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Overdraft Fees
wallabeeX
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Let me preface this advice thread by saying that this was incredibly irresponsible of me, financially. It's obvious I need to get my ass in gear, but I'm interested in hearing people's experience and advice:
I've recently relocated from the Northeast to LA, for my career. I was unemployed on arriving here in late August, but found a job in a matter of days and it's been a literal blur since then. I've been working between 60 and 80 hours a week, often weeks at a time without a day off (by choice).
So, my issue is that I'm still operating off of my Northeast bank. I get paid biweekly and I'm usually very good about sending off the check to the Northeast. I keep thinking "I'll set up a bank when I have a day off". My day finally came, tomorrow, and so I logged into my checking account only to realize that I had entirely forgotten to send off my last paycheck (sitting in it's envelope, stamped and addressed, in my bag). The company I work for is in a holiday lull, so I just bought plane tickets to home and it knocked me negative. I bought a bunch of things after that negative balance, 13 to be exact, and I'm looking at just under $400 in overdraft fees.
Now, the obvious step is to get money into that account as soon as possible. Given that I can only mail the check out, I called a favor in from a friend and he's wiring me the amount of the negative balance and I should be in the green by tomorrow morning. I'm seeing him on Monday and paying him in full, so this is my best bet.
My plan is to try to call the bank tomorrow and negotiate waiving or reducing my fees. Does anyone have any advice or experience with this? I haven't overdrafted in years - since college, routinely have $3-5,000 in it, and I've maintained an account with this company for the last eight years. Given that I'll probably be cancelling my account with this bank and getting a nationwide, bicostal bank, I'm happy to use any kind of convincing argument.
I've recently relocated from the Northeast to LA, for my career. I was unemployed on arriving here in late August, but found a job in a matter of days and it's been a literal blur since then. I've been working between 60 and 80 hours a week, often weeks at a time without a day off (by choice).
So, my issue is that I'm still operating off of my Northeast bank. I get paid biweekly and I'm usually very good about sending off the check to the Northeast. I keep thinking "I'll set up a bank when I have a day off". My day finally came, tomorrow, and so I logged into my checking account only to realize that I had entirely forgotten to send off my last paycheck (sitting in it's envelope, stamped and addressed, in my bag). The company I work for is in a holiday lull, so I just bought plane tickets to home and it knocked me negative. I bought a bunch of things after that negative balance, 13 to be exact, and I'm looking at just under $400 in overdraft fees.
Now, the obvious step is to get money into that account as soon as possible. Given that I can only mail the check out, I called a favor in from a friend and he's wiring me the amount of the negative balance and I should be in the green by tomorrow morning. I'm seeing him on Monday and paying him in full, so this is my best bet.
My plan is to try to call the bank tomorrow and negotiate waiving or reducing my fees. Does anyone have any advice or experience with this? I haven't overdrafted in years - since college, routinely have $3-5,000 in it, and I've maintained an account with this company for the last eight years. Given that I'll probably be cancelling my account with this bank and getting a nationwide, bicostal bank, I'm happy to use any kind of convincing argument.
wallabeeX on
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The negative balance happened on the 18th, I made 13 purchases after that happened. 6 of them occurred on the 18th, and 7 of them today.
When I called my bank they offered me a one time 'good faith adjustment' where they remove all the charges this one time only. You might call them up and see if they can offer you something similar. They might they might not. Things like overdraft fees provide a lot of extra revenue which is why they have steadily increased over the last six year period.
Shogun Streams Vidya
When I had to do this, I acknowledged that I messed up, apologized, and asked if they could help me. Banks deal with jerks all day long, so as long as you're polite, they're often ready to help.
My bank only charges $25 instead of the expected $30 for overdrafts that are the first (or second) to occur in six months. These rates are determined by day and not by item, so for all the overdrafts that occurred yesterday, and today, I was charged $5 less than I thought on each.
Second, they only apply the fee for the first six items of the day. So my first day only cost a max of $150, and today only cost $125 (it was actually 9 the first day, 5 the second). $275 is a lot better than $400. And it also makes me a little more happy going into talking to them on the phone tomorrow and bargaining for a half-fee of $130.
The tip about setting up overdraft protection on the spot is great.
It's sort of a service. There are a couple of scenarios in which this can be a lifesaver:
But what tends to happen is something closer to this:
There are really only two situations when overdraft protection becomes a problem:
- When you aren't accurately keeping tabs of your purchases
- When somebody else (mistakenly or maliciously) overcharges you
In the first case, it's your own fault for being careless and not keeping a cash cushion, and in the second case, they're at least liable for any charges you've incurred through their wrongdoing.And the last thought on the matter: Ask your bank remove overdraft protection from your account if you'd rather just have your card declined for insufficient funds!
