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WAMU/Chase Bank Excess overdraft fees, long hold on deposits, poor customer service. Alpharetta Georgia
I am frustrated over WAMU/Chase and their business practices.
My case:
I have a knucklehead son (19) who opened an account in this bank last year. He has a hard time keeping up with his bank balances, so I suggested he enrolled in some sort of overdraft protection after his first overdraft fee (as well as check his balances more often, of course).
A few happy months have passed, and suddenly he ends up with over $700 on overdraft fees!!! It appears he lost track of his balance and used his debit card several times for stupid stuff, each time costing him ~$35 in fees. Before realizing there was a problem (no notifications of any kind from the bank), he made a weekly deposit and assumed that he had that much money available. After making several more transactions, he received the first letter notifying him of an overdraft fee. By then, he had racked up a grand total of over $700. His last deposit had been applied entirely towards overdraft fees causing a continuation of the problem. I must point out that this deposit was made in person, where a bank teller could have notified him of the issue before it escalated any further.
I cannot tell you how many times I have had financial responsibility sessions with the kid, and I hold him responsible. The bank, however, seems to lack in the customer service department. Why does somebody with "overdraft protection" get in this situation? My bank's overdraft protection eliminates the fee, but any overdraft goes into a "revolving" loan with not so nice interest, which I consider to be reasonable for the situation: the sooner you pay it off, the less interest you have to pay. Am I wrong to expect anything similar from WAMU? To add insult to injury, at no time did any of the bank personnel point out that there is a variety of notification options available, such as text messaging. Now, how about that? I'm sure any teenager would remember such an option.
Apparently two weeks of his hard earned salary were not enough for these crooks: When he made a large deposit to cover all the fees and some leftover funds, the fees were deducted immediately but the rest of the money went "on hold" for a couple of weeks. He knows this because he asked the question. I'm sure if he did not, more overdraft fees would be in order for the two weeks the bank gingerly sits on perfectly good funds. If this money was good enough to "pay" for bank fees, why is it not suitable for a depositor's use?
Is there any legal recourse to at least partially mitigate this horrendous situation? Or at least to make sure it does not happen to other unsuspecting victims.
Nela
Alpharetta, Georgia
U.S.A.
7 Updates & Rebuttals
Nwbrian
beaverton,Oregon,
U.S.A.
Chase Deposit Policies
#8Consumer Comment
Wed, October 21, 2009
Chase's deposit policies are pretty bad. Chase (unlike WAMU & that vast number of other banks) does not post anything in a timely manner. I fell victim to this & have since switched to a local credit union. In my case. I reviewed upcoming debits and transferred funds from savings to checking via the internet or at ATM machine. Along with deposits with a teller. Chase would hold the deposits for days on end (up to three days) meanwhile posting debits. Chase seemed to have a real problem posting just about anything. With Chase my online account was a large list of debits and credits just sitting in a pending status not posting for days. My brother even had same issue with Chase when he deposited a money order. Chase held that credit for up to 2+ days. This is a far cry from my current credit union that posts my debits and credits in a timely manner.
I do understand that banks post debits before credits but when you transfer or deposit $ 24-72 hours before the debit even gets to the bank something is wrong.
Chase's online banking in regard to direct deposit is very confusing. Normally under WAMU my paycheck would post to my account shortly after 12:00am on the set debt. With Chase it this was not the case. The my available & current balance would show that the credit had posted when in reality it Chase was still showing it as "pending" on the balance sheet for up to 2 days.
I was able to get all my overdraft fees taken off after I made my case to the bank. Best thing to do is get away from Chase. No reason a bank, in this day & age, should hold credits for days on end. Again, with my current bank any deposit (that isn't for a suspiciously massive amount of money, etc...) I make is immediately posted to my account. Along with debits.
Exemployee18
addison,Texas,
U.S.A.
Sue? On what grounds?
#8Consumer Comment
Wed, September 30, 2009
Yea I am sure the bank will pay off $700 of fees just because you threaten Chase in small claims court. Listen I am not advocating that something does not need to be done about the verbage when it comes to overdraft protection, however the child did not keep a register nor did he understand what protection that oeverdraft was giving him. He is 19 and an adult he needs to understand how banks work. He needs to read the literature when opening the account and make sure he balances his check book. Transfer protection is the best protection almost every bank can offer and if he does not have a savings account or another checking account to set that up then def he needs to have overdraft LOC. Good luck and I would definitely talk to a manager and see if they be able to help you out with some of the fees.
bob
USAsue bank
#8Consumer Comment
Wed, September 30, 2009
just take it to small clames court and the bank will most likely settle to refund the charges if they are getting sued. or look at this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjH4Us0n0QY&feature=player_embedded
Ken
Randolph,Massachusetts,
U.S.A.
