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overdraftfees
overdraftfees
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CFPB To Take A Closer Look At Overdraft Fees
By Chris Morran on February 22, 2012 10:30 AM
69 Comments
Expensive and complicated overdraft fees are pretty high on, if not at the top of, many bank customers' complaint lists. So it only makes sense that the newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has decided to look into whether or not these fees are a fair way to keep people from overdrafting, or just a profit center for banks. More »
BofA Scraps Plan To Let Customers Opt In To Overdraft Fees
By Phil Villarreal on November 10, 2011 9:15 AM
26 Comments
As it paid out $410 million to settle a class-action suit over reordering transactions to maximize overdraft fees and backed down after initiating a $5 monthly fee for debit card users, Bank of America has done some soul-searching. The bank says it's decided not to go ahead with a plan to let customers opt in to a $35 overdraft fee on debit purchases made with insufficient funds. More »
Judge Approves BofA's $410M Overdraft Settlement
By Phil Villarreal on November 8, 2011 8:45 AM
88 Comments
To settle a class-action suit over reordering transactions to maximize overdraft fees, Bank of America agreed to pay out $410 million months ago. A judge has now approved the settlement, and the bank has coughed up the money into an escrow account from which it will be distributed to customers who were part of the suit. Those who had a Bank of America debit card between January 2001 and May 24, 2011 will automatically receive a payment of at least 9 percent of the fees they paid. More »
Bank Of America Paying Out $410 Million For Reordering Your Transactions To Maximize Overdraft Fees
By Ben Popken on July 14, 2011 11:00 AM
111 Comments
What makes this Bank of America $410 million class action settlement special is that it's over a basic consumer banking business practice. For years, banks have been processing your daily transactions in order from highest to lowest, rather than real-time. They say they're doing us a favor so that if we have a check bounce, it's the one for the babysitter and not the mortgage payment. But this class action suit claims that Bank of America did this to unjustly enrich itself. It's one of over 60 lawsuits against various banks for similar practices, and it could reshape the entire industry. More »
TCF Bank Figures Out How To Close $.05 Account
By Ben Popken on June 27, 2011 3:00 PM
25 Comments
After reader DFCL's story about how TCF Bank wouldn't close his checking account with $.05 left in it, preferring to charge $149 in fees instead, went up on Consumerist, something good happened. More »
TCF Bank Won't Close $.05 Account, Prefers To Charge $149 In Fees
By Ben Popken on June 7, 2011 3:00 PM
105 Comments
Reader DFCL says that he asked TCF Bank to close his account back in April as it only had a $.05 balance. Now it's June, his account is still open, and he's in collections for $149 in fees. Some very exciting things happened between those two points, including him offering to donate $500 to charity if they waived his fees. They declined his offer. More »
Most Who Opted In To Overdraft Protection Were Wrong About How It Worked
By Ben Popken on May 5, 2011 5:00 PM
61 Comments
One of the results of the regulatory overhaul was that banks couldn't automatically enroll people in "overdraft protection." This kicked off a mammoth effort by banks to try to convince customers it was in their best interest to sign up for a program that would let them get charged $35 for overdrafting a $1 candy bar rather than go through the pain and humiliating of having a card declined. But a new survey by the Center for Responsible Lending found that most of the people who did opt in either had a misconception about how the overdraft protection, or simply wanted the ceaseless onslaught of pitches from their bank about it to stop. More »
Checking Account Disclosure Documents Are Longer Than Romeo & Juliet, Contain Less Teen Sex
By Chris Morran on April 28, 2011 2:15 PM
57 Comments
We recently wrote about the PIRG study showing how fewer than 40% of banks were willing to clearly disclose checking account fee schedules. Now a new report from the Pew Charitable Trust demonstrates just how far banks are willing to go to make it difficult for consumers to know what they are getting with their checking accounts. More »
Wachovia's Lame Attempt To Get You To Sign Up For Overdraft Fees
By Ben Popken on December 7, 2010 1:00 PM
