Complaint Review: Wachovia - Charlotte North Carolina

To make it essier for you, stay away from putting smaller purchases like gas, food in the bank..I used a large envelope with the money and inside of it. So folks just like in grade school..........Now you see the money(this mondy is for spending............Now you don't(oops no money here equals STOP theres no money to over draft.It really not rocket science no matter if you have little money, a middle income or you have tons to spare. There was a time in my life I had 3 - 5 jobs lined up, went down to 2cents in my bnk, but I never overdrafted, never thoughtabout whining about it( it is up to me to get my butt out of my mess and I did) nor did I ever think or usuing the {"poor old sad white mommy with a disablity " as a excuse. Lets all act like adults and if you are having trouble making ends meet get as many jobs take to pull you out of your mess. It is up to YOU to do that. It is YOUR mess after all! Thats the first thing they teach you in kindergarten..........."It is my mess, I have to clean it up" and it is an important one! One many of you have forgotten.

No matter what bank you go to as long as you can subtract debits and add credits, you will be able to avoid fees. so in short: do the math, balance your check register, and avoid OD fees. that simple. any bank will apply OD fees if you are using money that is over your account balance (i.e. money that is not yours). Have a good day

WOW! George, I am absolutely SHOCKED that Wachovia let YOU go. Wachovia is just not the same without you! Did you really have two WHOLE years of being "consistent & educated"? One question, consistent what??? It couldn't possibly be because of your attitude. You've shown everyone here what a bowl of sunshine you are! So, go ahead! Blame someone else. As for all of you dear poor "cheated" people...lol. I know that it is so hard to READ the information you are given. Sorry there are no pictures but, try to stay with me.... If you go to the store and make a purchase w/ your debit card (pin or not), we place it on hold because you've ALREADY RECIEVED A SERVICE. Therefore, those funds ARE U-N-A-V-A-I-L-A-B-L-E. Say it with me now, unavailable. This strangely causes the most confusion so I will continue to break it down... Since those funds are now unavailable to you, it means you authorized joe shmoe merchant to take money from your account in exchange for a service/item that you want. Wachovia did not ask you to buy any thing nor make this purchase on your behalf. We place it on hold in order to help you keep track of your spending. Contrary to popular complaint, WACHOVIA HAS NO CONTROL OVER HOW ITEMS ARE PAID. We pay the item when the merchant gets the receipt to us. Yes, items are paid largest to smallest.. ..blah..blah...and people continue commenting on how "if you keep a register...." and "regardless of the way we process...." but they might as well bang their heads against the wall. I will try and make it as simple as possible. (For those of you who are, I'm sure, still lost.) On July 1st, Your balance is: $20.00 You write a check 7-4-08 for $10.00 this item will take a few days to clear and you KNOW it. You use your check card for $10 on 7-4-08. (Pin or no pin, it still goes on hold. ALL Transactions have to go through "posting" which means-you paid for something so, consider the money gone..WE still have to wait on the merchant to send confirmation of the transaction so we can pay THEM. Recap: you have your goodies...merchant has not been "physically" paid. (i.e.-ever make a purchase on sat -even debit- and call the automated system right after? It will list the purchase w/ a post date of..MONDAY.) With that being said, you make another purchase for $5.00 (again, pin or not) on 7-5-08. Well, aren't you clever? Your direct deposit will go in "at midnight" on monday...so no harm right? HA. If your pay date it Tuesday, then logically, how is it that we are to blame? We SHOW your deposit after midnight, but we do not process it until your employer pays US for the credit. If we waited to show it until we processed Tuesday, you would not have access to the funds until after midnight on,..WEDNESDAY. So, with these two items outstanding, you have an available balance of $5.00. How are we to know that you are check kiting? (which is fraud, by the way). If the check is cashed on Monday,...IF we pay it, you will receive the infamous Unavailable funds fee (hence the name). If we DON'T pay it, you WILL STILL RECEIVE A FEE! -not to mention one from the person you wrote the check to. Now, let's just say for example...monday night the only things processed are the checkcard purchases. Then on Tuesday, the check is cashed. WHEW! that was close! Your direct deposit will cover it, and you got LUCKY. Point: It is totally dependent on you. Write things down, DON'T spend the direct deposit that is "supposed" to be there. We don't have control over it...you know how it works, otherwise it wouldn't "keep happening". I could see if it was a different situation each time but NO! It is the SAME THING! You know that it's risky making the $5 purchase and that it can cause a snow ball effect, but you did it anyway. As for other deposits, the cut off times are posted in the Lobby, at the ATM's, on your RECEIPT ...AND...YOUR DEPOST AGREEMENT* If you didn't read it or understand it, then you should not SIGN the blank that states; I have read terms and agreement and agree. If you needed your "cash" right away,..WHY DIDN'T YOU KEEP IT IN YOUR POCKET? Cause, that would make too much sense. I mean, how on earth would you be able to spend more money than you have then? I hope this was informative, although I'm sure those of you with complaints will continue to point the finger and refuse/argue your case. HA HA. Keep the complaints/blaming up......It's hysterical!

