Account out of WA

The condescending responses from people on here have certainly proven
one thing to me. Human nature is to automatically assume that everyone
is in the same positions or situations as yourself, and that everyone
is looking for a freebie. I give a lot of credit to zannaventura, who
instead of automatically stating that I am irresponsible with my
account and I shouldn't spend money I don't have (even though I
obviously do have it because everything seems to still get paid on TOP
of paying the bank fees), realizes that things happen to people. There
are single parents out there, a lot of whom deal with deadbeat dads
that don't pay or have to be forced to pay any sort of child support,
who may or may not have parents who supported them while they were
growing up that they are now trying to help support in their old age,
or who just may have gone through some overall bad situations in their
lives. Instead, he/she tried to be constructive and give advice that
may or may not help the situation.

And for those of you who would rather read and judge without actually
READING, who are you to judge me? I'm sure I could find things in your
lives to criticize too. Do you not think if I could get out of paying
ANY fees at all and just having the perfect life that I never received
any OD fees in, I wouldn't? Perhaps instead of actually having paid
the OD fees I have, and paying the medical bills of my children that I
have, and making sure they have food on the table and a roof over
their heads, I should have just run up all the bills I could and filed
bankruptcy. Had I done that, I wouldn't be in the position I am of
trying to make sure that everyone is getting their fair share of the
pot, and I wouldn't be receiving the fees on my bank account, let
alone paying them. God forbid I try to do the responsible thing by
actually PAYING my bills....

I should point out also, for all those holier-than-thou people, that I
wasn't asking for all of the fees I've been charged by the bank. I was
only asking for the fees I have been charged as a result of the bank
changing their policies, and therefore charging me largely above what
I should have been charged. I work in the insurance industry, and I
guarantee that if we just up and decided to change how we billed
people, or posted things to their account, without sending a
disclosure that we were doing so, we would have lawsuits left and
right. I'm only asking that banks be just as accountable as every
other company in America, especially since we place a lot larger of a
responsibility on them... our entire household finance.

I would be sick if I screwed up and had to pay ONE overdraft fee,
ever. What a waste of money. And you say you pay thousands?? How
irresponsible. This is NOT a normal everyday expense. Think of what
you could have done over the years with those thousands if you'd
invested it wisely instead of lining Bank of America's pockets. I'd
suggest you stop spending what you don't have and you will never again
have this issue! At the very least ask for a line of credit on your
account...if they will even give you one based on your past history.

I had that same problem a few years back. Single parent, living
paycheck to paycheck. Sometimes you have no choice but to write a
check hoping it won't clear before your check gets deposited. It got
to the point that I felt like my entire paycheck was going to OD fees.
Then I found my Credit Union (www.WECU.com). They gave me a small
personal loan to get myself out from under the bank fees (I closed my
bank account immediately once I brought it to a $0.00 balance). I
opened a savings account at the Credit Union with only $5.00, and a
checking account that if I did OD, the fee was only $13 per item,
instead of the $35 I was being charged at the bank. The MSR who
opened my account with me even took the time to help me do a budget
and showed me how to balance (and stay on top of) my check register.
They even have classes (free) to help you with budgeting, what steps
you need to take to buy a home, planning for the future, etc. They
have helped me tremendously. I am proud to say that with help from my
C.U. my credit score has gone up over 200 points, and last year I
purchased my first home.
Go to their website and check them out. It will definitely make a
difference in your life.

Doesn't it feel good to get in control?

I have friends who are Mormon, and their religion advocates having
many children, and the mom staying home. It turns out, their churches
offer classes not only on budgeting and finance, so families can learn
how to get buy on one paycheck, but the church also tries to instill a
sense of resistance to materialism and overconsuming (key, if you're
going to support a family on one income).

(I'm not even Christian, so no, I'm not prostletyzing (sp?). Just
sharing. ;)

What a great success story! Kudos to you for recognizing the problem,
taking steps to fix it and then following through and ultimately
becoming a homeowner! I remember the days of beenie weenies and
living hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck. Somehow I struggled and
made it out of debt too! It's a great feeling. I do feel for the
original poster though. It is extremely hard to break the
cycle....but it can be done!

