Complaint Review: Bank Of America - Seattle Washington

I feel badly for those of you who have had the inconvenience of banking with BOA. I agree that their policies and procedures are frustrating and ever-changing. As an ex-employee of BOA (specifically customer service), I have seen and experienced first-hand how unfair it seems that they are allowed to decide for you which checks to pay and how much you can overdraw your account. However, I also agree that keeping an accurate check register helps keep those outrageous fees at bay. Having said that, I would also like to say that all checks and debit transactions post between 5pm and 12am (at least that's how it was when I worked there). You can never rely on the available balance, whether you get it from online banking, the telephone or a customer service rep. Your available balance does not reflect checks that you've written. Sometimes it doesn't even reflect the debit card purchase you made earlier that same day. Your available balance is meant to be a guide. It tells you how much cash is available in your account at that moment. If you have outstanding checks or other purchases that are not reflected, you must deduct that from your available balance. As far as direct deposit goes... When you have a check electronically deposited to your account, just because it's available at midnight on your payday, doesn't mean that it has posted to your account. Checks are paid based on your actual account balance, not your available balance. Your account balance is your balance after checks or other transactions have actually cleared your account. If you call customer service and ask for your available balance AND your actual balance, they will almost never be the same. That's because your actual balance is based on what has actually posted to your account. Your available balance is based on credits and debits that have not yet posted. So if your direct deposit is available Tuesday morning, it actually will not post to your account until between 5 pm Tuesday and 12 am Wednesday. So if you have a check that clears Monday night, your direct deposit is not used to cover it because it has not yet posted to your account. I know that the way this is done can be confusing and frustrating, but most, if not all, banks do it this way. So, as I said before, use a register. Do not only write down the checks you've written, but also every last debit transaction you make. If you write it all down and keep a running balance, you have a much better chance of keeping your money. One other point... if you think it's difficult to get BOA to refund overdraft charges as a customer, try being an employee. That's my two cents.

Thank you for all your wonderful suggestions and ideas, however I have kept up to date with all my transactions and would not go without balancing my check book.... I even go a step further by purchasing the carbon copy checks that way I don't miss anything. Further more I am a loan Manager and have been one for the last 10 years and know how to be responsible and have no problem paying all my bills (I don't pay one and not the other) my husband and I make well over 100k a year, we don't need to miss our mortgage's, vehicle payments, land payments, boat payments I can go on and on, but that is not the point. The point is... I find it amazing how many people who bank with BofA has similar problems and they have to pay careful attention 24/7/365 on their money in a dishonest bank. the least but, not last thing that I find amazing is that I have another checking account with Kitsap Bank where they credit my account with our direct deposit and than subtract any checks or charges (Totally different from BofA) not to mention... non of this B.S happens at Kitsap Bank and I don't do anything different. Just shows how valued we are as customers at BofA, however... I prefer to be valued the way Kitsap Bank values me in an "honest" and "fair" way! Good Luck and my Sincere condolences for the ones who remain with BofA

$2,400 worth of NSF fees in one year! Why am I not surprised. You call the bank at 7 pm and get a balance. You then go out and spend almost that total amount. Not paying attention to the other 5 OUTSTANDING checks. Then you hope the direct deposit coming in will cover the 5 OUTSTANDING checks. The old, pay this one but not that one. Then you're mad at the bank because they let you take out money you don't have. "Any other bank would decline it" I wonder why. As for your advice, it sounds like a good idea. You'd be $2,400 richer.

I, too, have incurred overdraft fees from my bank. But that is my fault. I made some mistakes on my checkbook and voila....A LOT of money gone in overdraft fees. As far as the bank approving credit/debit transactions when there is no money in your bank account, let me ask you a question: Would you be upset with your bank if, when you were making your purchase, they denied your card? Would you say that they embarrassed you at the checkout line and they should have approved it anyway, since you are a longtime customer? I agree that overdraft fees can be excessive, but banks cannot please everyone. I agree with the above comment that with all the money programs out there, balancing a checkbook is easier than ever. That's what I am doing now and I never have to worry about these problems. And if I did get overdraft fees, I sure wouldn't be complaining about it - it's my fault!

I'm sorry that you had some fees show up on your account Dianne, but there are a few things you could've done to better protect yourself. First of all, never spend money before its in your account. Its really not worth the risk. Secondly, start using a check register. If you can't tell what's still outstanding on your account, you'll continue to have problems. Third, set up overdraft protection. They'll most likely still charge a fee to use it, but its much cheaper than $28.00 per item. Now, in response to your other complaints. #1, most banks post items by dollar ammount from highest to lowest. For you, it causes more fees. For other clients, it means their mortgage payment clears instead of the pizza they ordered last week. Clients will complain either way a bank sets this up, so being a business, most decide to at least make a profit from it. #2, it is impossible for a bank to know what checks you have written until they clear your account. Therefore, they cannot keep you from spending money they don't know you don't have. Although, there are some banks that will knowingly allow you to spend funds that you do not have available, this is again for a purpose. Some banks allow you to take funds that are unavailable in case there is an emergency. Believe it or not, there actually are people who have requested this service, that's why its there. If you refer back to maintaining a register, this will assist you in avoiding any fees resulting from this. #3, finding out a bank's policy is pretty easy. Every bank has a schedule of fees and a deposit agreement and disclosures form. This will tell you not only how every transaction is processed, but also it will show you every fee your bank can and will charge you. If anyone from your bank tells you anything differently, call them on it. Make sure you keep up with these too, as your bank will mail you new ones as they change. Now, as I said before, your situation is extremely unfortunate. Is $28.00 per item a bit excessive? Maybe. However, if it was only $10.00 per item, banks would have many more people overdrafting their account, its a deterrent. Let's not forget, the bank is out to make money, that's what they do. And BOA is definately not the only bank that has each and every one of these policies in effect. Of course, refusing to refund any fees for a long time client is extremely questionable, but not unheard of. Just make sure you do what you have to in order to protect yourself from the "greedy bastards". Good luck with your next bank!

