Complaint Review: Bank Of America - Internet

That's it! I've had it with this d**n bank! Freakin' thieves. I'm closing my checking account and taking out every dime I have left after they cheated me. And, I'm cutting up my debit card and my ATM card too. That's another way that they steal from customers. What else? How else do they force people into overdraft? The answer to this scam is to stop every possible way that the bank can cheat you. From now on, have one savings account, and only keep the minimum amount of money in it. And, use it just for cashing your paycheck. Nothing else. That way, you will always be paying people with cash. Think of all those overdraft fees you will be saving. What will you do with all the extra money? Buy a new car maybe? Now that everyone knows the answer, don't come back again complaining about more overdraft fees!

What do I think the purpose of a bank is? My opinion: 1. Protection for my money (vault, FDIC insurance, etc.) 2. Protection for me (I don't have to carry large sums of cash around) 3. Interest 4. Loans I agree with Robert but one very important thing he left out #1 should be "TO MAKE MONEY" no business can thrive without a profit. This is not the Soviet Union. And I wish people would stop creating these topics about od and nsf fees. Next thing it will be i am pissed at the police fr giving me a ticket even though i was speeding same principle. You do A and you will accrue B. Simple Algebra here boys and girls

Yes and no. You're stating you wrote a check and then you made checkcard purchases. One of the relevant things to keep in mind with your checkcard is that when you swipe you card, the merchant gets an authorization. That authorization falls off your account at the end of the business day, and the merchant usually presents your receipt for payment 2 - 3 days later. If the merchant successfully obtained authorization, that means there was money in the account when you swiped your card. One of the Visa regulations is that the bank is REQUIRED to accept a transaction if the merchant has obtained authorization even if your account is overdrawn when the merchant comes to collect the funds (2 - 3 days later). One of your statements is that the cost of processing overdrafted transactions hasn't gone up. That's not correct. Due to Visa Check Cards becoming standard at most banks, and Visa regulations being enforce on those checkcard transactions, the banks are exposed to many more overdraft situations whereas previously PIN based ATM card transactions took the funds from the account right away and therefore gave a more accurate running balance. Since the banks are exposed to more potential overdrafts, they are exposed to more bad debt and potential losses. One of the reasons for increased fees in due to this increased exposure to losses (risk). I understand you feel the fees are high, and I sympathize with what has happened, but the culprit here is the relative who cashed the check early and caused the situation. In the end, the bank has to work within its stated policies, and it sounds like they've been relatively fair. They did, after all remove some of what you were charged. But at the end of the day, banks are businesses, and fees are a source of income, and there is a limit to their generosity.

I rarely weigh in on these bank posts but here are some things to consider. Banks I use have been charging fees this high for years. What rock have you been hiding under Michael? Why do people expect a checking account to be a low interest write yourself a loan as you go account. Isn't that what a line of credit or overdraft protection is for? The customers that get charged OD and NSF fees are a very small minority of the total account holders. It has been hard for them to gain momentum to force any changes in the system. They can't even get much sympathy for that matter. Look how long people have been complaining and how little has changed. Don't blame me when the day comes that you have to have a 700 credit score as well as employment history etc. etc. just get a checking account.

First of all, look up the definition of "kiting." This is the ILLEGAL practice of writing out checks when you DO NOT have funds to back them up AT THAT MOMENT!! In other words, you wrote a bad check!(here come the warrants). What the heck do you think a check stands for anyway? You also mentioned that "the bank allowed me to go into the negative", I mean C'MON, you are such a joke! Are you serious!? "If I didn't have any money left, then why is my debit card still working?" This is the weakest defense I've ever heard of! DID YOU HAVE THE FUNDS OR NOT? Don't give me a sob story about the ATM said this, or the phone rep said that, but rather according to your register, (you do keep a balance of your account, right?) did you have cash to cover your expenses? Had all of your purchases hit your account already. "YOU PEOPLE" expect everything handed to them with kid gloves and apologies. Grow up and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY! I also agree with Robert, please stop saying the bank LOANED you money. Stealing is a crime Micheal, no matter how you spin it.

