Wood & Huston Bank Sets Trap To Scam Customers, Internet
Wood & Huston Bank's customers well know the bank's policy that all transactions submitted after 2 p.m. will not be processed until the next day. It has been posted as a warning on their drive-up windows for years. Apparently they recently changed it without bothering to tell anyone.
On 9-22-09 I deposited my paycheck at Wood & Huston in Cape Girardeau, MO. It was 3:30 p.m. so I knew it would not be credited to my account until the following day. I also expected that the 4 payments I made on Paypal at 4:30 p.m. that day using my VISA check card as a credit card would not be posted until the following day - especially since I had been told twice recently by two separate bank employees that using it that way delayed the transaction by a day and also because I had been using it on Paypal extensively for the past 3 or 4 months and these transactions consistently took 2 or 3 days to clear my account. Imagine my surprise when I found that Wood & Huston had picked up those 4 payments on 9-22-09 and charged me 4 NSF fees on them totaling $96! When I called the bank to find out what was going on, I was informed that the cutoff time for processing debit card transactions was 6 p.m. rather than 2 p.m., that this has "ALWAYS" been true of debit card transactions, and that using my debit card as a credit card did NOT affect the processing time at all. It's interesting that the payments I made in the days following 9-22-09 again took 2 days to clear my account. But on 9-22-09 they apparently only took 90 minutes. Or could it be that only the fact that they could charge me for bogus overdraft fees on those 4 transactions caused the transactions to "clear" my account so quickly? Dare I accuse the bank of 'cherry-picking' transactions on some report for the purpose of charging fees, claiming they had cleared when in reality they had NOT?
Wood & Huston Bank has apparently made some change in the way they process debit card transactions without telling anyone. They have removed from their drive-up windows the placard stating the 2 p.m. cutoff time since it now seems to apply only to customer deposits, not to any debit transactions. I'm going to let the Attorney General's Office decide this as I have filed a complaint against Wood & Huston Bank for unethical and dishonest business practices. I urge all other bank customers everywhere to follow suit when their banks rob them with bogus fees! It's a real shame when the very people we trust to protect our money decide their profit line is more important than their honesty and integrity. I think we'd all do better to revert to a cash only life-style and give these bankers aka CROOKS the boot!
3 Updates & Rebuttals
IamGood
Galveston,Texas,
USA
Karen the Real Crook is You
#4General Comment
Mon, September 28, 2009
Karen:
You attempted to make purchases knowing full well that at the time of your purchase you did not have the money in your account.
You tried to rely on the "Float". In todays computer age, transactions can be processed instantly.
the bank was justified in charging you 96.00. Just pay the fee, and dont sin any more.
Hopefully your state;'s AG wont decide to press charges against you for knowingly making purchases without having funds in place.
In Texas we call this theft by check. (in your case Theft by debit card).
Robert
Irvine,California,
U.S.A.
Another perspective..
#4Consumer Comment
Mon, September 28, 2009
I'll just give you another perspective. This is not to defend this or any bank. Just explaining what it probably happened and what you can do to avoid it in the future. In fact if you are truthful(and I have no reason to doubt that is what you heard) that the bank employees told you that using it as a VISA delays posting, then they were incorrect.
Now as to what happened. The fact is that PayPal submitted the debit when you made it at 4:30. This is a fact because it is impossible for any bank to know you made a transaction until the merchant submits it. Banks do not hold or "cherry pick" transactions, if it gets submitted before their cut-off time it gets posted. Keep in mind that there is a difference between an Authorization and actually submitting the final debit amount. The other(and more interesting) fact is that you made these transactions KNOWING that your funds were not available yet, as you stated by your own words.
You were what is known as "floating" transactions. You state it PayPal has always taken 2-3 days in the past. Is that banking days or calendar days? Are you saying that the bank intentionally held those transactions in the past, so that they could give you a false sense of security just to hit you with fees now? If you look at those other times, If they posted before you thought how many would have resulted in fees?
In this respect it does not matter what bank you go with. You MUST be sure the funds are fully posted and available before you spend it. Do not rely on Cut-Off times because that will end up causing you problems. Not because of any perceived bank manipulation, but because you can not guarantee when a merchant will submit the debit. If the money is not available in your account at the time you use your debit card DO NOT use it.
Going back to what the employee told you. Have you attempted to talk to the Branch manager to see if you can get all/some of the fees waived? Or did you go right to filing all of these complaints without trying to at least resolve it first?
Ronny g
North hollywood,California,
USA
You trusted your bank..BIG mistake these days...
#4Consumer Comment
Mon, September 28, 2009
This is kind of a new one..but not surprising. Anyone with an ounce of common sense can see through this deception you experienced...unfortunately many will toss common sense aside to defend a bank..why? I have not figured that out yet.
Lets review the banks "part" in all of this. But bear in mind..ANY mistakes you made..are ALL you fault..any mistakes or misinformation the bank made..is ALL your fault. I am being facetious of course..but you get the point.
Quotes from your report...
"Apparently they recently changed it without bothering to tell anyone"
Nothing new here
"especially since I had been told twice recently by two separate bank employees that using it that way delayed the transaction by a day"
Doesn't matter..you are wrong in their opinion..and that is all that counts..who do you think you are?? A customer???.
"I had been using it on Paypal extensively for the past 3 or 4 months and these transactions consistently took 2 or 3 days to clear my account"
Consistency is the banks enemy..didn't you know that???
"and that using my debit card as a credit card did NOT affect the processing time at all"
So, the bank was aware that you were using your debit card as a credit card..and never advised otherwise...very interesting..can you get a recording or a document that the bank said you can treat your debit card as a credit card? Because if so..this case is a slam dunk.
"It's interesting that the payments I made in the days following 9-22-09 again took 2 days to clear my account. But on 9-22-09 they apparently only took 90 minutes"
It ALWAYS works out in the banks favor..and if it does not..something will "change" to make it so.
"Or could it be that only the fact that they could charge me for bogus overdraft fees on those 4 transactions caused the transactions to "clear" my account so quickly?"
DING DING DING....we have a winner !
"Dare I accuse the bank of 'cherry-picking' transactions on some report for the purpose of charging fees, claiming they had cleared when in reality they had NOT?"
No need to accuse...the actions are self evident and speak for themselves.
"Wood & Huston Bank has apparently made some change in the way they process debit card transactions without telling anyone"
Apparently..yes..undoubtedly it seems.
"They have removed from their drive-up windows the placard stating the 2 p.m. cutoff time"
Interesting.
"I urge all other bank customers everywhere to follow suit when their banks rob them with bogus fees! "
Another WINNER !!!