Can a bank post transactions on a given day in order to maximize their potential for overdraft earnings?

Question

Is this legal? My bank rearranges things after the fact. On Sunday, for instance, they'll have posted transactions in a certain order with Monday's date. On Monday evening, they'll rearrange the transactions in order from largest $$ to smallest amount. This way, if the account goes below zero, they can potentially charge back the customer many overdraft fees, instead of processing the large transaction last, and only charging one overdraft fee.

Answer 1

The banks are crooks and they only care about making money for the bank and not there to help out the little guy.Senior citizens leave millions of dollars in non interest bearing accounts that the bank makes money off of.

Answer 2

I used to work for a bank that would do that, you may be a customer of this bank because this is the only bank that I have known to do this. It is not illegal for them to do so. The reason that this is done is not for maximizing profits on overdraft fees. The system that you speak of was created to eliminate the returning of items as unpaid that are of utmost importance. That is not say that the purchases you have made are not all important, however, before this system cutomers accounts were returning car payments, house payments, large items that obviously take precedent over other items because of the financial and possible legal implications. For example, if someone were to have $1000 in their account and over the weekend you make $600 in transactions, but your house payment does not go through until Monday all the items that show on your virtual statement as pending or waiting to be paid will be altered based on that house payment posting to your account. Saturday and Sundays are not considered business days that is why they only affect your balance and do not show as acutally being paid. All items listed will be paid if they are not a check but when that $800 house payment comes through that leaves $200 because the larger item takes priority. That means that on Monday night when the items are processed $400 of the items purchased over the weekend will receive overdraft fees. What creates the problem is that your balance may still show $1000 even after the weekend transactions and will not change until Tuesday morning and that is when the overdraft fees are placed on the account. The resolution is that at the banking institutions discretion they will place a cap on the number of items that are showing as non sufficient. Generally on a consumer account it is 5 total that may receive a fee where as on a business account it is 6. Still high and expensive, but the end result is that your house payment is paid and not returned on account of your weekend spending. This system was developed speciffically for this reason because customers were having items returned that were more important than the small purchases made. It may seem that they are making more money off of this system, but in the end it ensures that your priority payments are secure so to speak.

Answer 3

It's Illegal by federal law. About 10 years ago I was involved in a class action lawsuit against Bank One for exactly that issue. Regardless of what order the checks or charges arrived, they would rearrange them from largest to smallest in order to maximize the chances of overdrafts. They made millions in the process until they lost the suit, and were forced to change their policy.

Answer 4

I easily have 2 bills with BofA so if I lose my card no you will wipe out my account yet quite this has given BofA the right to wipe it out quite. I spend money and immediatly flow money (i grow to be certain once I became a BofA shopper that that ought to be superb) considering the fact that then I easily have spend hundreds and hundreds of greenbacks in overdraft expenditures. They charge maximum volume to lowest then additionally they charge for pending transactions even once you have the money interior the fee reductions and flow it in previously it posts. Even worse they wait to place up stuff now (a clean coverage i found out) that's humorous via fact the clarification I went with BofA grow to be the labeled advertisements asserting everthing shows on line straight away via fact i don't shop a sign up. So now additionally they instruct a transaction for some hours after the intial purchase as pending then it disapears (they instructed me they have 5 days to place up some thing and it is the reason it is faraway from the pending transaction checklist) and in case you at the instant are not incredibly careful and picture it went threw it screws up your stability they wait till finally the oppurtune time to place as much as overdraw your account and yet all over lower back now you're paying expenditures for expenditures. Then they have those style of different approaches to charge expenditures like they wait 3 4 days to place up the charges on your account in hopes which you don't comprehend you would be charged the charges by potential of then and it takes 3 days to tell you by potential of mail yet by potential of then you incredibly've already overdrafted your self questioning you had alot of money interior the account. i'm switching to Chase today as a effect as they only introduced they'd now not be practising this crap.

Answer 5

the answer for that is no. the posting of your transactions doesnt have something to do with the charges filed to you. you can even trace that. so even if the bank post your transactions on monday or tuesday, it still depends on the time that it was processed. and again, not on the day it was posted.

Answer 6

Sure can... I had this issue as well... bank bounced 5 debits all under 10.00 rather then just bouncing a 50.00 debit...jerks... I called the bank and they read my the clause of my 'service agreement' that allows them to do that..... check it out... it's in there...

Answer 7

Happens all the time!

Answer 8

that happened to me one time...but i spoke to them and reverted the charges