Adrienne tells Consumerist that she did something very mundane: she deposited a payroll check that her fiancé had signed over to her in her Wells Fargo bank account using an ATM. Based on previous experience, and assuming that a payroll check from a Fortune 1000 company is a straightforward enough deposit, she then paid bills using the money that she thought was in her account. [More]
banks
Chase Tries To Pass Fake Money Back To Customer
By 9.23.10
A guy withdrew some hundreds from his credit union to pay his roommate his portion of the rent. The roommate deposited them at Chase, which later discovered that one of the hundreds was actually a $5 altered to look like a $100. [More]
Bank Of America Lets You Keep Get Out Of Jail Free Card
By 9.21.10
Chaz forgot about a check he wrote a month ago and when it got deposited this month, his Bank of America account went into the red. This also caused a transfer he started to get rejected, so he got two $35 overdraft charges. Armed with a “stuff happens” one-time fee refund card Bank of America gave him when he opened his student account, he went in and threw himself at their mercy. [More]
Consumerist On Marketplace: Bank Gives You 24 Hours To Fix Overdrafts
By 9.20.10
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 9.16.10
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]
Global Regulators Back New Bank Rules To Avert Future Meltdowns
By 9.13.10
Banks must triple the amount of cash they keep on reserve under a new set of guidelines backed by a global group of regulators this Sunday. With a more generous than expected deadline for the rules to take effect, financial stocks perked up on the news. [More]
Wells Fargo Says It Won't Foreclose For 30 Days, Then Does So Within A Week
By 9.10.10
A week after Wells Fargo rejected a couple’s loan mod app and said it wouldn’t start foreclosure proceedings any sooner than 30 days later, a guy showed up on their steps. He said he was with an investment firm that had just bought the house at a real estate auction, and if they would leave within 2 weeks, he would give them $1,500. [More]
An Unexpected Win At TD Bank's Penny Arcade
By 9.9.10
At some heartless banks, a malfunctioning self-serve coin counting machine could lead to lost money and general sadness. Not at Flexo’s local TD Bank branch, however. A malfunctioning machine meant $32 more in his account. Unfortunately, this windfall came at the expense of the unknown previous customer to use the machine, to whom the $32 actually belonged. [More]
Bank Screws Man For $900, He Tells Others, Ultimately Costing Bank $100,000 In Lost Business
By 9.8.10
Revenge is a dish best served cold, and when it comes to the bank who jacked him for $900, Justin is a master chef. [More]
Business Credit Cards Not Protected By CARD Act
By 9.3.10
Sorry, small businesses, the much ballyhooed protections of the CARD Act do not cover your credit cards. Only consumer credit cards get safeguarded against the most punitive of the old interest rate and fee policies. No wonder credit card solicitations to small business owners have increased 256%, vs 29% for consumer credit cards – they’re more profitable now. [More]
BofA Pays To Fedex You Multiple Loan Mod Opps You Don't Care About
By 9.1.10
BofA has been Fedexing Eli a loan mod opportunity once every two months for the past eight months. He has no intention of doing a refi, he’s never been late on a payment and likes his 5/1 ARM and low interest late. Wonder how many other homeowners is BofA frittering away their bailout bucks on by FedExing junk mail. Meanwhile, the people who actually want loan mods are stuck in purgatory. [More]
Thieves Steal $10 Million, Pennies At A Time
By 8.27.10
These credit card thieves allegedly stole over $10 million by placing bogus charges on customers’ credit cards for amounts between $10 and $.20. Each customer was stolen from only once, spreading the theft out over a million different cardholders. Check your statements, there’s a decent chance you were one of them. [More]
Credit Card Interest Rates Hit 9-Year High. Thanks, CARD Act!
By 8.24.10
Average interest rates have hit a new 9-year high of 14.7%, and we have credit card reform to thank for that. Por-kay? Unable to keep soaking you on the backend with hidden fees, tricks, and traps, issuers now have to push their profit-taking to the fore. [More]
Wells Fargo Makes Family Submit Essay With Mortgage App
By 8.23.10
Before reviewing this woman’s mortgage application, Wells Fargo asked her to write a “motivational letter” to explain why they were moving, with the essay to include reflections on her plans to “increase/decrease” her family or property size and her commuting distance to work. Besides being rude, the request could also be against the law, something the woman picked up on, because she is a lawyer. [More]
3 Credit Card Act Protections Went Live Sunday
By 8.23.10
Three of the provisions of the CARD Act, the legislation passed this year to improve consumer protection in the credit card arena, went into effect yesterday. Here’s what you need to know to sound smart around the water cooler: [More]
New Burst Of 0% APR Credit Cards Boast Higher Balance Transfer Fees
By 8.19.10
Banks are stuffing mailboxes once again with 0% introductory APR credit card offers, but this time around they’ve got higher fees for doing the initial balance transfer, rising from 3% in ’09 to 4% in ’10. [More]
At Chase, Depositing A $4,000 Check In An ATM Is "Unusual Activity"
By 8.19.10
Carol tells Consumerist that while in a financial pinch, she took out a title loan for $4,000, depositing it in her Chase bank account using an ATM. Instead of helping the situation, the deposit made her financial mess worse. Chase froze her out of her accounts and made her order a new debit card, but no one at her local branch or in the corporate “Risk Control” department has the power to tell her what the problem is. Her account remained locked after the check cleared. Bank staff also took the opportunity to attempt to sell her student loans and overdraft protection. Not a good time, Chase. [More]
HSBC Closes Bank Account Over 14 Cent Overdraft
By 8.19.10
“Don’t overdraw your bank account” is pretty sound advice. However, reader Phil advises that if you do happen to overdraw your HSBC account–even by a few cents–the bank will mercilessly close your bank account with no warning. That’s what happened to him. [More]
