate the money because MasterCard said the transactions were legit and wouldn’t force the stores to cover the losses. This is a reason to use a small, home-town bank.
And more importantly, nothing else bad (ID-theft-wise) seems to have happened from this situation. That loud sound you hear is me knocking on wood.
Greg P: I should have said “potential fees.” I was going for brevity over clarity. It seems like she keeps a pretty slim balance and it would be easy to overdraft if she didn’t pay close attention.
I work at National City as a teller. Looking at the online statement, I can clarify a few things.
Per NC’s agreement with Visa (the wonderful logo on the debit card), all transactions used as a credit card immediately have the money set aside out of the account when the transaction hits the bank. That’s what all those pending transactions are at the top of the printout.
The date shown on the pending transactions are when they are basically going to finish processing. Too many dependancies to list as to why some take longer than others. But most times it’s 3 days.
So if you look at the three transactions labled for 9/22/06, they were more than likely sent to the bank before that, probably on 9/19/06. The confusing thing is the running balance on the side showing those funds being taken out for the pending transactions last instead of having them in chronological order as to when they actually came in.
Depending on the her past with the bank, I would suggest she call the office manager/branch manager of the branch where she opened the account. If she didn’t have any priors, then it’s likely it will be removed. I know we’ve done quite a bit of those for first time offenders.
As a side note, NC also has a shady practice in their account contract that allows them to pick and choose which debits they pay first each day. Say you have a check for $1200, and 3 smaller checks for $20 each. Let’s also say it’s not quite payday and you have $1219 in the account. What will more than likely happen is, the mortgage check will go through free and clear. You’ll get hit with 3 overdraft charges for the 3 other checks.
ATM deposits are another problem entirely. Whenever possible, cash checks out before depositing them. You’ll avoid quite a bit of hassle.
$3.12?? debit cards are tracked. Cash is still king. Even uncle looey knows whwere you’ve been.
I should send in my CIBC statement from last month. We didn’t go to Burger King on Thursday because I knew there wasn’t any money in the account. But we did go on Friday. So, what happened? It posted on Thursday, incurring a less than 5$ overdraft charge. Which is funny, because we don’t have overdraft on that account. We keep on trying to get it and CIBC refuses to give it to us even though we had it on one of our previous accounts up to 6 months ago. So, at the beginning of this month, we get slapped with $10 overdraft charge and interest.
Yah, I think I will send it in – if I can find the statement. I was monitoring the account like a hawk too and still do, but what I see online vs what the statements show are often different, so I can’t even be sure with monitoring online.
I don’t get the American banking system. Here in Canada we have debit cards (aka bank card, ATM card) and credit cards. Separate things.
The debit card is what you use at the ATM, and you can use it to make purchases at pretty much any store. The funds are immediately withdrawn in either case. If you have $100 in your account and you make a $101 purchase you’ll get declined. If you make a $99 purchase you’ll have $1 in the account afterward. It’s pretty straightforward.
Then you might have any number of credit cards for which you’ll get an invoice and pay as you choose.
Makes sense to me!
Is it possible that the overdraft fee was applied retroactively? Either way, the account would have the same amount of money (or lack thereof).
The fact of the matter is that she overdrew her bank account…no matter what bank you use, they’re not going to let you use money you don’t have.
A way to essentially permanently avoid overdrafts and — if you choose — credit card interest:
1. Invest in Quicken or other accounting software.
2. Always save (and ask for) your receipts, and record anything you buy and all checks you write in the software.
3. The software will tell you what you can and cannot do relative to courting overdraft or interest charges.
4. Be disciplined to not spend more than what you actually have.
A relatively small investment in software, and in self-discipline (re both entering receipts and watching your balances) can have major payoffs in money saved, headaches avoided, and better credit scores.
It’s quite simple:
DON’T SPEND MONEY YOU DON’T HAVE
The extra charges overdrafted her account.
There is a point here that banks have a rediculous system, but this person is not getting “screwed” when they continue to use the ol’ check card when they HAVE NO MONEY IN THEIR ACCOUNT.
Piss Poor financial management is no reason to go after a bank.
