Fifth Third Bank ripoff stop payment on a check dishonest, liars, North Canton Ohio
I stopped payment on a check on 02/26/2007, I was charged $33.00 to do this, on 02/27/2007, the check that I stopped payment on hit my bank. The check was for $460.00 I had $417.60 in my account. (I paid the people who the check was made out to in cash on 02/25/2007.) However,Fifth Third processed my stop payment, charged my account to stop the payment and then overdrew my account because they debited the check that the stop payment was on!
After making my account overdrawn by doing this, they also posted another check that overdrew me even more and charged me 66.00 in OD fees. I called customer service was told that there shouldn't be any OD fees to my account do to the stop payment of the check.
Then I was charged for Fifth Third to send back the 2 checks they bounced (one was the stop payment check) as NSF to the creditors I wrote them to. Now I have to pay $60.00 in NSF charges to them.
Two days later, I had a direct deposit go into my account @ 1201 am and they bounced a 508.00 ACH debit because "they post the negatives before they post the positives". Again I called customer service and they stated that is just how it is done, and this isn't there problem now, and my account was credited $33.00 for the stop payment fee that I did 9 days ago that threw me into this mess.
I have stopped payment on checks in the past with my old bank, and when I did they never debited my account for the check the stop payment was placed on. They post it as "stop payment" and my balance has never been debited. I was told by Fifth Third that they still have to process the stop payment and debit my account, and the funds need to be there to cover it anyway. Then why charge to stop a payment of the funds.
In my opinion they credited me the $33.00 stop payment fee because then they can justify the OD fees they charged my account and state that basically the stop payment was never in effect. I am furious at their customer service skills and the hidden information they don't disclose and I am changing banks this week.
Melissa
North Canton, Ohio
U.S.A.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Juliet
Birmingham,Alabama,
U.S.A.
Yes, that bank is crazy!
#5Consumer Comment
Sat, March 03, 2007
I had never heard of 5th/3rd until Ripoff Report, and wow, glad I haven't had to deal with them!
I worked for a large bank, and people would call to place stop payments. We DID advise the customer that a stop payment couldn't be "guaranteed" for the FIRST 24 hours. After that, we did guarantee if the check came in, payment would be stopped.
The bank I worked for is large, and likes fees, alright. But never have I heard of any bank, until now, requiring you to have the funds in the account, even though you stopped the payment.
Just adding my two cents so you know you're not crazy, Melissa!! This is nuts!!
Lori
Kalkaska,Michigan,
U.S.A.
Maybe she withdrew the money for the check
#5Consumer Comment
Sat, March 03, 2007
From her account, which might then lead to a lesser amount in the account. Since she stopped payment on the check, she wouldn't need the $460 for that particular check. The mistake here would be that she didn't retrieve the check when she paid the cash. I'm not going to judge her for this, since in some cases I can see where you might get a receipt and the check would be mailed back to you (such as in a case where an outside bookkeeper might have your deposits).
As for the stop payments (which, btw, she never said how many or how often, so you are making assumptions here), as long as she covers the check prior to it being cashed, I don't see the problem. Some places ask for post dated checks (yes, I know this shouldn't happen, but it does) and if she chooses to pay for the stop payment vs having the check go through by mistake, thats her business.
Bottom line on this one is that if the bank cashed a check that had a stop payment in place, THEY are in the wrong, and should be required to fix what they broke. Since the first check shouldn't have cashed, the second check would have been fine, and they should have to cover both the fees that they charged, as well as the fees that were in place (wrongly, I might add) at the other institutions, or at the very least, a courtesy call on her behalf should have been made to clear this up.
Cory
San Antonio,Texas,
U.S.A.
Kind of Odd
#5Consumer Comment
Sat, March 03, 2007
You wrote a check for $460 with only $417 in your account. You don't state when you wrote the check for $460, it had to have been prior to 2/25 because that's when you went in and paid them cash. Don't know why you paid a company cash to cover a check , other then to take care of a NSF check. Another odd thing is you state "you've stopped payments on checks in the past. Sounds like a pattern. A stop payment looks a whole lot better then a NSF. In 13 years of business and writting thousands of checks, I've stopped payment on two checks, both lost in mailing. You do expect a bank to honor a stop payment on a check. My bank requires both verbal and written(faxed) proof of stop payment.
Lori
Kalkaska,Michigan,
U.S.A.
This one is truly ridiculous!
#5Consumer Comment
Sat, March 03, 2007
First of all, if I'm reading this post correctly, you issued a stop payment before it was presented. At that point, this check shouold have had NO effect on your account. Period. End of story. If this had been the case, the next check in line would not have bounced, which means that not only did 5/3 overcharge you for the 2 overdrafts through their system, but they should have to call the other institutions and explain the situation so that those fees would be waived as well.
As for the debit 2 days later, did it bounce because of all the other incorrect activity on your account, or because it came in too close to your direct deposit?
Good Luck Melissa, and I hope that you find a bank that will do you better than this one did (although after following ROR for the last year and a half, I'd venture to say that you'll need to choose carefully, because there's a lot of banks that seem to have complaints on here.) Please update us if 5/3 makes an effort to correct this for you.