It's about time!

[gimpy117]

Finally somebody is bringing those banks to justice for their shady practices!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Judge-...36279.html?x=0
Ive been the brunt of these tactics too so im overjoyed. A 2 dollar overdraft ended up costing me 70 bucks .

[magic452]

I left Wells Fargo Bank for just that very thing maybe 15 years ago, so that is not a new practice.

They paid the one big check and bounced about 5 others.
After much complaining on my part they reversed all but one $30.00 fee.
After I got it all straightened out I never left the window but closed not only that account but my business account as well. You should have seen the girls face when I told her I wanted to close the accounts, like she couldn't believe it.

Magic

[SteamWake]

I had to go into a bitch fest at a bank once when there 'service fee' caused an overdraft on the account and I got charged 27.50 for an overdraft fee which triggered another 27.50 overdraft fee.

Almost all banks participate in this kind of practice most of it automated and frequently does stupid things like this that often go un-noticed by the average consumer.

Then they act as if they are doing us a favor by offering an 'overdraft protection' service (for a fee).

The solution is simple of course try to leave a positive balance though I know it can be hard sometimes.

[Jimbuna]

by changing its policies to process checks, debit card transactions and bill payments from the highest dollar amount to the lowest, rather than in the order the transactions took place. That helped drain customer bank accounts faster and drive up overdraft fees,

Quite a nice scam if you can get away with it

I hope the leeches in UK banking don't read that article

As SteamWake "leave a positive balance" if at all possible.

[mookiemookie]

Credit Unions are much more consumer friendly than banks.

Signed,
A former large bank employee.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

I had to go into a bitch fest at a bank once when there 'service fee' caused an overdraft on the account and I got charged 27.50 for an overdraft fee which triggered another 27.50 overdraft fee.

Yep. I was with a local bank known as Walker Bank, founded by Joseph Walker in the 1880s when he and his brothers became the bankers for the Park City miners. I was happy.

They became part of a group called First Interstate. I was happy.

That group got bought out by Wells Fargo, and that's when the fun started. Same exact thing. I'm poor, so I timed my spending right down to the dollar. Then an unanounced fee for something, $2.50 I think it was, triggered an overdraft which triggered another overdraft which triggered etc...

My my estimation Wells Fargo took more than $2000 out of my account over a ten-year period, and only a small part of it was actually my fault. Never again.

[AVGWarhawk]

What my bank does is use the money in your savings to pay the overdraft and charge $5.00 for the service. It sure beats the hell out of $33.00 they normally charge. I'm not a big fan of Wells Fargo. My car loan was sold them. Like anything else when it comes to bills...you pay on time they leave you alone.

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

Like anything else when it comes to bills...you pay on time they leave you alone.

You'd assume so, but the practices banks sometimes use to rig the system make it so that even "paying on time" doesn't guarantee anything.

If they can get away with it, they will process a day's transactions starting with the largest to the smallest debit, and ending with any deposits/credits, regardless of the order in which the transactions actually occurred. Consequently a deposit made at the opening of business and that the customer thinks will cover any expenditures made later that day, will actually do nothing of the kind according to the bank. The bank may finalize all the electronic debits first and "pend" the deposit (even an electronic one) until they've racked up as many overdraft fees as possible.

My paycheck goes in by direct deposit at the start of business on payday and will still sometimes show as "pending" after the end of business on that day when I check. I don't pay any bills out of that money until the next business day when it's no longer shown as "pending" and I don't care what they tell me my "available balance" is.

[SteamWake]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

What my bank does is use the money in your savings to pay the overdraft and charge $5.00 for the service. It sure beats the hell out of $33.00 they normally charge. I'm not a big fan of Wells Fargo. My car loan was sold them. Like anything else when it comes to bills...you pay on time they leave you alone.

That 'service' is not free, even if you never use it. It is part of your accounts maintance fee. Depending on your bank you can choose to opt out of it and save a couple of bucks a month. (Till that overdraft hits)