Why are all you employees so vehemently defensive of this corporation? It is just that- a corporation. "Diversity, diversity, diversity," they tout. If that value is so paramount, then why did I find myself at the unemployment office & on the phone with my lawyer after Wachovia threw my a*s to the curb? I was a consistent & educated employee for over two years. They provided alot of excuses, but it boiled down to one simple thing: I knew too much. I was willing to provide information that I wasn't supposed to provide to customers. You can't fight the machine, my friends. Sure, personal responsibility & a balanced chequebook is the only thing you can do.. but some people have never even seen a cheque register. Wachovia will not work with you. They will not budge on their regulations. A long time ago, you worked with an account manager that understood a forgotten principle: customer satisfaction. He sat down with you and (if you were young) showed you the ends & outs of banking & cheque-writing. His mind was set on investing in a valuable asset. This customer would go on to financially improve, eventually taking loans. Now, these banks want your NSF fees. They purposely withhold information. Thank you, Mr. Bank, for your discipline when I come on hard times. I should know better than to place my rent as priority over your precious account. Thanks to your stern regulations, I know not to do that again. This company is so patronizing, they actually expect you to believe that they're doing customers a favor. The same fat, cigar chomping white dudes are still sitting in the same smoky corporate offices they were in the '70's. "How can we use, abuse, & exploit? Well.. according to this pie graph, this demographic is likely to be so uneducated that they'll overdraft, deposit their cheque, pay our fees, & never realize it! Hey, this guy thinks a checkcard is a credit card! That's great! Let's hang "diversity" signs all over the place so they'll feel special. There sure are alot of black people on welfare in the south.. let's build offices down there & hire them with all these benefits they can't get anywhere else due to their local marginilization, but is just chump change to us! Contemporary slavery, yay!" Screw Wachovia & everything for which it stands. This is just my opinion. Go to hell.

Why are all you employees so vehemently defensive of this corporation? It is just that- a corporation. "Diversity, diversity, diversity," they tout. If that value is so paramount, then why did I find myself at the unemployment office & on the phone with my lawyer after Wachovia threw my a*s to the curb? I was a consistent & educated employee for over two years. They provided alot of excuses, but it boiled down to one simple thing: I knew too much. I was willing to provide information that I wasn't supposed to provide to customers. You can't fight the machine, my friends. Sure, personal responsibility & a balanced chequebook is the only thing you can do.. but some people have never even seen a cheque register. Wachovia will not work with you. They will not budge on their regulations. A long time ago, you worked with an account manager that understood a forgotten principle: customer satisfaction. He sat down with you and (if you were young) showed you the ends & outs of banking & cheque-writing. His mind was set on investing in a valuable asset. This customer would go on to financially improve, eventually taking loans. Now, these banks want your NSF fees. They purposely withhold information. Thank you, Mr. Bank, for your discipline when I come on hard times. I should know better than to place my rent as priority over your precious account. Thanks to your stern regulations, I know not to do that again. This company is so patronizing, they actually expect you to believe that they're doing customers a favor. The same fat, cigar chomping white dudes are still sitting in the same smoky corporate offices they were in the '70's. "How can we use, abuse, & exploit? Well.. according to this pie graph, this demographic is likely to be so uneducated that they'll overdraft, deposit their cheque, pay our fees, & never realize it! Hey, this guy thinks a checkcard is a credit card! That's great! Let's hang "diversity" signs all over the place so they'll feel special. There sure are alot of black people on welfare in the south.. let's build offices down there & hire them with all these benefits they can't get anywhere else due to their local marginilization, but is just chump change to us! Contemporary slavery, yay!" Screw Wachovia & everything for which it stands. This is just my opinion. Go to hell.

