Complaint Review: BANK OF AMERICA - Internet

Christina of course if the money is there it is covered. Of course simple accounting prevents these problems. A vast majority of people "get it", because it is only a very small fraction of people who actually overdraft their accounts, and an even smaller percentage of people overdraft on a consistant basis. In this case the OP is averaging 8 OD's a month, every month for almost the last year and a half. The best advise was given already and hope that they follow it. STOP using the Debit Card.

Christina of course if the money is there it is covered. Of course simple accounting prevents these problems. A vast majority of people "get it", because it is only a very small fraction of people who actually overdraft their accounts, and an even smaller percentage of people overdraft on a consistant basis. In this case the OP is averaging 8 OD's a month, every month for almost the last year and a half. The best advise was given already and hope that they follow it. STOP using the Debit Card.

Christina of course if the money is there it is covered. Of course simple accounting prevents these problems. A vast majority of people "get it", because it is only a very small fraction of people who actually overdraft their accounts, and an even smaller percentage of people overdraft on a consistant basis. In this case the OP is averaging 8 OD's a month, every month for almost the last year and a half. The best advise was given already and hope that they follow it. STOP using the Debit Card.

I have BBVA Compass as a bank and so far have been really happy with them. Heres what a bank manager told me when i asked her about using debit cards. She said if you dont have a significant source of income or money in the bank Do not use debit cards. It sounds like to me you use your debit card for all your purchases. If you are unemployed you have no buisness using a debit card. commons sense. Do what ashley suggested take money out of the atm. your guaranteed not to be over drawn. Let your accounts settle down a little. I agree that its kinda shady to put the big purchases first but it doesnt absolve you from your responsibility to manage your finances better. Reading your article it sounded to me like you knew you were going to be over but you used your card anyway thinking it would clear later and you could catch it before it happened. I dont think its wrong for a bank to make sure your larger purchase clear before your smaller ones. they want to make sure you have the money for that big ticket item. Stop whining get a job and pay off your OD and stop using your card

I cannot begin to count the times I've read on here that the bank issues the highest amount first then goes down to the smaller ones. My question is, if the money is in there, its covered, isn't it? The days of floating checks are long gone. I simply do not understand this issue. And an overdraft is an overdraft, whether its .50 cents or 50 dollars, correct? Doesn't simple accounting prevent these problems?

wildwest, your post is filled with obvious inconsistencies and flat out inaccuracies that are worth noting so that no one actually reads it and takes it seriously. 1. The President is human like everyone else. He is no different than you or I and for anyone and to thrust greatness upon him for whatever reason is ridiculous. He and his predecessor put forth this bailout not because the banks lost money, but because our own government made the decision to no longer back the mortgages they issued AND the insurance companies like AIG who were sort of a backstop to this also went under. Our own financial institutions were double-whammied by our own government and its policies. 2. Our humanity does not make us perfect, but there are a number of steps one can take in order to avoid paying overdraft fees and STILL make a mistake here and there. Like many of those who claim rip off, they (1) never use a check register, (2) use debit cards without understanding the consequences associated with their use, and/or (3) utilize online tools by the bank in an effort to either time their deposits or replace the use of a check register. Keeping a little extra in the account also helps just in case you make an error. People who purposely run their checking accounts lean like this person assume they will not make an error. 3. All banks are the same which makes Bank of America just as American as any other business in this country. They comply with Federal, State, and Local laws just like any other business in this country. It means people of various types have been watching banks everyday - for years and years. Now the courts have entered into it, and determined much of what banks do is legal. Before we determine whether it's moral - STOP. Morality and subjectivity have no place here because banks enter into agreements with account holders as well as with institutions. It is only the basis of those agreements that is important. 4. It simply won't be the rich who can afford to keep an account at a bank. It will be only the competent who will have an account. You see, it only takes a modicum of intelligence in order to keep an account from overdrafting. When I read people having hundreds and thousands taken from their account, the only thing one can conclude is that the account holder stopped using any form of intelligence to keep an account. After you read the story, I find that conclusion is quite accurate. In the case of the OP, this individual violated just about every rule of money management, and then complains it's the bank who did this to him. No way - not a chance. What about Ben's responsibility for his own money? I mean there isn't even a split responsibility between the bank and our OP - this whole thing is on the OP because he failed to take even the most basic of steps to prevent the bank from taking his money. Switching banks will not stop the problem because all banks are the same; they are an industry - as you said. So whatever problem he has here will follow him to the next bank, and the next one....

