Question About Bank Overdraft Charges

[Minnie Momma]

Hey there -- I work at a bank as well.

Playing "Devil's Advocate" --- The customer is the one setting up automatic payments and it is the customer's job to have funds available. When the bank pays your bills and your account is negative it is a version of a mini loan with interest. Setting up another account to connect to your checking for the possibility of overdraft is a good way to avoid the higher fees.

Off the "box" and back to reality world.

That really stinks that they won't refund any of the fees. Try talking to the manager. It can help. Also check with the insurance company. If they authorized an earlier day they can pay the charges!
Maybe you can set up the auto pay for a later date? That way, even if it is taken out a day or two early , you are covered. On-line bill pay is my method of choice. I control the day it comes out. Not all bills are paid immediately, so allow some extra days.

Good luck!

 

[minushka72]

Definitely check with your insurance company first. Are eft pymts always withdrawn on the same day of the month or do they use a billing cycle that may cause it to be different such as every 30 days? Also before you decide to take your policy on eft, make sure you will not be losing a discount that you may be rcving for being on eft. If you don't pay your annual premium in full, many insurance companies have an installment fee added to each bill even if you use online banking. That fee gets waived if you use the companies eft plan.

 

[marmalade]

If the insurance company took the money early, why aren't you inquiring with them to pay the fees? If I was in this situation, the insurance company would be the first place I would call and I would have copies of bank statements ready to fax over showing what their error caused.

 

[cassandrap83]

Typically the most expensive bills that one incurs are the most important: mortgage, rent, car payment, insurance...

So, there is an advantage to putting those large payments through first because you are ensured that your important items get paid.

Bottom line is that you only incur overdrafts if you spend more than you have. If it truly is a bank error I think it is totally unacceptable to not refund the fee.

Sidenote: You're more likely to get your fee refunded if you go to the branch where you opened your account.

 

[Srbright]

This is why we no longer have a bank account. We had an account with a "not to be named" bank. They would run charges through twice and say that two different branches had processed the charges (uh, what? I only went to Walmart once, why are two branches processing my payments?). They would hold cash deposits for 4-5 business days even though the sign in the branch says cash deposits are available the next business day.

I had a whole laundry list of things that went wrong with that bank.

So now we have a Walmart debit card and a Bluebird American Express card. No over draft fees, no holding deposits. I can cash checks and the funds are available immediately instead of in 4-5 days (or whenever) at the bank. We deposit enough in each account each month so that the fees are waived.

I do understand that soon I will have to get another bank account so that I can get a mortgage. But for now, these are more than sufficient.

Stacy

 

[donaldlovesdaisy]

This is why we no longer have a bank account. We had an account with a "not to be named" bank. They would run charges through twice and say that two different branches had processed the charges (uh, what? I only went to Walmart once, why are two branches processing my payments?). They would hold cash deposits for 4-5 business days even though the sign in the branch says cash deposits are available the next business day.

I had a whole laundry list of things that went wrong with that bank.

So now we have a Walmart debit card and a Bluebird American Express card. No over draft fees, no holding deposits. I can cash checks and the funds are available immediately instead of in 4-5 days (or whenever) at the bank. We deposit enough in each account each month so that the fees are waived.

I do understand that soon I will have to get another bank account so that I can get a mortgage. But for now, these are more than sufficient.

Stacy

You should see if you are eligible to bank with USAA! Amazing customer service and products!

 

[aceys_h0ney]

I'd say it's on the insurance company not the bank. I'd ask them to pay the charges. I had this happen once where they processed a payment several days before they were supposed to and it caused me to overdraft. I contacted the company, they asked for proof of the overdraft and sent me a check.

 

[vacationer1954]

We always assume that any bill pay payments will go in at 12:01 am, any charges or withdrawals will go in the minute we make them, and any deposits or transfers we make will go in at 11:59 pm at the earliest but will probably be a few days late. That wouldn't help if someone decides to take money out of our account earlier than we authorized them to but if someone does that, and doesn't make it good, I'd call the attorney general's office to report the unauthorized transaction.