Can a bank charge $1900 in NSF fees?

Question

UNBELIEVABLE!! Merry Christmas from BofA!! What the heck! How can this happen? Has anyone else ever gotten so many fees within 2 months? What's your story?

Answer 1

you forgot to mention how many cheques you bounced

Answer 2

Depends on how many checks you wrote that bounced or checks that you have deposited and have returned NSF....if they went ahead and paid any of the check when you had no money, they can take it back....not to mention anytime you used your debit card and it either brought your account negative or your account was already negative...get a copy of your history for the past 3 months and go over each transaction to make sure BofA didn't make a mistake....try and see if they'll waive any of those fees....I say next time be more careful because you've been incurring fees for 2 months now...since statements come every month you obviously knew there was a problem or are you one of those people that just throws the statement in the shredder....who knows, maybe there has been fraudulen activity on your account which, if BofA had thought that was a possibility, they would have notified you by mail...that is if you read the correspondence you recieve from them.

Answer 3

Well, banks all have terms of service they adhere to.

Looking at BofA online, here's the basic fee schedule:

For the first day your account has an occurrence
(an "occurrence" is a day with at least one overdraft
item or one returned item), fee for each overdraft item
and for each returned item $19.00
■ For the second day through the fourth day your
account has an occurrence during the current month
and preceding 12 months, fee for each overdraft item
and for each returned item $33.00
■ For the fifth day and subsequent days that your
account has an occurrence during the current month
and preceding 12 months, fee for each overdraft item
and for each returned item $35.00

Their fees are actually very low compared to other banks (check out Wells Fargo if you want a heart attack), so if you've been consistently overdrawn for 4 weeks or more, $1900 seems correct.

The thing is, the bank can come after you legally, since it is illegal to knowingly spend money you don't have, so the fees may be the least of your worries.

I'd strongly recommend going into the bank and speaking to the manager. It'll take alot of guts to do it, but sitting down with them and working out a payment schedule, along with some ideas on how to keep it from happening again will maybe keep you out of hot water in the future.

Good luck!

Answer 4

I made a mistake in my check register one time and it came back to haunt me two years later in the amount of $200 in overdrafts. Since then i have been extremely careful about my checking account and i write down all my monthly automatic deductions in a place that i will see them on a regular basis--for example, i will put a post-it with my gym membership fee on the inside of my wallet so i see it every time i open it to buy for something.

Another thing that i learned from someone else would had a bad time with NSF fees was to round up all my checking deductions to the nearest dollar. This puts a little more cushion in your account. Also, do not count on what the receipt from the ATM says...it is better to deduct everything yourself or to go onto the BoA website and look at your statement there.

A lot of people do not like BoA, but i have personally found them very easy to work with. You may want to talk to a personal banker regarding your situation and see if they have any other advice for you.

Answer 5

I had $1300 in NSF from Wachovia a few years ago when they merged with First Union. Because of the merger, they changed the way they gave you your balance so that it was no longer available balance when you called to check how much money you had in your account. Needless to say, I guess they forgot to tell their customers about it. I went to Texas for the week and used a debit card for every single little thing the entire time I was there. Most expensive can of coke I ever bought. I'd call to check my balance and it would always say there was plenty so I didn't worry. When I got back, I looked online at my account and I freaked out. I went and talked to them to see if they could fix it but they said they wouldn't so I closed my account and went to another bank. Now, my new bank rips me off but at least they tell me 'available' balance when I call to check.

A good idea is ask around if any of your friends nows anyone that works for BofA. If you know someone, you can get them to remove them for you. My girlfriend works at a bank and she hooks up friends all the time when they mess up and get overdrafts.

BTW, according to my banker girlfriend, NSF's are how banks primarily make their money these days. NSF's are big business for banks and they will keep lobbying government for legal coverage and stringently fining you for every infraction. It's just a part of life in a capitalistic society.

Answer 6

Either you had written a lot of checks that BofA paid and covered while you had no money in your account, or they made a mistake. Call them.

Answer 7

I got charged 300 bucks NSF fees because they held my work check (a major local hospital) for a week....and they never had before.

Answer 8

I've never heard of that! Usually there's an overdraft limit. Like my bank, it's $300.00.

Did you really bounce that many checks?

Answer 9

If you wait long enough the skys the limit.