The NSF charges are "fees", not loans. Stop calling them loans and you'll be better off. When someone gives me a bad check, I am NOT loaning them money. They have STOLEN from me and I can/will prosecute if I don't get my cash fast. Let's put up the stocks and get ready with the tomatoes.

Absolutely correct on this one, Robert!! An overdraft is an overdraft. PERIOD. This Michael guy writes page after page compaining about how unfair he was treated...even after acknowledging that it was HIS MISTAKE. This guy want his FREE checking account but believes he deserves "individual attention" everytime he overdrafts his account? Come on!!! Pay the fees and quit writing hot checks, Robert!!!

1 cent or 10,000 cents, it's still an overdraft. The computer system sees it as an overdraft eitherway. With hundreds of thousands of accounts you don't actually think the bank has the time to evaluated each overdraft to see if it is over by a just little bit. I am of the belief that banks should be consistant with applying their policies. Obviously BofA is. These are the very same policies you agreed to when opening you account. You did read them didn't you? If you didn't want the check you wrote to be cashed until a certain date you shouldn't have issued it until then. Didn't have the cash on hand at the time of her birthday? Offer to wash the car, clean the bathroom, cut the lawn. There are several other options other than writing a fraudulent check.

To Eduardo, First of all my report stated I was charged $155. That is 5 fees of $31 a piece (not the max). Do the math correctly. I used the maximum $33 for my interest example only. Also, for your information the fees assessed increase not by the number of occurrences of a negative balance, but by how many overdrafts you have accrued in a one year period. For example, if you wrote a $100 check to someone who was not supposed to cash it right away, as in my situation, and you bought a few items a day (perhaps food at a few local stores) over the next week so that the total was $90, you should not have any fees assessed. When that person cashes the check early, however, you are going to be assessed a fee for each transaction at each of the stores. Let us say, for the sake of this example, that you are assessed 9 fees for the nine $10 transactions. You made one mistake, but you get assessed nine fees, which then brings the total amount of $$$ that the bank assesses for each occurrence way up. What if all of the transactions were for $1? Then you get 90 fees assessed. If you really read my posts, I am not even saying that is wrong. That issue has no bearing whatsoever on my argument! By the way, I never stated or meant to mislead anyone that this was the first time we were assessed fees. I believe that I even start off by stating in my last rebuttal that those of us that you so kindly refer to as you people occasionally make mistakes (which means I've made them before). We have made mistakes before, and I freely admit it. I also have stated that I take full responsibility for mine and my wife's account and have paid all of the fees. Just before last Christmas, my wife and I were shopping separately (I thought she was done with the shopping as we had discussed it the day before), and I went and purchased some expensive (for us) items for her (that I did not tell her about). She, on the other hand, was buying some little stocking stuffers (she evidently does not consider these presents). She went to about twenty little shops over a three day period looking for some cheap one-of-a-kind knick knacks to put in each of our four kids stockings. The way that the bank processes transactions, they took out my big debit card purchases first, and it took three days for her bank visa charges to start appearing. We were charged many fees because of the error. I did not argue at the time. I had nothing to say, and nothing to complain about. I even felt ashamed that I caused the error in the first place. It was my fault. We took it as a lesson learned and vowed never to repeat it. My current situation is quite different. I have stated the point of my rebuttal so many times that I am getting tiered of wasting my time. If you can't see that every instance of error is a completely different situation that demands separate consideration, then I will be happy to accept the fact that you are too closed minded to see anyone else's point of view. As a warning, be careful when you use the word stole. I stole nothing. Under the terms and conditions of my agreement with the bank, NO LAWS WERE BROKEN. As stated in my other arguments on this website about the same topic, the bank allowed me to go into the negative by loaning me the money. They agree to the loan by clearing the transaction. I dislike having to repeat myself when the issue seems to be so plain. My issue is with the AMOUNT of the fee and the WAY the transactions are processed. CAN YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? Please re-read the My Mathematics Are Just Fine rebuttal again. Please pay special attention to the examples I used, as I believe them to be more than adequate analogies. Just as one last note, for what I really hope is the last time; Even if the fee is $17 for a $1 overdraft, that is still 1,700% interest on the LOAN If you read my posts, you will see that is one of the issues I have with the bank. I even stated that I think the amount is bordering on generous if the overdraft was for $1000. Please be knowledgeable of my issues and read all of my posts before you post a rebuttal against my arguments. As I keep having to state, all situations are different and each requires individual attention.