Why are all you employees so vehemently defensive of this corporation? It is just that- a corporation. "Diversity, diversity, diversity," they tout. If that value is so paramount, then why did I find myself at the unemployment office & on the phone with my lawyer after Wachovia threw my a*s to the curb? I was a consistent & educated employee for over two years. They provided alot of excuses, but it boiled down to one simple thing: I knew too much. I was willing to provide information that I wasn't supposed to provide to customers. You can't fight the machine, my friends. Sure, personal responsibility & a balanced chequebook is the only thing you can do.. but some people have never even seen a cheque register. Wachovia will not work with you. They will not budge on their regulations. A long time ago, you worked with an account manager that understood a forgotten principle: customer satisfaction. He sat down with you and (if you were young) showed you the ends & outs of banking & cheque-writing. His mind was set on investing in a valuable asset. This customer would go on to financially improve, eventually taking loans. Now, these banks want your NSF fees. They purposely withhold information. Thank you, Mr. Bank, for your discipline when I come on hard times. I should know better than to place my rent as priority over your precious account. Thanks to your stern regulations, I know not to do that again. This company is so patronizing, they actually expect you to believe that they're doing customers a favor. The same fat, cigar chomping white dudes are still sitting in the same smoky corporate offices they were in the '70's. "How can we use, abuse, & exploit? Well.. according to this pie graph, this demographic is likely to be so uneducated that they'll overdraft, deposit their cheque, pay our fees, & never realize it! Hey, this guy thinks a checkcard is a credit card! That's great! Let's hang "diversity" signs all over the place so they'll feel special. There sure are alot of black people on welfare in the south.. let's build offices down there & hire them with all these benefits they can't get anywhere else due to their local marginilization, but is just chump change to us! Contemporary slavery, yay!" Screw Wachovia & everything for which it stands. This is just my opinion. Go to hell.

Why are all you employees so vehemently defensive of this corporation? It is just that- a corporation. "Diversity, diversity, diversity," they tout. If that value is so paramount, then why did I find myself at the unemployment office & on the phone with my lawyer after Wachovia threw my a*s to the curb? I was a consistent & educated employee for over two years. They provided alot of excuses, but it boiled down to one simple thing: I knew too much. I was willing to provide information that I wasn't supposed to provide to customers. You can't fight the machine, my friends. Sure, personal responsibility & a balanced chequebook is the only thing you can do.. but some people have never even seen a cheque register. Wachovia will not work with you. They will not budge on their regulations. A long time ago, you worked with an account manager that understood a forgotten principle: customer satisfaction. He sat down with you and (if you were young) showed you the ends & outs of banking & cheque-writing. His mind was set on investing in a valuable asset. This customer would go on to financially improve, eventually taking loans. Now, these banks want your NSF fees. They purposely withhold information. Thank you, Mr. Bank, for your discipline when I come on hard times. I should know better than to place my rent as priority over your precious account. Thanks to your stern regulations, I know not to do that again. This company is so patronizing, they actually expect you to believe that they're doing customers a favor. The same fat, cigar chomping white dudes are still sitting in the same smoky corporate offices they were in the '70's. "How can we use, abuse, & exploit? Well.. according to this pie graph, this demographic is likely to be so uneducated that they'll overdraft, deposit their cheque, pay our fees, & never realize it! Hey, this guy thinks a checkcard is a credit card! That's great! Let's hang "diversity" signs all over the place so they'll feel special. There sure are alot of black people on welfare in the south.. let's build offices down there & hire them with all these benefits they can't get anywhere else due to their local marginilization, but is just chump change to us! Contemporary slavery, yay!" Screw Wachovia & everything for which it stands. This is just my opinion. Go to hell.

