Worst fucking timing ever...[BoA and Overdraft, hooray!]
1ddqd
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Little background - I've never really been able to save much money, so to shore up that shortcoming, I'm moving back in with my parents. Key problem; I have no money until tomorrow (15th, at midnight). In fact, I am negative.
See, the problem is, on Friday I went out and celebrated with some friends (I spent EXTREMELY frugally). Saturday and Sunday morning I spent some time on my account, checking finances, etc.
Fast forward to 10/13: all the weekend charges hit. No problem, except I had assumed on 10/12 that everything had gone through. There were 7 charges... totalling $35.
At BoA, the overdraft fee is $35. I have overdraft protection, but had recently hit my ($1,000) limit on my card. So no protection there. Hm. I called the customer service people just a second ago and begged for them to hold them for a day - the overdrafting happened on 10/13, the fees are pending as of 10/14.
The problem is that my direct deposit goes in tonight (10/15, midnight, 12:00:01 AM). Had those charges skipped a day, my account wouldn't be overdrawn - now, I'm facing a 6AM (my time) call to BoA to see if I can get these reduced or dropped. Any tips on getting things taken care of? Negotiation techniques? I fully agree that I should have watched my spending more closely, but I can't believe that in this day and age, I'd be screwed over by 24 hours.
See, the problem is, on Friday I went out and celebrated with some friends (I spent EXTREMELY frugally). Saturday and Sunday morning I spent some time on my account, checking finances, etc.
Fast forward to 10/13: all the weekend charges hit. No problem, except I had assumed on 10/12 that everything had gone through. There were 7 charges... totalling $35.
At BoA, the overdraft fee is $35. I have overdraft protection, but had recently hit my ($1,000) limit on my card. So no protection there. Hm. I called the customer service people just a second ago and begged for them to hold them for a day - the overdrafting happened on 10/13, the fees are pending as of 10/14.
The problem is that my direct deposit goes in tonight (10/15, midnight, 12:00:01 AM). Had those charges skipped a day, my account wouldn't be overdrawn - now, I'm facing a 6AM (my time) call to BoA to see if I can get these reduced or dropped. Any tips on getting things taken care of? Negotiation techniques? I fully agree that I should have watched my spending more closely, but I can't believe that in this day and age, I'd be screwed over by 24 hours.
1ddqd on
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Switch.
but they're listening to every word I say
A) They're changing the overdraft fee set-up.
and
Good luck trying to get your fees revoked, though. I'll cross my fingers for you.
it was my first overdraft in 11 years
my first overdraft ever
if the business day closes, you're pretty much screwed. They took one 35 dollar charge away and that's it.
BoA is also notorious for switching the timing of your funds around so you hit the overdraft fees
it sucks
and ALSO pay attention to your finances ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS
the customer service guy was frankly rude as HELL and I talked to the supervisor but they said it's policy only to forgive 1 charge so screw it
BoA is terrible with this sort of thing
switch banks
What I'm saying is, about the charges being removed? Don't bank on it.
This. Fuck BofA right in the ass. I dumped them 10 years ago and switched to a local credit union. Much better customer service. If I need cash I pay by debit at the grocery store and get cash back or find a ATM in the CUs network. If I need to deposit a check, besides my CU, there are tons of affiliated CUs that I can deposit my check with them and the funds go right into my account assuming its not an unusually large check. the only banking I don't do with my CU is student loans, only because when I started school they didn't offer them. My loans are through Wells Fargo, and I have to say that their student loan department is awesome. Every time I have called WF the staff has been friendly, knowledgeable, thorough in their explanations, and answers the phone almost immediately.
Switch. Banks. Now.
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Their policies are ridiculous, as far as overdrafts. They process transactions from largest to smallest, because they say that way the bigger purchases (which may be rent or other bill payments) will go through. Actually, though, it just means those 5 times you had lunch at Taco Bell and spent $0.99 on a double decker taco = 5x the overdraft fees. How convenient.
I need to switch, too.
If they do reduce the chargers, you should still take your business elsewhere because BoA is jerks.
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
That may not work, though, because they're used to dealing with people pissed off at huge lumps of overdraft sitting in their accounts. Switch banks ASAP.
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
they are just so damn convenient where i live
I've noticed that even a pending ++check may be held until they clear the remaining debits, which they currently do largest to smallest, before 8pm be damned.
BoA is making more on overdraft, currently, than they are on credit cards. It's become a multi-billion dollar industry.
Honestly, I haven't had many problems that *weren't* my fault (like overdrafts) but not having (at least some) compassion rates low on my "importance-to-me" scale. My g/f has been singing Wells Fargo's praises for a long time now, so I may switch, depending on how it goes. There are 2 banking centers within 5 miles of me, so if it doesn't work at one, I'll go to the other.
