Am I going to jail?!

[Twinkles6892]

I overdrafted, and not just a little, like having it taken out of my savings, this was like, no more savings to cover it. How much trouble am I in, like with the bank, are they just going to charge me a fee and say "bad girl"? or are they going to take away my debit card, not to mention if my dad finds out (Mom if you read this, don't tell him)

 

[Twinkles6892]

okay, bumping because i'm freaking out!

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

You'll get charged a fee for each item (check or atm transaction) that goes through since you became overdrawn. Can be $25-$30 each time. If the don't honor your checks that you've written on the overdrawn account and return them you could also be paying an additional fee to whomever you wrote the check to.

You need to figure out a way to get it covered ASAP. Most banks will also charge a daily overdraft fee of $5-$7 each day.

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

No, you are not going to go to jail. But you will be hit with overdraft fees and insufficient fees and probably more fees. Call the bank and tell them you acknowledge that you over drew and you want to know how much in fees will be incurred. You should put money in there ASAP to get the fees taken care of, even if it's bringing your balance to $0.

 

[ducklite]

No, you're not going to jail, but you need to get it straightened out ASAP.

If you know who you bounced a check to, call them first thing in the morning, apologize, and give them a set date on when you will pay them with cash or a money order, plus any fees they cahrge you.

Then deal with the bank and see what they can or will do for you.

Anne

 

[Barb D]

Ooops! Could you borrow some money from your mom temporarily? Call the bank tomorrow morning first thing and ask if they can help you.

Was it one big check or lots of little ones? Are you expecting to get the money very soon?

 

[SwedishMeatball]

 

[Twinkles6892]

Pay day is friday, and it's a big one, I also have some shorts to return to Oldnavy, which should give me $20 back into my acount

Share Accounts Description Available Balance Rate PrevYTD Div YTD Div
Prime Share 0.00 5.00 Tiered 2.47 0.69

Share Draft 20.47- 1.94- Tiered 0.00 0.00

that's what it says, I just don't want my dad to find out because he gave me a responsibility speech, it's the first time this has happened in almost 6 months, i just don't know what to do, i still have a $17 charge from a store that hasn't gone through, so this is what i do, i tell my mom, call the bank, call mardens and get those shorts returned ASAP, and here i thought I was starting to learn responsibilty, ugh.

 

[kejoda]

It will work out Megan. My suggestion is that you tell your Dad. Part of being responsible is admiting when you screwed up. Tell him before he finds out from someone else.

 

[juligrl]

It also might be a good idea to look into getting overdraft protection on your account in the future.

 

[Cindyluwho]

If you write checks on an account without any money in it is against the law. In fact, over a certain dollar amount it's a felony. My sister has a felony charge on her record for writing bad checks. Bad idea. Straighten it out right away, even if it means going to the bank and explaining that you've made a mistake. Good Luck!! Everyone makes mistakes, owning up to them is what seperates the good folks from the bad.

 

[Barb D]

OK, so we're not talking thousands of dollars here. Please, Sweetheart, talk to your mom. Surely she can float you a short-term loan.

 

[Twinkles6892]

Thanks guys, my mom transferred money into my account, and I wont be charged because we did it quickly. There was a suspicious ATM withdrawl on there so I'll have to have that checked out, but I'm glad I told my mom. Phwew!

 

[bigolive9]

You should be fine. I work at a credit union, and have worked in banking for 3 years, and I have seen people in much worse situations that you! I would suggest trying to borrow enough to cover the negative balance from your mom or dad. It sounds like you have your savings linked to your checking for overdraft protection, and that is good. If you are over 18, ask your bank if you can get a line of credit to use as ODP. If you are under 18, you probably won't be able to get a line of credit to use as ODP, although I would suggest doing that once you turn 18. If you do get the line of credit, DO NOT use it for anything else. My old bank gave you an actual credit card- if this is what your bank does, shred the card. Do not get tempted to use the credit for other stuff, because that defeats the purpose.

The only time a negative balance will really hurt you (long term, not just in fees) is if you leave the account in the negative and the bank charges it off (closes it with a negative balance). In that situation, most banks will then report you to Chexsystems or Experian as owing them money. This is bad, because nearly all financial institutions will pull one of the two records before opening a new account. They see people with a chexsystems record as being higher risk than someone without, and usually won't open an account. Also, that will stay on the record for anywhere from 3 to 7 years, meaning a mistake you made at 18 may still affect you when you are 25. I am not trying to scare you- most institutions will give you about a month to get your account caught up before charging it off.

Also, almost every young person overdrafts at some point- it is an expensive way to learn that keeping your check register up to date is very important. I have only had 1 overdraft due to spending in the 7 years that I have had a checking account. I had 2 due to not paying attention when setting up my bills to pay online, and taking them out of the wrong account. I think you will find that after this, you will be much more attentive to your account. Good luck with your dad whenever he finds out!

 

[Southern4sure]

It will work out Megan. My suggestion is that you tell your Dad. Part of being responsible is admiting when you screwed up. Tell him before he finds out from someone else.

This is so true. Upfront and honest. We all are human and make mistakes.

 

[Nancy]

If you accidently overdrew your account they will not throw you in jail.

It is a crime to write checks when you have no intention of ever having money to cover those checks, or opening bogus accounts with a small amount of money and writing out lots of checks against it.

I once (a long time ago) made a huge math error and thought I had a lot more money in the account than I did, ended up close to $500.00 overdrawn and then add the fees on top and it was a huge disaster. It was not intentional, I was not charged wth anything, but it took me a week to pay up the money and after 7 consecutive days of being overdrawn I got charged a fee. It was a bad experience, but I learned my lesson and now double check all my additions and subtractions.

 

[kejoda]

Yeah for Mom. Glad you worked it out. I wouldn't want to have to send you a nail file in jail.

 

[momsgonwild]

I am one of those moms that gives the responsibility speech. Somtimes the most responsible thing you can do is to tell someone you made a mistake, and that you need help. Everyone makes mistakes! If your Dad is like me, he may grumble for a while, but be relieved that you are making the effort to figure out how to solve the problem. I always tell my boys that nothing is so bad that they can't tell me! Good Luck! Glad your mom helped you out.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

glad it worked out for you

 

[Mermaid02]

OP's Mom here. Isn't online banking great? I was able to transfer her account the money last night. There is an ATM withdrawl on her account that we are unsure about. She does not use this as an ATM card. She'll have to call the CU today and get that figured out. My husband said, "What's wrong with Megan?" and I said, ""She just needed help with her banking" he said, "Oh" and rolled over and went to sleep. She'll pay me back Friday and then she'll keep better track of her purchases.

Thanks for helping her out last night everyone!