Not, I was hoping to possibly help clarify a few things for you as your example stuck a cord with me. As some of you may know, I work in the loss management area for Wachovia. The REAL reason of holds on deposits is quite simple and clearly not to "suck those who are hurting already". Unfortunately their are several people out their whose sole pupose is to attempt to make a quick buck whether its legal or not. On my team alone we see at least 25 counterfeit checks attempted to be deposited or cashed on a daily baises. Now we place holds on these deposits as the other financial institution needs to give the bank final payment on this item and give their customer a chance to validate the item as a good check. If the Bank were to give immediate credit and said crook withdraws the money immediately, then three to 10 days later the bank that the check is drawn on returns the check as counterfeit or even better NSF, who then is stuck holding the bill.....Wachovia. More than likely one will never hear from the crook again and the bank is at a loss for anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands. That is with just one account now lets say the check is on average $2,500.00, then lets multiply it times the 25 per day, then multiply that by 30 days gives a total of $1.875 MILLION dollars of loss in a single month, all because instant credit was given on fraud deposits. This my friend is why the bank will place holds on deposits. It has nothing to do with attempting to get fees, but more to do with attempting to avoid losses. Furthermore, in some states a victim who was the intended payee of a check but did not sign said check has up to TWO years to claim fraud. Thus the bank takes a risk each time a check is released. Thankfully 98% of the time the fraud is reported much sooner. I see that you are with another institution and I am hoping it turns out the best for you. Hopefully though some others will see why the bank truelly places holds on deposits.

Not, I was hoping to possibly help clarify a few things for you as your example stuck a cord with me. As some of you may know, I work in the loss management area for Wachovia. The REAL reason of holds on deposits is quite simple and clearly not to "suck those who are hurting already". Unfortunately their are several people out their whose sole pupose is to attempt to make a quick buck whether its legal or not. On my team alone we see at least 25 counterfeit checks attempted to be deposited or cashed on a daily baises. Now we place holds on these deposits as the other financial institution needs to give the bank final payment on this item and give their customer a chance to validate the item as a good check. If the Bank were to give immediate credit and said crook withdraws the money immediately, then three to 10 days later the bank that the check is drawn on returns the check as counterfeit or even better NSF, who then is stuck holding the bill.....Wachovia. More than likely one will never hear from the crook again and the bank is at a loss for anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands. That is with just one account now lets say the check is on average $2,500.00, then lets multiply it times the 25 per day, then multiply that by 30 days gives a total of $1.875 MILLION dollars of loss in a single month, all because instant credit was given on fraud deposits. This my friend is why the bank will place holds on deposits. It has nothing to do with attempting to get fees, but more to do with attempting to avoid losses. Furthermore, in some states a victim who was the intended payee of a check but did not sign said check has up to TWO years to claim fraud. Thus the bank takes a risk each time a check is released. Thankfully 98% of the time the fraud is reported much sooner. I see that you are with another institution and I am hoping it turns out the best for you. Hopefully though some others will see why the bank truelly places holds on deposits.

Not, I was hoping to possibly help clarify a few things for you as your example stuck a cord with me. As some of you may know, I work in the loss management area for Wachovia. The REAL reason of holds on deposits is quite simple and clearly not to "suck those who are hurting already". Unfortunately their are several people out their whose sole pupose is to attempt to make a quick buck whether its legal or not. On my team alone we see at least 25 counterfeit checks attempted to be deposited or cashed on a daily baises. Now we place holds on these deposits as the other financial institution needs to give the bank final payment on this item and give their customer a chance to validate the item as a good check. If the Bank were to give immediate credit and said crook withdraws the money immediately, then three to 10 days later the bank that the check is drawn on returns the check as counterfeit or even better NSF, who then is stuck holding the bill.....Wachovia. More than likely one will never hear from the crook again and the bank is at a loss for anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands. That is with just one account now lets say the check is on average $2,500.00, then lets multiply it times the 25 per day, then multiply that by 30 days gives a total of $1.875 MILLION dollars of loss in a single month, all because instant credit was given on fraud deposits. This my friend is why the bank will place holds on deposits. It has nothing to do with attempting to get fees, but more to do with attempting to avoid losses. Furthermore, in some states a victim who was the intended payee of a check but did not sign said check has up to TWO years to claim fraud. Thus the bank takes a risk each time a check is released. Thankfully 98% of the time the fraud is reported much sooner. I see that you are with another institution and I am hoping it turns out the best for you. Hopefully though some others will see why the bank truelly places holds on deposits.

