Complaint Review: TCF Banks

TCF banks target lower income, folks on social security, any kind of social security to open free checking accounts. They know these groups are most likely to help generate the millions collected in fees yearly. If a person does online banking, thier documentation concerning how to avoid fees list as a item over draft protection. Since overdraft protection at TCF bank comes in the form of a loan not based on direct deposits but application for a loan with TCF most lower income and social security disabled will not qualify for such due to income or blemished credit reports. Without being able to get overdraft protection, a mere math error, transposing of numbers or forgetting to enter a small debit card transaction could esculate in a checking account to hundreds of dollars in fees yearly. Banks will post the largest amount first down to the smallest for daily processing, hoping to generate as many fees as possible. For TCF thier fees for overdrawing a account even by a dollar is $35.00 a transaction or a check. If you go and talk to a banker you may be able to get a couple fees reversed, that is all up to the bankers position at the bank or a managers okay. You bet you are almost begging, TCF does not like to loss easy revenue and fees are the most profitable for sure. So lower income, blemished credit, disabled living on social security disablity more then likely are discriminated by TCF concerning overdraft protection. Nice.

      I am on social security disablity. My disablities are not curable, side effects can be treated with drugs, knowledge of my disablities is my best defense I am told by the doctor I see for help in keeping my life as normal and happy as possible. Why I have mental disablities, there is no real answer to that question yet, medical science has not found such really. In 2005 I had some very horrible things happen to me. The results of such well dealing daily with my disablities and a blemished credit report steming just from 2005. I became leary of banks after one I had done banking with for a long time accused me of something I did not do, was proven never happen yet a vice president of the bank would not reverse fees they created by thier false accusation. A empty envelope deposit to a ATM machine for $10.00 dollars. If one was going to be so foolish make it $10,000 dollars not just $10 dollars. 

    Once I got my social security disabilty I used a account called a ETA. Avoiding checking accounts and getting money orders for bill payment. I did that for over a year until I was talked into opening a checking account with the bank I had the ETA account with. It took only one time to get 5 fees, get spoken to in a rude manner then prove to the bank it was a cliche in the nightly processing software that caused the overdrafts i got. They were reversed but my respect for that bank I know longer had. I would see TCF at the local grocery store, better hours then the bank I was using so I opened one of thier free checking accounts. I inquired right away about overdraft protection, I was told direct deposit of my disablity would most likely get such approved. I kept the ETA account and began my new checking account with TCF. I got a few fees my fault, talked to a manager at TCF and set up my checking to protect me from overdraft fees the best i could until I trusted TCF with direct deposit of my disablity. I decided taking money out from ETA and depositing it into checking for bill paying was a big hassle to I changed direct deposit to checking at TCF of my social security disability. I thought give it a few months then apply for overdraft protection since everything recommended did not really work to avoid fees always. No debit transactions approved unless funds were available. Great, except if they were when you used the debit card, then a check comes through the day the debit card transactions are posted against your checking account, you made a math error and your account was under then what you thought. The check went through then the largest debit transactions down to the lowest. On no fees no matter I set up protection. I tried a savings account, I could transfer funds via on line if I saw a problem and those funds would be in the account as soon as they were transfered. Not so, there was a cut off time I was not told of such.

      Recently after direct deposit was going on for over 5 months I made a dumb error that landed up becoming 5 fees. I called customer service, I was directed to a main bank near me to speak with a loan officer and get overdraft protection set up and hopefully some fees reversed. 3 hours at that bank, I was told by the loan officer he could set up overdraft protection of just $100.00 dollars as I requested but would not until my credit score got raised by 50 points. Advice how to do that, advice to get charge cards and use them wisely to establish credit again, one thing a person with my kind of disablity should not do. I felt humilated, for only $100.00 dollars in overdraft protection I had to listen to someone who knew nothing of 2005, the only time my credit was ever effected negatively. I thanked him politely left before even mentioning the over draft fees. The following day I went to the branch I open my account at, hoped to see the manager I could ask questions and get answers that made sense. Nope, a different manager was there who was not going to reverse fees even if it was so close to Christmas, I was on disablity, was mislead about overdraft protection and the last time a fee was reversed was 5 months ago so one more month and he may of reversed a few. Someone from customer service added a remark from that one fee reversed do not reverse anymore fees and customer understands that. I got accused of going from one bank to another to get fees reversed. One branch he said I was at I don't even know where it is at. I kept my cool but I did say to him, you do realize the only income going into this checking account is social security disablity. I don't care what is direct deposit into your checking account, you agreed to the terms of the account and when you overdraw it there is fees to be paid.

I left the bank in tears, since I can not afford $175.00 dollars in fees with things the way they are now. I began to think and wow, TCF is going to take money from direct deposit social security disalbity for fees which is illegal. No liens, no garnishment, no bad debts can be taken out of disablity, just I can and the federal government for things like back taxes, government student loans, something dealing with the federal government which they will only take a percentage if so needed. I have no debts owed to the government so I don't worry about losing what I get to live on monthly from that. Overdraft fees are a debt the bank creates sometimes by how the process nightly transacations. I mailed some checks I was not going to until December in November making my checking account under I discovered on 11/30/09. The fees they are going to collect were from transactions that were approved on 11/27/09. Debit card transactions, one being under $10.00 dollars. One check came through on 11/30/09 so all the transactions on 11/27/09 generated the fees I tried to get some reversed.  I called social security today, was told Congress was looking at what banks have been doing concerning direct deposit of social security disabilty and taking out in fees the funds that are suppose to help people survive whom are disabled. I read about cases on the net concerning such, almost every case against a bank for doing what TCF plans to do the bank lost thier cases and were fined for breaking federal laws. In some cases, folks were left homeless after the banks took everything they got monthly, for fees on top of fees. Bipolar people, adults with ADD have side effects they may spend beyond thier means. Some banks were allowing them to do that, then slapping them with fees so that what they got to live on was just about nothing each month. Most of the cases the banks did not offer, nor did the clients know about overdraft protection. The banks in cases of disablity could suspend a account to prevent exteme fees especially for those with disablites they were direct depositing thier disablity into the banks checking accounts.

     I never abused my checking account. I have transposed numbers, made math errors or forgot to enter a transaction. I made the mistake in November to write out checks, put them in envelopes with the check number and amount in my book but not against my account until I mailed such. My mistake brought my account under 84 dollars. Right now my account is $259 dollars under that TCF will make good next week when my disablity is deposited into my checking account. Social security gave me the name of my senator to contact about this, told me about another government program similar to ETA but better really and has no fees attached to it. Guess what? I set myself up in that and will never let my social security disablity be available to a bank like TCF again. If there is a lawyer fighting banks in the Twin Cities for taking fees out of social security disablity I would love to talk to him. TCF does not give me a option to pay the fees, will not give me as I assumed I would get doing direct deposit overdraft protection either. The stress of going to two banks, getting told and treated like I was, well TCF is breaking the law and how many times have they got ton away with such? Thanks for reading folks.