Fort Sill National Bank Predatory Fees Fort Sill Oklahoma
I can't wait to be done with Fort Sill National Bank for once and for all.
I opened a checking account with them during my first few days in the Reception Battalion at Ft. Sill, OK.
My paychecks and travel pay have been deposited there throughout my military career.
A couple of years later, I opened a savings account at the same bank. It was easy to use their website to transfer money between the accounts. They also offered great interest rates.
Later in my career, I began using a joint checking account at another bank to settle household finances. Over time, I made fewer and fewer deposits in the FSNB savings account. I also spent most of the money that was in it.
Earlier this year, FSNB began charging a $15 monthly fee if a savings account was not used. Since gas and grocery prices were high, I did not get to make a deposit in my savings account for several months. I was shocked when I received an overdraft notice. FSNB had taken $15 for a few months from the savings account. When the account ran dry, they kept withdrawing the $15 each month.
I wrote them a nasty letter, rebuking them for the predatory fee and asking for the account to be closed. They closed the account, forgave the fee that had bled the last of the funds from my savings account, and kept all the money they had taken in previous months. Nice.
This fall, FSNB began charging a $1 fee for denied debit card transactions. This means that if a debit card transaction is denied, I get charged a $1 ATM fee anyway.
Recently, I swiped my card at a gas pump. A cryptic error message appeared. I swiped the card again. An attendant told me that the card had been denied.
There was no ATM at this gas station, and they do not take checks. Luckily, I keep an emergency $50 bill in my truck, and I used it to buy gas.
Later that month, two fees for $1 appeared on my bank statement. When I inquired about these fees, I was informed of the new scam:
When you swipe a card at a gas pump, $75 is temporarily debited from the account.
If there is not $75 in the account, the transaction is denied. The $1 fee is applied.
It doesn't matter if you need only $35 of gas and have $50 in your account.
FSNB denied me the use of my funds and then charged me for trying to access them in the first place! Twice!
Luckily, my military service obligation is nearly over. Once the Service stops depositing my paychecks at FSNB, I will close my last account with them.
Lee
Indianapolis, Indiana
U.S.A.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Me
Lawton,Oklahoma,
U.S.A.
savings account fees
#4UPDATE Employee
Sat, November 29, 2008
I am always amazed by otherwise very smart people who fail to read rules and regulations when it comes to things as important as their bank and and financial intrests. To clarify a few items that were discussed..
A. The bank does not take $75.00 from your account when you pump gas, this is done by the gas station you choose to visit and in all fairness some gas station can hold up to $125.00, but Fort Sill National bank caps them off at $75.00(which most banks will not do)
and
B. You are given 3 months to deposit or withdraw(some form of activity) from your savings account. Since savings accounts are on a quarterly cycle if you have not done so you will be charged a $15.00 fee. This would be equal to $5.00 a month. And as was said by a previous comment this is done to close out accounts that would otherwise be on the books for an extended length of time and never used.
And just an FYI..
All banks are required by federal law to provide a disclosure of all fees, fines and guidelines in regards to their banking procedures. It is usally no more then about 10pages and is easy reading. I would suggest you familiarize yourself with as to not be surprised next time you are hit with fees.
Ken
Randolph,Massachusetts,
U.S.A.
One important consideration:
#4Consumer Comment
Fri, November 21, 2008
It isn't the bank that sets the $75 hold, it's the gas station. In this part of the country the gas stations hold only a dollar. This creates its own set of problems for the people who don't track their balances, then check online and think they have money to spend that is actually already in their gas tank.
The $15 inactivity fee is outrageous, even more so if they overdraw the account by imposing it. In my experience, $3 is a common amount for this fee. Although it appears to be plain greed, the true purpose for these fees is to allow the banks to be able to draw down and close out the accounts that have been abandoned with small balances left in them. It costs a little more than a dollar a month to send a statement saying you have $6 in an account, and no activity. They'd be happy if you just came in and got your $6, but in any case they just want to get that account off the books.
Ken
Randolph,Massachusetts,
U.S.A.
One important consideration:
#4Consumer Comment
Fri, November 21, 2008
It isn't the bank that sets the $75 hold, it's the gas station. In this part of the country the gas stations hold only a dollar. This creates its own set of problems for the people who don't track their balances, then check online and think they have money to spend that is actually already in their gas tank.
The $15 inactivity fee is outrageous, even more so if they overdraw the account by imposing it. In my experience, $3 is a common amount for this fee. Although it appears to be plain greed, the true purpose for these fees is to allow the banks to be able to draw down and close out the accounts that have been abandoned with small balances left in them. It costs a little more than a dollar a month to send a statement saying you have $6 in an account, and no activity. They'd be happy if you just came in and got your $6, but in any case they just want to get that account off the books.