OT - I hate my bank

[MamaBelle4]

Long story condensed, I had a positive balance yesterday and I had two transfers that were to be in last night. I went to bed. Woke up with two insufficient funds fees applied to a positive balance, two transactions that had cleared yesterday now listed as "pending" along with my deposits and still a positive balance.

If this isn't proof that they are manipulating the processing of transactions to benefit from invalid insufficient funds fees, I don't know what is. I complained but it fell upon deaf ears, so now I'm out $72 for exactly no reason at all, other than corporate greed.

UPDATE: I filed a complaint with the CFPB and they refunded me my money! Thanks to the poster who suggested it!!

 

[verleniahall]

Go in and talk to them in person - i have had that happen before - your transactions hit the bank before the deposit did, and even though they are "pending" goign in - our bank doesn't put deposits in until between 7:30 & 8 AM at one and 8:30-9AM at the other.

 

[Marionnette]

Long story condensed, I had a positive balance yesterday and I had two transfers that were to be in last night. I went to bed. Woke up with two insufficient funds fees applied to a positive balance, two transactions that had cleared yesterday now listed as "pending" along with my deposits and still a positive balance.

If this isn't proof that they are manipulating the processing of transactions to benefit from invalid insufficient funds fees, I don't know what is. I complained but it fell upon deaf ears, so now I'm out $72 for exactly no reason at all, other than corporate greed.

My bank recently sent information regarding the order in which they will process debits and credits. It used to be that as long as a deposit was made prior to the close of the business day, it would cover all debits made to the account during that day. So, if you started the day with a positive balance and had debits that put the account in the negative, you could still deposit or transfer funds into the account to cover the deficit and not be hit with the NSF fee. Now, they will process all transactions in the order that they are received.

I always keep a buffer in my checking account but my one son is still learning that you can't write checks and hope that your paycheck deposits before your landlord cashes the rent check.

 

[MamaBelle4]

My bank recently sent information regarding the order in which they will process debits and credits. It used to be that as long as a deposit was made prior to the close of the business day, it would cover all debits made to the account during that day. So, if you started the day with a positive balance and had debits that put the account in the negative, you could still deposit or transfer funds into the account to cover the deficit and not be hit with the NSF fee. Now, they will process all transactions in the order that they are received.

I always keep a buffer in my checking account but my one son is still learning that you can't write checks and hope that your paycheck deposits before your landlord cashes the rent check.

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.

 

[Marionnette]

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.

I didn't mean to imply that you were kiting checks. I was simply using my son as an example of how not understanding your bank's terms of service can bite you in the butt...especially when you've come to rely on them doing things one way and they change their TOS to your disadvantage.

Did your bank offer any explanation as to why transactions that had been posted were reversed? And why a transfer between accounts was delayed?

 

[MamaBelle4]

I didn't mean to imply that you were kiting checks. I was simply using my son as an example of how not understanding your bank's terms of service can bite you in the butt...especially when you've come to rely on them doing things one way and they change their TOS to your disadvantage.

Did your bank offer any explanation as to why transactions that had been posted were reversed? And why a transfer between accounts was delayed?

Nope. I just kept getting a very blanket response. "Deposits and withdrawals are two separate transactions and we're processed in a timely manner."

 

[PlainJane]

Of course everything is different from bank to bank, but......

Credits before debits is always the best policy. So, in the same day (11:59PM and 12:00AM are two different days) all credits should post before debits. There can be limits on how late a check or cash can be deposited, but direct deposits and transfers should work down to the wire.

Transfers should be available immediately if the accounts have at least one common owner and there is funds availibiliy.

I would not want to do business with a bank that didn't have the above policies.

It sounds like when they put those two transactions back into pending you got stuck with two overdraft fees when they posted again instead of the one you would have gotten if the bigger debit had gone through last. Of course if the funds had transferred immediately none of that would have been an issue anyway.

I will say if you're just talking to a teller or banker they most likely cannot see that the transactions had been thrown back into pending. They probably can only see the final result. You're biggest defense is that the transfer should not have been held. If it's their policy that it can be held, even if funds are available, I would find another bank.

