Overdraft fees

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Ugh, so we overdrafted. I haven't done it before and we just got busy with the holidays and travel and we both were paying bills last minute. It was off by $7. Anyway though we were hit from BofA with $35 overdraft fee, $35 returned check fee BofA, and $20 fee returned check Citi.

But since the payment went through with Citi, should there even be a returned check fee if we overdrafted from our savings account? Has anyone dealt with this and gotten some of the fees returned. I can't believe it's so ridiculous. I could deal with the overdraft since we had extra money in the attached savings account, but WTF?

I feel so dumb. Ugh.

[riverwed070707]

Happens to the best of us. The few times I've had this happen, I've been able to call the bank and get them reversed because it is a rare occurrance. I definitely don't get why you'd get fees on both ends but its worth asking.

Preventative measure: ask about having overdraft protection setup. Usually this means setting up a line of credit with your bank (usually $1000-2500) that is automatically used if you spend more than you have in your account. Sometimes there is still a fee (and you pay interest if you don't pay it back right away) but its substantially smaller than overdraft fees. Why they view this as different than pulling reserves from savings I do not know but thats how we work around it.

[Like2Plan]

LAL,

That is a really frustrating. You could call the bank and see if there is anything they could do-- especially since you had funds in savings to cover the draft.

I agree with riverwed070707 about the preventative measure: overdraft protection is always a good idea...Also, maybe you can find a different financial institution (like a credit union) that doesn't charge crazy fees to pull from your savings to cover the overdraft.

[btctony]

Sorry it happened to you. This is why I always keep a 1K cash buffer in my checking account. It gives me plenty of room throughout the month. This way I can pay bills the day they come in and never have to worry about what pay check any given bill will come out of.

[sblatner]

I'd call the bank and ask for a favor since it is the first time it happened.

I have a doosy (sp?) for you. We were painting and having our wood floors redone. While this was happening, we went to visit my brother. Before we left, I entered a payment for our earthquake insurance into Quicken but never paid it online. We got back and had a cancellation notice for the earthquake insurance. When I called to reinstate it, our price had gone up and our deductible went from 10 to 15%. There was no negotiating with them. I guess we had been grandfathered in to a new plan and now had to go with the new plan instead of our old plan. This was years ago. My husband still mentions it once a year.

[hamchan]

BoA is one of the most venal banks I have ever had a displeasure of banking with.

[Krasay]

I am still trying to figure out why people bank with BOA, credit unions offer better plans and are more flexible with issues like this. If i overdraft, the credit union i am with charges 0.50 to auto transfer from savings and 0.50 for the NSF fee. I suggest checking out your local credit unions to see if you could transfer over.

[snafu]

I suggest it's worth a phone call to plead for a reversal of fees. How do you feel about transferring to CU if the bank declines your request? Likewise support the idea of getting a personal line of credit to protect you from NSF issues.

[JoeP]

Also it is worth mentioning that you should NEVER allow electronic access to your accounts for automatic withdrawals (i.e., "pulls"). A small mistake on your end or their end can take a lot of time and effort to iron out.

I even push back at my CU's bill pay feature that schedules pushes of our money to payees. We're much more comfortable with the monthly process of: receiving a bill, determining the best time for us to pay it, and setting up a one-time payment...over and over.

Unfortunately, many companies dangle the prospect of a small discount if you allow them to make withdrawals in order to pay your bills. There are so many negatives with this, that we don't mind either taking the small hit, or finding another company that doesn't do this.

Also, FWIW, we reconcile our checking account down to the penny every month.

[figuringmoneyout]

Bummer! It happens to all of us at one time or another though. Have you tried getting them to reverse the fees? I remember one of the first banks I used did this for me the first time it happened.

Right now I use Capital One 360 (formerly ING) because it doesn't have any fees associated with going under a zero balance. You get a 15% interest on that money, but since I just transfer money over after I realize it has happened it doesn't cost me major fees. This rarely happens but it's nice to have anyway!

[bjl584]

It happened to me one time several years ago. I called my bank and they waived the fees. It's worth a try. I told them that it was a one time mistake and for them to take a look at my bank records and that they will see that it has never happened before. I assured them that it would never happen again and they waived the fees.

[disneysteve]

BoA is one of the most venal banks I have ever had a displeasure of banking with.

I am still trying to figure out why people bank with BOA

Sorry to go OT but I wanted to address this. We are with BoA and have been for years since they bought our previous bank. We have never had a moment's trouble with them. A couple of times when there were minor issues, a quick and simple phone call had it corrected in no time. The customer service has always been excellent both on the phone and in the local branches. When it came time for my daughter to get her own savings and checking accounts a few months ago, we went to BoA and they couldn't possibly have been nicer or more accommodating. Their online banking is a breeze. Their mobile banking by smartphone is the best thing ever. Plus there are zero fees for anything with a very low minimum balance requirement for us and no minimum for my daughter (until age 23 I think).

The only 2 minor complaints I have with them are that the new deposit image ATMs are awful but thanks to mobile banking, I hardly ever need to visit an ATM. The other issue is the monthly limit on the mobile banking of $8,000. I bump up against that periodically but it just means I need to visit an ATM when that happens so it isn't a huge deal, just a minor annoyance.

[hamchan]

I had an account for a couple of months. I set up some automatic drafts to come out on my payday. Never a problem at my previous bank. They applied the drafts before applying my deposit, and then hit me with numerous overdraft fees. Never again. I have an account with a credit union now. You know how much they charge for overdrafts? Zero.

They also have a 5$ balance minimum, no monthly fees whatsoever, and they have mobile banking, mobile check deposits, and free online bill pay. Why on earth would I use a bank? Why?

[disneysteve]

They also have a 5$ balance minimum, no monthly fees whatsoever, and they have mobile banking, mobile check deposits, and free online bill pay. Why on earth would I use a bank? Why?

No reason at all. It sounds like you're very happy where you are.

I just get a little annoyed when people question why I'm with a bank. Why would I switch? I can't see any possible benefit. I'm already getting great service, zero fees, and ATMs and branches all over the country. What more could I ask for?

[hamchan]

Because they are unscrupulous money-hogs?