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Freddy watches his balances like a hawk, so he was surprised when TD Bank hit him for $126 in overdraft fees. Turns out the bar he had gone to had accidentally charged his debit card twice for one of his drinks, and though he was careful to stay within his low balance, it set the stage for a cascade of fees.
When Freddy made several small purchases during the beginning of the week, each put his account further into the red, adding up to $126.
Even though the bar realized its mistake and reversed the charge, it happened after TD Bank had already socked Freddy with the overdraft fees.
When he complained to the bank, they said it wasn’t their fault, and that he needed to take it up to the bar. Freddy tried to contact the bar’s management, who quickly started to screen his calls.
Calling TD Bank back, they agreed to chop the overdraft fees in half. His account was still in the negative, so 20 days later he was hit with a $20 fee for that.
“When I called customer service again to inquire about the charges,” Freddy writes, ” I asked, “why wasn’t I given a notice that this would happen through the mail or with a phone call?” They said they had no way to get in touch with me, and it was my job to call them to inquire.” They also said that no further action would be taken against his account.
He later met with a local branch rep who said this information was wrong. Actually, if Freddy didn’t bring his account current within 60 days, it would be closed and sent to collections.
“Since then, I have switched banks and refuse to bank with TD,” Freddy writes.
You would hope they would have shown more clemency in your situation since they can see that the transaction record supports your story. I wonder if you had escalated on the phone to a supervisor or spoken to a local branch manager you could have gotten them to waive all the charges.
I know that when I have a low balance I usually check it at least once a day. Not because I’m a super awesome consumer, but because I’m paranoid. It’s wise to try and leave a little buffer in your account if you can, because you never know when something like this might happen. Transacting mainly in cash helps too, as banking with a low balance at a fee-happy bank like TD can be hazardous to your account’s health.
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While I feel for the OP, it’s a reminder to everybody that this stuff happens with bars all the time. In this case it was an error – the double billing, but a LOT of bars will put a pre-authorization hold on the card at the beginning of the night. That’s separate from the amount they end up debiting, so essentially the customer has two transactions holding, even though only one will clear through the account. I used to see it all the time. In the case of a bar, never use a card there unless you have a buffer.
TD is notorious for this kind of stuff – especially overdrafts – I switched banks when something similar happened to me. Now I keep an account with them only when I travel internationally. They seem to be the only bank that does not charge for using international ATMS for cash withdrawals in other countries. Otherwise I would not use them at all. They were the best bank I ever had when they were Commerce Bank but after the Canadians bought Commerce and switched it to TD Bank, they now are the worst bank I have ever had for normal banking transactions.
USE CASH!!!
Wow, I’m really fed up reading all these blame the OP comments. It’s none of our freaking business what he chooses to do with his money. So what if an extra drink cost him to overdraft? That’s not the point of the freaking article!
I think $126 worth of overdraft fees is a bit much, but otherwise I still have to go with the “keep a buffer” crowd. Yes there are a lot of people that live paycheck to paycheck, and can’t get ahead. I understand that it may not be their fault, but I’ve got to give the advice, if an extra $5 charge is going to put you over, then skip the drink and save the money. I understand not everyone has it as easy, but I also know folks that still live paycheck to paycheck that bring down $130k a year and have not more cash than when they were brining down 24k.
*Horatio whips off sunglasses*
“Looks like he got more than he bargained for…”
YEEEAAAHHHHHH!!!!!
If someone is that broke why are they drinking???
It’s probably $125.00 not $126.00 cuz OD fees are $35.00 or $20.00.
Really? In looking over my three accounts, none of them are $20 or $35. My primary account is $36
If you have 1/8 of a tank of gas, do you justify driving to your friend’s house because he lives 15 miles away, so 30 miles round trip if you calculate your car can make it 40 miles without a fillup?
I think not.
If you can only afford one drink on your debit card, you shouldn’t be out drinking.
Just like if you can’t afford to drive 50 miles, you shouldn’t be out driving 30.
Hence the reason why I always pay cash per drink at a bar, no matter if it’s my local watering hole or if it’s some bar I’ve never been in. The last thing I need is to get into an argument over how many beers I’ve had when it comes time to pay the tab. “You’ve had 5!” “No, I had 3!” You can pretty much guess who’s going to lose this argument.
Forgive my naivety on this, being a dumb Canuck, but…
When you’re paying for something with a debit card, don’t you first have to okay the amount the merchant is about to charge you before entering your PIN? Here’s how it works up here:
1> You tell bartender “I’ll pay my tab with my debit card.”
2> Bartender will bring you to the card reader, where (s)he’ll enter the amount you own on the device, assuming it’s not already tied into the point of sale computer–what they once called a cash register
3> You insert card into reader (debit cards in Canada mostly all chip-based, though you may still have older ones that swipe.)
4> LCD screen says “PURCHASE: $xx.xx OKAY?” You say yes or no
5> (in the case of a bar/restaurant) “ENTER GRATUITY AND OKAY.” Enter tip.
6> “PURCHASE: $(xx.xx+Gratuity) OKAY?” Yes or no
7> “SELECT ACCOUNT: CHEQUING OR SAVINGS” one or the other
8> “ENTER PIN AND OKAY” Enter PIN
9> “PLEASE WAIT” and hope for
10> “APPROVED THANK YOU”
unless you didn’t enter your PIN correctly then it’s “PIN INCORRECT TRY AGAIN”
or if balance in account [is less than] amount you’re trying to spend: “INSUFFICIENT FUNDS”
Does this work differently in the US? Seriously, I don’t understand how the OP could even be in this situation, assuming the scenario I just came up with is true.