Also, if your CC has a reasonable limit it will get declined.
I couldn't be assed dealing with it, so I just left it.
Went into the bank a month or two later about something unrelated, they saw it, and refunded me.
My bank rocks.
That is all.
I'm in Australia by the way.
I've something set up like this also with my credit union - a $500 line of credit (9% interest rate) which any overdrafts will automatically hit.
If you are living paycheck-to-paycheck, or are always worrying about overdrawing your account, AND you have a credit card, get your bank to remove overdraft protection from your bank account. This way if you have insufficient funds and you try to use your debit card, your card will be rejected. Then you can just use your credit card instead.
Overdraft "protection" is the biggest misnomer ever.
It must, as I've never heard of a single instance of overdraft charges from a debit card.
You're wrong. I'm Canadian and I've seen it many times.
It definitely is same day though. Having a debit run through months later does not happen anywhere that I've seen, and Canada has always been ahead of the US when it comes to debit cards so maybe that's part of it.
I'd rather not have the "service" of overdraft on my debit card unless it was covered and not going to ding me $30 each time for that service. Emergencies are for the credit card.
DO NOT TRUST YOUR ONLINE BALANCE, OR EVEN ONE BY THE PHONE.
Get quicken, or a free program to keep track of your spendings.
QFT... i called all of my banks on a whim once to see if i could cancel this "useful service"... and i can't... there's no way HSBC, Bank of America, Chase, or Commerce Bank will just reject purchases if you go beyond your balance
that's why i use credit cards... and pay them off once at month end
I also love how most of my banks prioritize your purchases... so if you have $2000 in your account and you buy ten things for $1 and then write a $2000 check, they'll put the check through 1st, and then charge you $35 overdraft for each of the $1 purchases
I was looking for advice from people who have effectively reduced or eliminated some or all of their existing overdraft fees once it's occurred. I'm aware of the different alternatives to overdrafting, and perhaps I should persue them, but it honestly hasn't been an issue in years. I make plenty of money and usually have a thousand dollar buffer at LEAST.
My friend tells me my account should be in the green later today - when that happens, I'll call the bank and politely talk to them about my recent overdrafts, the fees that were applied, and what can be done to eliminate those fees. When they turn me down, I'm going to ask to speak with their manager, ask that person if my fees can be eliminated. When he turns me down, I'm going to ask to close my account that's been open with them for seven years and tell them I'm going to go find a bank that respects that, once every few years, people make huge mistakes.
We'll see how it goes. Worst that'll happen is I chalk this up to a $250 mistake and go open a local credit union account where this type of thing wouldn't happen.
Neither have I, but apparently people in this very thread have.
As for something back on topic, I have good credit and held my account in pretty good standing for years as well, and from my experience you can usually get a break if you go in and talk to someone so long as you're not always coming in to ask for these breaks.
Definitely do not mention that you'll be leaving the bank shortly, no need for you to do that and it may impact their decision to grant any kind of leniency.
water spirals the wrong way out the sink
The first is why I have a credit card, the second is why I simply keep track of my finances. Don't people still have the books that come with your checks when you open a checking account so you can keep track of everything?
This is good advice and hit me today. $16 to get it in the account, $20 from his end. Fees just keep adding up! Never doing this again. Next account I set up will have overdraft shut off. I'd rather be turned down at the cashier for my latte.
That may be harder than you think, as mentioned earlier in the thread.
So yeah, not impossible.
Still, considering how On-Line bank balances in the U.S. are NEVER accurate, they should really stop trying to sell us on that being a useful feature. Cause it isn't.
Not everybody can get a credit card. If you don't run yourself into debt in college, it can be prohibitively difficult, even if you don't have "problem" credit -- in the American system, you generally have to have debt to get more debt.
Anyone can get a credit card. As to how much your limit is and what the interest is that really depends. I had no problem at 18 getting a shitty Capital One Card with no debt, no credit history, anything.
You're right, anyone can get a credit card when they are 18. And that's how many get into debt and are later refused credit cards. Happened to me, and it took me a good two years after paying my debts before I got a credit card that didn't have one of those stupid yearly fees.
Also, I know it's too late already, but Quicken and several other companies offer their online software for free. I use the physical copy of Quicken, and I love it.
As for negotiating your way out of some or all of your overdraft fees, the odds are in your favor - and the plan you mentioned above is a good one. Good luck!
The Best in Terms of Pants on JCCC3
You were 18, which is the prime age for "unproven borrowers" to get a line of credit. Try that trick again at, say, 28, and I think you'll have a different experience. A friend of mine just went through this, and he wound up with a $99 activation fee and a $99 annual fee on a $300 limit card. This is pretty off-topic, though, so meh.