Complaint Review: Bank Of America

Although I agree with Nikki that it appears the mortgage check was presented on the 11th, I don't it was immediately returned or bounced at the same time or on the same day.

If you follow the sequence of transactions and balances, the mortgage check was not returned until the next business day, the 14th, and added back to the balance at that time - the very first transaction posted on that day, followed by the other transactions. If it's your accusation that you didn't see this as pending on the 11th or posted after Friday's processing, then this is unusual.

It could just be me, but I find it odd that a payroll direct deposit would be presented and made available on a Friday, or worse yet - Saturday, and not post until a Monday. If your paydays are every Friday or every other Friday, it's always been my experience that direct deposits are made available the day before and POSTED, the day of your actual payday. But if your paydays are different, this may not be unusual.

The reason the $20 withdrawal was allowed was because your "Available Balance" would have allowed it due to the pending payroll deposits, combined with the ATM deposit on the 12th, provided you made that deposit before the withdrawal.

NSF fees are usually posted the next business day after the check bounced. If the fee was posted on the 14th, it tried to clear on the 11th. You were able to withdraw the money on the 12th because your payroll check deposit was made available to you on the 12th. If your payroll was deposited on the 11th, then after midnight your money is available (the 12th). It was not available on the 11th when your check tried to clear.

Most mortgage companies are now ACH debiting checks so if they put the debit through at 11:00 am, it posts at 11:00 am (or bounces at 11:00 am). No more posting after hours.

Looking at your information, it appears that the check was indeed presented on the 11th. As far as the ATM availability, I would bet that you have automatic bounce protection, which will allow you to have overdrafts up to a predetermined limit.

This can vary from institution to institution. I think my bank limit is $800, but I am not sure as I have not had to deal with this yet. That would explain why the ATM withdrawal was allowed, but your check bounced. You can even withdraw with a negative balance with this from the ATM, but beware as a 30 dollar withdrawal will cost more in overdraft fees.

Now as far as your check presentation goes, in the eyes of the court, funds need to be available as of the date that the check was written or you will likely not have a case.

Do not rely on ATM balances on receipts, these may not reflect checks waiting to clear nor deposits on hold. Most banks have disclaimers to cover this. In light of that, it sounds and looks as if you went to the bank needing a few bucks to tide you over and relied on the ATM receipt balance. It also appears that funds were not available on the date that your mortgage payment check was written, therefore, it was a "bad" check when it was written and could be considered as fraudulent as such.

Lastly, your credit will not be affected unless you were already late on the mortgage before your payment that month, as they do not report until 30 days of arrears. So if you were already close to 30 days at the time the payment posted, then you have a problem. Also, one bad check will generally not affect credit badly, as we all make mistakes, but a string of them certainly will.

I suggest that you rely on your ledger balance in your checkbook and keep accurate records on all withdrawals and deposits using debit cards as they occur rather than rely on the bank to be a bookkeeper.