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Jul 09, 2009 -- Bank fees on the rise again
Fees are on the rise again as banks try to make up for revenue they've lost to bad debt write-offs. In fact, three-quarters of bank revenue on supposedly free checking accounts now comes from overdraft fees. That's why it's called "fee checking" in industry lingo!
One of the most controversial practices among the giant banks concerns their overdraft systems. They won't allow you to opt out of the loop where they approve debit card transactions knowing you're overdrawn just to fee you.
Bank of America has now increased the maximum amount of its overdraft charges per day to $350. Don't adjust your computer screen…that's $350, according to The Washington Post.
If you're in danger of running in the red with your account, then you need to rethink everyday spending. Go old-school -- live a cash-only lifestyle and swear off the debit card. You might also want to fire your giant bank and take your business to a smaller community bank or a credit union.
Unfortunately, Clark won't be able to answer any questions submitted via commenting. If you have a question, please try posting it to our message boards.
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What others are saying
Bank of America is holding debit transactions and re-arranging from highest to lowest in order to incur maximum overdraft fees
Over the past 24 months my husband and I have been very tight with money and bank of America has, on numerous occassions held electronic debit transactions for very low amounts and then processed one for higher to overdraft account and incur the maximum amount of fees. It is so unethical and is premeditated with the intention of costing us as much as possible so that when our direct deposit comes in (we are both military) it eats up a significant portion of our pay. I know that it is our responsibility to maintain a register and scrutinize our transactions when viewing online, but this is abuse. Its like Bank Against America. What can be done to make them stop this?
Overdraft fees
I am so pissed at BB&T for the same thing that many of you are. I deposited money which posted the same day of the check, and because they re ordered how they post, they charged me $350 in NSF for debit card purchases that posted the same day...if you take my account balance, and add the deposit before you deduct the debits my account was not over drawn. If you go by their posting system I was over drawn for like 2 seconds which cost me $350....how can this be legal???
bank fees
What has biten me is our checking account, 22 years old with same bank, same address, nothing has changed, and we had a problem, a payment done on line for $1100 appeared not to post, so I did it again, I called the bank and told them to not honor both if both were presented for payment as only one should have, (same amount, same debtor also for over 4 years), well both got drafted out, and we were continuing as usual with our debit card, making purchases, even purchases for $3.00 and less, and every single one we were charged a $35.00 overdraft fee, and were not even aware of this. Well not until nearly 9 days later when pulled up at ATM, went to make $100 withdrawal and the receipt showed a -$746. balance. I was like what? so I presented it again, thinking it was an error, same thing, and to really take an extra bite, each time I presented the card into the machine was a $35.00 fee, twice for the decline and the balance check. I went into our bank, and was told well we are just the small branch in this little town we cant make decisions to reverse any charges, I asked for the Corporate bank and was told that our branch manager would talk with them but she didn't think we would get any help because it was all computer generated. Well 3 days later and I went back in, and she told me, no the Corporate Bank said no help, all charges stand. Because we had the $1,000 protection they continued to pay, but charged us the draft each and every time., over $1300 in overdraft fees.
Overdraft Changes
The first thing I would like to say is the majority of overdraft/insufficient fund fees come from the customer not keeping track of their own account. The customer should always know how much they have in their accounts. If you know you have $50 don't spend $75 and write a check for $100. That is common sense. The next thing is that a major bank I work for is making drastic changes to the overdraft process that will please many people. I'm unable to expand but I'm sure Clark will explain when he reads about the changes.
BoA Transaction Ordering to Maximize Fees
I've been bitten by this several times in the past few months. I normally keep pretty close track of what's spent and how much we have left, but sometimes mistakes happen.
I understand that. I accept responsibility for that.
What I do not understand is how they can justify re-ordering transactions to go from largest to smallest rather than chronological order. I've had reps tell me that it's "for my convenience," which is utter hogwash, in my opinion.
Typically, I have one transaction that should've gone into the red. Not with Bank of America - they re-order it so that I wind up with multiple fees, instead of just one.
I'm going to follow Clark's advice from the other night and go to my branch manager and ask him to stop this madness and refund the fees. Even if they do, I still plan on jumping to a credit union at my earliest opportunity.
