ATMs are good for small deposits, but I don't trust them with large deposits. I am a new B of A customer and have had numerous corrections and overdraft fees ($35) to my checking account. It always seems the mistakes they make are never in my favor, though.

OK, I'll start... why did the lack of a successful deposit of one check trigger 15 overdraft fees? Were they trying to withdraw funds that weren't in the account because the check failed to deposit? Rule number one of banking-- if it ain't in the account, don't try to spend it.

Warmly,
scoosdad

@ConsumptionJunkie: actually, they have a system where they will pull out your largest charges first then the smaller ones then credit your accout for any deposits- meaning - lets say u have 100$ you charge 80$ , 20$ then 10$, 5$ and 3$ and 2$ and u deposit 20$ - so u expect to have 120$ in your account and a debit of 120$
BOA will first take 80$ out of the 100 - then the 20$ then the 5*, 3* and 2* on over charge- then credit your 20$ - so they can charge you 3 times for overdraft. instead of charging based on when the charges are made

I've been depositing my checks at a BofA ATM for years, never had a problem.

But, I did just move all my money to another back because of another pathetic thing they did. BofA keeps different addresses for different accounts you have. If you move, make sure to change the address on all of your accounts. I had a credit account that I didn't know about (opened as over draft protection, that I never used, and never even saw a physical card for). One day, a charge appeared on that account, not sure if it was fraud or computer error). I had moved several times since, and they couldnt find me, so they sent it to collections.

I got it all straightened out, but I was amazed they didn't even look for me, just sent it to collections. I had several other active accounts with them, including money market, savings, checking, and credit cards. Was using those accounts CONSTANTLY. And my deposits there were tens of thousands of dollars. The bill sent to collections was a $97 sweater or something from banana republic.

I don't really like BofA but I have never had an issue with the check machines, I try and avoid going in the branches as much as possible.

I don't know what kind of ATM's these people use, but the B of A ATM's near me scan the check as you insert it into the ATM (no envelope!). The amount the check is for appears on the screen for you to approve. When you're done, the scanned image of the check appears on your receipt. It doesn't seem like Stacy's story could have happened if she had this kind of ATM. I've deposited checks this way a couple times and it worked out fine.

I've never had this problem at BoA. And I've deposited checks at ATMs there regularly for years. Not saying it didn't happen, but it's not been my experience.

Wow, that's a first. I've never wanted to open an account at a bank just to have this happen so I can pull the douchebag teller over the counter by their shirt collar and beat them to a bloody pulp until they correct the error and give me a written letter of apology. I feel so dirty now. :(
Sorry, it's finals week and I just realized that I've spent the past 4 years in the wrong major.

I have not had any problems with Wells Fargo ATM deposits. I don't see how depositing it with a teller is too much better because (correct me if my assumption is wrong) you don't know if the check will be accepted or not until the transaction is fully posted. You could just as well end up in the same boat as far as getting the check back that way as well.

I don't know why anyone would deposit via an ATM, too much can go wrong that can't be immediatley fixed.

I had this same problem with the scanning ATM. I am the treasurer of a small non-profit with a small business account in the non-profit's name at BOA. For years I've received checks from our fiscal sponsor made out to my name, signed them over to the non-profit's name and deposited them in our account without a problem. the first time i tried to make a deposit with the new scanning atm the same thing happened: the funds were deposited and then withdrawn from our account. No one at BOA would give me any answers, they said i had to wait until the check was mailed back, which took two weeks. When i finally got it and called BOA about the problem, they said that i could only deposit checks made out to our non-profit into the account, i couldn't sign them over. when i demanded a refund of overdraft fees that had occurred as a result, the woman on the other end insisted that this wasn't a new policy and that I had "never" been able to sign over checks to the account... despite ample evidence that i had been doing just that for years. but the sense i got from them is that with the new scanning machines, no human beings actually look at your check, so they can and do reject you for all sorts of absurd things that a human would be able to figure out (like that jim and james are the same person).

@trollkiller: Maybe they can't access the bank during banking hours? Not everyone has the flexibility to take off to the bank between the hours of 8am and 4:30pm.

I always go in to deposit checks. You might have to wait a bit longer in the lines but its worth the wait because I've never had trouble. That and I don't trust ATMs... something just seems wrong about those things (just a feeling...).

I hate BofA with a passion but I still have an account with them. I refuse to deposit anything into the ATM. I prefer to go into the bank to do my deposits.

