OT - I hate my bank

[kool_kat]

Ugh! I hate banks like this (which is sadly turning into most). Use to banks could practice good customer service and reverse charges - now it seems like everyone's hands are tied and the OD charges stick no matter what the circumstance. I also have heard of several banks that changed their practice to pay from largest to smallest which of course is to capture on the ridiculous OD fee as many times as possible.

We once had a horror story with my sister at a bank - she went by to make a deposit and put it in the overnight and they were out of envelopes, so she took it to my mom. My mom got an envelope and put it in the overnight as the bank was still not open. Well apparently, they had already got the overnight (even though the bank wasn't open yet) so it sat to the next day and she got a ton of overdraft. They wouldn't reverse anything. Needless to say she immediately closed everything and moved elsewhere.

 

[TwoMisfits]

If you get denied by the 1st line customer service, continue pushing the issue forward. If that still fails, post on the corporate bank's facebook page and list the entire scenario, your actions to resolve it, and your unhappiness with the current resolution. Usually, if it's a good company, you will get reasonable solutions somewhere through those steps...and if you don't, like others mentioned, you then know who your bank really is and where your money should be (aka not there)...

 

[Pesky]

Consider complaining to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau as well. Banks are (legitimately) terrified of them. I'd copy your bank as well.

 

[aaarcher86]

5/3 was involved in a class action suit for a similar practice. They were manipulating the order of deposits so that if there was an overdraft there would be more transactions getting hit with a fee. In other words, subtracting the higher transactions first to make the account insufficient then taking out numerous smaller ones which would accumulate more fees. I would raise a stink. If those accounts are linked the money should be available immediately. It's your money.

This is exactly what I was going to mention.

I'd mention that when requesting my refund. We left 5/3 precisely for that reason.

 

[Madteaparty001]

I've tried huntington, chase, 5/3 and few other big ones, I always end up back at a credit union. The service makes up for any missing amenities. I also always use a credit card when possible so that when I get paid I pay the credit cards in full, there's never a chance for an overdraft because there's no surprise charges I forgot about.

 

[nugov2]

This is exactly what I do, too. I love that your bank does unlimited transfers...we only get 6/month. Which is why I have a billion different savings accounts..

It is nice. I don't use a cc for gas, groceries and other daily extras. We only use our cc for big things so we can earn miles, so I just continuously transfer money in when i need it for everyday expenses. It also helps me keep my fun money in check. When I see what I have in my savings dwindling I know it's time to reign it in, until I replenish it the next pay day. We don't touch our true savings/mm for anything unless it is a true emergency.

 

[afan]

I would look into a credit union. I started using one when I moved back home because there weren't any regional banks I wanted to use and I won't use any of the national banks any more. The credit union has good customer service and has actually worked with me when I had issues getting a check deposited because the atm wouldn't read it. I needed the money to pay a bill and they credited my account so the funds were there and then once the check posted they removed the courtesy credit. I don't know of any bank that would do that. With this credit union you just have to live in the area you don't have to work for a certain company or industry.

 

[MillauFr]

Our bank just did the same thing to our daughter. I closed her account and mine too. No reason to tolerate this nonsense from banks.

 

[tinkerone]

i'll start by saying i'm a retired banker, however a Canadian bank. I understand that our practices and u.s. practices are very different. our clients are protected by government legislation and its pretty good.

now, if there is one thing I heard over and over it was about how the banks always screw the client. I could sit down and explain everything and make it quite clear that the client was wrong and they still would say they were right. i would say that 95% of the people who ranted about how they were being taken advantage of were never in that situation. they just didn't understand or just didn't want to pay fees. now, I had no problems reversing fees, especially nsf fees, when it came down to it. at least the first two times. after that the client was on their own, you can only give back so many times before you can no longer justify it. often there was holds on the money in the second account which had little to do with the bank itself but the client would not realize this so the benefit of the doubt would come in handy. you can't transfer funds that were not cleared. direct deposits were never held, there is no excuse for that.

