Complaint Review: Wachovia - Nationwide

Because Debit (using your PIN) transactions are usually taken out of your account that night, although Wachovia sometimes does come out the next day. Bottom line, spend 30 bucks and buy MS Money or Quicken, and keep a check register, and balance your checkbook. It isn't that hard! Mike

This debit card fees issue has been beaten to death here. You can do the following: 1. Close your account at big, bad, greedy, terrible, Wachovia. 2. Now feel righteous about having closed your account at big, bad, greedy, terrible Wachovia. 3. Open a a NEW account at another, and friendlier, bank. 4. Get and use a new debit card from your new, friendlier, bank. 5. Have the same problem(s) again with your new friendlier bank that you have had at Wachovia. Unless, of course, you stop running your account near empty when you use your debit card, and you keep a very careful account register. OR- you simply STOP USING DEBIT CARDS! Use a credit card instead, and pay the ENTIRE balance off EVERY month. NEVER accumulate a running balance. Better yet, also look for a card with a simple rewards program like a 1% refund on your monthly charges placed into your bank account every quarter. Credit unions offer these. Read Consumer Reports Jan 08 issue for a discussion of credit cards & some of the better rewards program credit cards. And if you do happen to miss a payment and pay 15%/year on a $500 balance once a year, it would amount to $5 which is less than getting dinged $35 multiple times. Also you have some protections (by law) with a credit card. You have NO protections (by law) with a debit card.

... I think what happened to you is ridiculous. The first fee you received was an unavailable funds fee. As mentioned before the $32.88 was deducted as a hold on the 9th (and reflected in the available balance) which caused an item posting on the 9th (probably purchased on the 7th or 8th) to go into overdraft. Now, when it gets a little sketchy is when the $32.88 transfers from a hold to a post. That's where the second fee came from. Objectively, you legitimately overdrew your account once. I think you would only be responsible for one of those fees. However, the way Wachovia (and a majority of large banks) process transactions maximize the amount of fees that can be charged. Which, I admit... is ridiculous. I used to get in arguments with my managers all the time over these things so I could get authorization to override our maximum fee refund authorization for these types of fees. It got heated sometimes. I think the unavailable funds fees are wrong. Although we may seem stalwart in our defense of the bank's policies when talking to you we are probably just as irritated by them as you. And, depending on who you get... they might just be working as hard as they can to help you. Unfortunately, even us have our limitations.

I recently went into a Wachovia to cash one of my customers checks,they said there would be a $5.00 charge because i did not have an account there.Well ,needless to say i did not cash my check there.i was given the "every bank does it".that may be so,but with all the banks that we have and the number of banks that are whining that their hurting ,why would they do anything that would set them selves apart from one another.i have been a member of a credit union for 30 years and NEVER a problem. I say GO CREDIT UNIONS!!!! Help stamp out corporate greed!!!

is by the customer. If you consistently keep your register and do not overspend your account you will not be accessed fees. However, if you consistently don't keep a register and spend money you don't have you will consistently give money to the bank in fees. One correction on the other employees response: purchases at gas stations do not create a hold unless you use the debit portion of the card. If you use the card as credit (meaning you do not input your PIN) then the gas charge will not affet/show until it posts.

When these banks are consistent and treat money out the same way they treat deposits, then I would agree they are not trying to rape the consumer. You put money in, you cannot have access to it until the other bank transfers it out of the other account. On the other hand, when a card is swiped, a hold is placed on the cash, even though the transaction may or may not take place. What is it? When the money actually transfers or when there is an electron that says it is possible that it may happen in the next year? It depends on what will make them the most money. Walk to a financial institution that is fair!! I cannot speak for all, but Credit Unions seem (that I have dealt with) to treat customers much better than banks.

I am a current empoyee and relatively new to the banking business. Therefore, I still think like a consumer rather than a long term banker blinded by the need for fee income. The reality is that ALL mid to large banks have the same policies and procedures. If you are not responsibly keeping track of your account balance, you have no right to complain. I agree however, that the penalty is excessive and the system is too complicated for the average person to understand. I will try to explain how the system works and how to avoid paying fees. 1st You must keep an accurate and up to date checkbook register. Don't rely on atm receipts or electronic telephone banking. 2nd Your deposit must be made by 2pm (cash or check) to be posted the same day. 3rd If you maintain a low balance in your checking account, use your checkcard cautiously. (Checkcard holds are responsible for more than 50% of nsf fees collected.) If you don't want to pay fees, then DON'T USE THE d**n CARD! Checkcard holds The frustrating thing about this process is that 1 mistake can cause 10 items to bounce. For example: On Friday morning you have a balance of $105. You make 10 purchases over the weekend totaling $100. Let's say that one purchase was $50 and the rest were small. Then on Monday you need gas and spend $60 to fill up your car. The $60 is immediately held and therefore no longer available to cover posting items. Therefore you now have a negative $55 available balance and a $105 posted balance. Because of the $60 hold you will only have $45 available to pay the 10 purchases from the weekend. Banks always process items in order of greatest to least. That means the one $50 purchase will bounce and each of the 9 smaller ones will as well. You just paid the bank $350. On Tuesday you will give them another $35 for the gas purchase. If you had simply withdrawn $100 from the atm and paid cash for those 10 purchases. You would have only paid 2 fees for $70. Other ways to protect yourself Don't draw you account down to $0. Set up a reserve of $100. I learned how not to get fees as a college student 14 years ago with BOA then Nations. If you decide to keep a minimum of $100 in you account, you will never be overdrawn. I personally maintain a $200 minimum. If you only use atm or checkcard, you can request you account be set to paynone. This does not work if you are writing checks. Basically this function will reject your purchase if it is going to overdraw your account by one penny. No purchase equals no fees. Set up overdraft protection. You can link a savings, additional checking, credit card or other line of credit to your account. If you overdraw, the funds will be taken from the second account provided there are sufficient funds in it. Meet with the Financial Center Manager at your local branch. Let them educate you on how to manage your account to avoid fees. Wachovia does truly care about our customers and their financial well being. Of course in a company with 120,000 employees there are bound to be some bad apples. I have seen 58 Financial specialists terminated for unethical practices and a few employees for consistent poor service. I have also seen employees disciplined for providing poor service to one individual even though they usually provided good service to everyone. Wachovia expects every customer to be treated with courtesy and respect.

You and your wife are giving it to them through fees. You'll find yourself in this situation so long as you make charges when there are not enough funds to cover them.