Bank of America just plain sucks! I had an account with them for 7 years, and one day, they raised fees for everything. I told the teller I'd just like to close my account - she told me there'd be a $60 closing fee! Instead, I asked the minimum balance without incurring fees - $1,000 - and took out the rest. A few weeks later, I called the B of A customer service line to complain about the closing fee, and guess what I was told - THERE WAS NO CLOSING FEE! I literally stormed to the B of A, asked for a manager, ratted out the teller who lied to me, and asked for all my $$!

Now, my B of A pains come from a credit card I have through them, but use for nothing more than automatically paying my cell phone bill. I've stopped getting statements in the mail, and I now have to guess when it's due so I can go to the branch and pay it in person. WHAT A PAIN!

@scoosdad: Read closely: "all seemed well, and I noted that the deposit showed up online at my B of A account."

I assume after that is when he went and spent some money.

24 hours later, the entire check had been reversed back.

Which means all the transactions made in that 24 hour period (assuming he didn't have much other money in the account besides the check in question) bounced.

Hooray for USAA's deposit at home. Scan it in, and no errands needed.

Their .1% interest on checking though...
(I'm a college student, I don't have enough money for a normal savings account).

I'm sure this was a really frustrating experience, but my experience with B of A has been pretty acceptable. I've moved multiple times, and usually that requires using cashier's checks to put down a deposit. They usually charge $6 a pop (and it takes 2 to 3 for every move-one for deposit and one for first month at least) and they've always waived the fee, no questions asked. I've deposited up to $5000 in checks at once at the ATMs and never had a problem, even when the check was made out to two people. Yes, their overdraft fees are quite retarded, but for the most part, if you're responsible with your money that's something you don't have to worry about.

I did recently move the majority of my money over to a WaMu savings account, since they were offering 5% APY if you opened an account online. But for my checking, I'm happy staying with BOA. (Famous last words, right? Knock on wood)

It is always unfortunate when problems happen.
I have had a BOFA account for 5 years and have not had any complaints yet.

I was once a Bank of America customer. I had no problems with them until a few years ago.

I deposited a check via ATM on a Friday after 5. The check wouldn't post until Monday, but I was told by a representative earlier in the day that any withdrawals on the account would be posted after the check was credited.

Tuesday morning rolls around and there are three bounced checks in my account and the check that I had deposited. I called the service center near where I lived and was told that the checks bounced because I didn't have the required funds to cover them (oh really?). I asked about the check that I had deposited and was told that it cleared and the whole amount was put in my account.

OK, so why didn't I have enough funds in my account to cover those three checks?

"The checks cleared on your account balance from Friday."

"Well, on my account website it shows they cleared on Monday, and if the check I deposited cleared on Monday where is the problem?"

"Anything deposited on Friday after 5 PM goes into your account on Monday at midnight."

"OK, I get that. But the checks I wrote went in on Monday at midnight as well. If that is the case then why do I have overdrawn checks?"

"Because your check posted on Monday at midnight and the checks you wrote cleared based on your Friday balance."

"But they cleared on Monday at midnight. How is this possible?"

"I don't know, sir. It looks like you didn't have the funds on Friday to cover the checks."

(Cut to a picture of me banging my head on the desk.)

After talking with the reps manager I was advised to go see my local bank. While there the in-bank rep admitted that the problem was not my fault, but he was also reluctant to refund my overdraft fees. I had to convince him to reverse them based on the fact that I'd have to pay the returned check fees from all the places I had written checks that bounced.

The next day I took my money out of savings and went to a credit union. I also wrote to the branch president. To this day I have not received a reply.

I know someone who brought a check into the bank and got it deposited, only to have it reversed because of a teller error. It was a huge check. This was at Wamu btw. Took weeks to settle, so unfortunately, it's not just atms.

However, I'm surprised BofA would not reverse or credit back some of the overdraft charges.

At Wamu they have the drop off deposits where you don't get a receipt--I am frightened of doing that but I've noticed people dropping off checks into the bin all the time.

"I thought I'd give your readers a heads-up on how much Bank of America sucks,"
You're preaching to the choir, honey.

I'm the author of the letter.

For what its worth, I certainly understand that bank errors happen. But their lack of assistance and craptastic attitude was what gets me.

Their lobby hours suck (9-4!!) so it is hard to make teller deposits sometimes.

The overdraft fees occurred because by the time I'd realized what happened, it was too late. I actually deposited a chunk of cash to cover it as soon as I'd realized it, but due to their awesome way of wanting to hit you with as many fees as possible (as noted above by chuloallen) it was not enough.

