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What I'm going to relay to you is a personal experience but I have later learned that this is a practice used by another bank chain.
It all started when I was, in a sense , laid off from my job for two months. I was finally called back last month and things are starting to get better. While I was laid off the account, that my check was automatically deposited in, was closed. So I wasn't for sure where my check was going to go. I tried to get it into my wife's account but there wasn't enough time to arrange it so I finally had to get a hard copy check. This all took place on the 10th of this month. I had written my landlord the rent check on the 1st and asked him to hold it till Monday the 13th so that I could be assured the money was in there. Seems he forgot to tell his wife that and she deposited the check on the 10th. I told him the check would bounce so we made arrangements to get him the money after it did. We knew we had enough money to cover the charges and checks that were outstanding and when the check didn't clear we'd have the money to cover that charge also.
The check was presented to the bank on Monday the 13th, however with only $50.00 in the account they took it upon themselves to honor the check. We are now over $700.00 in the red to the bank. Not only that but they took the big check out first draining the account. Then they were able to honor the other charges that came in , but charge us a fee for each one of those also.
Now my wife's check that the bank received on Friday was gone before it got there and since my wife's check wasn't big enough to cover the entire overage they will charge her so much a day till it's taken care of. This is not right. this is a scheme to once again make money off of others misfortunes. There was no prior agreement with them, they had no business covering the check.
I'm in the process of writing my State Atty General, Congressman, Senators,etc, etc
and I would encourage you to do the same.
The dangers of deregulation
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Posted By: Acebass Posted on: Aug. 18, 2007 at 12:13 PM  13 Comments
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Based on 2 ratings.
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Aug. 19, 2007 at 01:46:04 PM
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| We can make this a discussion about personal responsibility, or we can focus on an inherently predatory and unfair practice that are banks are engaged in. Let us put aside for a moment the fact that most of us, if we lost our jobs, would start bouncing checks for mortgage, rent, and utilities right and left; maybe we should not use electricity, gas, water, and trash pickup if we run even a minimal risk of not being able to pay for them due to some unforeseen calamity. But anyway, let's look at that bounced check. The bank was being your buddy to honor that very important check, and consequently putting your account into the red. There overdraft fee is their way of covering the minimal expense of floating you that borrowed money at the last moment, and of encouraging you not to do it again. So how does that justify check #2, and #3, and #4, etc., all coming in on the same day and each incurring a new exorbitant overdraft fee? The banks clean up on this kind of stuff, and sometimes I wonder if it isn't their biggest revenue generator -- hitting people when they're down. The only reason banks do this is because we tolerate it. If their customers marched in en masse and demanded a new, more reasonable overdraft policy, they would concede. I suggest that the overdraft fee is on a sliding scale and proportional to the total dollar value of the checks presented (and covered by the bank) against insufficient funds. If the deficit isn't remedied in one month, the account is frozen (to discourage people from using this kind of check floating as a high interest line-of-credit). |
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Aug. 19, 2007 at 01:54:02 PM
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| Or as the comedian Gallagher says ".....so what does the bank do? They charge you more of what they know you don't have any of!!"" |
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Aug. 19, 2007 at 03:21:53 PM
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| No friend they don't have the capacity to be a friend. They took it upon themsleves to do this so they could maximize their profits, simple as that. They don't know me or what other plans I may have made. If the money's not there they don't pay the check simple as that. Second don't give me that personal responsibility crap. My friend you don't know me well enough to know why my wife and I have found ourselves in this condition. Until 6 years ago we were on target, my wife and I were on track to be able to comfortably retire when we were of age, that dream has gone by the way side. Not everything fits your little peg holes just because a person finds himself in a predicament doesn't mean it was entirely of his or her own making. |
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Aug. 20, 2007 at 07:28:42 PM
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| OOooo...I have at one time been down a similar road. If you can find a credit union, get in it ASAP. They are restricted from the types of machinations and high charges commercial banks are allowed. See if you can get your landlord to write a letter stating you had a verbal agreement with him regarding the deposit that on his part was accidentally "broken". It proves that he, not you, is responsible for the draft. You may be able to get the bank to credit your account the overdrafts. I have been able to accomplish this with a landlord in a similar circumstance. |
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Aug. 20, 2007 at 08:25:00 PM
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| Thanks Cynthia I'll try that. I recieved a return letter from my congressman he is looking into it. This pratice by banks should be against the law. btw the charge for returned checks is $34.00 I want to see them justify that.
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Aug. 20, 2007 at 08:57:03 PM
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| You can also tell the bank that you do not want the "overdraft service". If it is automatic, you can "opt out".
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Aug. 20, 2007 at 10:48:18 PM
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| The thing is we never opted in. This is a decision the bank made, why? Because my wifes check is directly deposited, they know they will get their money eventually. The thing that really upsets me, and this could follow Cynthia's personal security theme, they get the check there's not nearly enough to cover it. My wifes check will not cover all the extra charges so after 4 days if the balance is still in arrears they charge an extra fee. They charge you for the returned check then they charge you daily for the overage. Needless to say we are transfering to another back... |
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Aug. 20, 2007 at 11:29:25 PM
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| I had a similar problem years ago with BofA. I moved over to Arizona Federal Credit Union and have had no problems since then... We have not had an issue in 5 years. In addition, when someone cloned my bank card in California, we were called 5 minutes after a 900.00 purchase was made and while I was on the phone the bank blocked a 1300.00 purchase. While the people doing this were never found to my knowledge, our money was back in the account by morning when we got up. They are very good at finding fraud, too good in fact. In Vegas one weekend we used our ATM card to buy gas. We tried to check into our hotel room just five minutes later and it was frozen. I called, identified myself and it was fixed in moments. Needless to say, I told the bank prior to our trip to Hawaii and had no problems with the account being frozen. |
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Aug. 21, 2007 at 08:29:03 AM
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| Credit Unions rock! There are no monthly fees on mine. I never have issues with the account. I wouldn't go elsewhere. It's true if you buy gas and sometimes even junk food in order they'll freeze the card. It was explained to me that those are the common purchases card thieves first make to verify the card they've got is "good". |
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If you want any regulation at all, start with the public school system that tought you it's OK to sign contracts that you can't honor when they are presented.
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