To Eduardo, First of all my report stated I was charged $155. That is 5 fees of $31 a piece (not the max). Do the math correctly. I used the maximum $33 for my interest example only. Also, for your information the fees assessed increase not by the number of occurrences of a negative balance, but by how many overdrafts you have accrued in a one year period. For example, if you wrote a $100 check to someone who was not supposed to cash it right away, as in my situation, and you bought a few items a day (perhaps food at a few local stores) over the next week so that the total was $90, you should not have any fees assessed. When that person cashes the check early, however, you are going to be assessed a fee for each transaction at each of the stores. Let us say, for the sake of this example, that you are assessed 9 fees for the nine $10 transactions. You made one mistake, but you get assessed nine fees, which then brings the total amount of $$$ that the bank assesses for each occurrence way up. What if all of the transactions were for $1? Then you get 90 fees assessed. If you really read my posts, I am not even saying that is wrong. That issue has no bearing whatsoever on my argument! By the way, I never stated or meant to mislead anyone that this was the first time we were assessed fees. I believe that I even start off by stating in my last rebuttal that those of us that you so kindly refer to as you people occasionally make mistakes (which means I've made them before). We have made mistakes before, and I freely admit it. I also have stated that I take full responsibility for mine and my wife's account and have paid all of the fees. Just before last Christmas, my wife and I were shopping separately (I thought she was done with the shopping as we had discussed it the day before), and I went and purchased some expensive (for us) items for her (that I did not tell her about). She, on the other hand, was buying some little stocking stuffers (she evidently does not consider these presents). She went to about twenty little shops over a three day period looking for some cheap one-of-a-kind knick knacks to put in each of our four kids stockings. The way that the bank processes transactions, they took out my big debit card purchases first, and it took three days for her bank visa charges to start appearing. We were charged many fees because of the error. I did not argue at the time. I had nothing to say, and nothing to complain about. I even felt ashamed that I caused the error in the first place. It was my fault. We took it as a lesson learned and vowed never to repeat it. My current situation is quite different. I have stated the point of my rebuttal so many times that I am getting tiered of wasting my time. If you can't see that every instance of error is a completely different situation that demands separate consideration, then I will be happy to accept the fact that you are too closed minded to see anyone else's point of view. As a warning, be careful when you use the word stole. I stole nothing. Under the terms and conditions of my agreement with the bank, NO LAWS WERE BROKEN. As stated in my other arguments on this website about the same topic, the bank allowed me to go into the negative by loaning me the money. They agree to the loan by clearing the transaction. I dislike having to repeat myself when the issue seems to be so plain. My issue is with the AMOUNT of the fee and the WAY the transactions are processed. CAN YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? Please re-read the My Mathematics Are Just Fine rebuttal again. Please pay special attention to the examples I used, as I believe them to be more than adequate analogies. Just as one last note, for what I really hope is the last time; Even if the fee is $17 for a $1 overdraft, that is still 1,700% interest on the LOAN If you read my posts, you will see that is one of the issues I have with the bank. I even stated that I think the amount is bordering on generous if the overdraft was for $1000. Please be knowledgeable of my issues and read all of my posts before you post a rebuttal against my arguments. As I keep having to state, all situations are different and each requires individual attention.