I think it’s because of that “Check 21″ thing that went into effect in 2004
Basically you can’t “float” a check any more because all banks have switched over to electronic check clearing.
http://www.snopes.com/business/bank/check21.asp
Narmrepus221: Actually, legally, you’re supposed to have the money in the account when you write the check.
Right. but you used to be able to write a check if you knew you had no money in it if you had cashed a check prior to that.
You could write the check and it would take several days for it to clear. But if you cashed a check between writing the first one the money would be automatically deposited in your account.
When the first one cleared you’d have enough funds in your account to cover it and not bounce it.
With this “Check 21″ thing that’s no longer possible.
My previous comments were lost in the “new commenter approval delay”, so I hope no one minds if I reiterate what I had to say last week …
1) The timestamp you see in the activity log doesn’t necessarily reflect when the transaction actually took place. I’ve noticed my bank sometimes dates entries several days after I made my purchase. I’m not sure where that date comes from.
2) Debit cards (like credit cards) are supposed to decline if insufficient funds are available in the account. Therefore, the transactions dated 9/22 through 9/25 probably occurred before the check cleared on 9/21.
3) If 1 & 2 are correct, then Beth had $106.73 available to cover a $150 check. The rest of the money in her account was reserved for pending debit card transactions, money that was already spent.
If the chronology shown is correct, we should be asking how she was able to debit $53.33 on an account that had already been overdrawn for 4 days. This should not be possible, unless you’ve got a line of credit with your bank (which should have covered the bounced check).
The moral of the story is that it’s very difficult to float checks, and impossible to float debit card transactions. I’m pretty sure National City didn’t do anything wrong here. A lot of conclusions have been jumped to.
If the bank is at fault, they should be torn a new one. But before we run them through the ringer, someone should look into whether this could have happened in the way I suspect it did.
-M
I had five debit transactions pending at National City Bank, and at 2:00 A.M., my balance was $2.34. By 9:00 A.M., I was charged for a check which cleared FIRST and had not been shown even as pending. I was charged overdraft fees for the five debit items. This happened even though my child support check was direct-deposited the same day from the state and the total balance would have been more than sufficient to cover everything. I closed my account the next day. The bank rep told me that all charges are posted from highest amount to lowest amount, and even though deposits and debits may post the same day, the higher amount caused the first debit and everything else flowed from there.
Having worked in the banking industry for the past 12 years, and having had to explain the basic concepts of addition and subtraction to hundreds of people, I can confidently tell you that if you try to beat the banking system, it is going to catch up with you. If you use your checkbook properly, there will be no question as to the amount of funds in your account.
I can spot the problem on the statement, the running balance is a -77.27, that’s a problem. And yes, when you swipe your debit card, the funds are on “hold” immediately and unavailable to cover any items that may clear the account.
Use common sense people!
Today, I experienced overdraft charges from NC. My available fund yesterday was $105.44 and deposited a personal check for $1,100 at 11:40 a.m. They didn’t credit my deposit until midnight and therefore the checks totaling $739.30 cleared before my deposit which made my account in the red. In order to make my account good, I had to write another check to deposit for $300 hoping that it would be credited for my pending house payment. When calling the bank to verify if that deposit was going to take care of the house payment coming through, they confirmed that the check for $300 would be credited first before any checks coming through or the pending debits. Why didn’t they do that with the $1,100 check? They told me that the deposit for $1,100 had to be verified first before the funds are available it could available that day but likely the next day. This is done through electronic verification and as we all know, computers can be slow. Who’s to know if National City or the $1,100 deposit on Chase Bank, my husband’s account, didn’t have computer malfunctions? The automation systems for either bank could have been a minute fast or slow and who would know? Only the bank would know and they surely wouldn’t admit to it. Why don’t they put the actual time that on the deposits, cashed check or on the bank statement? This would make the bank hold to what they’re doing and no monkey business could be going on behind the scene. I’m now in the process of closing my account since 1985 with National City and going over to Chase Bank where my deposits will be credited immediately when my husband give my that check on the first of the month.
