Bank Overdraft fees on Available Balance?

Question

My bank charged me $210 total for overdraft fees 6 at $35 each. I made an ATM deposit of $599. The receipt says posting date 3/5 by bankstatment shows a deposit on 3/5 for the $599. They are trying to tell me that my availible balance went into the negative on 3/5 as they were posting check card authorizations to my account because only $100 of the $599 posted on the 5th the rest was availible to me on 3/6 which is when the overdraft fees showed up! They are refusing to credit any of the fees back to me. They only thing they keep saying is that I went over my availible balance and not all of my deposit went in on 3/5. I have online banking and check it all the time I never saw it go over not once! Besides the money is right there! Any advice as a single mom I can't afford this ecpecially since my ex refuses to pay any child support. I filed a claim with the BBB this morning too. Thanks.

I have USBank and I have tried the 800# and the local office GRRRR so frustrating

Answer 1

SOrry to say but it is just going to get worse....if the bank did not honor the checks, you are going to owe the $210 or more out to the people you wrote the checks to, too!
Dont call the bank, go into the bank. Talk to the manager. S/He can override ANY charges that a bank puts onto your account.
DO go in there all pissed off...just tell him as calmly as you can how you misunderstood....

Same kind of thing happened to me.....
At the time I had a check/saving account....
the checking account and the saving account had the same number with a different code on the back of the numbers so you could distinguish one from the other.
anyhoo, slightly over 3k in the savings (tax return) and $55 bucks in checking....
emergency room trip for my son.....i wrote a check ($60 bucks) and thought that the bank would charge me $2.00 for the overdraft fee and never did call to transfer the money.....
anywhoo, talk about PISSED when my check bounced and i had to pay $30.00 to them and $30.00 to the bank....

That monday I went to the bank with steam coming out of my ears and flames dancing on my head....
told the bank manager to draw up a cashiers check for my balance...
bank manager: how are you today
me: I will be doing better as soon as you draw up a cashier's check for my 3k that is sitting in your savings account earning you money while you steal incredible frees from me!

so of course the bank manager checks the history of the accounts....
not only did they credit my account for the $30.00 they charged me, they gave me $60.00 worth of 'free stuff' from the promotion that they were having (which I later sold at a garage sale and recouped that loss too)
I still had to pay the NSF to the ER service company but I was impressed how easily the bank was able to restore the fees with a few strokes on the keyboard.

I also signed up via my credit card for overdraft protection!

GO to the ripoffreport and type in the name of your bank they might have a class action lawsuit forming with your bank.....and you can hear about others in your same situation and what they did to get the money back!

Answer 2

Unfortunately for you, you met the "perfect storm" of things that can go wrong in banking. It's REALLY confusing and long, so bear with me.

Way back when you opened your account, the Bank provided you with a funds availability policy which explains how much of your deposit is available to you & when. This can be really confusing & tends to affect people who keep low balances because they NEED the $ available right away. For the people with thousands of dollars, the holds don't really matter because they have a cushion. The bank is also required to post notices on the ATM & on the teller line that deposits made may not be immediately available. Depositing money at an ATM is even worse, because the ATMs even place a hold on cash because it's a machine & has no idea WHAT is going in. PLUS, the Bank has to be extra careful granting availability to ATM deposits to avoid fraud & loss. (People make empty envelope deposits, withdraw the cash & end up with accounts way in the negative, which they abandon.) SO - if you can avoid it, don't deposit money into an ATM.

Say you only had $50 in your acccount when you made your deposit. You deposited your $599 & per it's policy, the bank granted you immediate use of $100. So you have $649, but the Bank is only letting you use $150. Every time you use your debit card, it places a hold on your account to ensure the money will be there when the actual charges come through. You go grocery shopping, get gas & go out to eat. If all of those transactions come through before your money is available, the bank has to pay them (it can bounce a check, but not a debit card purchase). So the bank pays these charges, using money that is not "available" to you yet. So for doing you this "favor", they charge you $35 a pop. It sucks - but unfortunately they have the right to do it, because somewhere in the fine print, they told you they were going to.

SO! What to do? If you have a good account history of not bouncing checks or anything, in the interest of good customer service, I would think they could at least go half with you. Try the Branch manager - in person. It's harder to say no to a nice person sitting in front of you. If you don't get anywhere with that, go higher. Someone might want you to get off their back & just give in.

Another thing you could do is get direct deposit. ALL the money is immediately available, usually 1st thing in the morning.

If you can't get direct deposit, shop for a new bank. Look for the lowest fees possible & a bank that is "Real Time" - they stay on the current date all day, every day - none of this 3pm cutover (which only makes it more confusing to figure out when you can have your money.)

Good Luck - I feel for you.

Answer 3

If you have bank of america like I do they are really good about returning the fees especially if this is your first time getting the overdraft fees. They actually have a system called "stuff happens" where they will return at least one of your fees. Try going into a banking center and talking to a manager. They are more understanding if you go talk to them face to face and most of the time they are willing to work with you.

Answer 4

They can easily waive these fees. It's a normal tactic that is now being more scrutinized. Call the Main Office or Headquarters of the bank. The locals will be a waste of time.

Answer 5

I have heard of this happening...more because of a computer glitch between the different business days and when I worked at a bank we would refund the charges. Unfortunately, since they are aware of the problem, and refuse to help you don't have many options. I would try to speak to the manager at your local branch or call the customer service number. If they don't fix the problem, I would switch banks...I know that's annoying, especially with banking online, but that way they don't profit from you anymore.

Answer 6

Only the first $100 of a deposit made by ATM is immediately available in your account. The remainder has to be verified, even if it is cash.

If you were over your balance, you were over your balance. The BBB won't help you if you were in the wrong.

Answer 7

Chances are their policies support what was done. It would be nice if they would waive the fees, but don't count on it.

I'd tell you to find a new bank, but I'm afraid these types of policies are pretty standard.

Answer 8

Canada is a lousy place