wildwest, your post is filled with obvious inconsistencies and flat out inaccuracies that are worth noting so that no one actually reads it and takes it seriously. 1. The President is human like everyone else. He is no different than you or I and for anyone and to thrust greatness upon him for whatever reason is ridiculous. He and his predecessor put forth this bailout not because the banks lost money, but because our own government made the decision to no longer back the mortgages they issued AND the insurance companies like AIG who were sort of a backstop to this also went under. Our own financial institutions were double-whammied by our own government and its policies. 2. Our humanity does not make us perfect, but there are a number of steps one can take in order to avoid paying overdraft fees and STILL make a mistake here and there. Like many of those who claim rip off, they (1) never use a check register, (2) use debit cards without understanding the consequences associated with their use, and/or (3) utilize online tools by the bank in an effort to either time their deposits or replace the use of a check register. Keeping a little extra in the account also helps just in case you make an error. People who purposely run their checking accounts lean like this person assume they will not make an error. 3. All banks are the same which makes Bank of America just as American as any other business in this country. They comply with Federal, State, and Local laws just like any other business in this country. It means people of various types have been watching banks everyday - for years and years. Now the courts have entered into it, and determined much of what banks do is legal. Before we determine whether it's moral - STOP. Morality and subjectivity have no place here because banks enter into agreements with account holders as well as with institutions. It is only the basis of those agreements that is important. 4. It simply won't be the rich who can afford to keep an account at a bank. It will be only the competent who will have an account. You see, it only takes a modicum of intelligence in order to keep an account from overdrafting. When I read people having hundreds and thousands taken from their account, the only thing one can conclude is that the account holder stopped using any form of intelligence to keep an account. After you read the story, I find that conclusion is quite accurate. In the case of the OP, this individual violated just about every rule of money management, and then complains it's the bank who did this to him. No way - not a chance. What about Ben's responsibility for his own money? I mean there isn't even a split responsibility between the bank and our OP - this whole thing is on the OP because he failed to take even the most basic of steps to prevent the bank from taking his money. Switching banks will not stop the problem because all banks are the same; they are an industry - as you said. So whatever problem he has here will follow him to the next bank, and the next one....

wildwest, your post is filled with obvious inconsistencies and flat out inaccuracies that are worth noting so that no one actually reads it and takes it seriously. 1. The President is human like everyone else. He is no different than you or I and for anyone and to thrust greatness upon him for whatever reason is ridiculous. He and his predecessor put forth this bailout not because the banks lost money, but because our own government made the decision to no longer back the mortgages they issued AND the insurance companies like AIG who were sort of a backstop to this also went under. Our own financial institutions were double-whammied by our own government and its policies. 2. Our humanity does not make us perfect, but there are a number of steps one can take in order to avoid paying overdraft fees and STILL make a mistake here and there. Like many of those who claim rip off, they (1) never use a check register, (2) use debit cards without understanding the consequences associated with their use, and/or (3) utilize online tools by the bank in an effort to either time their deposits or replace the use of a check register. Keeping a little extra in the account also helps just in case you make an error. People who purposely run their checking accounts lean like this person assume they will not make an error. 3. All banks are the same which makes Bank of America just as American as any other business in this country. They comply with Federal, State, and Local laws just like any other business in this country. It means people of various types have been watching banks everyday - for years and years. Now the courts have entered into it, and determined much of what banks do is legal. Before we determine whether it's moral - STOP. Morality and subjectivity have no place here because banks enter into agreements with account holders as well as with institutions. It is only the basis of those agreements that is important. 4. It simply won't be the rich who can afford to keep an account at a bank. It will be only the competent who will have an account. You see, it only takes a modicum of intelligence in order to keep an account from overdrafting. When I read people having hundreds and thousands taken from their account, the only thing one can conclude is that the account holder stopped using any form of intelligence to keep an account. After you read the story, I find that conclusion is quite accurate. In the case of the OP, this individual violated just about every rule of money management, and then complains it's the bank who did this to him. No way - not a chance. What about Ben's responsibility for his own money? I mean there isn't even a split responsibility between the bank and our OP - this whole thing is on the OP because he failed to take even the most basic of steps to prevent the bank from taking his money. Switching banks will not stop the problem because all banks are the same; they are an industry - as you said. So whatever problem he has here will follow him to the next bank, and the next one....