I'm sorry that you had some fees show up on your account Dianne, but there are a few things you could've done to better protect yourself. First of all, never spend money before its in your account. Its really not worth the risk. Secondly, start using a check register. If you can't tell what's still outstanding on your account, you'll continue to have problems. Third, set up overdraft protection. They'll most likely still charge a fee to use it, but its much cheaper than $28.00 per item. Now, in response to your other complaints. #1, most banks post items by dollar ammount from highest to lowest. For you, it causes more fees. For other clients, it means their mortgage payment clears instead of the pizza they ordered last week. Clients will complain either way a bank sets this up, so being a business, most decide to at least make a profit from it. #2, it is impossible for a bank to know what checks you have written until they clear your account. Therefore, they cannot keep you from spending money they don't know you don't have. Although, there are some banks that will knowingly allow you to spend funds that you do not have available, this is again for a purpose. Some banks allow you to take funds that are unavailable in case there is an emergency. Believe it or not, there actually are people who have requested this service, that's why its there. If you refer back to maintaining a register, this will assist you in avoiding any fees resulting from this. #3, finding out a bank's policy is pretty easy. Every bank has a schedule of fees and a deposit agreement and disclosures form. This will tell you not only how every transaction is processed, but also it will show you every fee your bank can and will charge you. If anyone from your bank tells you anything differently, call them on it. Make sure you keep up with these too, as your bank will mail you new ones as they change. Now, as I said before, your situation is extremely unfortunate. Is $28.00 per item a bit excessive? Maybe. However, if it was only $10.00 per item, banks would have many more people overdrafting their account, its a deterrent. Let's not forget, the bank is out to make money, that's what they do. And BOA is definately not the only bank that has each and every one of these policies in effect. Of course, refusing to refund any fees for a long time client is extremely questionable, but not unheard of. Just make sure you do what you have to in order to protect yourself from the "greedy bastards". Good luck with your next bank!

I'm sorry that you had some fees show up on your account Dianne, but there are a few things you could've done to better protect yourself. First of all, never spend money before its in your account. Its really not worth the risk. Secondly, start using a check register. If you can't tell what's still outstanding on your account, you'll continue to have problems. Third, set up overdraft protection. They'll most likely still charge a fee to use it, but its much cheaper than $28.00 per item. Now, in response to your other complaints. #1, most banks post items by dollar ammount from highest to lowest. For you, it causes more fees. For other clients, it means their mortgage payment clears instead of the pizza they ordered last week. Clients will complain either way a bank sets this up, so being a business, most decide to at least make a profit from it. #2, it is impossible for a bank to know what checks you have written until they clear your account. Therefore, they cannot keep you from spending money they don't know you don't have. Although, there are some banks that will knowingly allow you to spend funds that you do not have available, this is again for a purpose. Some banks allow you to take funds that are unavailable in case there is an emergency. Believe it or not, there actually are people who have requested this service, that's why its there. If you refer back to maintaining a register, this will assist you in avoiding any fees resulting from this. #3, finding out a bank's policy is pretty easy. Every bank has a schedule of fees and a deposit agreement and disclosures form. This will tell you not only how every transaction is processed, but also it will show you every fee your bank can and will charge you. If anyone from your bank tells you anything differently, call them on it. Make sure you keep up with these too, as your bank will mail you new ones as they change. Now, as I said before, your situation is extremely unfortunate. Is $28.00 per item a bit excessive? Maybe. However, if it was only $10.00 per item, banks would have many more people overdrafting their account, its a deterrent. Let's not forget, the bank is out to make money, that's what they do. And BOA is definately not the only bank that has each and every one of these policies in effect. Of course, refusing to refund any fees for a long time client is extremely questionable, but not unheard of. Just make sure you do what you have to in order to protect yourself from the "greedy bastards". Good luck with your next bank!

Diane, I feel for you in this situation, and I believe BoA's (and all other banks) process of clearing the largest draft first, instead of clearing in the order in which they are received, only serves to fleece customers of their hard-earned money and is downright underhanded. However, when you stated you called the bank for your balance, and further withdrew money from your account for a night out, that is where you went wrong, and where my sympathy for you ends. NEVER, I say again, NEVER trust the amount listed on your account either by using the phone, checking your balance online, or through the ATM. The ONLY way to know how much money you have available is to have a balanced checkbook register. I am continuously amazed at the number of people who rely on the balance provided by the bank to determine how much money they have. With programs available today such as Quicken and MSN Money, it is so easy to reconcile your checkbook. I use Quicken, and I have online banking (free of charge through my Credit Union). Every night when I come home from work I do two things, check my email and balance my checkbook. Yes, I do this EVERY DAY. That way, I always know how much money I have available and never have to worry about overdrawing my account. Go to a Credit Union to do your banking. Check around, most are pretty easy to join nowadays. Sometimes all you have to do is live in a certain area. They have far fewer fees than most banks, usually don't charge fees at the ATM, and the NSF charges are generally lower. For instance, according to my CU's website, an NSF fee is $18. Most banks charge $25 or more ($28 in your case). Again, the best advice you could get at this point is to keep a balanced checkbook. That is the only way to stay out of trouble. Good luck.