What can I do?

Question

I accidently overdrew my checking account last week by $7.00. I received a statement from the bank this week that I'm now
-$128.88 from fees.
Is there anything I can do BESIDES paying them their ridiculous fees? I mean, from $7.00 to $128.00 is unbelievable! Or am I obligated to pay them the entire amount?
Can I just let the account go & forget about it? What would happen?
Thanx.

Answer 1

I agree with krn. This happened to me 2 years ago and I spoke with the bank. It was the first time it happened and I was a customer in good standing until then. I had a mortgage and several checking and savings accounts with them. In my case I put money in one account and wrote out my bills from my 'non-household' account. I overdrew by $8 but this caused 5 checkss to bounce at $30 a pop. At first they were not co-operative even when the understood my mistake, I told them I would close out all my account and bank else where. Long story short, the ate the fees and even gave me overdraft protection at no charge.

Answer 2

You can't ignore it. First of all, if you do, not only will it end up as bad news on your credit report (which can impact everything in your life including your auto insurance rates and your ability to secure some jobs), but the banks have their own systems they can put you into that will keep almost any other bank from letting you open an account.

If it is the first time this has happened, talk to the branch manager as most banks will work with you on the fees and may eliminate the altogether. If they don't, then pay them off and find a friendlier bank or credit union.

The lastest crap banks pull is that they charge a daily "overdraft fee," in addition to any interest and the initial overdraft fee. Highway robbery it is! It should also be a violation of the usuary laws but so far, it is happening all over the place.

Next time prevent this:
1. balance your checkbook religiously
2. Operate on a cash only basis except for your bills (which you should be able to figure out in advance so your checks always clear.
3. leave your atm and checkbook at home. If you don't have cash in your wallet, you don't buy. Period.

There are also little tricks people pull like always rounding up the check amount in their checkbook (thus leaving a reserve created by all the odd change), or the$100 zero another person suggested.

Still...in the end, you should always know how much you have. Otherwise you can have bigger problems, including not knowing when someone else has gotten a hold of your account!

Answer 3

Talk to someone at the bank in person. There is a chance that they might reduce or remove the fees but there is also a chance that they will not be able to do anything. Remember these are fees that you agreed to when you open the account. I would not just drop the account bad credit takes a long time to overcome and will haunt you for years. It's a pain in the neck but read the contacts before signing stuff. Or at least make someone who works with them explain them to you specific to the fees. Once this is cleared up if your unhappy with your bank consider bank shopping and find one where the overage fees are not as tough.
Again in the end remember you did agree to pay these fees regardless if you realize it or not. After the fact consider either using something like Quicken or MS Money. They are a pain to keep up with but they do keep you out of trouble if you do keep up with them.

Answer 4

First of all start being responsible and balance your checkbook daily; and always be aware of what you are doing and immediately deduct it from your bank book. Stop doing things that cause charges to get on your account in the first place. Don't use ATMs that will charge you a fee for using them. Carry a small amount of cash around with you at all times so you do not need to access ATMs, and/or carry a debit card. However, only carry a debit card if you are willing to be responsible enough to deduct those charges from your bank book balance. I go to my bank once a week and withdraw a small amount cash so that I don't need to use ATMs. You can also call the bank and find out what each charge is for. Sometimes they will waive some of the charges if you ask them to. But you know what...I bet you won't heed my advice because someone who is so irresponsible to ask if they can just let their account go and forget about it is not the type of person to heed good financial responsibility in the first place. You say it's not believable, but considering how irresponsible you are it is very believable....the thing is you airheads just don't get it.

Answer 5

Be responsible. If your mistake caused you to overdraw then you owe them. Then again, $128.88 is pretty rough. I'd talk with someone at your bank face to face to get them to come down on the fees. If they won't, then pay the fee, close the account, and find a new bank. There are too many other good banks out there looking for new customers.

Answer 6

This happened to me several times. I called the bank customer service and nicely told them that I overdrew my account unintentionally and asked them to reinstate the fees "this time". It also wouldn't hurt to tell them if you have been a long term customer. They removed the fees each time and were able to make the change on the spot. If they give you a hard time tell them you'll switch banks and then do it. Hope this helps.

PS In the "good old days", I would get a phone call from the bank asking me if they would like to hold the check until I got there to make a deposit to cover it.

PPS I have also used this method when I inadvertently forgot to make my Visa payment on time.

Answer 7

let it go and you will have bad credit for a small $128.88 don't mess with the banks. Pay them their money. May I suggest you you zero your account with a $100 balance. That means when you get down to $100 you look at your account as empty. Savings is a good thing that way you can only take out money you have.

Answer 8

This will be a lesson for you and this was a good thing.

You MUST PAY them the full amount or you will be black listed.

The Black Book is shared by all the banks.

Once you have paid the fees you can close your account. Obviously you cannot handle a checking account.

You don't really need a checking account unless you have a business and I don't think you have one if you are having problems with $7.00

Answer 9

if your account was overdrawn by 7.00, they usually charge just a fee plus the usual 25.00 if the place of business hasn't charged for the check coming back and you have their returned check fee of 25.00. most banks have a over draft in your account to take care of it. if you don't have it then check into getting it. you don't say what the seperate fee's charged are and for what. if its near statement time, the fee's in question could be statement fee's, monthly charges. if you have a savings account with a checking, you can have money from savings put in automatically to cover any overages. talk to the branch manager instead of the regular staff. if you had the account a long time and this is the first time you went over, the branch manager will work more for you.

Answer 10

You should contact your bank and ask why you had fees that added up to that much. If you don't pay the fees, you won't be able to open an account at another bank because before opening an account, they pull a report similar to a credit report, except it checks to see if you owe any other banks money. Good luck!