My bank charged me 28$ for a .14 overdraft, and then didn't even pay the charge that incurred trhe overdraft, so I got hit with a fee from the charger.
I'm shocked that's Commerce, because I've had excellent service with them so far. Though I don't doubt your story one bit. Commerce, though from what I understand, is looked down on other banks because their clientele is mostly ham and eggers, college students, and the like. Usually they're more liable to do something about these things.
Wilmington Trust is a terrible fucking bank that, like Than said about Wells Fargo, pretty much only cares about its massive business accounts. They're really bad for doing the "wait until you have little money in your account and then nail your ass", which they did to me hard core and made me go to Commerce. Basically I ordered a gift, and a week and a half later they hit me with three or four charges when I've got $20 in my account.
What I've taken from that is simply to keep cash on you and try as much as you can to pay with cash. Also: fuck check cards in the ass. Debit goes through much much quicker, I believe, and they don't have crazy waiting times.
Not sure if it's been pointed out, but if you have a bunch of small transactions, then one big one that puts you over, many banks will wait to process your smaller transactions until the big one goes through. This means that for every small transaction you did, you get nailed for $20-30, even though you had money in your account at the time. Considering the fact that I use my card like 3-4 times a day on small stuff, it's easy to imagine $1000 racking up pretty quick.
That's really why you need to keep track of what you spend. You CANNOT rely on on-line statements. Wells Fargo likes to do this...
You buy a delicious burrito at Chipotle. You have 75 dollars in your account.
You go out a week later and buy some other stuff... you check your online statement and you now have four dollars in your account.
Bam. Suddenly, the burrito you purchased a week ago appears on your account and you are now overdrawn by a dollar fifty. 35 dollar overdraft.
The online delay is due to when the store actually withdraws the money from your account, I believe. The banks don't lie to you about how much money you have.
Joseph Stalin on
Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.
That's really why you need to keep track of what you spend. You CANNOT rely on on-line statements. Wells Fargo likes to do this...
You buy a delicious burrito at Chipotle. You have 75 dollars in your account.
You go out a week later and buy some other stuff... you check your online statement and you now have four dollars in your account.
Bam. Suddenly, the burrito you purchased a week ago appears on your account and you are now overdrawn by a dollar fifty. 35 dollar overdraft.
The online delay is due to when the store actually withdraws the money from your account, I believe. The banks don't lie to you about how much money you have.
This is the case. Different merchant services (credit card transaction providers) often clear transactions at different speeds...some same business day, some next business day, some not for several business days. This is why you should never simply "trust" an online/ATM balance, but it isn't the bank's fault.
But that shit regarding putting the largest transactions in a day through first, to maximize overdraft fees? Banks totally do that shit. When it happened to me (resulting in 11 overdraft fees instead of what could have been 1) they argued that it's because often large checks are for more "important" things, like mortgages/rent or whatever...and that it's to protect you from things like eviction.
A likely story, I suppose. Then again, it doesn't help for long because now due to the several hundred extra dollars in overdraft fees you fuckers charged me there's no way I'll be paying my rent next month.
I ended up getting all but one of those taken off, though. Go me.
Suffice to say, the banks charge you as much as humanly possible, and hopes you'll pay it unquestioningly, because they are a bunch of fucking scummy companies.
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Wilmington Trust is a terrible fucking bank that, like Than said about Wells Fargo, pretty much only cares about its massive business accounts. They're really bad for doing the "wait until you have little money in your account and then nail your ass", which they did to me hard core and made me go to Commerce. Basically I ordered a gift, and a week and a half later they hit me with three or four charges when I've got $20 in my account.
What I've taken from that is simply to keep cash on you and try as much as you can to pay with cash. Also: fuck check cards in the ass. Debit goes through much much quicker, I believe, and they don't have crazy waiting times.
The online delay is due to when the store actually withdraws the money from your account, I believe. The banks don't lie to you about how much money you have.
Workingmen of all countries, unite!
This is the case. Different merchant services (credit card transaction providers) often clear transactions at different speeds...some same business day, some next business day, some not for several business days. This is why you should never simply "trust" an online/ATM balance, but it isn't the bank's fault.
But that shit regarding putting the largest transactions in a day through first, to maximize overdraft fees? Banks totally do that shit. When it happened to me (resulting in 11 overdraft fees instead of what could have been 1) they argued that it's because often large checks are for more "important" things, like mortgages/rent or whatever...and that it's to protect you from things like eviction.
A likely story, I suppose. Then again, it doesn't help for long because now due to the several hundred extra dollars in overdraft fees you fuckers charged me there's no way I'll be paying my rent next month.
I ended up getting all but one of those taken off, though. Go me.