CommentPage 1 of 3
I've devoted hours and hours to studying Bank of America's "accounting" and this is what I've discovered: During the course of the week they will "recredit" monies to your account that had already been deducted leading you to believe you have more money than you really do. Then they will put those old transactions back through along will all the new charges resulting in multiple overdrafts if you have a low balance and aren't wary of your "true" balance and are using "their" balance. They will even undo transactions that have already posted and "reshuffle the deck" so to speak to get even more overdrafts. Call B ofA (1-800-622-8731) every morning for a week and listen to your balance and see if you don't "mysteriously" have more money in there for some reason even though you've made no new deposits. I pay cash for everything now because I can't afford $38.90 lattes.  Comments (22) |  |
| 1. Written by Lowrolla, on 23-02-2010 17:16 How strange that I would discover this old post almost exactly 2 years later to the day. Anyway, I've been free of Banking off America's slimy practices for 2 years now and have been very satisfied with my local credit union. Thank you Dale H. for the nice acknowlegement. I hope I made a dent in B of A's revenue stream with this thread. They've already repaid the government TARP money with 1000's and 1000's of overdraft fees so they can go back to getting their lavish bonuses. I think the comment from GETACLUE22 is just shillt from a shill. Overdraft fees are becoming a bigger and bigger piece of the revenue pie for banks; replacing interest income. I've gotten rid of all my credit card debt also by converting them into personal loans. 2007 was the best year ever for banks. They made 19 billion off credit cards. In 2008 their profit dropped drastically to 6.5 billion due to a lot of defaulting customers. They are scrambling to come up with new tricks to maintain their greedy profit targets. Switch over to a credit union if you live on the edge like me and can't afford to keep a cushion in your checking account. This is essentially a war people! I work too hard in construction to let these parasites suck on my paycheck. |
| 2. Written by maco roca, on 23-02-2010 15:39 i wish i have 10 pages to post my hated for this #$@%&%$ bank of bad called america it should have another name like demond bank or something i hope one day goes out of buss for good stop using it you will be hapy |
| 3. Written by Same here, on 04-02-2010 13:41 My issue was that the over draft fee was not levied until the following Monday, from a purchase on a Friday. So I floated the appropriate amount to my account to bring to the positive until my payroll check when into the account, but did not put enough to cover the overdraft fee because I did not see it one day after the transaction, and thus assumed it did not get charged, but apparently it is one BUSINESS day. So I thought I resolved the issue by putting my account into the positive column. But the overdraft fee put in on Monday put me in the negative, that then resulted in two more overdraft fees being charged. When I called about the first overdraft fee they reversed it but said nothing about the two others that would go into affect that night. And now they will not reverse the two others. I did what I should have done and realize it was my mistake in the first place, but come on, they have to see that I rectified it as soon as I saw it! This company is not without its faults, thus its need to live on taxpayer money, so why can't they admit that humans make mistakes and if it happens infrequently they should be able to reverse charges, especially when the customer tried to remedy it! |
| 4. Written by c, on 28-01-2010 18:10 as with any checking account no matter who you bank with it is your responsibility as account holder to keep track of your transactions and not be lazy and expect that everything that the bank is telling you online is correct since its not always the case banks give you info for what wass charged as long as the merchant is actually presenting full info. some merchants can take 3 dayss or even longer to charge account. Oh and always read the disclosures at time of opening an account with a bank it gives you info as to how they process and their fees. Once again don't be lazy when it comes to your money and keeep track of your spending you will see a big difference and this goes for any bank that you might open an account with.The info as to fees and processing is not hidden from you, it is given to you in writing, it is up to you to take the time and review it. |
| 5. Written by SIMELA KAMPOURIS, on 11-01-2010 10:45 DONT OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH BANK OF AMERIKA, THEY ARE RIP OFFS  |