Then I was just mad and refused to put any more money in until they'd promised that they would reverse the overdrafts, which took a month.

Boooooo on B of A!

Wells Fargo rocks with ATMs:
1) I have never had a deposit problem in 10 years, checks signed or unsigned (yet)
2) You can stuff a handful of dirty unsigned checks and cash into an ATM (no envelope!) and it will scan and ask you to verify the (so far correct) scanned values
3) You can buy stamps (weird)
4) I can pay my (WF) credit card bill from an ATM...Or at least you used to. I do it all online now, but back in college this was a big time saver.

Their rates aren't the best, but I've had a real good experience with them.

My ex wanted to open a B of A bank account, I told her they were aholes and not to do it. She did it anyways and she has had nothing but trouble. They held her paychecks drawn on a local bank (and a major employer) for 4-5 days, she overdrafted once and they charged daily fees. Some day she will learn about them. I like the bank I deal with, only 1 branch so far which is a bit out of the way. When I go in I am greeted by name, sit on a couch, drink fresh coffee and watch their big screen while they transact my business. They never hold checks, and credit back all my my ATM charges that other banks charge. They also pay almost 5% on my money market ($1000 min) and 1% on checking (no min), all with no fees (and believe me I am not rich) they just know how to treat people.

I've been with BoA for a long time and always do ATM deposits. I've gone into the bank if the check was pretty big for sanity's sake, but no problem. I've also had good experiences with their customer service on things like foreign atm withdrawals, etc.

However, I do have an ATM problem. Their newer and much larger ones are S-L-O-W and seem to be aimed for SUV drivers. Its only annoying, but they've reinvented a wheel that is perfectly fine and found a way to make said wheel move like mole-arses.

That or its the company who makes the machines screwing it up like they do voting machines.

I had a BOFA ATM "eat" a check of mine.

Said it couldn't read it and tried to spit it out but DIDN'T and then closed up shop. So my check was unacknowledged. Sigh. Good thing it was during business hours and I sorta got it sorted out.

So it goes.

I banked at B of A for years, before finally getting fed up abour four years ago. Among many, many other things, they were really fond of hanging onto checks cut from major corporations, for as much as ten business days, "to clear".

The excuse they usually gave me for this was that these checks were "unusually large deposits" for my account (I'm a freelancer, so I tend to get paid once every few months with a really big check, a situation for which B of A apparently has no contingency), and that in the interest of protecting themselves from bad checks (from one of the biggest companies on earth?), they needed to wait for it to clear. Any time I would ask why this would sometimes take more than a week, I never got the same story, and usually got an elaborate runaround.

I swithched to WaMu, where I discovered that -- strangely enough -- they clear my paychecks instantly, with no wait whatsoever. I have never yet had to wait for ANY check to clear to my account at WaMu, no matter who wrote it to me.

B of A is shameless and evil. If you bank with them and you're currently happy with them, I recommend you move elsewhere anyway, and pronto -- they WILL find a way to screw you, eventually. The minute you do have some sort of issue, their Customer Service department will almost certainly treat you rudely, contemptuously, and (most important) unhelpfully. Run.

I use the atm deposits all the time. I randomly get checks for various amounts from 25-1000 for freelance work and company reimbursements but am almost never near a bank during business hours. I only had a problem once and it was the deposited the amount twice on a 500 dollar check. About a week and a half later they pulled the extra 500. I was expecting it so I didn't over draft (since its not my money) so it all worked out.

Here we go again kids:

CREDIT UNION
CREDIT UNION
CREDIT UNION
CREDIT UNION
CREDIT UNION
CREDIT UNION

The thing for me was that B of A would hold onto checks ranging from $200 to $10,000 (and everywhere in-between), even though they were all issued by the same entity. If the last $10,000 check from this huge corporation cleared with no problems, why in the world would their $200 check bounce a month later? B of A could never give me a satisfactory explanation for their logic.