Not, I was hoping to possibly help clarify a few things for you as your example stuck a cord with me. As some of you may know, I work in the loss management area for Wachovia. The REAL reason of holds on deposits is quite simple and clearly not to "suck those who are hurting already". Unfortunately their are several people out their whose sole pupose is to attempt to make a quick buck whether its legal or not. On my team alone we see at least 25 counterfeit checks attempted to be deposited or cashed on a daily baises. Now we place holds on these deposits as the other financial institution needs to give the bank final payment on this item and give their customer a chance to validate the item as a good check. If the Bank were to give immediate credit and said crook withdraws the money immediately, then three to 10 days later the bank that the check is drawn on returns the check as counterfeit or even better NSF, who then is stuck holding the bill.....Wachovia. More than likely one will never hear from the crook again and the bank is at a loss for anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands. That is with just one account now lets say the check is on average $2,500.00, then lets multiply it times the 25 per day, then multiply that by 30 days gives a total of $1.875 MILLION dollars of loss in a single month, all because instant credit was given on fraud deposits. This my friend is why the bank will place holds on deposits. It has nothing to do with attempting to get fees, but more to do with attempting to avoid losses. Furthermore, in some states a victim who was the intended payee of a check but did not sign said check has up to TWO years to claim fraud. Thus the bank takes a risk each time a check is released. Thankfully 98% of the time the fraud is reported much sooner. I see that you are with another institution and I am hoping it turns out the best for you. Hopefully though some others will see why the bank truelly places holds on deposits.

If i hear one more sob story im gonna puke! If your money is so important to you (it SURE is to me and i banked with wachovia for 5 years and NEVER had a FEE!!! this is rocket science people!) you would keep an actual register...(and dont say you do because you d**n well know you dont...bc you be checking online and on the atm to see what your balance is and you know its not right!!) maybe set up overdraft protection...or heres an idea....SPEND YOUR MONEY WHEN ITS AVAILABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!! surprise surprise...wachovia isnt the only bank that charges fees, that holds dep and debit card purchases and posts highest to smallest. Matter of fact there are banks that charge a higher fee AND charges additional fees each day its overdrawn and or overbalance. and wouldnt you rather have your rent check, mortgage payment, car payment paid and not rejected than have a mcdonalds purchase post and be covered?? For some of you country bumpkins it maybe hard to fathom counting above 10 with out using your fingers...but if you really keep track of your account you wont have a problem!! Put it this way....if you spend money thats not in your account and you overdraft where do you think that money is coming from?? Its not YOUR money...your actually borrowing money from the bank. Some what like a loan...and EVERYONE knows with a loan you pay interest right?? So what makes you think you can over spend your accout and you fly by??? When theres hard working people out there talking to knuckle heads like you and constantly keep up with there spendings and never have fees...and you guys think that you can just call and call and get your money back right?? negative. get with the program people...if you want someone to babysit you and hold your hand while you wright a check and pray to the money gods theres enough money in your account....i suggest you use a piggy bank...try overdrafting that.

If you are educated, you would know how to balance a checkbook and completely avoid overdraft fees entirely. Similarly, if you are educated (and hardworking as you claim), you would not be facing unemployment and a myriad of other issues which the educated typically do not encounter.