the one thing I have read on this thread a few times is that people think its wrong for the bank to clear the largest to the smallest. it was explained why earlier and that's the reason. being honest, if the bank were to clear the $10 chq you wrote to the paper boy and bounced your mortgage what would you say? honestly, what would you say? the thought is the bigger chqs are the most important to the client and usually that's the best assumption. its normally the car payment, the mortgage, the insurances. its not so the bank can collect more fees. that's ridiculous. its so your house, your car doesn't go into arrears. if anyone thinks there is a person free to call and ask a client which they prefer to have paid than they don't understand how many of these calls would have to be made in a day. for our bank , one of the five big banks in canada, it would be thousands of calls a day. just can't be done.

please don't flame me, i'm only trying to give the perspective of a bank employee. also, as I stated earlier, i'm talking about a Canadian bank. I can honestly say that I would be fearful to deal with some of the smaller banks in the u.s.

to the opp, for sure go into the branch and ask to talk with the manager in their office so they know your serious about getting an answer. ask the manager to print it all out on paper and explain what happened. do not leave the office until you understand what happened to your satisfaction. don't be demanding. what ever you find out (their mistake, your mistake) ask, again don't demand, that they reverse the fees, as a 'good will ' gesture. use those words, 'good will gesture'. being mad will not help even if your right. remember, you get more bees with honey. If you want a quick resolution talk calmly and precisely. JMO
hope it all works out for you.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Don't accept no from someone not allowed to say yes.

In other words, take your complaint to the next level.

 

[LinderInWonderland]

I have another vote for switching to a credit union. Unfortunately, the last bank I was happy with was Washington Mutual and they went under. Their customer service was bar none, at least until I moved to my current credit union. They helped me when my PayPal account got hacked and people around the world tried to take more than $8000 from an account that I only put money in when I was going to use PayPal. They had it fixed for me in one business day and I didn't lose a penny.

When WaMu was absorbed by Chase, I went to Wells Fargo and set up accounts for us, then went back to Chase to close my accounts there. I felt really bad for the workers because we were not the only ones there to do it, and a week earlier they were my awesome WaMu folks. After a few good years at Wells Fargo, they wanted to start charging me $3 a month for checking/savings. I was okay with that, because I understand it's a business. But then they wanted to charge me $10/month on my husband's checking. (Plus that memo got released about maximizing overdrafts. I didn't ever overdraft myself, but I didn't like dealing with a company that would do that.)

So it was off to our super awesome credit union. We earn 5% interest on the first $500 in our checking and savings accounts, then anything over that is market rate. I earned more in interest in 6 months there than I did in 5 years at WF. Their banking products are great. Really low interest in personal loans and credit cards. Decent interest on a money market. Great home and auto loans and tons of financial workshops to better educate yourself.

 

[anna08]

Look into USAA. No military affiliation needed to get a bank account and they have the best customer service of any company that I have dealt with personally or professionally.

 

[aaarcher86]

i'll start by saying i'm a retired banker, however a Canadian bank. I understand that our practices and u.s. practices are very different. our clients are protected by government legislation and its pretty good.

now, if there is one thing I heard over and over it was about how the banks always screw the client. I could sit down and explain everything and make it quite clear that the client was wrong and they still would say they were right. i would say that 95% of the people who ranted about how they were being taken advantage of were never in that situation. they just didn't understand or just didn't want to pay fees. now, I had no problems reversing fees, especially nsf fees, when it came down to it. at least the first two times. after that the client was on their own, you can only give back so many times before you can no longer justify it. often there was holds on the money in the second account which had little to do with the bank itself but the client would not realize this so the benefit of the doubt would come in handy. you can't transfer funds that were not cleared. direct deposits were never held, there is no excuse for that.

the one thing I have read on this thread a few times is that people think its wrong for the bank to clear the largest to the smallest. it was explained why earlier and that's the reason. being honest, if the bank were to clear the $10 chq you wrote to the paper boy and bounced your mortgage what would you say? honestly, what would you say? the thought is the bigger chqs are the most important to the client and usually that's the best assumption. its normally the car payment, the mortgage, the insurances. its not so the bank can collect more fees. that's ridiculous. its so your house, your car doesn't go into arrears. if anyone thinks there is a person free to call and ask a client which they prefer to have paid than they don't understand how many of these calls would have to be made in a day. for our bank , one of the five big banks in canada, it would be thousands of calls a day. just can't be done.