I’ve been a longtime customer of TD bank and can say that when you do below your balance for charges that are PENDING, you have the opportunity to deposit more money to cover the debt before the charges clear and not be hit with an overdraft fee. If he watched his balance like a hawk, he would have seen the extra bar charge before it sent him in the red.
Also, if you disagree with a charge, calling the bank would have alerted them. They will not be able to do anything until the charge clears or is removed by the merchant, but they will note your account and waive the overdraft fee if the only charge that puts you in the negative is the one in dispute. I never, never, blame the op. However, I had a similar thing happen to me in a bar in Miami and when I called TD, they were more than resonable
I am starting to get a little annoyed seeing all these overdraft articles on Consumerist where clearly the person posting the story is at fault…
Yea, that’s right. I said it! The OP is at fault here… take CASH when you go out somewhere like a bar… You knew your balance was low so it’s your fault. You shouldn’t have been at the bar if you can’t afford a couple of drinks without going over the limit….
Hard lesson to learn, but I bet you won’t let it happen again. Last thought… you contradict yourself here. You said you watch your balance like a hawk, but you made several purchases throughout the next week before you noticed what happened…
Pay your overdraft fees and move on. Maybe think about saving up $1000 in your savings account and making your savings account the “overdraft” then you always have money in there just in case.
this is why I use ING direct for my checking purchases if I might make a mistake it doesn’t cost me $25 to borrow $0.25 should I overdraft (like my branch bank).
I’m seriously torn on this one. OP should have more of a buffer, but being that I’ve been this broke before, I know how much it can mean to just forget your problems for an hour at the end of the day and have a drink.
I have a compromise. Buy forties. They could quadruple-charge you, and you’d still be in the green.
Money is so tight you are one drink away from overdraft means no going out you fool.
Leave more than 5 bucks in your account.
go to a cheaper bar.
I’d be willing to bet that this guy habitually overdrafts, and that’s the primary reason that the bank won’t do anything for him.
People whine about over draft charges all the time. It’s BS IMO because if this guy was watching his balance “like a hawk” why the hell was he spending his money at a bar? How bout you NOT have that drink, go home and save your 6 bucks so that you don’t have to worry about the next time your account is that close to being overdrawn.
I know I’ve said this on other posts before, but ING Direct does not charge overdraft fees, even when your account does go negative. That account does have its disadvantages, but they hooked me with that.
I wonder how often drunk people are “accidentally” overcharged by bars.
Memo to OP – use cash next time you go drinking.
spending you last few dollars on a drink might really be the problem….sad.
Hrrm, it’s strange to read about a Canadian bank like Toronto Dominion as being so evil and fee-happy down in the US, while the experience in Canada is anything but (they’re pretty highly regarded up here for having good service and great hours). I mean, sure, Canada’s much stricter banking regulation keeps away the bad *practices*, but that doesn’t explain why their US branches are also give bad service.
How about this: Don’t use DEBIT if you don’t have the GREEN?
Hmm? If your Debit account is low, then use CC instead. If your responsible enough to only spend what you should have, then using CC is far more fiscally responsible then using DEBIT.
There are soooo many more benefits to using CC over Debit that I only use DEBIT where I absolutely have to (like Costco). The key is to be responsible and don’t buy stuff you can’t afford.
It’s pretty simple really …
If you’re so broke that one extra drink charge could put you into a deep dark hole… maybe save what little money you have instead of blowing it on booze? Crazy thought, I know.
One drink put him over? Maybe he should be staying at home and saving money rather than drinking at a bar.
Also, why would you use a debit card on a bar tab? I always use a CC in case I get charged incorrectly. I trust American Express to help me out way more than Bank of America’s Visa Check Card.
Freddy watches his balance like a hawk…yet leaves only enough for one drink in his account…seriously? This site should look out for people doing the right thing…that is just odd, certainly not the right thing.
Does this bank not have a fraud and disputes department?? Could have been such an easy fix.
If you’re so broke that 2 drinks will overdraft your account, then why are you sitting in a bar in the first place?
he paid for the bill, so he knew the total charge with the one double charged drink included.
Apparently not very hawkish on his restaurant bills, eh?
I regularly go to the same gas station and sometimes use my credit card or debit card. For years, they only ever held a $1 for a couple days before the whole transaction posted. One day, they randomly held $100 when I had bought maybe $10 in gas! That hold plus an automatic bill i had going through that day triggered BofA to slap me with an ‘insufficient funds’ fee.
When the $10 transaction posted and the insufficient funds fee was still gracing my checking account, I called and explained the situation to the customer service rep, noting specifically that after the actual transaction went through, I was clearly in the positive. She started to give me this whole lecture about making sure to leave enough money in my account in case a merchant places a hold… but I came back at her that the merchant in question had held 10,000% more than they had ever previously!
Thankfully, the rep was able to reverse the charge (to her surprise) immediately. No harm, no foul, but I definitely don’t use my debit card there anymore.
For me this comes down to, if you dont have the funds to not worry about a $5 item being charged to your card, you dont have the funds to buy alcoholic. luxuries and necessities, boozin’ it isnt a necessity if you only have $10 bucks in your account. i know big companies are bad at sticking it to people, but people are becoming less and less responsible.
When you’re one drink away from going into the red, you probably should hold off on that drink.
This happened to me a couple of times before (Lloyds TSB), where I went overdrawn by £1.69 ($2.70), and I was given charges of £15 plus £6 a day and interest. Luckily the first time they were willing to write the charges off after I called and complained, but the second time they refused and I had to pay whatever amount they asked…
I stopped banking with them and went back to HSBC, with whom I’d been overdrawn by about £1.60 for six months and only had to pay back the £1.60. The joy.