First and foremost, if you bounce a check, do a transaction that causes a net negative balance, pay the fees. End of story. The problem is, these banks are obviously treating your money differently, depending on whether it is coming in or going out. They do so in such a way to get as much money from their customers as possible. Examples include: You cash a check, there is a hold period until the cash is actually available to ensure the funds get to the bank), great. Now company XYZ has a potential transaction that is never carried out. A hold is immediately put on your funds, even though the transaction was never completed and the money never was taken from the bank. In this day and age, a check/debit can clear immediately (for the most part), so why the hold on deposits? If the bank can deny access to your money until "it clears", then they should also grant access until a transaction is passed through... this temp hold BS is nothing more than a means to suck those who are hurting already, dry. I am lucky, my CU is great. I have OD protection with savings, but auto transfers do not happen using debit. My debit card is rejected if I do not have funds in checking (even if they are in savings). Wachovia and others could do the same. I will never bank with the likes of Wachovia (and my wife just closed her account), I will never bank with BOA. They could do something to minimize fees (some banks do). They could post in the order they were received (instead the post withdrawals first and deposits later) or deny debit transactions when the acount reaches a specific level. They do none of it. You will probably never win a lawsuit against these practices, you signed the fine print and you did overdraw. Vote with your feet, go to another bank and tell everyone else to go elsewhere. I expect a financial institution to treat deposits and withdrawals equally (mine posts them as they come in, not in any order. In other words, I have to make a deposit before I spend the cash). There are (I hope) lots of ethical banks and credit unions out there. Give them your business, stay away from those who look for reasons to take all your cash... and most of all, spend only what you have!!

This report is yet another example of complainers attempting to qualify their irresponsibility by throwing out useless statistics of demographics and hyperbole. The fact that you may be an educated (all evidence to the contrary where banks and class action lawsuits are concerned), hard-working mom is completely IRRELEVANT for the purpose of your complaint. Equal protection under the law means just that. The law and accompanying regulations do not make exceptions for single mommies, hard-working mommies, or any other type of mommy. YOU signed an agreement to abide by the terms and conditions of the bank account. Therefore, YOU are responsible for the charges you received via your willingness to spend money BEFORE you had money available to cover the purchases. No rip-off here...just another example of an irresponsible consumer blaming other for her poor choices.

If they were thinking they would not even be in this mess. The majority of us are not bouncing our purchases or checks. We do balance our accounts, we do NOT wait to "get a call from the bank" or whine cause they did not tell us we were in the hole ( I am not one who IS in the hole) and many of us live like my husband and I and stay away from credit cards and we actually have no car payments , so YES we have some cash. No, we are not rich, I've just had my 45th surgery 3 months ago. So I know all about hard times. I've just learned how to live within my means, we live on a budget, a plan and we use CASH ! Somewhere along the way people have forgotten about using CASH and if they would stop using plastic for a stupid cup of coffee then they wouldn't be facing up to 8 NFS fees! Come on people it is not rocket science! Get on a budget, stop over spending and use that green paper , called CASH! It works at all businesses! Honest to God, hard to believe I know! lol Cat

"...I will also push for a law to be passed to make that action illegal - it is very simple really - -make banks process items in order they receive and /or lowest to highest. That's it- period. WHat banks go from lowest to highest - does anyone know? I will gladly switch!!! I really like that you think it is not good enough that you want transactions to be posted in the order they receive them but you want it LOWEST to HIGHEST. The fact is that it transactions are posted highest to lowest, and this is believe it or not the way it has ALWAYS been done. The difference is that before the days of the Debit card people would write checks or use cash. They know if they were close and wrote a check they had a day or so to get money into the account to avoid overdraft fees. But in the "electronic" age, the second you swipe your card(and in some cases if they process the check electronically) the money is gone from your account. In other words the day of the "float" are gone. It is not US Bank's fault for your boss giving you your paycheck a day late. It is your fault for spending money that you did not have in your account. Can you honestly take a step back and think that all of the purchases you made over the weekend were necessary? So the answer is simple, if you can't handle this go back to what people did in the old days and use Cash. At least if you take $40-$80 bucks out of an ATM you may have one OD fee rather than 10 by those several $5 purchases you made.

livingin a refrigerator shipping box. You cannot win the debit card game. I might be able to win the debit card game, but I simply REFUSE to use a debit card.

If youa re so d**n "educated" then why didn't hyou keep a checkbook register/ And why aren't you familiar with how a bank works? Lay off the debit catd for small purchases.