Bank of America fees
I am outraged that Bank of America is riping me and others off. One of my account was overdrawn by $10. I was assessed the $35 OD fee on 8/5/09. So why did I get charged another $35 OD fee on 8/11/09? I called into the bank and was told that since it was not brought up to par within the 5 days, I was charge an additional fee. I have other accounts in other banks and I have NEVER encounter any such nonsense. Bank of America makes sure that the consumer pays for their short falls.
Capital One Credit Card
I deposited 3,000. into my checking acct. and the next thing I know, some atty. for Capital One placed a levy on my acct. This debt has been on my credit report as a "charge off" for years and all of a sudden, they took all of my money! Is this legal? They never even notified me (although they said that they "served" me but that was a complete lie!) Is there any recourse for this? I am now looking at bouncing 29 checks because of this and I have no money to even buy food. Please help!
Chase to keep your money
I wrote . a check from my checking account (with Chase). I dated the ch check on the 14th and put it in the mail. I get paid on the 15th and did not have the money in my account until the 15th. My bank went back to the date the check was written (on the 14th) and charged me hundreds of dollars in NSF fees, even though the check did not process until the 21st of the month. INSANE! Not only that, this bank debits your account the second you use your plastic but if you have a deposit and things come out the same day, your charges get applied BEFORE your deposit. I hate this bank.
disregard my earlier post
I just got hit with $210 in NSF fees of $35 each. One was due to the first 5 going thru while I was expecting them to tap into my savings acct, which I had set up to cover over-drafts. Unfortunately, I had the money in the wrong acct and they won't do ANYTHING for me. They say they changed their policy in March and no longer provide "courtesy" refunds (and he gave a few bull-s--t reasons as to why). Explaining that I had the money IN a BofA acct made no difference so I told him about ING's service of providing a FREE overdraft line of credit; to which he replied "no bank does that". BofA has lost me forever and anyone I know will be dropping them. I plan also to have my mortgage moved to another bank asap.
Bank Fees
I just had a levy on my account for a credit card I owe (my fault) the bank put a hold on all my accounts, which left my accounts at a zero balance. When they went to take the money out it made it look like I had unavailable funds and charged all four of my accounts $35.00+ a total of $271.00 to date. Now I am getting a $5.00 per day, per account. I don't have the money to bring all these accounts todate. So after 35 days I will be reported to the chex system and the credit bureau. Who can we complain to? Thank you for listening (I'm so mad)
Bank fees
I work at a bank (not BofA!). Most fees are incurred because my customers don't use a register. Having said that, if you know that you can't make it from one check to another...pull out enough cash for the short haul (just one NSF charge!) Saves money every time!
Another Fee at B o A
The other day I went to the Presto Machine at Publix where withdrawals on BA debit card had been without charge. Now there is a $2 ATM fee PLUS a fee that BA will also add. So I took out my creit union debit and it was free to use at Presto. BA just decided to not be part of Presto any longer.
First Citizens Checkline Reserve Plus
First Citizens just started charging me a $5.00 FEE for every item that comes in and is covered by my checkline reserve and $10.00 for every checkline reserve advance. This is better than paying a $35.00 bounced check fee but it just seems like double charging because I also pay interest charges on the amount I owe to the checkline reserve plus every month.
USA a Credit Union
I use a credit union. if you go over they cover it with a credit line up to $500. That is if you pay it back within a week it will only cost you around $2+ They will not charge you an overdraft fee. You need as little as $25 to open the acct. They offer free online bill pay. 1% international transaction fees 3% is what banks charge. Also, 7.24% on credit cards. Have not had my credit line dropped while the banks have cut lines on two cards I own. Banks are low life fat pigs taking advantage of the middle class who are owned by rich families such as the rothchild's etc.
BofA
I quit using Bank of America in 1977 when I played softball for the company team. At the end of the season the bank make the women pay all their softball fees and the bank paid all the men's fees. I tried to cash a check at NCNB at the same time (one of their checks) and they were going to charge me $5.00. I have not darkened their door since that time.