I JUST RECEIVED AN OVERDRAFT OF $34.00. I DEPOSITED THE MONEY ON 10/7/06 & THE BANK TOOK MY HOUSE PAYMENT 10/8/06. THEY CHARGED ME AN OVERDRAFT BECAUSE THEY HADN’T POSTED THE DEPOSIT PRIOR TO TAKING MY MORTGAGE. WHEN I CALLED THE BANK, THEY SAID THAT’S THE WAY WE DO IT, SO I CLOSED OUT MY CHECKING ACCOUNT AN WILL NEVER DEAL WITH NATIONAL CITY BANK AGAIN. THEY ARE THEIVES. I HAVE ACCOUNTS AT 3 BANKS AND 1 CREDIT UNION AND HAVE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH ANY UNTIL NATIONAL CITY BANK. I WILL MAKE MY MORTGAGE PAYMENT EACH MONTH BY CHECK ON THE EIGHTH.
Upset Customer and Yotsee2:
The funny thing about banks and credit unions alike is that they have “end of business” cutoffs. These cut offs usually are in line with when the bank closes. If you deposit money at 6P and business cuts off 5P. No one will run your transaction until 8A when the bank opens in the morning. A bank is never going to front your money, until they have verifed that you are good for it (until they verified your deposit).
Depending on how the business you are writing a check to does business, those funds can be applied to your account right away. (In Example – Larger retailers scan your check and take the money from your account right from the register) If you have $200 in your account Monday at 5P, deposit $100 in the ATM at 6P and write a check at Target for $310 at 7P chances are you will see an OD Fee. The moral of the story is to structure yourself to not cut is so close.
It is not NCB’s or any institutions fault that you choose your lifestyle and choose to live so close that you overdraft your account. Many institutions have a free overdraft protection product you can set up to cover your checking account. I put $5 aside per pay period into this account for a year and stocked away $130 to cover any mishaps I might have (we all have made a calc error from time to time).
What I find interesting in this thread is that we have multiple differing takes on what her balance really is/was/should have been… if she really had the money to cover it all or didn’t… if the overdraft fee was warranted or not. Should banking really be *this* confusing?? It should not be possible to make an entire debate out of a single bank statement. But with a National City one, we have! I am a current NCB banker, and I hate how their system is. I know how to add. I know how to balance. I have a high IQ. But ever thinking that their system can be used in any kind of helpful way is laughable. It shouldn’t be, but it is. And that is unfortunate and reflective of the bank that National City is.
Ultimately, what reading this thread illustrates, is the gluttonous way that NCB and banks like them run their customers bank accounts. I agree that consumers need to be responsible with their money. But people do make mistakes. And banks like National City in my opinion openly exploit that fact. If you overdraft your NCB account, you will be charged an overdraft fee for every single item that comes through once an account is overdrafted. That can quickly become a huge freefall within even a single day. But how does NCB inform you that the account is overdrafted? By snail mail. They have customers email addresses but don’t use that. They conveniently use snail mail, allowing for plenty of time for overdraft fees to stack up in their pocket. Forgetting a single check entry in your checkbook can result in giving the bank 3-4 days of multiple overdraft charges. While the consumer who forgot to record a check did make a mistake, NCB conveniently structuring things to give themselves 3-4 days worth of overdraft fees is needless and excessive.
Now, this whole thread has me worried about all this. I actually contacted NCB and just spoke with an NCB customer service rep who stated that she once had a gentleman who ran a small business and missed depositing a check that he normally does. Not realizing/remembering that he hadn’t deposited it this one time, he had 150 transactions run through before he realized his mistake. National City Bank charged him *150* separate overdraft charges and refused to refund a single one. I don’t care who you are, that is insane and exploitative.
As the world gets smaller and smaller through the internet and e-commerce, smaller companies are disappearing underneath the large ones. And those large companies are getting uglier and uglier. Consumers easily become a dime-a-dozen, interchangeable, and nothing more than a number. Banks used to be about trust. Too few are anymore. I myself will be closing my National City Bank account this weekend and going back to my smaller local/regional bank that I trusted for years.
I became interested in some comments on this forum with National City Bank. National City Bank has been taking money illegaly from consumers and now my attorney is seeking a claim against them for breaking the account aggreement and not following the US Uniform Banking Act and regulations. I think people need to be aware what is happening and now it can be stopped.