I'm 28 and I can count on one hand the number of times I've actually used a teller. Every paycheck I've ever recieved has been deposited to my checking account via an ATM and I have never had a single problem. I use bank of america too..

bank of america does suck. i went to europe for two weeks after i graduated a couple summers ago and went to the bank first to make sure what kind of fees i could expect and what atms to get money from. two tellers both told me there were no fees (none at all) whether i used my debit card or my credit card (both BoA) and i could get money from ANY atm with no charge.

so i get back from europe and look at my statements. every time i used one of my cards i was charged $5. whenever i used my other card i was charged a % fee (like 3 or 4 % of the amount) for every charge. I was pissed and went to the bank and pointed out which tellers told me this misinformation. the bank manager told me i was lying and that the tellers DID tell me there were charges and had explained all of them. yeah, right, like i'm going to knowingly use my card 30 or 40 times while getting charged every time. the bank manager said she was unable to reverse all the $5 fees, but would credit me 2 of them (total of $10) as a courtesy. WOW thanks. Also none of the % fees could be reversed or credited at all. i just realized im never using BoA for anything important, that way they cant screw me ever again.

dont go credit union, they can be a pain in the ass as well (no 24 hour service, less branches, less atm locations, and so on), my best advise after I also left B of A a few years ago is Wells Fargo. Let me explain why, now you will need to verify that the WF branches near you have this as well (Im in No Cal), but the atm will accept checks and cash without a deposit envelope, but wait there is more! The best part, and the best part for you is that if you choose the option, the atm can print you a receipt with a scanned copy of each check you just deposited! This should save you a ton of trouble, not to mention WF seems just more together then B of A (I expierenced similiar issues to you and your fiance at the B of A branches in CA and TX). Good luck!

kalikidtx...

I betcha B of A outsources the viewing and crediting of the new check scanning ATM's...

@tadowguy: Here we go again:

THE CREDIT UNION CROWD IS REALLY ANNOYING AND THEY DON"T SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM AUTOMAGICALLY

THE CREDIT UNION CROWD IS REALLY ANNOYING AND THEY DON"T SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM AUTOMAGICALLY

THE CREDIT UNION CROWD IS REALLY ANNOYING AND THEY DON"T SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM AUTOMAGICALLY

THE CREDIT UNION CROWD IS REALLY ANNOYING AND THEY DON"T SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM AUTOMAGICALLY

THE CREDIT UNION CROWD IS REALLY ANNOYING AND THEY DON"T SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM AUTOMAGICALLY

THE CREDIT UNION CROWD IS REALLY ANNOYING AND THEY DON"T SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM AUTOMAGICALLY

THE CREDIT UNION CROWD IS REALLY ANNOYING AND THEY DON"T SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM AUTOMAGICALLY

I bet this is a local-branch/regional problem -- lots of people haven't had any trouble but even the best business can turn to crap if it has idiots working there.

Does BoA own CIBC? We've been having similar problems with them - holding cheques for 10 days or more... etc etc etc

The longest hold under the Expedited Funds Availability Act is for a nonlocal suspected fraudulent check, which is 11 days. I'm not sure what recourse there is against a bank that ultimately rejects a valid check rather than doing the deposit, but you might as well lodge this type of complaint.

Of course it could be that there was some bank error (there or elsewhere) that kept the check from clearing properly, and they're just too incompetent to properly diagnose or explain it.

It sounds like you just deposited your original into the other bank instead of rubbing the manager's nose in it.

I've never had any problems depositing checks at BofA ATMs. The branch in my neighborhood actually just installed a new type of machine that makes me feel better about doing it than just stuffing the checks in an envelope though, where you stick the checks in, it scans them immediately and asks you if the amount is right, and then spits out a receipt for you that includes a facsimile of the check you just deposited, so if there is an issue you can go back and show them the thing. So that's pretty rad.

B o A sucks. I had an MBNA Visa card for about 10 years before it was acquired by B o A. I never had any problems dealing with MBNA on the phone, and then B o A takes over, declare unilaterally that they will be raising my interest rate (and not based on any violations of my service agreement, mind you), and if I wanted to protest, I had to do so in writing. F*** that. I had to deal with them on the phone for other stuff, and it was such a nightmare, I threatened to take my very busy account elsewhere. They couldn't care less. I took my account elsewhere.

About B o A's behavior regarding your check, it sounds VERY fishy from a legal perspective. Most, if not all banks (and almost certainly a bank as large as BoA) scan ALL checks that come in per the Check 21 Act, which permits banks to scan and transmit images rather than the physical check to the payor's bank, saving a bunch of money.

If you have a lawyer or banker friend, have them look through the following to see if B o A isn't violating Federal law:

Regulation J (12 CFR Part 210 et seq.)

