Complaint Review: Wachovia Bank - Nationwide

Hate to burst your bubble on the order of posting. Here's how Wachovia does the posting for each business day. Deposits/credits for that day, then debits, then fees. Then the next business day starts. That means if your direct deposit is for Friday, it will post Friday at midnight. It will be available to you for use Friday morning after the posting for Thursday is done. But it is not available to pay anything posting Thursday night.

This is exactly what I am complaining about and just another way for banks to get fraudulent fees!

I'd like to clarify the information on Check 21. First of all it's not new. The federal government authorized it in 1996. What the act allows is that banks do not have to send your paper check to your bank for processing. They can send an electronic representation. What this means is that when you purchase something at the store and they deposit it into their account, their bank can send the representation to the bank the check is drawn on for payment. This means the check can post from your account the day after you write it. It eliminates the "beat it to the Bank" deposit. I know this is a bit off the original complaint, but it fits in with the responses of a couple of other people. Please do not use checks or Debit Card to spend more money than is in your account and you will not have fees. Additionally I recommend that you are aware of the cutoff time for same day business. This determines if your deposit posts to your account the same day you make it or the next business day. each bank has their own rules on this, I strongly urge everyone to contact their bank and determine what the cutoff times are for branch, ATM and online banking. In closing, Merill, I'm sorry to hear that this happened to you. I hope that we can keep you as a customer.

I went into my bank today and the manager was telling me about this new thing. It's called Check 21. When you write a check to someone, or a merchant, usually you think if they deposit it today, it will clear your bank tomorrow. This is no longer with Check 21. With Check 21, the bank will automatically take it out of your account at the time of the deposit. So even if someone goes to their own bank to cash or deposit your check, it will be like them going directly to your bank. Their bank will automatically take it out of you bank. Just like some merchants do. No more checks clearing only after banking hours, now they will clear during the day too. Even though we don't write checks too often anymore, just thought I'd let you all know.

Merril, Although Nikki's response was very good, I'll summarize it for you. Keep an accurate checkbook register and ONLY spend money AFTER it posts to your account and you will never pay NSF fees. Guaranteed. It has been working for me for almost 30 years. And, most banks process checks/debits before processing deposits/credits. This is also fully disclosed in your terms and conditions that came with your account, and you get about twice a year with your statement. but who reads that stuff, right? No fraud. No ripoff. Just poor account management.

I used to work for a bank years ago, but no longer. However, here's a little info on how it works. First, Merrill, you have misunderstood the difference between uncollected funds and NSF. Uncollected funds are where the money is technically in your bank, but because you deposited checks, there is a hold. The money cannot be used until the hold is off and that's why transactions you place bounce for uncollected funds. The bank feels that until they have collected on the deposited checks, they are uncollected (even though we all know they collect way before the hold comes off). NSF is non-sufficient funds and we all know that means there is not enought funds, period. The bank has the choice of still paying the transactions for your convenience, but they charge the fee anyway. Also, the reason some credit transactions made through your debit card post earlier than others is this. The merchant runs your card when you make a purchase, which places a hold on your account, but does not actually post to your account. Then, when the merchant wants to, they run their batch (their entire charges for the time period of their choosing). When they run their batch, this tells their bank to pull the money out of your account and place it into theirs. This is when the charge actually posts to your account. Most small businesses run their batches at the end of each day, or sometimes only after a few charges, since they usually need the money right away. Many large businesses may run their batches every two or three days, usually if they have to send the accounting to a central accounting office. The money will not come out of your account until the batch is run. Now, if a merchant only runs their batch once a week, it may be a problem for people who do not keep a checkbook register. For example, I often shop at Babie's R Us. Sometimes they run their batch a week later. So my bank will place a hold on the funds when I place the charge. Then after 3-4 days, the hold comes off my account. Then about 2 days later, their batch is run and the debit posts to my account. For 2 days there is no hold on the money in my account, and I have to remember not to use it because it will come out eventually. This is why charges do not post to your account in the order you placed them. If you debit at the register (use your pin number) the charge posts immediately. The running of the batches means nothing in this instance.

I know that my checks will clear electronically, but at least they won't be putting a hold on double the funds until the check clears. It will be clearing the same time as the deposits and not instantaniously like debit cards. I have purchased something onlne and 5 minutes later it is in the check card hold area of my account.

I have had a run in recently with Wachovia and my story is posted here as the customer from Newton, NC. I was trying to gather people together because I had contacted the news about the issue and they are interested in doing a story on it. A couple notes: I have found a bank that takes all deposits same day, no matter if it is after 2pm or not and no matter if it is check or cash. Wachovia said every bank is the same and no deposit is available same day if made after 2pm. Also, Wachovia takes the largest purchase first, no matter if it was the last transaction or not. We had things processing from 3 days earlier, and a purchase of $761.00 went in before all of those purchases. Me being mistaken about deposits being automatically available aside, if transactions taken in correct order then I would have had one $35.00 fee not $980.00 that they charged me. Let me know, as the news people said, "there is strength in numbers." Jonathan (((ROR REDACTED E-MAIL ADDRESS FOR SECURITY PURPOSES))) CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

now most merchants clear checks electronically meaning they clear as fast if not faster than a debit or credit card tied to your checking or savings accounts