There are many reasons to my slow methodical demise of respect for BANK OF AMERICA, but the first of many is the FEES.
1. Free Checking
Is this a truthful advertisement? It clearly states on the website and commercials that checking accounts are free w/ Direct Deposit. As you can witness to my former statements, I have had direct deposit for months and every month I pay the same monthly fee.
2. Hidden Fees
Of all the fees that are siphoned from my account this is the most subtle. I recently noticed while extracting my usual cash advance from my former account, a balance on the receipt. I then immediately go home to check what charges had cleared the account. I immediately noticed that amount listed on my transmittal receipt is DIFFERENT than the available amount now listed on my online account. The difference is only $1.
One dollar makes me question is this a fee. I inquire, I get the standard email. I watch carefully next time I make a withdrawal. The same thing happens again a week later.
This is I feel deliberate.
I think this is a subtle embezzlement scheme. Because $1 is hardly noticeable so if there are millions of transactions like this a day $1 per customer, millions of dollars are made by your company without being discovered.
3. FEES for Profit
I had my checking account opened a total of 12 months ; savings for years and was I was unemployed for 6 of the last 12 months last year. My point being, I had been a customer of NationsBank/BOA for years and have never experienced the insidious amount of charges placed on my account in the last 4 months. Every week there were $90-$120 being subtracted from account. At first I was patient, because I realized how hard it was to keep the account open due to long stretches of unemployment. Then I noticed a pattern in the last few months that made me spiteful with anger.
Over Zealous NSF charges.
Years ago I had heard of NationsBank/BOA being sued by customers claiming they purposely, intentionally, waited to charge or clear checks until the balance was at its lowest. Then if there were 5 charges/checks to be cleared they would clear the largest first to insure that the other 4 would bring in the most NSF fees.
For example.
Account #xxxx has 109.80 available.
There is a weekly deposit (direct deposit) on Friday May 1st
4-15There is an automatic bill pay $79.05 PENDING
4-29Gas charge $2.62 PENDING
4-29Food Store $3.60 PENDING
4-30Dollar Store $7.50 PENDING
4-30 Cash Withdrawal $30.00
5-1 Deposit $511.34
If you look online the available balance is still good, but 3 days later May 3 you notice online that you have 1 charge for bill pay and 4 others charges that caused your account to go negative. Meanwhile you have deposit May 1 that actually can be applied to the charges. The charges are post-dated. Then the customer is charged 4 times (4 X $30) for smaller fees incurred days after the original charge.
This is what I mean by waiting to charge the account. This is an example of preying on the poor. Customers that the bank knows have trouble keeping their accounts above zero level. And it seems to be a pattern to charge my account on the end part of the week, to insure a zero/negative balance. This has just started to happen more and more often. Check the history on my account. There have never been this many fees assessed to my account on a weekly basis.
Situation 2
I viewed a charge online originally made Feb 7(Sat). This charge I am positive cleared the account by Feb 11. There was no reason it should not have. As the next deposit date approaches for Feb 20 the following week, I SEE THE SAME CHARGE AGAIN, Feb 17th! This is odd and peculiar to me. Why would a charge re-appear on the 17th 10 days after the charge itself?
I don't understand why I would be charged twice. Then it makes sense. The balance on my account was getting low. There were several charges pending. I believe that BOA deliberately subtracts the funds from the account twice to lessen the available balance, so as to intentionally put the accounts in the negative. More fees to collect means more money for BOA that I must pay because of my direct deposits. More money for BOA.
FEES For Profit.
These are just some of many reasons, why I had become disgusted with BOA and their handling of my account. I am not apologetic about anything I have said or written about the company.
They have recently closed my account to keep my mouth shut!
But If anything I have stated is true, then I smell an ENRON in your future!
A running dog is a scared dog.
K
Dallas, Texas
U.S.A.
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