Bank of America charged Jason three overdraft fees for the hell of it, even though his account balance never approached $0. Jason called the bank for an explanation, and was told that due to some mathematical wormhole controlled exclusively by Bank of America, he now owed $105. Tired of the bank’s nonsensical jibber-jabber, Jason printed out his statement and headed to the local branch…
overdrafts
WaMu Backs Down, Returns The $1500 To Bill's Bank Account
By 5.13.08
Bill, whose small business checking account had been inappropriately drafted $1500, sent us the following email late last night:
USAA Customer? Make Sure Your Checks Haven't Been Cashed Twice
By 2.8.08
This morning, Mary logged onto her USAA bank account to check her balance and was surprised to find that her rent check had been cashed twice while she was asleep. She was eventually able to get through to a human and get the problem addressed, but it wasn’t easy. And she may not have been the only one affected.
Reader Saves $950 By Ridding Life Of Fees, Overpayments
By 1.31.08
Moriconi writes in to tell us how he was able to save $950 this week by uprooting the hidden fees and renegotiating the things in his life he was paying too much for. Awesome! Here’s his true story:
US Bank Courtesy Overdraft Protection Demystified
By 10.18.07
The insider who tipped us off about US Bank allowing customers to opt-out of courtesy overdraft protection wrote in again. He further describe how overdrafts and courtesy overdraft protection works, and why he thinks you should avoid them both and their stupid fees too…
US Bank To Let You Opt-Out Of Courtesy Overdraft Protection
By 10.12.07
An insider tells us the US Bank will let customer opt-out of courtesy overdraft protection. This would mean that if you bounce a charge, you just get charged an NSF fee instead of your account going negative, incurring additional fees, and increasing the likelihood of more checks and charges bouncing. Other banks may offer this already, call to find out.
Consumers Fear Hidden Fees More Than They Do Identity Thieves
By 10.10.07
One in four adults incurred overdraft fees in the past 12 months, according to a new study by Gartner. One in six adults said they were more upset about hidden fees than getting their identity stolen and accounts jacked by a thief. Probably because you have better chance of getting your money back from the latter than the former.
Kid Get $120 In Wells Fargo Overdrafts Refunded After Rich Dad Calls VP
By 9.26.07
DM reports that he was able to get Wells Fargo to reverse all his overdrafts… because his dad has a big Wells Fargo account and was able to call up some company Vice President. Ahem. Three cheers for the power of escalating issues outside of the customer service line, we suppose.
5/3 Bank's New Policy: Only Process The First $100 Of A Check
By 9.10.07
How can you overdraft when you’ve deposited more than enough money to pay for the charges? Why, when 5/3 Bank decides to only let the first $100 of the check through.
TD Banknorth Charges $134 For Overdrafting A Granola Bar And A Vitamin Water
By 7.12.07
“In March, I went to a ski resort on my way to a job interview. I stopped at a grocery store to pick up a granola bar [update: and a vitamin water]. I had to put it on my debit card, and the one I used was my (RARELY used) TD Banknorth card. I don’t usually keep much money in there because I hate Banknorth, but I bring it with me to go skiing to secure demo equipment without risking my real bank accounts. As soon as I got to Boston for my interview, I deposited $10 to cover the $8 I charged at Shaws, even though I knew there was supposed to be money in the account.”
Stop Overdrafting!
By 6.19.07
Our tip box is organized by complaint category. In the “banks” section, email after email starts roughly the same way, “I overdrafted my account and then a series of horrible events ensued.”
Banks Make $50 Billion A Year From Fees
By 5.21.07
Things seems to have gotten out of hand when banks are raking in $50 billion a year just from service charges, MSN reports. Consider how banks maximize over-draft charges:
In recent years, changes in federal laws have all but eliminated “float” — the time it takes for a check to clear from the writer’s bank account. What used to take days now often takes hours or less. What hasn’t been speeded up is the time it takes for deposits to clear and be available for your withdrawal.
In other words, your money goes out faster than ever, but comes in as slow as ever. Which leads to… overdrawn checks. Which leads to… nice, juicy bank fees.
7 Overdrafts Refunded After Reader Writes Bank of America CEO
By 4.30.07
Yet another reader confirms that if Bank of America is hitting you with overdraft fee after overdraft fee, you can get them waived by writing a complaint letter to CEO Kenneth D. Lewis.
Man Gets $280 Back From Bank Of America After Writing CEO
By 4.19.07
If you recall, Travis got charged $280 in overdraft fees after Bank of America gave him some wrong information about his bank account when moving to a new state. He wrote a letter the CEO, which we posted. Now, good news. He writes:
BoA Gives Wrong Information, Charges Customer $280, Doesn't Care
By 4.16.07
Thanks to a Bank of America customer service rep’s incompetence, Travis got hit with $280 in overdraft fees.
Apparently, 5/3 Debit Cards Are Instant Magic Money Wands
By 4.3.07
In followup to our post on how 5/3 Bank racks up overdraft fees by treating pending charges like they’re processed, we asked customer service, “What’s the rationale for counting pending debits against the ledger balance? Isn’t that contrary to the definition of pending, and how banks traditionally handle transactions?”
5/3 Bank's New Overdraft Fee Stream: Treat Pending Charges Like Processed!
By 3.28.07
5/3 Bank decided to rape customers for more fees by changing their policy for handling transactions.