 

[nugov2]

I would never have my money in a bank that didn't show funds immediately in an account that was a transfer from another account at the same bank. I transfer money all the time, even while I'm out shopping in the checkout line and it immediately posts. I keep the bare minimum in our checking account that also has our debit linked to it. I worry someone would steal the number and even though we have fraud protection don't want thousands of dollars swiped from the account. We have unlimited transfer from savings to checking and 6 free transactions from our money market. You definitely need to pull your money out of the bank.

 

[MamaBelle4]

That is precisely what we are going to do. I talked to a supervisor and she couldn't explain why it was held and refused to refund the OD fees. It was the final straw.

I'm just so angry because I'm trying to save money for our trip and so far have saved close to $200 from what we were anticipating and *bam* it's half gone. And there's nothing I can do about it. I hate it when banks take advantage of their customers. My old bank used to hold all debits and then apply them largest to smallest in order to capitalize on fees. There was a class action lawsuit against them for that.

I hope the same fate awaits this bank.

 

[PlainJane]

That is precisely what we are going to do. I talked to a supervisor and she couldn't explain why it was held and refused to refund the OD fees. It was the final straw.

I'm just so angry because I'm trying to save money for our trip and so far have saved close to $200 from what we were anticipating and *bam* it's half gone. And there's nothing I can do about it. I hate it when banks take advantage of their customers. My old bank used to hold all debits and then apply them largest to smallest in order to capitalize on fees. There was a class action lawsuit against them for that.

I hope the same fate awaits this bank.

Call the customer service line. They might still say no, but the supervisor is not the final say. I hope you're able to get your fees back.

 

[Zim]

I would definitely move to another bank. Banks seem to be so desperate for customers, offering $200+ in incentives to join... it seems to me to be a mathematical error to lose one for less than one hundred in fees. Particularly fees they can't explain very well

 

[kymom99]

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.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

When I worked in a bank, there was a report I could run to show exactly what had happened during processing. It was almost impossible to tell from the ledger balances available to the customer or even the tellers. Usually, it was that transactions were already known about (pending), so those were counting against the available balance but not yet shown in the balance the customer could see. I always thought this was a little sketchy. They also processed from large to small, but they claimed it was because customers usually wanted the big things to clear - given a choice between the house payment or a $5 check to the school, people would choose the house payment.

 

[kymom99]

When I worked in a bank, there was a report I could run to show exactly what had happened during processing. It was almost impossible to tell from the ledger balances available to the customer or even the tellers. Usually, it was that transactions were already known about (pending), so those were counting against the available balance but not yet shown in the balance the customer could see. I always thought this was a little sketchy. They also processed from large to small, but they claimed it was because customers usually wanted the big things to clear - given a choice between the house payment or a $5 check to the school, people would choose the house payment.

That is fairly presumptuous on the part of the bank.

 

[tvguy]

I have overdraft protection on my checking account. As long as I pay off the credit extended by the overdraft within 30 days, there is no charge. After 30 days, then you pay something like 17% interest on the outstanding balance. I think I would look for a bank that offers that.

 

[Minnesota!]

I would never have my money in a bank that didn't show funds immediately in an account that was a transfer from another account at the same bank. I transfer money all the time, even while I'm out shopping in the checkout line and it immediately posts. I keep the bare minimum in our checking account that also has our debit linked to it. I worry someone would steal the number and even though we have fraud protection don't want thousands of dollars swiped from the account. We have unlimited transfer from savings to checking and 6 free transactions from our money market. You definitely need to pull your money out of the bank.

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..

 

[Ngwira]

which bank??

 

[Stacy's a freak]

This is poopy. And I'm surprised that the bank will not bend just this once for you. Has this happened to you before? Is there a physical branch you can go to? If so, I would go and speak to someone in person to see if you can get any relief. If not, I would open an account elsewhere and transition out.

 

[PlainJane]

Oh, I forgot to add, do not close your accounts immediately. Establish account(s) at the other bank and get through any initial period of getting things switched over like bills or direct deposit. It can also take a little bit of time to get checks and a debit card. There is normally an introductory period where checks will take longer to be made available as well when deposited.

 

[robinb]

Go into the bank in person and talk to a banker. They should be able to reverse the charges.