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 Overdraft Charges Overkill by Bank of America
Posted Sat September 12, 2009 12:00 pm, by Daniel T. written to Bank of America
Write a Letter to this Company | Rate this Company
I am writing you in regards to how Bank of America has handled my account over the
Labor Day holidays and extracted fees out of my account that I believe are completely
outrageous.
On 9/9/09 and 9/10/09 I was charged 13 (thirteen) NSF Overdraft fees totaling $455. I
have been monitoring my account very closely over the holidays and I have noticed that
my online account consistently changes throughout the day.
On 9/9/09 I checked my account and I had approximately $230 in my account around
1pm and around 8pm my account showed a negative balance of $618. I went home to
check my account and in my surprise that all transactions changed from when I viewed 7
hours prior. There was a paper check of $650 that I wrote on 9/8/09 and made a deposit
of $500 on Sunday 9/6/09 (which was returned). However, the way Bank of America
manipulated my account was that it paid the $650 check, and then proceeded to post all
small transactions dating back to 9/3/09 right after causing 13 overdrafts to occur. I had
$230 in my account if Bank of America would have returned this check I would have
only incurred ONE NSF fee versus the $455 because my account had enough to cover
ALL the small transactions even with the returned check. However, Bank of America
manipulated my credits and debits so that it could charge as many NSF fees as possible. I
am quite aware of your policies as I had to go back and forth with your CSR's but it is
simply beating a dead horse since most likely they are instructed not to make any
amends.
I am quite sure you are aware of the country's current status, especially since your
company was a close to $50 Billon Bail out recipient. However, people like me are not as
privileged to receive a bail out when we go into economic dire straits, we simply have
make a way to recoup. I have lost a business and just recently in the beginning of the year
found employment and slowly trying to recover. So it is needless to say that I can't afford
a $455 Overdraft fee. I can understand 1 or 2 NSF fees for the returned check but shifting
transactions so that Bank of America can take advantage of the situation to me is
unacceptable. One trusts a bank to ensure fair management of their funds and not to be
taken advantage of. I have direct deposit and Bank of America has access to all of my
funds.
Communicating with CSR is ineffective as I am unable to decipher how Bank of America
posts payments, clears checks, etc. All I know is that transactions that were date 9/3, 9/4,
9/5 all preceded the paper check written 9/8. I am still puzzled how a paper checked
cleared as quickly as I witnessed myself that if I receive checks how long it takes to have
them cleared. I also have my paycheck direct deposited on 9/10 so all of the fees were
immediately recovered by Bank of America.
I did extensive research, simply because I felt that this practice was deeply disturbing to
me and I felt completely exploited and I was surprised to find so many complaints by
individuals with similar complaints. I found articles recently written by USA Today,
CNN and several other media outlets as well as Law firms currently investigating Bank
of America which includes asking disgruntled customers with experiences like mine to
come forward for a class action suit which should state my case that I am not just
complaining and it is indeed an issue.
All I am asking is that majority of NSF fees to be refunded to me, I can understand 1 or 2
for the returned check but to deliberately move transactions to increase the amount of
charges is overkill. I work hard for my money and for Bank of America to charge such
high fees when I believe that this wouldn't have happened if Bank of America would
have processed the transaction as it showed on my online account prior 9/8/09.
Resources:
USA Today Article in regards to my complaint 7/8/09:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/kt785s
CNN article in regards to my complaint dated 8/10/09
http://preview.tinyurl.com/qewfkc
Consumer Reports article:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/dmknvn
Class Action suit filed against US Bank for similar practices
http://preview.tinyurl.com/kokk4v
Bank of America filed class action suit
https://clossonsettlement.com/index.htm
Law firm investigating this practice:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/kl6hwn
 Reply
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by Just Jay Posted Mon November 30, 2009 @ 12:38 PM
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Same thing happened to me. Bank of America basically robbed me of my
money. They refused to give me a credit when I asked for them to at
least give me back two of the NSF charges due to the stacking of large
payment first.
Boycott Bank of America!
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by Yohanka G. Posted Thu October 1, 2009 @ 8:05 AM
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I too just had a heated conversation with a CSR from Bank of America
because I checked my account balance last night and I had $80+ dollars
in my account and when I checked my account again this morning to
check my payroll direct deposit (that is posted at 11:59PM the day
before), a check that I gave my sister and that she deposited into her
account yesterday was already processed by Bank of America (when a
check usually takes from 2-3 days to clear). The upseting part is
that this check was cleared before all the other transactions that I
had done a few days earlier. So based on my account balance as of
5:00PM yesterday, I had a balance of $111.04, the check for $117.00
came in and it overdraft my account, a Walmart transaction that had I
done a few days earlier, came in after the $117.00 check and so
another overdraft fee. Result, 2 overdraft fees because the bank
decided to manipulate my account for their benefit. I too work very
hard for my money and I'm always checking my account because Bank of
America does this all the time. The shift transactions to charge
overdraft fees. They sometimes have a transaction paid one day and
the next day goes back to pending again. What that F is that. Can we
as consumers get some help on the matter?
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by Richard B. Posted Mon September 21, 2009 @ 9:50 PM
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I cannot stand Bank of America, they intentionally push the highest
amount through first regardless of the transaction date so that any
other charges will incur overdraft fees.
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1. Do not rely on online banking balances. Always use a paper
register.
2. Almost very bank and credit union posts debits the same way your
bank does: Highest to lowest. It's how it's been for years.
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Not true
by Margaret W. Wed November 11, 2009 @ 7:55 PM
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by DannyT Posted Sun September 13, 2009 @ 5:21 PM
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I guess AIG, Meryll Lynch, and all these banks that faltered under bad
management. Should have kept a register too but obviously they didn't
otherwise they wouldn't have to beg our government for billions in
bailout and they still chose to blow that money too. So what is your
point?
So you are telling me that a store can process a check immediate but
transactions that I did with my check card where the funds were
deducted immediately but didn't "post" 8 days later just so it could
be added to more fees. That is an ignorant statement. Also the check
would have never been written if a check that was deposited into my
account was returned
The point that I am making is that Bank of America purposely shifted
and manipulated debits just so Bank of America could maximize their
charges on this situation. If the transaction would have been
processed in a logical manner it would have never came to this, I
would have only had to deal with the ONE returned item not with 10
transactions as small as $5 that occured a whole week before.
This is why I posted the articles to show that I am not just the only
person that noticed that banks fabricate situation just to charge fees
because they have become a major part of their income. It has to be a
problem if there class actions suits and investigation. And if you do
work for a bank of course you would side because that is how you get
paid.
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by Retail Veteran Posted Sun September 13, 2009 @ 3:29 PM
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According to my wife, who works for a bank, all banks will process
debits first before processing any deposits. You should not write a
check first and then deposit the money to cover it later. Stores can
do electronic transfers of money from your account for a check
immediately. As many others have said on this site, keep a written
check register of all your transactions.
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Never rely on online banking or the telephone, they are never
accurate. You should always keep a checking register, it would let
you know what you have in your account at all times. Regardless of
the order in which transactions are presented, if you had enough money
in your account in the first place they should all have cleared.
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