Ill be the first to admit i am overdraft alot,so i thought mobil banking text alerts to show my account balance was just what i needed. The problem is they don't include a - before the amount when your account is in fact overdrawn already. They will send you a text saying you have a balance of $75.00 when in fact it's -$75.00.
Robert
Irvine,#2Consumer Comment
Sat, October 29, 2016
You talk about what you need, and the answer is really simple. You need to learn proper account management and how to keep a written register. This way you know exactly how much you have because YOU have written it down. Then of course the second part to this is to not spend more than you have available.
If you don't have a written register if you stop by your local branch I am sure they will give you one for free. If you don't know how to use one, they may even spend a few minutes showing you how use it. If you don't want to do that you can search the Internet and find quite a bit of information and free registers.
As for the "text alerts", without seeing the text alert you got or the exact situation. The text alerts are sent out with your balance what you have at that time. They also may or may not send them out at certain times, this is why every bank that does this says that you can not rely on these alerts for your balance and they are just a courtesy. If you don't know your account balance between positive $75 and negative $75 you are totally clueless as to your balance.
Another aspect of this is perhaps this is just a case of you never being taught how to read balance sheets, such as if there is () around the $75 that means negative as well.
In the end the only RipOff here is the one you are causing yourself by not keeping track of your own balance.