I worked for National City Bank about 7 years ago and I know at that time they were looking for ways to charge fees for income. Sometimes banks become too large and when new systems and products are introduced, they sometimes fail to follow account agreements or a US Banking regulations. This happened some of time and we were always coding a fix or changing a policy to follow regulations.
Don’t assume it’s in their legal right to charge you a fee for certain items. Check your personal account agreement and also the Uniform Banking Act laws and regulations.
This happened to me when I deposited a check which didn’t get applied the next day. If a check is not available the first business day of the deposit you need to be notified at the time of the deposit. National City Bank will trick and deceive you in thinking money is available and you end up getting overdraft fees instead.
My lawyer is is filling a claim against them at this time.
If this happened to you and you have the most current checking account agreement. Page 32 would explain this agreement. The US banking regulation indicates that this should also occur as well. If you deposit slip dosen’t show a hold and the date matches deposit you have a case.
Good luck and I would suggest you find another bank.
I used to be a NCB customer for 10 years. My paycheck was always on DD and even though my account never held more than $100, I was always careful about not overdrawing (I prefer to spend my money on me). I had 2 instances of overdraft this year: the first was over a month ago. I had mailed a check for my car payment and cashed another check at work. Both items were done about 2 days prior to payday but, as luck would have it, both made it NCB on payday. Did NCB refund either NSF charge? Hell no! My paycheck was sitting there in pending status while the checks were actually being put through. When I called c/s, the person I spoke with stated that they have no control over the order in which the transactions post (which is why it’s possible to have the account look as though the NSF charge overdrew it instead of the debit/check transaction). The second time I overdrew the account was this past weekend. This was totally my fault because I had put my cc payment in my other bank account and had changed the bank account online but failed to call my cc’s c/s center and ensure that they were using the correct bank. Needless to say, they took the payment from NCB and NCB promptly charged me $34. On my way back home from Jefferson City, I stopped at a gas station and did a small transaction for $2.08 – thinking that the account had approx. $9 in it. I got hit with yet another $34 fee. When I went into the bank on Saturday morning, I asked if they second charge could be refunded and understood that I was fully responsible for the charge connected to the cc payment. The bank rep refused to refund so I closed my account. Rather than continue to let NCB rape you financially, leave! Trust me, voting with your feet (and your money) is more effective than any any complaint ever could be.
I’ve worked at different banks for over 10 years. Basically, if you’re writing checks and using your checkcard before you have money in your bank account … chances are you’re going to overdraw your account. If you don’t have money, don’t try to spend it! And about banks refusing to refund fees, that only happens when you’ve had a bunch refunded already or you’re treating their employees like crap.
kevin63 – Try reading their funds availability policy. I bet it’s with your new account papers and plastered all over the bank office. In the midwest, the average bank hold is 2 business days. Have fun paying for your lawyer.
Galileo – I’m sure one of their customer service reps did NOT tell you about that … a bank rep would never tell you about someone’s bad experience. Those calls are recorded and I’m sure most of the reps would like to keep their job.
The moral of the story is … don’t spend money you don’t have. And *if* a mistake happens (and it doesn’t happen often), talk to your bank about refunding the fee.
Current Balance: -$98.74
Available Balance: -$98.74 *
*Includes amounts available through overdraft protection, if applicable.
= Check Image
Date
Description
Type
Debit(-)
Credit(+)
Running Balance
Pending Items
No pending transactions for this account.