wildwest, your post is filled with obvious inconsistencies and flat out inaccuracies that are worth noting so that no one actually reads it and takes it seriously. 1. The President is human like everyone else. He is no different than you or I and for anyone and to thrust greatness upon him for whatever reason is ridiculous. He and his predecessor put forth this bailout not because the banks lost money, but because our own government made the decision to no longer back the mortgages they issued AND the insurance companies like AIG who were sort of a backstop to this also went under. Our own financial institutions were double-whammied by our own government and its policies. 2. Our humanity does not make us perfect, but there are a number of steps one can take in order to avoid paying overdraft fees and STILL make a mistake here and there. Like many of those who claim rip off, they (1) never use a check register, (2) use debit cards without understanding the consequences associated with their use, and/or (3) utilize online tools by the bank in an effort to either time their deposits or replace the use of a check register. Keeping a little extra in the account also helps just in case you make an error. People who purposely run their checking accounts lean like this person assume they will not make an error. 3. All banks are the same which makes Bank of America just as American as any other business in this country. They comply with Federal, State, and Local laws just like any other business in this country. It means people of various types have been watching banks everyday - for years and years. Now the courts have entered into it, and determined much of what banks do is legal. Before we determine whether it's moral - STOP. Morality and subjectivity have no place here because banks enter into agreements with account holders as well as with institutions. It is only the basis of those agreements that is important. 4. It simply won't be the rich who can afford to keep an account at a bank. It will be only the competent who will have an account. You see, it only takes a modicum of intelligence in order to keep an account from overdrafting. When I read people having hundreds and thousands taken from their account, the only thing one can conclude is that the account holder stopped using any form of intelligence to keep an account. After you read the story, I find that conclusion is quite accurate. In the case of the OP, this individual violated just about every rule of money management, and then complains it's the bank who did this to him. No way - not a chance. What about Ben's responsibility for his own money? I mean there isn't even a split responsibility between the bank and our OP - this whole thing is on the OP because he failed to take even the most basic of steps to prevent the bank from taking his money. Switching banks will not stop the problem because all banks are the same; they are an industry - as you said. So whatever problem he has here will follow him to the next bank, and the next one....

If you don't want to pay the fees. STOP OVERDRAFTING. Here's what you need to do since a checking account seems very hard for you to operate: Let your account settle. Stop using your debit card. Withdraw some cash if you need to make it through this phase. It will only take a couple days for all the transactions to clear and post. Get your account positive. Then.... STOP USING YOUR DEBIT CARD. When you need cash, go to the bank and withdraw it. Only use the debit card for large purchases. Seriously, WHY are you using a debit card for a 50 cent purchase? If you would just go withdraw cash from an ATM and use that for your everyday purchases, you would never overdraft.

When Obama was elected President, I had great hopes for the future of our country. Then, in his infinite wisdom, this great man decided to give the largest of businesses billions of our hard earned tax dollars. The largest banks received first and foremost. At the time there seemed to be a heartfelt grumble from a certain faction in America. I didn't understand where this palpable grumble could be coming from. Then last night I checked my account. I could not follow the transactions. They did not follow in the order that I had made them. On top of all that I had a negative balance. What was going on? I asked myself. So I got online and started reading these post. I have a clearer understanding of the grumbling I felt when our government "bailed-out" these crooks. I also have a clearer understanding of the banking industry. That understanding is that banks are an industry. They exist to make money for themselves and their shareholders. Like anyone else who I am unfamiliar with, they bear keeping a keen eye on them and on my own finances. In order to protect myself from them seizing opportunity when I make a mistake, I have to make sure I don't make any mistakes. Unfortunately, I am human and bound by that to make mistakes. Oh well. I think that this bank puts a fine point on the issue of why the industry needed a handout. Its a sign that we are headed for a repeat of the wildwildwest when people wore holsters and pistols because they had all of their wealth in their pocket because they did not trust banks. That's the thick of why they needed bailed out. The restoration of trust in the banking system was the whole point. Maybe they should have let it fail instead delaying the inevitable. It seems that banks are doing everything to destroy the trust that the government was hoping to restore. Pretty soon, only the very wealthy will be able to afford to keep their money in a bank because of exorbitant fees and charges. They are also less likely to put up with this legal theft. They have no qualms about moving their money to some other institution and putting their lawyers into action to recover the overcharged fees. So now I understand. Thanks for all your post. Hope we all learned something from our experiences with Bank of UnAmerica!