Expedited Funds Availability Act (12 USCS 4001-4010)

The Check 21 Act (12 USCS 5001-5018)

Regulation CC (12 CFR Part 229)

At the VERY least, this bank manager has ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE for lying to you about checks not being scanned. It's common knowledge in US banks, and you'd learn that within your first hour of bank teller orientation. If he honestly thought they weren't scanned, then, well, that's what B o A's come to, and I'm not surprised in the least.

I have never had Bank of America NOT screw up a major account operation, that is opening/closing accounts or anything else remotely complicated. And they have this corporate attitude that they just don't care. I say this because I have had the problems in several locations in different states! I dread having to use Bank of America, and basically just kept ATM monies in there, because they do have a lot of locations. You can recognize them my giant garish, overdone, red banners.

Never had a problem with Bank of America in the 7 years I have been with them (about half of that with Fleet before they merged).

Never had a fee, never had problems with deposits, and every time I talked with their customer service they have been fast and helpful.

Best thing is just about anywhere in the country I can find a BofA ATM, with no fees to withdraw money. Heck, I can deposit money on the opposite coast and not think twice about it.

They aren't perfect (crappy interest rates are a good example), but for a national bank they have done a great job.

I haven't dealt with checks in 3 years, but when I used to, I never had problems with depositing anything with Bank of America. I was also aware that it was going to take a couple of days to officially clear, so this guy should've known that he shouldn't start spending that wad of money for 3 business days after he deposited it.

If you belong to a Co-op member credit union, the less ATMs thing is completely false. ALL 7-Eleven's in the US are co-op ATMs, many of them supporting deposits, and that's before you take into account the ATMs that belong to other credit unions that are part of Co-op.

I rarely use my own credit union's ATM, I almost always use other Co-op ATMs, and never have any fees (as long as it is Co-op, there is basically always no fee for using it), never had any deposit issues (they almost always release the full funds on my account immediately).

Credit unions aren't perfect, and if you purely want to deal with tellers, access can be limited (although the shared credit union services are available through much of the country as well, giving you teller access at other credit unions), but they beat a lot of the experiences I've heard with big banks (especially on the fee area, and access to money).

Bank of America made me cry... it's really quite pathetic that the biggest bank chain in the country has such a horrible "fuck you, we can do whatever we want" attitude. Customer Service was indeed unhelpful and extremely rude.

Here's what happened to me (among other things): I recently moved from WA state to OK (opened my account in WA). I went to an OK branch to change my information because they couldn't access my account for any reason other than to deposit money (?). I was told repeatedly that I would have to call their customer service in WA to get my account transferred over as they were on a different "system". So I called CS and the first thing the guy told me was, "Well, you'll have to go to a branch there to change your account," at which point I told him what I had been told and he just sat there for a second. Finally he said, "let me check" extremely rudely and left me on hold for a couple of minutes. Then he comes back on and says, "well, I can't do anything for you, what you'll have to do is go and open an OK account, call us and close your account in WA, and then we'll mail you a check for your remaining funds." I said, "You are out of your freaking mind if you actually think I would EVER open an account with you again after the way I have been treated."

Am I the only one that thinks this is totally unacceptable? Among the other horrible things BofA has done to me, which include holding on to a CASH deposit until things overdrafted.

TMURPHY: 0.1% on USAA's checking? That's as about as good as the savings rates at Wells Fargo (0.15%) and Bank of America (0.2%) and infinitely more than their checking rates. Quit bitching about getting interest on your checking account and save up $25 for the minimum deposit to open a savings account.

In related news, Why would anyone put money in a savings account where you need at least $25,000 to beat inflation? Surely one can think of better ways to stockpile at least $15000 of that shooting to breaking the 1% barrier.

I have been with BOA for the past four years and have had very minimal problems. When there has been the occasional hiccup it has been corrected very quickly and without many questions. When I was moving cross country they cut off my debit card (due to fueling up in 4 different states in one day). I didn't discover this until I tried to check in to my hotel at midnight. Called and got the stolen/emergency division, as it was the only one open, and they immediately reinstated the card.

@chuloallen: Word. In addition, they post debits before of deposits, and only credit the first $100 of cash deposits immediately and leave the rest for the next day at noon. Plenty of time for them to bounce items and rack up fees.

@clankboomsteam: I have this SAME problem with BofA. My question is, why come a merchant can clear an electronic check immediately but a bank needs 10 days?

@tadowguy: Heck to the no on the Credit Union. You write a check to someone and your credit union charges them $5-$10 to cash it. Lemme get this straight: I walk a check written against an account at your bank/branch and you charge me a fee for giving me money your customer owes me? I call Shenanigans.