To Eduardo, First of all my report stated I was charged $155. That is 5 fees of $31 a piece (not the max). Do the math correctly. I used the maximum $33 for my interest example only. Also, for your information the fees assessed increase not by the number of occurrences of a negative balance, but by how many overdrafts you have accrued in a one year period. For example, if you wrote a $100 check to someone who was not supposed to cash it right away, as in my situation, and you bought a few items a day (perhaps food at a few local stores) over the next week so that the total was $90, you should not have any fees assessed. When that person cashes the check early, however, you are going to be assessed a fee for each transaction at each of the stores. Let us say, for the sake of this example, that you are assessed 9 fees for the nine $10 transactions. You made one mistake, but you get assessed nine fees, which then brings the total amount of $$$ that the bank assesses for each occurrence way up. What if all of the transactions were for $1? Then you get 90 fees assessed. If you really read my posts, I am not even saying that is wrong. That issue has no bearing whatsoever on my argument! By the way, I never stated or meant to mislead anyone that this was the first time we were assessed fees. I believe that I even start off by stating in my last rebuttal that those of us that you so kindly refer to as you people occasionally make mistakes (which means I've made them before). We have made mistakes before, and I freely admit it. I also have stated that I take full responsibility for mine and my wife's account and have paid all of the fees. Just before last Christmas, my wife and I were shopping separately (I thought she was done with the shopping as we had discussed it the day before), and I went and purchased some expensive (for us) items for her (that I did not tell her about). She, on the other hand, was buying some little stocking stuffers (she evidently does not consider these presents). She went to about twenty little shops over a three day period looking for some cheap one-of-a-kind knick knacks to put in each of our four kids stockings. The way that the bank processes transactions, they took out my big debit card purchases first, and it took three days for her bank visa charges to start appearing. We were charged many fees because of the error. I did not argue at the time. I had nothing to say, and nothing to complain about. I even felt ashamed that I caused the error in the first place. It was my fault. We took it as a lesson learned and vowed never to repeat it. My current situation is quite different. I have stated the point of my rebuttal so many times that I am getting tiered of wasting my time. If you can't see that every instance of error is a completely different situation that demands separate consideration, then I will be happy to accept the fact that you are too closed minded to see anyone else's point of view. As a warning, be careful when you use the word stole. I stole nothing. Under the terms and conditions of my agreement with the bank, NO LAWS WERE BROKEN. As stated in my other arguments on this website about the same topic, the bank allowed me to go into the negative by loaning me the money. They agree to the loan by clearing the transaction. I dislike having to repeat myself when the issue seems to be so plain. My issue is with the AMOUNT of the fee and the WAY the transactions are processed. CAN YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? Please re-read the My Mathematics Are Just Fine rebuttal again. Please pay special attention to the examples I used, as I believe them to be more than adequate analogies. Just as one last note, for what I really hope is the last time; Even if the fee is $17 for a $1 overdraft, that is still 1,700% interest on the LOAN If you read my posts, you will see that is one of the issues I have with the bank. I even stated that I think the amount is bordering on generous if the overdraft was for $1000. Please be knowledgeable of my issues and read all of my posts before you post a rebuttal against my arguments. As I keep having to state, all situations are different and each requires individual attention.