Bad Monster Mega Bank
I did business with US Bank and got royally screwed by them. Through some fault of my own, after my wife and I split I had already put through Direct Deposit into our joint account and she was going to use her pesonal account with them. Now these were both CHECKING accounts. Well a month later she bounced her account 200 bucks and I was paying my bills and keeping a balance. Well 200 bucks disappeared out of the joint account and went into hers and I overdrafted and was not aware they did this. So I went into the bank and one of the bankers said they didn't know how it happened and said she must've set that up. Well she didn't. Then two weeks later she bounced again 400 bucks. Again they took the money out of the joint account and gave it to her and gave me big overdraft fees.
So I went in and talked to the branch manager. SOMEHOW the joint CHECKING account was switched to a SAVINGS account in the computer and they were able to transfer the money by themselves. Thankfully the bank gave back the OD fees but said I had to take it up with the ex for the 600 bucks. That day I set up a close on the joint account and my personal account. I will NEVER do personal accounts with them. Wish they weren't holding my student loans though (had no say in that) and I was told that if I were to consolidate all my student loans, my interest rate would go up.
Switched to a Credit Union and haven't had ANY problems with them.
debit vs credit card
Rule of thumb: If you have to pull out the plastic, make sure it's credit, not debit. You have lot mor flexibility.
Let's not forget Wachovia and it's fees
I recently got a nasty surprise when my son's account was hit with 140.00 in NSF fees for items that had not yet posted to his account. Charges made to his debit card created overdraft fees before they ever posted to his account because there were not sufficient available funds when the charges were made. When the charges posted to the account, the money was there to cover them. Did this make any difference to Wachovia? NO. Did my 30 year banking relationship make any difference to Wachovia? NO. Would they refund the charges? NO. To add insult to injury, they informed me that there was no way to set the account to decline charges should funds not be available. They would just continue to overdraw the account and rack up the fees. Year's ago this used to be a good bank. NO MORE!!!
BRANCH BANKS BIZ MODEL
A major traffic artery here literally every other building is a bank branch. When I inquired to a branch manager how these branches could all be projecting profitable plans , THE ANSWER IS THAT MOST BRANCHES MONTHLY OVERHEAD COSTS ARE COVERED AND EXCEEDED BY ......guess ...... NSF fees, late FEES, and the lengthy menu of FEES, DINGERS, and other crafty PLUCKINGS that bankers dream up in their Scrooge dreams. DO YOU SEE HOW THIS WORKS ????
BoA sooks - how 'bout Citi ??Capital One ??
Citi bought and "manages" Sears credit cards. It appears A L L 'private label' -- ie, department stores, for example -- will always charge 20%+ on their cards. I've had a Sears card for ages, always paid timely..yada,yada,yada. Nothing matters to these people. The business is run strictly for the shareholders and the hopelessly entrenched management that ran this once global powerhouse into a penny stock. Their customers who, of course, supply their revenues, are treated as sucker idiots to be plucked for their last dollar ... and then some. AND NOW, dear taxpayer, WE'RE GETTING STUCK AND PLUCKED BAILING THESE GROSSLY INCOMPETENT CENTI-MILLIONAIRES OUT OF THE SMASH-UP THEY SO BRILLIANTLY (FINANCIAL) ENGINEERED !! DON'T YA JUST LOVE THE RESPECTFUL, FAIR DEALING YOU GET FOR PAYING MAFIA RATES TO THESE WONDERKINDS FOR DECADES ?? !!!
Listen to Clark!
I totally agree with Clark and Dave Ramsey...do business with small community banks or credit unions where you can still talk to a real person with a brain. Since we have gone to Dave's envelope system we use our debit card maybe once every 3 months because we withdraw the cash we will need for the month and put it in our envelopes. When it's gone...it's gone and you make due with what you have until the next month or make adjustments to the budget and move money from one envelope to another or if absolutely necessary and the money is available you go to the bank and withdraw more money. Will never have an overdraft fee again. Paid off all the credit cards and closed the accounts so we'll never have another late fee either!! :)
Bank automatically takes money from your checking to pay off Credit card
Just want people to be aware that if you have a credit card with the same bank as your checking account, watch out. I entered into a partnership with someone with that situation. He was always current with his credit card but when we deposited $8000.00 to use as operating capital, the bank took the money out of the checking, paid off the credit card and then lowered the credit card limit to $1000. So much for the operating capital.