Posted Items
05/07/2007 WAL-MART #2426, COLUMBUS SW, OH
NC CHECKCARD TRANS. Debit $1.57 ($98.74)
05/07/2007 WAL-MART #2426, COLUMBUS SW,OH
POINT OF SALE PURCHASE Debit $2.43 ($97.17)
05/07/2007 NORTON ROAD DRIVE THRU, COLUMBUS
NC CHECKCARD TRANS. Debit $10.00 ($94.74)
05/07/2007 CICIS PIZZA #420 OH, COLUMBUS, O
NC CHECKCARD TRANS. Debit $19.06 ($84.74)
05/07/2007 OVERDRAFT CHARGE Debit $34.00 ($65.68)
05/07/2007 OVERDRAFT CHARGE Debit $34.00 ($31.68)
05/07/2007 NAT CITY ATM DEPOSIT
1715 HILLIARD ROME, HILLIARD,OH Credit $26.00 $2.32
05/04/2007 SPEEDWAY 9341 Q64, COLUMBUS
NC CHECKCARD TRANS. Debit $10.05 ($23.68)
05/04/2007 OVERDRAFT CHARGE Debit $34.00 ($13.63)
05/02/2007 MCDONALD’S F17738, COLUMBUS, OH
NC CHECKCARD TRANS. Debit $10.00 $20.37
05/02/2007 NAT CITY ATM DEPOSIT
1715 HILLIARD ROME, HILLIARD,OH Credit $350.00 $30.37
I know what Beth is going through. On 5/4 I deposited $26.00 into my checking account. I was going to buy 3 phone cards. My sister asked me to go to dinner with her instead. So I went to dinner $19.06,then to Walmart exchanged an item $1.57 differance and bought some food for the week with cash but needed the $2.43 because I was short,then to the drive-thru to get one phone card $10.00. I used my card as credit all 4 times.
Monday morning I find they took out an overdraft fee !! I called and they said the credit charge for the drive-thru $10.00 and the $1.57 Walmart charge put my account negative. That some credit charges come out of your account right away. They said “always make sure that the money is in your account BEFORE you use your card”. I DID !!! I deposited the $26 on Fri. before I ran the charges. I have always used my card as credit at Walmart and the drive-thru and it’s NEVER come out right away before.
So why now?!
If the $1.57 Walmart charge came out right away; then why didn’t the $2.43 Walmart charge come out to ???? HMMM???
It’s a scam to get money ! Switch banks. I did.
I don’t think my post made sense. On May 4th I had $10.32 in my account. I deposited $26.00 around 7:30 pm which on Mon. would have put my account at $36.32. I ran 4 credit charges totaling $33.06 thereby leaving a balance of $3.26 in my account.
National City Bank charged me an overdraft fee on May 4th for 2 of those charges ($1.57 and the $10.00). Then on May 7th charged me 2 additional overdraft fees, toataling $102.00 in fees, for my account being overdrawn. Which is due to their fee being taken out on the 4th.
I was told when I first got the account that all credit charges come out in 3 to 4 days and debit charges come out immediately.
National City refused to give me back my money so I sought legal advice and closed down my NCB account and went to another bank that was reffered to me through my employer.
Today I recieved notice that NCB has return 2 of the overdraft fees but are still holding the one; and just tacked on another for the charges that came out on 5/7 !! If they put the money back for the initial overdraft fee then my account was not overdrawn.
Like I said; get a different bank. Shop around and find one you feel you can trust. Some banks will allow you to overdraw your account by a set limit BEFORE they start charging fees.
Hope this helps you Beth.
I have a check that was placed on hold because it was more than $2,700. well when the check was placed on hold my account was $-200. Well the next day the back took the $-200 out of the check which was on hold. then then I made a withdrawl of $65. that was also taken out of the check which was on hold, which was reflected on the account. I was paid from my job about $630. Now that should have put me in the positive with out the overdraft right. Well that is what I thought but not according to the bank. I withdrew $450 and there was $39 also coming out of my account. Well according to the back my total available balance was -15.47 tell me how in the world did they get that????? If I spent less than the $630 I should still be positive SINCE THE -200 was taken out of the on hold amount 5 days prior to me recieving the $630.
@bmanny: So if the account is negative $200.10 this includes the overdraft fees already, then there is a deposit of $200.50 then a deposit of $639. a withdrawl of $450, a withdrawl of $39.80 what should the balance be????? The bank got -15.47. Now I am not a genious but I am no idiot either but all it should have take to put the balance in the positive should have been 200.11. then the $639. minus $489.80 should have left me with over $150.