To Eduardo, First of all my report stated I was charged $155. That is 5 fees of $31 a piece (not the max). Do the math correctly. I used the maximum $33 for my interest example only. Also, for your information the fees assessed increase not by the number of occurrences of a negative balance, but by how many overdrafts you have accrued in a one year period. For example, if you wrote a $100 check to someone who was not supposed to cash it right away, as in my situation, and you bought a few items a day (perhaps food at a few local stores) over the next week so that the total was $90, you should not have any fees assessed. When that person cashes the check early, however, you are going to be assessed a fee for each transaction at each of the stores. Let us say, for the sake of this example, that you are assessed 9 fees for the nine $10 transactions. You made one mistake, but you get assessed nine fees, which then brings the total amount of $$$ that the bank assesses for each occurrence way up. What if all of the transactions were for $1? Then you get 90 fees assessed. If you really read my posts, I am not even saying that is wrong. That issue has no bearing whatsoever on my argument! By the way, I never stated or meant to mislead anyone that this was the first time we were assessed fees. I believe that I even start off by stating in my last rebuttal that those of us that you so kindly refer to as you people occasionally make mistakes (which means I've made them before). We have made mistakes before, and I freely admit it. I also have stated that I take full responsibility for mine and my wife's account and have paid all of the fees. Just before last Christmas, my wife and I were shopping separately (I thought she was done with the shopping as we had discussed it the day before), and I went and purchased some expensive (for us) items for her (that I did not tell her about). She, on the other hand, was buying some little stocking stuffers (she evidently does not consider these presents). She went to about twenty little shops over a three day period looking for some cheap one-of-a-kind knick knacks to put in each of our four kids stockings. The way that the bank processes transactions, they took out my big debit card purchases first, and it took three days for her bank visa charges to start appearing. We were charged many fees because of the error. I did not argue at the time. I had nothing to say, and nothing to complain about. I even felt ashamed that I caused the error in the first place. It was my fault. We took it as a lesson learned and vowed never to repeat it. My current situation is quite different. I have stated the point of my rebuttal so many times that I am getting tiered of wasting my time. If you can't see that every instance of error is a completely different situation that demands separate consideration, then I will be happy to accept the fact that you are too closed minded to see anyone else's point of view. As a warning, be careful when you use the word stole. I stole nothing. Under the terms and conditions of my agreement with the bank, NO LAWS WERE BROKEN. As stated in my other arguments on this website about the same topic, the bank allowed me to go into the negative by loaning me the money. They agree to the loan by clearing the transaction. I dislike having to repeat myself when the issue seems to be so plain. My issue is with the AMOUNT of the fee and the WAY the transactions are processed. CAN YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? Please re-read the My Mathematics Are Just Fine rebuttal again. Please pay special attention to the examples I used, as I believe them to be more than adequate analogies. Just as one last note, for what I really hope is the last time; Even if the fee is $17 for a $1 overdraft, that is still 1,700% interest on the LOAN If you read my posts, you will see that is one of the issues I have with the bank. I even stated that I think the amount is bordering on generous if the overdraft was for $1000. Please be knowledgeable of my issues and read all of my posts before you post a rebuttal against my arguments. As I keep having to state, all situations are different and each requires individual attention.

Guess what, I decided to call Bank of America pretending to be an upset customer that my wife's account was charged several $33 overdraft fees. "Why do you charge so much?" I demanded. It seems you happened to leave out some rather important information, Michael. You had overdrafted you account MANY TIMES before, which is why the overdraft fee had increased to the max limit of $33! The branch employee told me that overdraft fees start out at $17 for the first few offenses and then as more overdrafts KEEP happening (I guess you didn't take the hint)the fees can go up as high as $33. Next time tell the WHOLE story, and not just complain about the umpteenth time you STOLE money from your bank.

