Overdraft Fees (Full Version)

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EmilyAnn -> Overdraft Fees (8/14/2008 11:47:14 AM)

My husbands paycheck will be direct deposited into our checking account tomorrow. I went ahead and mailed our mortgage payment yesterday because I thought it wouldn't get there until later (it usually takes at least 4 days.) I checked our account online today and the mortgage check went through already. The bank charged us $200 in overdraft fees!! We are already living paycheck to paycheck and my husband is working 2 jobs just to get by. Is there any way I can get the fees removed? That $200 kills our budget and if we are $200 over this month there is no way we will not go over next month too. Then we will get more fees and it will be a cycle that keeps getting worse. What can I do? [:(]



favoredmomof4 -> RE: Overdraft Fees (8/14/2008 11:52:43 AM)

Sorry to hear about what happened. My suggestion is to call your bank right away and explain the situation. If this hasn't happened before, and you have a good record with them, they will probably remove or reduce them. Communication is key - they usually appreciate that.

Hope things work out for you!! [:)]



GroupW -> RE: Overdraft Fees (8/14/2008 11:58:58 AM)

Absolutely! Talk to the manager of the branch that you visit most often or where your account was opened, if possible. Make a personal visit today or tomorrow if you can. It's a lot easier to tell someone no over the phone than in person. Be contrite, humble, and keep your cool.

You have a reasonable chance of getting the problem fixed. Offer to pay 1 or 2 of the fees as a peace offering.



Miss Giggles -> RE: Overdraft Fees (8/14/2008 1:07:35 PM)

Just remember that they have an electronic transfer law now for checks, so any time you write a check, they have the right to scan it like a debit and it comes out of your account.



Karaboo2 -> RE: Overdraft Fees (8/14/2008 5:26:28 PM)

Emily, two things ...

#1 -- did you postdate your cheque for the date the money was supposed to be there?? If you did, the company should NOT have been 'allowed' to put it through ahead of time (unless the laws are different there than here). If I write a postdated cheque, I make sure to use a bright pink highlighter and emphasize the date on the cheque so it is brought to the bank's attention if the person/company attempts to put it through before it's authorized.

and #2 -- have you taken a good look at the agreement signed when you opened your account? That is typically where they put the info regarding overdraft fees, etc. I've NEVER seen an OD fee that large ($200). The highest I've ever seen is $50, and that was unusual. (The 'norm' around here is $25-30 per transaction)

To prevent something like this from happening again (the atrocious fees) I'd suggest looking into adding OD protection to your account. We pay $2 per month to have overdraft protection just in case insurance or something comes out before the scheduled date (there was one time when our life insurance co's computers went down and they ended up taking double payments from all accounts ... which in our case meant $1000 instead of $500 -- the OD protection saved our keesters that month!)


Hmm ... one more thing ... noticed you said you MAILED the payment yesterday. I have never seen mail get to it's destination AND processed in a 24 hour period -- ever. Is there a chance that the mortgage company had pulled the info off of one of your past cheques, put it in the computer, and just sent it through even without having received your cheque for this month? Or were you able to see the actual cancelled/processed cheque online today?? (Our bank puts a digital image of each processed cheque on the transaction page online)

Talk to the bank ... and then the mortgage company. Good luck, and prayers are being said. (((EmilyAnn)))



GregandJenny -> RE: Overdraft Fees (8/14/2008 5:30:34 PM)

quote:

did you postdate your cheque for the date the money was supposed to be there?? If you did, the company should NOT have been 'allowed' to put it through ahead of time


You have to be very careful with post dated checks because it's really not allowed.



buckifn -> RE: Overdraft Fees (8/14/2008 5:35:13 PM)

Most banks do not accept post dated checks anymore..and debits are made electronically immed. upon receiving the check. I also noticed new debit card procedures which allows for an immed. $35 charge for anytime funds are not available at time of requested debit.



Karaboo2 -> RE: Overdraft Fees (8/14/2008 5:49:45 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: GregandJenny

quote:

did you postdate your cheque for the date the money was supposed to be there?? If you did, the company should NOT have been 'allowed' to put it through ahead of time


You have to be very careful with post dated checks because it's really not allowed.


I just know that around here, a lot of companies request say, 6 months worth of postdated cheques, to avoid them "getting lost in the mail" (or something like that). And a lot of apartment buildings ask for the full year's worth of cheques up front.



EmilyAnn -> RE: Overdraft Fees (8/14/2008 6:03:59 PM)

I put it in the mail box at the post office yesterday morning. It was being mailed within the state so I guess that is how it got there so quickly.

I saw the actual image of the check on my online banking site. I did not post date it because we are not allowed to.

It may have been a lot of smaller fees that added up to $200 but the charge only shows up as 1 charge on my account.

We haven't used our debit card at all yesterday or today but some charges from Sunday and Monday just went through today so there are 6 transactions that have posted since the mortgage check went through.

I will go to the bank tomorrow. Hopefully someone will have sympathy on a young mom with a new baby especially since I have had an account with them for almost 4 years and have never had anything like this happen before.



isaacsmom -> RE: Overdraft Fees (8/14/2008 7:13:00 PM)

quote:

It may have been a lot of smaller fees that added up to $200 but the charge only shows up as 1 charge on my account.

We haven't used our debit card at all yesterday or today but some charges from Sunday and Monday just went through today so there are 6 transactions that have posted since the mortgage check went through.

I will go to the bank tomorrow. Hopefully someone will have sympathy on a young mom with a new baby especially since I have had an account with them for almost 4 years and have never had anything like this happen before.


Yes, I've had that happen before, you're probably right that the 5-6 small transactions each had an OD fee. [&:][:@] It's so frustrating. I'm glad you're going in to talk to them. When I had that happen, I talked to my bank and since it had never happened with my account before, they had compassion and removed the fees. Since you've been with them 4 years, hopefully they'll work with you! I think my bank removed all but one of the fees, so that I was only charged 1 OD fee of $25 or so and not several. That at least helped a lot. I'll say a prayer for ya now because I've been there! It hurts!



summerdreams -> RE: Overdraft Fees (8/14/2008 7:30:25 PM)

I'm sorry that this happened, and it's really unfortunate. I've been in a situation where I used the wrong debit card (I have two that are from two different accounts at the same bank) and the bank waived 50% of the fees because I hadn't od'ed in a couple of years.

Remember when you are talking to them to be really polite. They have the right to impose those fees, whether or not you agree. You signed the papers in your application and you had that information available.

The most important thing that can happen is to LEARN. Don't spend money that isn't currently in your account. EVER. That may sound harsh or not be a "popular opinion" because people seem to believe that banks "owe them" into not charging the fees, or the fees or unreasonable. You should also set up some overdraft protection, in the form of a savings account. I know with our bank they charge a $10 fee for transferring it, but that's much better than the $35 per transaction if we were to overdraft.

Good luck to you, and God bless.



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