| 6. Written by Bank Of America Worse Bnk, on 29-12-2009 15:32 DO NOT EVERY OPEN A CHECKING ACCOUNT WIH BANK OF AMERICA!!! This bank is not custonmer friendly they re arrange transactions so that they can bill you more overdraft fees and it doesnt even matter how much the transaction was for even if its for $3 they will charge you $35 for overdraft this bank is ridiculous. Dont even try calling the customer service for checking accounts is horrible they dont show any empathy and they just simply dont offer help they dont let the customers talk and when I tried figuring out why my account was being billed so many fees they would simply say you are responsible for balancing your own account. They show different info on online banking than what the reps have in thier system so when you call they always say the same thing your responsible for checking your balance and making sure you dont overdraw but the only way to do that is by calling or checking online but when you check online they dont honor the info that is presented there. All of thier business practices are just to take more money from the customers they are estimated to mak about 38billion in overdraft fees this year this is a huge sign they are not doing things right they are doing it to make money they rearrange transactions only when you are about to overdraw how convenient. |
| 7. Written by mitz, on 14-12-2009 13:56 I have had it with B of A. The last straw for me was when they started charging overdraft fees on items that are PENDING, not posted. It used to be that if items were pending, I could make a deposit to cover the charges I made, before the charges posted, and avoid all the overdraft fees. Well, they supposedly been doing this since 2007 and even mailed out notices, but I never got one and I'm sure I made a deposit to cover those charges since 2007 and it worked. To me they are just trying to take more of our money any way they can. It is riduculous to me to be charged for items that are PENDING. As soon as I pay them off, I will be cancelling my account. This makes me not want to trust any bank. I rather use cash for the rest of my life. |
| 8. Written by Hammered, on 28-09-2009 15:12 This past July over the holiday weekend, I managed to double-pay my rent because my lease was in the renewal process and I couldn't confirm that the autopayment had occurred. I initiated a manual online payment. When I discovered the error (one payment went through 7/6 and the other 7/7), I called the bank to alert them, let them know the property management company needed a week to return the funds, and ask if they could work with me during that time to limit the damage to my account. The rep's attitude was quite haughty, and I was advised that my only recourse was to get the funds replaced ASAP. One week and 31 $35 NSF fees later, with my overdraft credit and an entire next paycheck up in smoke, they reluctantly reversed the token 3 NSF fees. The load of NSF fees caused more NSF fees, plus charges for being overdrawn for more than 5 consecutive days. When it happens sporadically it's one thing, but they nailed me to the wall with this one, it cost me over $1000. I lost my job two weeks later, and I'm a single mom, so that $$ was sorely missed. The reason the U.S. economy is in the pooper is greed such as this by the banks, mortgage, and insurance companies. They sell you their 'services' and bend you over at every possible opportunity. |
| 9. Written by Hammered, on 28-09-2009 14:56 This past July over the holiday weekend, I managed to double-pay my rent because my lease was in the renewal process and I couldn't confirm that the autopayment had occurred. I initiated a manual online payment. When I discovered the error (one payment went through 7/6 and the other 7/7), I called the bank to alert them, let them know the property management company needed a week to return the funds, and ask if they could work with me during that time to limit the damage to my account. The rep's attitude was quite haughty, and I was advised that my only recourse was to get the funds replaced ASAP. One week and 31 $35 NSF fees later, with my overdraft credit and an entire next paycheck up in smoke, they reluctantly reversed the token 3 NSF fees. The load of NSF fees caused more NSF fees, plus charges for being overdrawn for more than 5 consecutive days. When it happens sporadically it's one thing, but they nailed me to the wall with this one, it cost me over $1000. I lost my job two weeks later, and I'm a single mom, so that $$ was sorely missed. The reason the U.S. economy is in the pooper is greed such as this by the banks, mortgage, and insurance companies. They sell you their 'services' and bend you over at every possible opportunity. |
| 10. Written by Sam, on 18-08-2009 10:21 It just seems worthless to keep using BOA because of all the BS overdrafting drama they put you through. It seems like every other month, they are doing exactly that, but charging a larger fee first rather than by the date/time is was ACTUALLY purchased, then overdrafting every single small purchase from there on out.. I need a new bank!!!! |
 |
| Comments on Bank of America's overdraft goldmine | |
Consumer Forum is another great place to discuss consumer concerns NOT RELATED to this article. |