Amy
Carrollton,#2Consumer Comment
Thu, August 18, 2005
You have three different balances on the Compass system: your collected, your posted and your available balances. Confusing huh? Your posted balance is what you end with after all credits and debits have posted to your account at midnight of that business day. Your available balance takes that balance minus any incoming electronic checks (due to check 21 processing) and adds in any direct deposits the following morning. Your collected balance is what the bank has actually collected from all of the checks that you deposit (they give you next day availability on all deposits if there is no hold placed, and then it takes a few days for them to collect that money from the other banks.) Under the new EDP system, any checks that come into the banking system in the morning through the check 21 electronic process are considered EDP items and will post first. Your direct deposit comes in in the mornings as well, but they are conveniently considering this a same day item, meaning it will post last behind any EDP items. Which is what happened to me. I waited until the direct deposit was in my account and in my available balance before I made some online payments. But according to the new system, since the deposit was not in my posted or collected balance, and even though I had access to the funds because they made them available to me, some of the online payments came through first (again, even though I made them AFTER the direct deposit) and were processed as EDP items that night before my direct deposit. Neat, huh? For many years once your direct deposit was in your account, that was that. You could use that money right away. And technically you still can, but you have to watch out because you may get fees. That is what I mean when I say that I cannot beleive this process is legal. The money has been transferred and collected from the other bank(electronic funds are always good, collected funds) and they put it in your available balance and allow you to use it. I left the bank at the first of the year just as this new system was going into effect. It is a nightmare and I'm not kidding when I say that even the people who work there cannot explain it to a customer. I can't understand it and I worked in banks for 12 years! I truly feel sorry for the customers. It is one thing to intentionally bounce a check or try to float a check and hope your deposit makes it in first, but when a bank changes their system that had been in place for many years and then doesn't bother to explain the changes to the customer, that is not ethical. I'm sure they sent out some notice to everyone in banking language that no one can comprehend. The bottom line is, I wouldn't spend beyond what is in your posted balance from the night before. Even if your direct deposit is there and available for withdrawal, I would wait until it posts to your balance that night and then begin using it the next day. That's why I almost think it's better to take your darn check to the bank and get cash in hand. Sad, isn't it? I'm sorry for the long-winded explanation. I just really want to let people know what is going on because at $36 a pop, those fees are tough to take and add up really fast. And I can also tell you that since the new system went into effect, most banking centers have seen their fee income rise considerably. Which is of course their intention. Not all banks are evil or are out to get everyone, but yes, they do devise ways to make extra fee income. That is their biggest moneymaker.
Doug
Houston,#3Consumer Comment
Wed, August 17, 2005
Really appreciate the info you posted. A couple of things were not real clear to me though. You said that "if you didn't have enough in your collected balance then you will be charged a fee even though you have the money available to you." What is "collected balance?" I understand "posted" and "available" but not what "collected balance" is. Is what you are saying is that if you have say $100 in "posted balance", $1100 in "available balance" (as if a $1000 direct deposit was made that day)that if a $200 check is presented that same day it will be treated as NSF because the $100 "posted balance" is not sufficient to cover the $200.00 check? Really appreciate the info you have posted. I have never been hit with an NSF fee at Compass YET, but it sure looks like they will do anything they can to generate one!