All of the posts below say it perfectly. My only suggestion is to stop
overspending and get organized.


Good Day

The bottom line, whether you like it or not, is that financial
institutions can post credits and debits in any order they like and
will usually do so in a manner to maximize the fees they can charge in
accordance with the customer's account holder agreement. If at any
time your account does not have sufficient funds to cover what you
have spent then the bank is perfectly within their right to charge you
overdraft fees and I see no reason for BofA to refund the fees they
have charged you. Furthermore, you can file all the complaints you
want, but unless you can prove that you didn't overdraw your account
they are a waste of time.

I would suggest that you maintain an accurate paper check register and
not authorize debit transactions without ensuring that the funds are
available at the time you hit the "OK" button. This isn't rocket
science - - this is how to maintain a checking account.

The practice of processing debits before credits is not uncommon and
probably not illegal in your state. You should know that if you plan
to take your business to another bank, that bank may have the same
practice.

Also, check the requirements for closing your account at BoA. Some
banks won't let you close your account if you have a certain amount of
overdrafts. (Years ago, my bank wouldn't let me close out my account
because of the number of overdrafts I had for that year. That may have
changed though.)

Don't spend time trying to get them to change a policy every bank
follows. Spend that time getting yourself to not spend money you don't
have! That way, you won't be paying ANY overdraft fees.

I had a similar problem. Not because I wasn't keeping track of what I
was spending, but because my math skills leave a LOT to be desired.

What I did was to go out and buy a Palm Pilot. Then I found a free
check register program. Now, I either enter in each purchase as I make
it or when I get home. I also can use it to track how much I'm
spending while grocery shopping, to make sure I don't go over the
money I have to spend.

I have to say I was somewhat dumbstruck by this letter.

It shouldn't matter which order the purchases are presented to your
account. Either you have the funds to make the purchases or you
don't. If you don't have the funds to cover your purchases you
shouldn't be making them. Saying that you don't keep track well
because you use a debit card is just failure to take responsibility.
A debit card is nothing more than a plastic check. Put a check
register in your purse and keep track like a responsible adult.

By your own admission you frequently abuse your account priviledges by
overdrawing it. Why shouldn't you pay the fees, no matter what order
the purchases are presented?

I have to say there may be something to the banks maximizing their
fees that isn't quite ethical. However, the simple solution is to be
responsible for your own actions. Keep track of your account, don't
spend money you don't have, and you won't have to worry about the
posting order or fees.

Better yet, sign up for ING Direct. There are no OD fees over there.
You just pay 9.25% interest, which amounts like to $.01 or $.02 for
each time you overdraft; and nothing if you can replace the money that
same day. They are also good about emailing you the instant your
account goes negative. So, if you have enough money in your savings
acct, there are no OD fees there.

I do not quite understand how BOA can pay according to dollar amount
when recieving these checks against your account. If they have a check
for $50 do they sit on it and wait to see if one for $75 comes in and
then pay that one?
Checks are paid according to how they come in not by the amount of
that check. It seems that you overdraw frequently and then cannot
understand why your checks do not clear.
And the only reason most banks/credit unions will not give you
overdraft protection is if you are consistently overdrawn on both
checking and savings accounts. Then its like any other "payment" they
have to charge it to your credit card and of course you have higher
APR because of your overdraft problems.


Using a bank/credit union for your financial needs is fine but it does
not alleviate any responsibility on your part to make sure that these
accounts are up to date and without error. It seems you have assumed
that all is well as long as you think you have the money in your
account.

Sorry but this is the way most financial institutions process
transactions and you will continue to be charged fees based on the way
you are handling your finances.

The BBB and the FDIC will not help you as this information is
available in you account terms and conditions.

You've paid thousands in fees over the years! If this is the case,
you need to handle your money differently. Stop using your debit card
for small transactions. Carry cash for those instead. That fast food
meal is costing you more than $35 every time you overdraft.