Overdraft Protection
#8Consumer Comment
Fri, June 12, 2009
There are three types of overdraft protection, that may have different names ta different banks:
1. Overdraft Limit - The bank will pay the item(s) up to a certain dollar amount, but you still get a fee for each item.
2. Courtesy transfer - The bank will transfer funds needed to cover an overdraft from a different account (savings or credit card). There is usually a small fee for this.
3. Overdraft Line of Credit - This is a loan, and you have to apply for it and be approved. If you overdraw, they advance the funds from this loan. All you pay is the interest on the funds you use. If you cover the OD quickly, the cost is often pocket change.
Your son certainly didn't have #3, and unless he kept another account with a good balance, he didn't have #2 either. He had the first option, and that comes with fees. At least he doesn't have merchants chasing him, because the bank covered him.
He is a perfect example of someone who shouldn't have or use a debit card. He lacks the account management skills needed, and definitely lacks a check register. Unless he can afford these kinds of fees, he might want to just use checks and cash, and a check register.
Ken
Randolph,Massachusetts,
U.S.A.
Overdraft Protection
#8Consumer Comment
Fri, June 12, 2009
There are three types of overdraft protection, that may have different names ta different banks:
1. Overdraft Limit - The bank will pay the item(s) up to a certain dollar amount, but you still get a fee for each item.
2. Courtesy transfer - The bank will transfer funds needed to cover an overdraft from a different account (savings or credit card). There is usually a small fee for this.
3. Overdraft Line of Credit - This is a loan, and you have to apply for it and be approved. If you overdraw, they advance the funds from this loan. All you pay is the interest on the funds you use. If you cover the OD quickly, the cost is often pocket change.
Your son certainly didn't have #3, and unless he kept another account with a good balance, he didn't have #2 either. He had the first option, and that comes with fees. At least he doesn't have merchants chasing him, because the bank covered him.
He is a perfect example of someone who shouldn't have or use a debit card. He lacks the account management skills needed, and definitely lacks a check register. Unless he can afford these kinds of fees, he might want to just use checks and cash, and a check register.
Ken
Randolph,Massachusetts,
U.S.A.
Overdraft Protection
#8Consumer Comment
Fri, June 12, 2009
There are three types of overdraft protection, that may have different names ta different banks:
1. Overdraft Limit - The bank will pay the item(s) up to a certain dollar amount, but you still get a fee for each item.
2. Courtesy transfer - The bank will transfer funds needed to cover an overdraft from a different account (savings or credit card). There is usually a small fee for this.
3. Overdraft Line of Credit - This is a loan, and you have to apply for it and be approved. If you overdraw, they advance the funds from this loan. All you pay is the interest on the funds you use. If you cover the OD quickly, the cost is often pocket change.
Your son certainly didn't have #3, and unless he kept another account with a good balance, he didn't have #2 either. He had the first option, and that comes with fees. At least he doesn't have merchants chasing him, because the bank covered him.
He is a perfect example of someone who shouldn't have or use a debit card. He lacks the account management skills needed, and definitely lacks a check register. Unless he can afford these kinds of fees, he might want to just use checks and cash, and a check register.
Ken
Randolph,Massachusetts,
U.S.A.
Overdraft Protection
#8Consumer Comment
Fri, June 12, 2009
There are three types of overdraft protection, that may have different names ta different banks:
1. Overdraft Limit - The bank will pay the item(s) up to a certain dollar amount, but you still get a fee for each item.
2. Courtesy transfer - The bank will transfer funds needed to cover an overdraft from a different account (savings or credit card). There is usually a small fee for this.
3. Overdraft Line of Credit - This is a loan, and you have to apply for it and be approved. If you overdraw, they advance the funds from this loan. All you pay is the interest on the funds you use. If you cover the OD quickly, the cost is often pocket change.
Your son certainly didn't have #3, and unless he kept another account with a good balance, he didn't have #2 either. He had the first option, and that comes with fees. At least he doesn't have merchants chasing him, because the bank covered him.
He is a perfect example of someone who shouldn't have or use a debit card. He lacks the account management skills needed, and definitely lacks a check register. Unless he can afford these kinds of fees, he might want to just use checks and cash, and a check register.