33 Comments
Wachovia sent out an eblast trying to get people to sign back up for overdraft protection, and the fees that "service" entails. More »
Chicago Restaurant Owes $118K In Overdraft Fees, May Have To Close
By Phil Villarreal on October 8, 2010 3:30 PM
83 Comments
If you've felt the burn of a $35 overdraft charge, just be thankful you're not Chicago's Heartland Cafe, which has had to shell out $118,000 in cascading overdraft charges. More »
(Karim M)
Man Gets $126 In Fees Refunded After Bar Charged Him Twice For One Drink
By Ben Popken on October 5, 2010 12:00 PM
41 Comments
Freddy was furious. $126 in overdraft fees? Even though his balance is sometimes down to the wire, he is careful to make sure he has enough funds in his account. Ah yes, but this doesn't account for when they mess up. More »
(opacity)
Bar Charges Me Twice For A Drink, I Get $126 In Overdraft Fees
By Ben Popken on September 30, 2010 4:00 PM
217 Comments
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. More »
Chase Approves Transaction Anyway After Customer Declines Overdraft Protection
By Chris Walters on September 27, 2010 11:30 AM
71 Comments
Paul opted not to sign up for Chase's overdraft fee trap—oh wait, they call it "protection"—but Chase happily ignored this fact and approved a transaction anyway, which led to a $34 overdraft fee that they refuse to reverse. The loophole they're using to get around Paul's opt-out is that the vendor was someone he'd authorized in the past, and therefore this new transaction isn't protected from the bank's "protection" fee. More »
North Dakota Court Says Bank Can Rob Customer Of $12K In Overdraft Fees
By Phil Villarreal on September 23, 2010 2:30 PM
55 Comments
If you live in North Dakota and find yourself buried in overdraft fees, don't go crying to the state's Supreme Court. Judges ruled that a bank was within its rights to stick a hog farmer with $12,000 in overdraft charges. More »
Bank Of America Patents Method For Denying Refunds
By Chris Walters on September 21, 2010 12:30 PM
58 Comments
Ah, innovation! Bank of America was just awarded a patent for a process that lets it make sure any teller at any branch will know not to give you a refund on a disputed overdraft fee. According to Techdirt, the idea is to prevent "refund shopping," where a customer might visit multiple branches hoping to find a sympathetic ear. More »
(andyd)
Consumerist On Marketplace: Bank Gives You 24 Hours To Fix Overdrafts
By Ben Popken on September 20, 2010 2:00 PM
31 Comments
I was on Marketplace on public radio this morning, chiming in about Huntington Bank's new 24-hour grace period they're giving customers who overdraft. If you deposit the funds you're lacking within a day, no fee, but if you don't, you'll get a $23 charge. This program is automatic, you don't need to be enrolled in overdraft protection. Sounds nice and innovative, but I'd rather the bank deny the charge and get no fee instead. Here's the audio: More »
Chase Just Goes Ahead And Adds Overdraft Protection To Your Account
By Ben Popken on September 16, 2010 1:00 PM
43 Comments
Lori called up Chase to tell them that she was traveling internationally in the next few weeks. She wanted them to note her account so there wouldn't be any blocks when charges from far-away countries started appearing. Then the fast-talking rep just sort of added overdraft protection to Lori's account, just casually worked it in there, like she was doing her a courtesy. More »
Branch Manager Quits Rather Than Trick Bank Customers Into Signing Up For Overdrafts
By Ben Popken on August 13, 2010 11:00 AM
91 Comments
The bank branch manager who felt uncomfortable that his bank was making him choose between misleading customers into signing up for overdraft protection and keeping his job has decided to quit. More »
(nmmercer)
Wells Fargo Ordered To Pay $203 Million For Processing Transactions High To Low, Maximizing Overdraft Fees
By Ben Popken on August 11, 2010 1:00 PM
117 Comments
A California judge ordered Wells Fargo to pay California customers $203 after finding that the bank had deliberately manipulated the way it processed transactions in a way that turned one overdraft fee into as many as 10, at $35 a pop. More »
Banks Told To Target Financially Unsavvy For Overdraft Reup
By Ben Popken on August 10, 2010 1:00 PM
46 Comments
Consulting firms are telling banks to hone in on the financially precarious to sign back up for costly overdraft protection that will only further erode their bank account. Here are some quotes from their strategies: More »
