Katelyn
Springfield,#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Thu, August 02, 2007
Ls103, I'm sorry to hear about your situation. Unfortunately, not all BB&T branches are this way. When you opened the account, and the Relationship Banker told you she would order checks, did you have a balance in the account? Sometimes certain exceptions are made, where clients can make the 'opening' deposit at a later time. If this was the case, they most likely didn't order them because they didn't want you to overdraw your account. If, however, the employees at that branch were incompetent or lazy, you could have ordered checks by visiting or calling another branch, or going online. To solve your Online Banking dilemma, you could have called the BB&T Phone24 system. If you received a debit card, it's on the bank: 1-800-BANK BBT. When I first set my account up, I had the same problem, and calling Phone24 solved it (I called not because the employees were incompetent, but because it was during a weekend). Unfortunately, there's absolutely no reason for an employee to say 'it'll take too long' to look up your statement-it only takes a few seconds. I'd suggest talking to the manager of the branch. Onto your final problem: I've read many complaints about BB&T and other banks "ripping people off" and a large number of overdraft complaints have a common catalyst: direct deposits (and even regular deposits) falling on a Friday. If you look at your statements, you'll see your paycheck getting "deposited" twice for that pay period. If you look at the balance, however, you'll see that the 2nd "deposit" is the one that increases the balance. The first is merely a "Notice of Future Deposit", as it says in BB&T systems, which posts on that day at midnight. The actual monetary deposit goes into your acct the next business day at midnight. So if you get paid on the 15th, on the 14th, it'll show the notice of future deposit on your acct, which goes in at midnight. On the 15th at midnight, the money gets deposited, less any withdrawals/purchases you've made. It could be the case that your Friday 'deposit' might be a 'notice of future deposit', and that the money actually went in on Monday midnight. If you use a debit card, it'll deduct the purchase amounts at that time, and most likely your payments will come out of your account a few days later. Here's a useful tip for you: open another BB&T Free account (yes, I know what you're thinking, but hear me out). The first account will primarily deal with your direct deposit/normal deposits/purchases. Your second one, for payments. When your paycheck comes in, make a CASH withdrawal from your direct deposit account for the total amount of your payments for that period, and make a CASH deposit into your new account, the one without direct deposit, right there at the teller window (NEVER at the ATM). Get checks for this new account, write the checks for the payments to the respective companies, and after a few weeks, everything will settle out. It takes a few extra steps than we'd all like, but it definitely ensures your payments will go through, and the payment account, nor your original account, will overdraw. I'm not questioning your math abilities, rather this is the way I was taught when I first opened a checking account at 18. It's an easier way to manage your money. Unfortunately, I can't really suggest anything about BB&T and your insurance company quoting incorrect dates. It might have to do with the fact that your insurance company's bank might get it a few days later from BB&T, and the company then gets it in their systems from their bank. Since there's a few 'hands' the money is going into, it could create a slight discrepancy. My suggestion to you would be to call Phone24 and set up your Online Banking as soon as possible. Some of the things Nighthawk said are correct, but BB&T doesn't process their transactions that way. In actuality, BB&T is one of the few banks that has next day availability. If you make a cash deposit, it's immediately in your account. You wont see it in your statement online that day, but it's there, and the statement online will update the next day. If you make a check deposit, the deposit amount is made available the next business day. As for Current/ledger balances vs Available balances..If any institution processes in Current/ledger balances only, you don't know exactly what you have in your account. Available balances are the 'real' balances, any purchases, deposits, etc will show up. It's what is physically in your account. Current balances only show things that haven't posted yet, purchases don't automatically deduct from the balance, and you're left waiting til the purchase clears your account to know your definite, after the purchase, balance. Anyway, I hope you, and others, will find this information useful. BB&T can't be a bad bank if they're still in business, and if they're one of the top 10 banks in the U.S. And I can't stress this enough, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS use a check register! You can write in how much your deposit was, the individual checks you mailed out, the date of the checks, amounts, as well as a balance.
Nighthawk
Cincinnati,#3Consumer Suggestion
Wed, August 01, 2007
Many of the larger banks are enhancing overdraft fee income by using one or both of these techniques: 1) Debit Card and other electronic activity is "deducted" from the account balance the moment the bank knows about it, even if the item takes a few days to clear - as in the case of your car insurance. The bank has authorized the transaction, so they are on the hook for the money. Anytime you draw on those funds, they're gonna ring the register. 2) The availability of deposited funds is reduced by "float" -- that is the bank won't credit you for the deposit until they get the money. If you're being paid electronically though, there is no float. In most cases for deposits of checks the bank collects from the other bank in 1-2 days, but that availability is not always passed to the customer. The best way to avoid this trap: 1) Use cash or checks and avoid debit cards. 2) Check the website -- pay attention to the available balance - not the ledger. A $1000 deposit may show as $1000 ledger but only $100-200 available. 3) Find a small local bank or credit union and move your account. They tend to be less sophisicated and work off ledger (actual) balances. I hope this helps.