BOA
I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO PAY THESE PEOPLE(I USE THE TERM LOOSELY) FOR 16 YEARS..I HAVE PAID OFF TWO TRUCKS, ONE WAS 24,000 THE OTHER WAS 18.000FROM ANOTHER BANK, BUT FOR THE LIFE OF ME (THE ORIGINAL BILL WAS 7,000.00) THE INTEREST IS SO HIGH AND THEY USE ALL KINDS OF REASONS TO KEEP FROM LOWERING YOUR INTEREST RATE..WHICH RAISED EVERY OTHER DAY..ONCE THIS LAST MONEY IS PAID OFF I WILL NEVER EVER USE BOA FOR ANYTHING..THEY HAVE GROWN BY THE HARD SWEAT AND WORK OF THE MASSES..AND THIER GREAT BIG HUGE, GINORMOUS INTEREST RATES...STAY AWAY FROM THEM AT ALL COST..THEY ONLY THING THEY DON'T TAKE IS YOUR BLOOD..AT LEAST NOT YET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The $10 Overdraft Fee
I think I'm confused about this $10 overdraft fee that's been mentioned.
As it sounds, if you're overdrawn by less than $5, then it's a $10 fee for each instead of $35 each.
Now, the chances of multiple overdrafts ending the total less than $5 is small. Especially with the places that don't like to do a charge less than $5.
I think that's giving consumers a false sense of safety.
For those "I've never had an overdraft fee", congrats -- but the average consumer is going to have at least one overdraft in their life. We're all fallible, and therefore have a tendency to do bad math and fall in the hole. People live paycheck to paycheck, therefore this can happen. And for those people who BARELY live paycheck to paycheck, these overdraft fees end up taking away even more of their precious paycheck.
Plus, I've been bitten more than once on a charge that was authorized in one system and paid through another. The initial authorization sits out a few days longer than after it clears and BoA will charge you an overdraft because of a hold that will eventually clear.
Refused both a check & cash deposit.
In 1994 my business partner and I had an account with BofA. We tried to deposit a 5 figure check in our account and were told "it's too large"! After much wrangling we took the check to the payor's bank and cashed it. Upon returning to the bank they reluctantly deposited it, then said we would not have access to the money for 7 - 10 days. We changed banks that month.
I quit BOA
I just (this month) quit BOA and went wiht a local Credit Union. While realtionship was OK, I saw how the dealt with my kids and saw most of the problems that Clark has spoken of.
BOA
Since the Matthew Shinnick days, I have refused to do business with BOA and will not use credit from a company that has them as their finacier. Now I'm glad I went that route! How the mighty will fall!!
BofA and L.L. Bean
L.L. Bean's credit card used to be with BofA...back when Clark told us about their problems with Matthew Shinnick, I wrote to L.L. Bean to make sure they knew what kind of bank they were dealing with. They told me they were aware, and within a few months, L.L. Bean had a new credit card provider.
Glad I could help to fire BofA when I did, seems they've only gotten worse.
BOA Fees
I dropped BOA when my wife was using the debit card to pay for things when there was no money in the account. If she charged $10 in gas, they would let the transaction go through (against a line of credit) and charge a $30 fee!!! One month there was about $200 in fees because they were "saving her the embarrassment of having the card denied". I told them to embarass her!
Fees
Banks said if our Congress passed the credit card bill that it would squeeze their profits and they would have to make it up in other places. So they passed it anyway and now you see higher rates and higher fees. Thats just how it works.
correction
I meant to say Bank of America was incompetently run throughout the 70's; in fact, they only got worse over the years. At that time, I was in the military and was forced to have an account with them. They lost my direct deposit on two occasions and looked for ways to charge extra fees even then! BofA is the worst of the mega banks.
bank of america
Excuse me, Mr Harrison - but bank of america was incompetently run in the throughout the 70's; and, in fact, just got worse over the years.
get the story straight
BofA provides the ability to pull from another BofA account (e.g. savings) to cover NSF - no charge. You can also have the over-draft go straight to your BofA credit card, if you so choose.
They will also send email or text messages when your account goes under a certain amount or a charge over a certain amount occurs.
They offer all the tools necessary to avoid NSF fees. If you don't use them, it's not their fault.
Most of us have made silly mistakes over the years and have incurred NSF fees from banks. Most (BofA included) will forgive one a year if you call and ask them to "help with the mistake" YOU made.