Ways to avoid these NSF/OD fees: Using an account register and reconciling that register with a monthly account statement from the bank will prevent any account holder from causing any NSF/OD fees. The majority (if not all) of the reports I've read about NSF/OD fees have common behaviors of the account holders: -using atm cards for everyday purchases. -using more than ONE card attached to the account (husband and wife) -using atm cards for online purchases. -using atm cards for 'auto-bill pay' (autodebits) **relying upon telephone or online account balances to determine what money is available for that shopping trip to Walmart. **NOT using an account register. 1. Use an account register and reconcile the account register with a monthly written statement generated by the bank. If the bank is not mailing statements, contact customer service to have monthly statements MAILED to you. 1a. Be aware of ATM fees, such as the 'non-bank ATM fee' that most banks charge when you use an ATM that is not owned by your bank to make a withdrawal and post that fee in your account register immediately. 1b. Also be aware of any monthly 'account service fee' charged by your bank and post that to your register on the appropriate date. 2. Do NOT GIVE bank account information (or ATM card info) to any merchant, service provider, utility, online service to pay for services and goods. Use a REAL credit card for this purpose (either secured cc or unsecured cc.) Do not setup any automatic deposit to an account that is attached to said cc-NO auto payments to CC company-mail a check each month. If the entity demanding payment makes a mistake, you're gonna have a host of problems and risk OD/NSF fees. 3. Do NOT use an ATM card for everyday expenses-USE CASH. Establish a monthly budget and withdrawal a weekly 'allowance' for every day expenses such as 'milk and bread' from the corner store, Burger King, etc. This will reduce the amount of transactions on the bank account which in turn makes RECONCILING the account and detecting ERRORS easier to accomplish. Again, if the entity demanding payment makes a mistake, you're gonna risk NSF/OD fees. 4. Do not shop with the ATM card-use a real credit card. A real credit card offers protections that you don't have with an ATM card. If the merchant/service makes a mistake, you can dispute it with the CC company WITHOUT getting any OD/NSF. Not true if you use an ATM card-if the merchant makes a mistake, your money is gone until you can convince your bank to give it back, as well as OD/NSF fees. 5. ONLY ONE ATM CARD to one account. Do NOT have 2 or more atm cards for one bank account. Having 'his and hers' ATM cards attached to the same account is the same as in the old days when some folks would have 2 checkbooks for writing checks. It was an invitation to disaster then, and it is today. 6. Verify that deposits to the account have actually cleared. Deposits can take anywhere between 1 and 5 BUSINESS days to clear depending on the type and/or source of the deposit. Deposits over $5000 can take even LONGER before they are posted to the account. The Federal Reserve publishes a Consumer Compliance Handbook which gives detailed information about what banks can and cannot do with deposits, holds, and funds availability. You can download this handbook at http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/supmanual/cch/200711/cch200711.pdf Follow ALL of these suggestions and you will NEVER pay an OD/NSF fee again unless it is a LEGITIMATE bank error or caused by a merchant. If it is caused by a bank error the bank will gladly and quickly rectify the situation and credit any fees generated as well as contact payees and cover any fees the payees assess to you. If the fee is caused by a merchant error, you will need to hold the merchant accountable for the fees, although in many cases the bank may reverse the fees as a courtesy if the merchant confirms that the merchant made an error. This is a tried and true method to avoid these fees. It works EVERY TIME it's tried.