please don't flame me, i'm only trying to give the perspective of a bank employee. also, as I stated earlier, i'm talking about a Canadian bank. I can honestly say that I would be fearful to deal with some of the smaller banks in the u.s.

to the opp, for sure go into the branch and ask to talk with the manager in their office so they know your serious about getting an answer. ask the manager to print it all out on paper and explain what happened. do not leave the office until you understand what happened to your satisfaction. don't be demanding. what ever you find out (their mistake, your mistake) ask, again don't demand, that they reverse the fees, as a 'good will ' gesture. use those words, 'good will gesture'. being mad will not help even if your right. remember, you get more bees with honey. If you want a quick resolution talk calmly and precisely. JMO
hope it all works out for you.

I'd say "god I'm an idiot" because the overdraft is MY fault. It's hard to argue with "you didn't have enough money in your account."

I'd rather have one or two overdrafts with no one to blame but myself than have $500 in overdrafts because the bank decided to switch around the order the pull my charges.

I'm fairly sure there's laws against doing it or I would think the 5/3 lawsuit for doing exactly that would have flopped.

 

[afan]

I have another vote for switching to a credit union. Unfortunately, the last bank I was happy with was Washington Mutual and they went under. Their customer service was bar none, at least until I moved to my current credit union. They helped me when my PayPal account got hacked and people around the world tried to take more than $8000 from an account that I only put money in when I was going to use PayPal. They had it fixed for me in one business day and I didn't lose a penny.

When WaMu was absorbed by Chase, I went to Wells Fargo and set up accounts for us, then went back to Chase to close my accounts there. I felt really bad for the workers because we were not the only ones there to do it, and a week earlier they were my awesome WaMu folks. After a few good years at Wells Fargo, they wanted to start charging me $3 a month for checking/savings. I was okay with that, because I understand it's a business. But then they wanted to charge me $10/month on my husband's checking. (Plus that memo got released about maximizing overdrafts. I didn't ever overdraft myself, but I didn't like dealing with a company that would do that.)

So it was off to our super awesome credit union. We earn 5% interest on the first $500 in our checking and savings accounts, then anything over that is market rate. I earned more in interest in 6 months there than I did in 5 years at WF. Their banking products are great. Really low interest in personal loans and credit cards. Decent interest on a money market. Great home and auto loans and tons of financial workshops to better educate yourself.

I miss WaMu and I think we have the same credit union

 

[kymom99]

I'd say "god I'm an idiot" because the overdraft is MY fault. It's hard to argue with "you didn't have enough money in your account."

I'd rather have one or two overdrafts with no one to blame but myself than have $500 in overdrafts because the bank decided to switch around the order the pull my charges.

I'm fairly sure there's laws against doing it or I would think the 5/3 lawsuit for doing exactly that would have flopped.

Exactly! I might have a $50 check owed to the IRS that I would want posted before the car payment. I won't lose my car for one payment being a few days late. They give me 15 days grace. As I said before, presumptuous.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

It wasn't a matter of writing checks and hoping the deposit would be in. I had transfered from a linked savings account and for some unknown reason they held it (which they've never done in the past as the accounts are linked). Then transactions which were already posted and deducted were changed to pending and a larger transaction was then processed and the two aforementioned transactions were put back in and the fees applied and then the money they held from the linked savings applied.

I wouldn't be complaining if it were an accounting issue on my part (Lord knows I've made plenty of those) or a robbing Peter to pay Paul situation, but it was neither of those. The accounts are linked. The deposit should have been there yesterday, certainly before the transaction sent to the bank today was applied.

Completely unacceptable! I've had the same credit union since I was 16, which is now far easier to deal with now that we have so many online tools, very different than in the 90's when we were living out of state and having to mail check for deposit. Our direct deposits always hit first, then EFT transactions, and lastly checks. I can't even log in to see which checks have cleared until after 7pm, which is when their last branches close. I could go deposit money at 6:30 Pm at a branch, or transfer from another account, if I know a check is clearing that day, and be fine.

This is exactly what I do, too. I love that your bank does unlimited transfers...we only get 6/month. Which is why I have a billion different savings accounts..