Update this afternoon!
Just don't overdraft?
Been with them for years, and I have 0 complains. Even got my money back from a gym who renewed my membership even after I had cancelled (they said otherwise).
I swear, they really need to teach how to balance a checkbook (debit card?) in school nowadays.
EDIT:
Wait, am I reading correctly and you already had overdraft fees removed before? Cause if that's the case:
1) No way they're going to take any more off.
2) Learn to keep better track of your money.
Seriously, if they give you trouble, find a new bank.
The overdrafts were over 2 years ago, and happened while I was looking for a job. They understood and I got a job the next week, so money was had.
This particular situation has to do with breaking a lease in our current apartment due to a roommate issue, the cost of which has drained my funds. And to refute your argument (while acknowledging flaws in my own) I *do* keep track of my finances - I have the BoA line to my acct balance on speed dial, takes me straight to my balance. The flaw?
Transactions from 10/08 took over 5 days to actually post, so the balance was incorrectly reported. So yeah, I should keep better mental note (or even a register) of my finances - something I shouldn't have to worry about if transactions would simply post (or PEND even) the same day I make them.
Wachovia posts funds that day as long as you get it in by 1, and you can track ALL of your transactions online, through the weekend. Even things which are just pending. When i signed up, I also got a card I can use to erase all overdraft charges on my account for one year from the day I opened the account.
Also, their customer service is fucking stellar. Number one ranked for years, IIRC.
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@hoodiethirteen
That said, keeping super-close track of your finances is usually overkill. But when you're drained and have practically no money? That would be the perfect time to do so.
Well, that's not entirely true. They asked me some questions like how much my wife and I made, did some calculations, and then told me to go fuck myself.
That being said, it seems everybody complaining about BoA are people who have overdrafted. I don't see how a bank charging you when you've overdrafted makes them evil. Watch your finances better people!
It's much more than that. I deal with BoA every day in my work assisting homeowners facing foreclosure. They lag behind almost every other major player in the industry for assisting people.
The issue with ofterdraft charges is bigger than their existence. They don't allow borrowers to opt out (that seems like it will change) but the largest issue is how they manipulate transactions. Take this:
Starting balance of $541
8:00AM: Coffee $2 - Balance $539
10:00AM: Lunch $15 - Balance $524
10:45AM: Car Inspection $40 - Balance $484
1:00PM: Coffee $2 - Balance $482
5:00PM: Loan Payment $500 - Balance $-18 OVERDRAFT $35 CHARGE
Now, BoA clears all transactions in order from highest to lowest:
5:00PM: Loan Payment $500 - Balance $41
10:45AM: Car Inspection $40 - Balance $1
10:00AM: Lunch $15 - Balance $-14 OVERDRAFT $35 CHARGE
8:00AM: Coffee $2 - Balance $-16 OVERDRAFT $35 CHARGE
1:00PM: Coffee $2 - Balance $-18 OVERDRAFT $35 CHARGE
It's more than just "Overdraft fees suck", it's that BoA openly manipulates transactions to charge consumers more than they actually should.
I've also noticed that it takes longer to clear checks when other transactions are pending. Why might that be?
The moral is to be responsible with your money, but the charges levied by BoA are oftentimes unfair.
Yeah, BofA is dumb, and I don't doubt that they manipulate charges... However, just for general information, even if your bank is sane (like the credit union I work for) and charges stuff when they get it, it doesn't mean it'll be the same order you did it in real life. Visa is a giant sloppy network of subprocessors and merchants and broken terminals and you never know what it's going to do. I've seen PIN-based debits (that are supposed to be immediate) clear hours or days later, credit charges come though without ever placing a hold, holds for hundreds of dollars for a $5 transactions, and really anything else you can think of.
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
As an added bonus, we don't deal with change with this method, we just round up. So if a cup of coffee is $2.16 we book it for $3.00. This means we essentially just saved .84 cents. This way we always have more in our account than what our balance actually reflects.
This. I've overdrafted exactly once in my life, and it was because BofA held a check I'd written for weeks longer than necessary (literally, about a month later), then cleared it when I didn't have enough to cover it. My fault for not watching for it to fully clear (actually, it did clear but then was "pending" again a few days later), but I found that a bit odd. Hearing and reading that they make all their money in overdraft fees doesn't exactly make me feel confident that I'm not being intentionally ripped off. I need to switch too.
But yeah, threaten to switch. And then do switch if they refuse to remove the charges. BofA is terrible.