Ok, all of these posts complaining about overdrafts are ludicrous. I work for one of these major banks that were mentioned above, and know for sure that any charge you incur was not done out of spite, nor was it done without having any reason. If you deposit a transit check (meaning a check payable to you from a different bank)after, say 2:30 p.m. your bank has most likely cut over to the next business day. That means if you make that deposit on a Monday after 2:30, your bank is already processing for Tues. If you make it on a Friday after cut over, your bank is processing on Monday’s business day, meaning your check will not be available until Tuesday. I don’t see how this can’t make sense. If you deposit a check payable to you written off of your bank, it will be available immediately. Cash works the same way. As for all of you complaining about overdraft charges: your bank takes the end of day post, subtracts any items that have been pending to expire- meaning pending to actually post- and adds any credits for the day. That means, credits that act as cash or on-us checks. It will not consider your payroll from another bank. If that leaves you in the negative, then you sould have thought about it sooner. Some banks will give you some leeway if it’s your first offense, but most banks give you a set amount of refunds before they won’t do it any longer. They figure that you already know how they work, and you’re an adult and should be responsible.
As for holding large checks- as an employee, I will not lose my job because you want your 3000. 00 available now. Because when that check comes back insufficiently funded, I will not only be hearing from you who can’t figure out why you are 3000.00 in the hole, but I will also be hearing from my manager, my district manager, and HR informing me that I am fired for having such losses as a teller. If you are depositing a credit card check, a personal check from out of state, a check you got in the mail for an unknown reason, some tax refunds, or if you just plain don’t have the funds to cover it were it to come back unpaid, expect a hold and don’t complain. We’re doing it to cover our butts and yours. Just because it was your mom who wrote you a check for 5000.00 doesn’t mean it won’t bounce. And just because it’s an “official check”, or “money order” or “cashier’s check” doesn’t mean it hasn’t been altered in some way unbeknownst to you.
Oh geez, also, thank us because someone could steal your checkbook or your card, write themselves a large check, deposit it, and you’re screwed now. That’s what holds are for.
Maybe if everyone stopped spending the money they didn’t have, no bank would be able to charge them a fee. Wake up & smell the industry. Don’t spend the money if you don’t have it & there won’t ever be a problem.
@billhelm: Totally agree. Everyone is so quick to blame the bank, but honestly if you kept a checkbook correctly or even did simple math anyone can save themselves fromthe “big bad bank”. If you have ten dollars in your account and spend fifteen duh there is going to be a penalty.
@fashionista: Well lets see how your new bank deals with a similar situation. regardless you screwed up, spent money you didn’t have yet & duh got a fee. Wake up to the industry every bank is going to do the exact same thing, they might refund one to keep you happy, but don’t count on it happening all the time. Bottom line you screwed up your account & of course there is going to be a penalty. Welcome to the new millenium.
@AngryKat: Has nothing to do with the bank, when putting something back on your card, or holding the money in your account talk to Walmart.
I had trouble with National City due to being overdrawn and the overcharge. Yes, the overdrawn amount was my fault, and I was charged the usual $36 for it, but the letter they sent me to tell me I was overdrawn was dated the 19th of the month. I received it on the 24th of the month.. 5 whole days .. the post date on the envelope was the 22nd of the month. They held the letter for 3 days before mailing it.. which incurred another $8 charge because I didnt “pay” it in 3 days. (from the 19th).
Thanks ok just recently they charged us 5 overdrafts. There was a transaction in my account for 254.00 I had the money to cover it in there. While in pending they put a hold on the money. The very next day it did not show in my account. The next day it was back so they put another hold on the money. Meanwhile there were 4 more little transactions coming out of my account. They had 2 holds on my account for the 254.00 which caused the 4 items to overdraft. None of these 4 items were more then 25.00 in pending. They tried to hit me with 4 overdrafts. I called bank and complained. They said they would fix. However that night 3 more items overdraft becuase of the first overdrafts. They did not believe me when I said things disappear from my account then come back the next day or 2. I started taking screen shots of my account. Went to the bank to prove it, after alot of fighting they fixed my account. Just last night my work deposit was in my account already cleared, tday it is gone from there. You have to watch because I was told it is all computerized and stuff does come and go. Try it for yourself take screen shots dailey for sevral days and you will notice things come and go.