I would challenge the statement that anyone has unlimited transfers because the 6 per month is a federal law and not a bank to bank decision. No one should have unlimited transfers from savings to checking. (Unless the poster is in another country?)

the one thing I have read on this thread a few times is that people think its wrong for the bank to clear the largest to the smallest. it was explained why earlier and that's the reason. being honest, if the bank were to clear the $10 chq you wrote to the paper boy and bounced your mortgage what would you say? honestly, what would you say? the thought is the bigger chqs are the most important to the client and usually that's the best assumption. its normally the car payment, the mortgage, the insurances. its not so the bank can collect more fees. that's ridiculous. its so your house, your car doesn't go into arrears. if anyone thinks there is a person free to call and ask a client which they prefer to have paid than they don't understand how many of these calls would have to be made in a day. for our bank , one of the five big banks in canada, it would be thousands of calls a day. just can't be done.

The issue is that the person may have 6 transactions posting at the same time. How convenient for the bank that they can clear the largest one first, and then get to collect fees on the other 5, or maybe even all 6 depending on the balance. If they cleared the smaller 5 and only NSF the mortgage, only one fee for them. I don't believe for a second that this isn't done to generate revenue, it has nothing to do with assuming what clients might prefer.

 

[tinkerone]

So, what i'm hearing is that people would prefer smaller cheques go through first, is that correct? I say the bank is damed if they do and damed if they don't.

scenario-- you wrote 3 chqs. $10 to paper boy, $50 to IRS, $250 for your car payment. you have $250 in your account.
1)what everyone seems to think is the thing to do is to pay the first two and return the car payment.
2)what the banks would do is pay the car payment and return the two small chqs.

with the first option you have affected your credit rating. car dealers report late or nsf payments. same with mortgage companies and many other companies. next time you go to finance anything your rate will be higher. you will never even know that it is, that it had to do with the mortgage payment that was returned.

with the second option you have not hurt your credit rating at all. both the paper boy chq and irs chq will be cleared up without the credit bureau knowing about them. you just write another chq to cover the returns. that's right, even returning the irs chq will not affect your credit rating as long as you pay it right away and not have it sit. I would prefer to pay two nsf fees to keep my credit rating good but that is just me.

30 years ago it was all very easy. the bank was able to call you and ask what you would prefer. now, with automation its not that easy. if there is money in the bank and its cleared funds then there should be no issue. the bank should be able to set up an automatic transfer if you request this. then there should be no surprises. a lot of the issues today is due to the fact that so many of us need to live pay check to pay check. there is no extra money for lots of people and two nsf fees are a big deal for them. I do understand.

i'm not looking for an argument. like if said earlier, I don't know how the u.s. banking system works so I do not mean to judge in any way. I don't know anything about the 5/3 law suit being talked about. what I would say is that you really have to find a bank or credit union you are comfortable with. one that makes you feel valued as a client. it takes a long time for you and your bank to trust each other. if you decide to change banks keep in mind that until the acconts have been operating for a period of time there will be holds and new account issues. its usually best and easiest to talk it out with the bank you presently deal with and see how they can help you. explain what you expect from them and find out how they deal with the issues that are important to you, such as this one.

again, no flames please, this is JMO.

 

[MamaBelle4]

Consider complaining to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau as well. Banks are (legitimately) terrified of them. I'd copy your bank as well.

They are trying to call me. I told them I want everything in writing for when I contact the Attorney General and Consumer Finance.

 

[MamaBelle4]

. don't be demanding. what ever you find out (their mistake, your mistake) ask, again don't demand, that they reverse the fees, as a 'good will ' gesture. use those words, 'good will gesture'. being mad will not help even if your right. remember, you get more bees with honey.

I try to be a catch more flies type of person, but when I'm lied to I tend to lose my cool.

Banks are businesses. Businesses operate off a profit. This one is trying to increase its bottom line.

It's funny, I don't know of 5/3 bank but M&T used to do the same exact thing and there was a class action lawsuit. My bank has acquired M&T and now this transaction manipulation begins.

 

[Albort]

weird... i never any issues like this with my bank, but i do have this problem with my credit union. i recall it used to take 3 days to transfer from saving to checking... and it took literally 20 days for billpay... :\

now, transfers are instant at my bank and billpay takes 1-3 days...