On the other hand, ING Direct provides a free over-draft service, though interest is charged at a reasonable rate. They will also email/text for certain activity AND they pay way better interest. The downside is that transfers from other banks take a few days and they don't have many free ATMs in my area.
Bank Of America
I see both sides. However, I encountered a sitatuion where my company posted the direct deposits late (24 hrs), and due to the overdrafts, I recieved, $80 for a full week's pay, our company banks with BOA, (incidentally). As I have a checking account/savings account/car loan/credit car with BOA, I asked them if they cared that I couldn't pay for the car that month due to overdrafts- they said it was different departments and they could not reconcile the problem. Just saying...
BOFA
Typical tactics of BOFA. The only bank that I have any luck with is Chase. And don't get me started on Wells Fargo!
PMJ New Legislation
Thanks for the clarification. Citizens Bank(now owned by Santanda)- Large European entity - has never charged for overdraft protection. Now they will charge $5 for each transfer.
Being self-employed, my income can be erratic -- peaks and valleys. Last month was a valley -- It was necessary to use the protection for several smaller items, ie. a copayment at a medical office and the like.
I needed it 8 times. This month has improved and I haven't needed it. But 8 X 5 is $40!!!! Ridiculous! Most of those transactions were under $100. The $5/per is on top of the interest. There was never any annual fee for the line/credit, now it's $75/year.
The only other significant banks we have around here are Cit, Sovereign and BOA. BOA sucks for oh so many reasons. Sovereign also charges $5 for overdraft.
I heard somewhere that most states had abolished usury -- anyone here know any details? Thanks!
Clarifying PMJ's understanding of new legislation
Let me expalin what you are missing...
The recently legislation that Obama pushed through Congress regarding banking was only focusing on Credit Cards. And those credit card changes will not take effect until Mid-2010.
There was NO new legislation regarding Checking accounts, nor Bounced check fees, nor ATM usages, nor Debit cards that was signed by Congress or pushed by Obama in 2009.
B of A invents another charge
I got an email saying I should make a deposit or I could be charged an Extended Overdraft Fee. Huh. what? I am changing banks asap
Bank Fees
OK - will someone fill me in here?
It was my understanding that recent legislation - with Obama's support - was enacted to preclude banks to raise rates and change other terms and conditions at will.
Made sense to me since their arbitrary change of rate and conditions were unconscionable to begin with and we bailed them out when they needed mega cash.
What am I missing
BOA charges
I am so furious over all these bank charges. I use BOA but found a way around the overcharges. I signed up for phone text messaging that alerts me when my account is under a certain amount. I encourage others to do the same. You get to choose the amount and they have been perfect in sending my texts. I have not had any debit card overages in about two years thanks to the text messaging. What I didn't realize though is that the "free checking" is only if you have direct deposit. I went round and round with them over this one. My husband is a Union electrician and most of the contractors do not offer direct deposit. Unfortunately, he is laid off right now but we get "free checking" because the State uses direct deposit. I am in the process of changing all my automatic bill pays so as soon as the unemployment runs out I will be able to change banks like Clark advises. These huge banks had no problem taking all the bailout money. It was their fault they got into this mess but they will be sure to pass on all the problems on to us with outrageous charges and by not making loans to the little people like us. We are debt free, use no credit cards, and pay cash for most everything. Guess what? No good credit score! The credit score companies are an even bigger rip off than the banks but don't get me started..
Bank Of America
We cancelled the Credit Card we had with BOA when we found out BOA was making money by helping Illegals send $$$ back to Mexico
I agree that people should be responsible and do their subtraction but there are times with BOA where they credit/debit things to your account as they wish, not necessarily as they should appear. Banks make 70% of their profits from overdraft charges. Think about that.
Bank of America, et.al
It is surprising that so many of Clark's readers didn't realize how corrupt bankers, such as B. of A., have become . . . they simply make so many changes to their "agreements" with customers that even a Philadelphia lawyer will get caught up in their shenanigans from time to time. One solution that more and more customers of banks are turning to is to simply not pay their credit cards . . . if you think that checking and fees are complicated, try deciphering credit card "agreements". Banks, as the primary issuers of credit, will not listen until you take action by such things as simply not paying credit cards and the outrageous, ever changing, terms they come with.
