BANK OF AMERICA SCREWED ME OVER - I NeeD HELPP!!!!!?

Question

I have a checking and credit card with them. I set up my credit card payment to come out on the 10th this month online via bill pay, for some reason it came out on the second, and they are telling me that it was not a bank error, and that It is my fault.

So since they took out the $100, that left me with 82, but I put about 100 on my card since last night.

So now I have FOUR transactions that happend when I was "overdrawn" and there is a $20 fee for each time you make a transaction when you have insufficent funds. The only reason I have insuffiecent funds is cause they took out my credit card payment a week too early.

So now I am $119 over drawn, but I am supposed to have $60 in my checking.

Do you think I will win this dispute? I am okay with the 100 being out, but I don't think that I should be charged $80 in fee's because they screwed up and took the money out took early.

What should I do? I really need those fee's off!!

Answer 1

Hola, es me, Junipero . . . welcome to wonderful world of banking with Bank of America . . . also Wells Fargo, cause they not much better --- Junipero think they both have employee's who spend all their time figuring out new ways to steal money from you.

Junipero switch to Washington Mutual about 8 months ago . . . truly breath of fresh air . . . they nice, cordial and don't give you coronary everytime you check bank balance.

Answer 2

"So since they took out the $100, that left me with 82, but I put about 100 on my card since last night. "

Then the overdraft fees you incur are your fault because you were well aware of your balance before you swiped your card!
Regardless, here is some help for your situation:


Go into the bank and file a Reg. E claim.

They are REQUIRED to file it upon your request. Do NOT let them send you out the door with an 800 number to call. They would be in violation if they did that.

Under Reg. E they will give you provisional credit to your account within 10 BUSINESS days. They have another 45-90 CALENDAR days to invsestigate the claim, and they CAN take back the provisional credit they credited your account with if they find they were not at fault.

Also, you need to look into getting overdraft protection because you are not managing your account well. Perhaps only leave enough in the account for bills and work with a cash only basis for other things until you learn proper account management.

Answer 3

BOA reps use a "refund request tool" to come up with how much money can be refunded to you. If your fees were $20, it is likely that you could get all but one of the fees. Bank of America processes all transactions largest to smallest. Say your mortgage was coming out for $500 and your Taco Bell purchase was coming out for $3, it would be more important that the mortgage be paid first, right? Because you could lose your house. Taco Bell? You already ate the burrito, so who cares.

If you overdraft when this happens, call and explain the situation. Let them understand you set up your payments for 10th, and it came out on the 2nd. Make sure the 10th isn't a weekend, or a holiday because then banks have the authority to take the funds out earlier. I would cancel Auto-Bill Pay, and just set it up for when you know you have the funds in your accounts.

Whatever you do, don't lose your cool. Negotiate calmy. Explain this is the first time you've done this. If you've had your account for sometime, let them know "it's been 5 years, and this is my first overdraft. A big misunderstanding." NEVER get loud with a rep. They shut off, and refuse to help you. And when you ask for a supervisor, you get connected directly to another telephone rep who was trained to take your call, and just reiterate it in a more authoritative voice.

Believe me, I did it. Instead, if you are not getting anywhere, tell them you want to speak to their direct supervisor, and not any telephone rep. They would have to, per company rules, get their closest floor manager on the phone. If you keep your cool, and be respectful, BOA employees generally respect you.

Answer 4

My guess is that it was a typo on your part as the computer will just follow the instructions given. Even if it is their error you will never gain access to the underlying software code to prove it. You will definitely lose this one. Nonetheless, talk reasonably with them and if it has never happened before they will probably help you. DO NOT LOSE YOUR TEMPER. Remember the person you are talking to is just doing what corporate policy requires and they have no say in the matter. If all else fails, contact your State's Attorney General. If it is an activist state, they will help you and since they are a pain in the butt to deal with, there is a tendency for businesses just to give in to them because it will cost them more than $80 to keep the $80 if your case is reasonable. This is moreso since the cause of the bounced item is a payment to them.

Answer 5

Most likely, if you call Bank of America's checking account department, they'll take off two or three of the four fees. Then, make sure you set up your credit card payment correctly for the future. My friend had this happent to her recently, and Sun Trust gave her back four out of FIVE fees back.

Answer 6

You're unlikely to win this dispute, even if you have documentation of the day you set up the account with withdrawal (and a better shot of learning to breathe through your eyeballs if you've got no documentation.)

This is why I set up a savings account that I have drafts taken out of. I deposit the money at the first of the month for all of the transactions I expect for that month. And, of course, I have a little extra in there to pad the account, just in case.

The beauty of it is... it doesn't screw up all my other transactions if it goes wrong.

Good luck!

Answer 7

It sounds like an honest mistake. I have bank of america and little things like that have happened to me in the past and when I call to explain what happened, they were more than willing to remove the fees. You will need to make other arrangements to bring your account current though. Other than that you should be cool. If you do not get your way with a rep over the phone go up to your local branch and speak with someone. They value your business and they will more than happy to work with you. I am very happy with bank of america!!! I have been with them about 4 years now.


Im Just Joe

Answer 8

I have heard of them doing that to a bunch of people...one a coworker and another a friend...my coworker...went and argued with them personally....at first they didn't want to credit their fees but he insisted and insisted until they did credit him all the fees....you have to be firm with them but polite...and they might take away those fees...if not, its a hard lesson..

when you try to get them to credit those charges, make sure to be firm and tell them that you will close your accounts with them, and mean it too, not just bluff...

Bank of America, Wells fargo and now Washington mutual are the banks that give you the least for you money now adays in interest and anything that favors the customer....Good luck

Answer 9

The best thing you can do is go to the branch of the bank where you opened your account..if you can't go to that particular branch then go to the one where you usually do business. Ask to see the branch manager and tell them what happened.. I think you will find that they can be of help.. usually, though I personally would not bank at that bank, they will be on your side.. most likely they will give you some relief.. go see them and do it with a good attitude.. Good luck

Answer 10

Yea, i dont use automatic payments anymore for that reason. you will not win the dispute, i tried everything except punching the rude teller in the face when i tried to argue a payment that wasnt supposed to be taken out at the time they took it out. she was very rude, and unsimpathetic,telling me it was my fault i should know how much is in my account. you just have to suck it up, and not use automatic payment anymore. maybe you could call customer service, but i dont think youll get anywhere. i sure didnt.

Answer 11

They screwed me over, too, with charges on the checking account. We considered filing a complaint but when I inquired, someone laughed in my face and told me the bank had more attorneys than the gov't did. Later it was a problem over the safe deposit box: We moved and didn't get the billing for the charge. So they broke into the box. You'd think we would have known better and cut all ties with the bank after that time. But there was one more thing: the B of A Visa dispute. We closed that account and I cut up the cards. After that, we had no more to do with B of A and that was 30 to 40 years ago. Since severing all ties, we have had no banking problems. We bank at the credit union and savings and loan.. Stay away from B of A. They are customer unfriendly.