First of all, Eduardo, who do you mean by "you people"? Do you mean those that occasionally make mistakes, those that are married with both people spending independently on the same account? I guess, TO ERR IS HUMAN, TO BE EDUARDO DEVINE. By the way, I said I was to blame in my comments. I know what I did was wrong, and I agree I should pay a penalty. If you can't see that the penalty is too extreme then debating the issue with you is pointless. What do you think the purpose of a bank is? My opinion: 1. Protection for my money (vault, FDIC insurance, etc.) 2. Protection for me (I don't have to carry large sums of cash around) 3. Interest 4. Loans I have a free checking account, so I get no interest. Most people will agree that any federally insured bank gives relatively the same protection. That leaves loans. When I go over by $10, the bank is in essence loaning me the money. They agree to the loan by clearing the transaction, therefore, bringing me into a negative balance. It does make a difference on the amount. If I go over by $1000 (which by the way I think is a crime---that is no simple mistake) and they charge me $33, then I think that is more than fair (bordering on generous). However, when I go over by $1 and they charge me $33, then it is my opinion that this boarders on the morally criminal (it is not legally criminal because I signed the contract). No other legal institution that I can think of at the moment is allowed to charge 3,300% in interest. Even the bank agrees with me. I called and they gave me back $47 on the $10 overdrafts, but my complaint is that the two overdraft situations were linked and I deserved the same consideration for the second occurrence, especially due to my current standing at the bank. On another note, I am glad you know how to add and keep a working balance of your money. I pray that your situation never changes. Are you implying that I don't? If so, you may have a problem with your reading skills. Please re-read my argument for the specifics of my situation. As for Robert, who wrote a rebuttal to another bank of America argument, titled "They should be put in jail, or better yet, in the public square in "stocks", like they used to do." : He wrote "I am talking about people who spend money they don't have, of course. This country used to have debtors prisons. That took care of bad check writers, etc. In all of these threads, I have seen one common theme going..."I spent more money than I KNEW I had, but I shouldn't have to pay for that". Riiiight. As for the idea that everyone responding "must work for BofA", how does that even begin to enter a straight line of logic. Most people can do 1st grade mathematics so those who can't get to pay for our FREE checking priveledges. I own a garage. If I have a customer give me a bad check, I get to pay for accepting the word of that individual that it is good. That's why I don't take checks, by the way. As for credit cards and check cards, if someone pays me at 8 in the morning, I can run it. I close my shop at 6 at night. That means that for 10 whole hours, I have been given approval on their money, but I don't get it and it's not taken from their account untill I close out my Hypercom at close of business. There is not a single business that will close out their days reciepts after every single transaction, they are batched. If I don't close it out for days, I still get my money. If the card holder can't keep track of their money(adding deposits and subtracting expenditures) too bad. I'll get my money because I have an approval code. The math wizard who can't fathom basic subtraction will get to pay some good fees. When I was young, it only took one time for me to learn not to do something again. Apparently, some of you don't ever learn. I worked for a guy once who paid over $2000/month in overdraft charges each and every month. It never occurred to him that that was $2000 he could have kept...all he had to do was NOT write the checks untill he had the money to cover them. This guy had been in business for over 10 years. I'd let you do the math, but you've shown a lack of aptitude for it. He spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $240K in fees. He still hasn't figured out what he's doing wrong, and I am not going to continue anymore trying to teach him. VIVA LA FREE CHECKING!!! Robert - Jacksonville, Florida U.S.A." Robert, you do not understand the essence of the situation. When you talk of people being put in stocks or a debtors prison, those punishments were for those who intentionally broke the law, or could not pay back the debt. That is not the case in many of these kinds of situations, especially in my own. You are not a bank and do not operate a legal loan company that I am aware of, so nobody expects you to give them any monetary consideration. **********However, If you know the check is bad before accepting it because you know the individual as you are the person who cashes his paycheck every Friday, and you agree to cash the check on Friday after he gets paid, then you are in essence agreeing to a loan.************** THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE BANK DOES. They "agree" to the loan by processing the transaction that goes into a negative balance. As a last note, I would like to reiterate that I in no way asked the bank for a free ride. I will pay the fees and transfer my account to another institution. My argument is with the way they process fees and with the amount of those fees, especially when they are not willing to listen to situations on a case by case basis to adequately assess the situation and respond accordingly. To Thomas, (you may find this interesting Eduardo I am taking the bank's side), it does not matter if there is such a law on the books or not. The bank charges you the same fee whether or not they clear the transaction or bounce it. I do agree there should be a fee for such occurrences. If you read my posting, however, you will see that I think the fee rate should be changed. Maybe it should be a percentage of the overdraft. Maybe it should be a percentage with a maximum limit. No matter how it is done, the bank should always be open for negotiations on a case by case basis for those instances that THEY feel are worth negotiating. The bank has its right to due business the way they want to do business, and WE have the right to take our business ELSEWHERE. To all other people who are willing to post a rebuttal, please be advised that it is my Constitutional right to have and speak my opinions, and you also have a Constitutionally protected right to your opinionshowever ill conceived they may be.

I would guess that there is some fine print some where in the Account contract we sign when opening a account at Shank of America that protects the bank BUT there needs to be a law against the bank not giving customers a option that when there is not enough money in there account the bank does not give customers UNATHORIZED HIGH INTEREST LOANS. (NSF) Shank of America has Mafia like practices.

I can't believe you people. It's just a case of simple math. If I have $100 in my account, and I spend $110, then I'm spending money that DOES NOT BELONG TO ME!! I don't care if the $10 you went over was from 10 seperate $1 transactions, THIS MONEY WAS NOT YOURS TO SPEND! Any fee you received for each transaction was well deserved. Just think of them as "do better math next time" penalties! BTW, I do not work for a bank, but I do know how to add and keep a working balance of my money.