Online Balances are Wrong
To those of you who overdraft- why? Have you not figured out that the balances on your online account site are usually wrong because of the time it takes for things to clear and holds that restaurants and gas stations use? I have NEVER overdrawn my account, EVER. Because I take the 2 minutes each day to write down my purchases in my checkbook and know exactly how much I have to spend. That's all you have to do. QUIT BEING LAZY AND THEN COMPLAIN ABOUT GETTING OVERDRAFT FEES.
BOA Fees
So many of you never read or understood the quote from Clark Howard. Here it is again: Bank of America has now increased the maximum amount of its overdraft charges per day to $350. Don't adjust your computer screen…that's $350, according to The Washington Post. He never said they would charge you $350 for something. The quote from the Washington Post was that you could have up to $350 in over drafts per day. That is insane. Banks tell us to not over draft our accounts by spending money we don't have. Ok, I can live with that. But with today's technology, they should also not be letting us buy stuff with our debit cards when funds are not available, should not be holding transactions when a pattern is showing we are about to go under and then sending them through to maximize the NSF fees. They should process them as they receive them and not pay them when we don’t have money or overdraft protection where they agree to pay it for a fee. I would never agree to them paying a charge for a $35 fee. I’d opt for them to let me be embarrassed for not having enough money first.
BOA Overdraft Fees
I was hit with an overdraft fee on my checking account by BOA just 1.5 weeks ago and I am still pissed. I use their online bill pay to pay my bills and I made the mistake in not changing the arbitrary date they assign for the check to go out. So instead of the payment going out on 7/10 which is the date I had set for all my other payments; it was sent on 07/01 which resulted in my account being overdrawn.
Sorry, but, instead of BOA cooking up schemes to continue to charge customers more and more fees they should be coming up with solutions to prevent customers from overdrawing on their account in the first place.
Would it have been too for BOA to send me an email alert to simply state that this payment will cause your account to be overdrawn. Do you want us to make this payment and be charged a $35 overdraft fee? Or would you like to have this payment set to a future date?
And to make make matters worse if I had noticed the payment was set to the wrong date the day before or on that day; BOA will not allow you to change or stop it.
I am so done with them and as I have closed all my other accounts (money market, credit card, and savings) with them; I now plan to close this checking account.
The bottom line is BOA is more interested in making money off of their customers instead of helping their customers earn or save money.
Bank of America
I just paid off my BOA credit card and will NEVER EVER use them again! They are in a deep hole and think the only way to get out is to SCREW their customers! RIP Bank of America!!
so stop banking there
You all have a choice. Check into your local Credit Union. Credit Union's are nonprofit and are owned by the account holders. As an account holder, you can sit on a CU's Board of Directors and help make the decisions. Try that at BofA.
BOA Overdraft Fees
The amount IS $35 per item--NOT $350. Here's info from BOA web site: "What’s Changing and When As of June 5, 2009, when your account is overdrawn by a total amount less than $5, rather than being charged the standard $35 Overdraft Fee, you will be charged a reduced fee of $10 for each overdraft item that day. This $10 fee does not apply to returned items." See http://promo.bankofamerica.com/pricingchanges/ Same fee for both personal and business checking accounts.
Credit Union
My Credit Union automatically covers any overdrafts from my checking with money from my savings account with NO fee. I try not to let that happen but when it does I am only embarrassed...not broke.
Bank Fees (GENERAL)
It was not so many years ago that banks PAID 5% on deposits, CHARGED 7% on loans had few fees and made a profit.
Today, banks PAY 1/2% on deposits, CHARGE 23% on loans, charge huge fees for everything, and operate at a loss.
What's changed? They no longer know their customers. They pay huge salaries to the Execs. They no longer trust their branch managers to make decisions. And Execs never suffer for the consequences of bad decisions.
When a bank brags about their growing "assets", they are bragging about the amount or questionable loans they've made. They SHOULD be attracting DEPOSITS, which are carried on their books as "liabilities".
These large banks (not only B of A) are doing everything they can to destroy capitalism.
overdrafts
i have had at least one checking account for the past 40 years. and i have probably over those 40 years paid maybe $100 total in bank overdraft fees. And I keep a written check register and keep track of all checks written or atm/debit transactions. Now fast forward to today's banking customer. They never keep a check register. Why, you may ask? Because they think that all they have to do is go online and get their balance or check their balance at the atm machine, or my favorite, they keep a running balance of their checking account in their head. Obviously all three of these methods are accidents waiting to happen. Mind you, most of these mental einsteins can't even count to ten without aid of their fingers. So why should I or anyone else including the banks feel sorry for this pitiful lot?
I certainly do not. In fact, as a result of other people's reckless disregard for their checking account balance and the resultant cost to them, banks are willing to give me a checking account (which really costs the bank money to maintain) for absolutely no cost. So all you mental einsteins...keep up the good work.
Re: BOA
Yes, everyone can say here-don't spend more than you make and live within your means and you won't get hit with overdraft fees. In this economy people are living paycheck to paycheck. Bank of America is very shifty in their posting of withdrawals. They will bounce earlier dated transactions (with lower amounts) in favor of posting a larger amount with a later date to collect additional overdraft fees. So what would have been one overdraft fee turns into two or more overdraft fees.
BOA
I've banked with BOA for a long time and I disagree with those who do think they should charge $350, that's just to costly. When you make a mistake and go over your limit, see how hard it is to come up with $350.00 versus $35.00 and we will sit back and listen to you complain then!
BOA
I guess all you people want a free loan from your bank, sorry to tell you, your not getting a free loan, maybe you want to work for free too. Don't expect something for nothing. Pay your bills, coz you want to be paid at the end of your work week. You guys are giving me a heart attack. Your lucky I don't run the banks, sick and tired of people wanting something for nothing.
BOA
I agree that a person needs to be responsible for their own actions. If you overdraw your account most of the time it is your own fault. However, to think that overdraft fees of $350 is an acceptable practice is ridiculous. Wachovia and other mega banks are just as bad as BOA. That's why I took control of my money and bank with my local credit union.
Bank of America
Do you ever post the positive things that Bank of America does or only incorrect negative info? Bank of America also only charges $10 for overdrafts if you overdraft your account by $5 or less by end of the day. I have learned the hard way myself with overdraft fees, but don't you think that the majority of the responsibility falls on the account holders who spend more money than they actually have?
Bank of America fees
They are taking advantage of the consumer while getting bailed out by the government, which we are paying.
BOA Fees
If you carry a balance on your credit card, you are a sucker. Period. REad Aesop's parable of the Frog and Scorpion below.
If you blame the scorpion for being himself, and not the frog for being an idiot, you too are a sucker.
http://allaboutfrogs.org/stories/scorpion.html
BOA
I have had a BOA account for 8 years and have not had any problems with them. They are pretty big on security to a fault but I like the side they ere on. I have free checking. Two months ago my account got below $1500 and they assesed an $8 maintenance fee. I called them up immediately and they waived the fee after looking at my history with them. They showed me I was a valued customer. I don't fall for any of their crappy offers because I am informed and do read everything I sign. If I don't understand it I don't sign.
Bank of America
Bank of America is out to rip as many customers off as possible. Get an ATM card and only use it to withdraw cash. Tell them to shove their debit card where the sun don't shine!
BOA
I have a BOA checking account and have had it for some time now, I have never, ever paid them a cent in over draft, want to know why, coz I never, ever spent more than I have, and it's all FREE, checks, ATM, never had an debt card and never will, it's a suckers game, just keep track of what you have in your account and don't spend more,not that hard. It's called subtraction. If you can't keep track of what you have, you don't deserve an account in the first place. We are adults here not children, don't spend what you don't have to spend, simple.
Bank of America
Taking the bail out money proves that Bank of America is failed company.
bank of america
I hope you're not serious Mr. Harrison. BOA is a failed institution that does not follow ethical banking practices. Do some research and the facts will set you straight.
BofAfee
It's amazing how difficult BofA makes it to discover what the actual fees are. I just spent 20 minutes navigating through their website to find the fee schedule. And when I did find the fees, there were not clearly stated to show what the max amount would be on a given day.
bank of america
you should be ashamed of yourself for bad mouthing BAC. when did they turn you down for a loan anyway?? If they were not a higher class org. than you, they would probably sue you for calling them a failed institution. just wait and you will soon be eating your words.
