The enormity of bank overdraft charges

Why should we be surprized at what our banks do.They have been ripping us off for years with the full blessing of the governments.It's call legalized crime.

Thank god I don't have or need overdraft!
1) I always make sure to carry the minimum balance in my account so I don't pay the $13.95 monthly fee for my bank account plan (Once you start saving a bit on a monthly basis in order to grow your account, it's easy to maintain after)
2) I refuse to give the banks anymore money than they already TAKE (I hate the ATM fees when I have to withdraw money from another machine than my bank's and the exhorbitant fees they charge - $1.50-3.00 from the machine I'm using and $1.50 that my bank will charge me for having done the transaction)

I do not have an over draft, but I agree with John these banks charge way to much money for services in which there is no need,allot of these banks make allot of money and also use our money for investments and what do the people see absolutely nothing in return except another service charge, hmmm I think its time to start looking at these banks and investigate to see if they are over charging the people..

I realize the importance of maintaining a min balance however some of us work ft and still barely have enough each month to cover basic living expenses. I have NO car payment NO major credit bills aside from ONE cc for emergencies. AND a child in college we are assisting each month when she runs short (and yes she works 32 hrs a week AND takes 4 univ classes/wk and gets NO free financial aid because why? because she works and is responsible enough not to be having kids she can't take care of!
So being lower income level DOES NOT always = Deadbeat. Because i know there are many many families with similar situations. Hardships happen like losing a job, illness, becoming disabled....i believe more good honest hardworking folks live on the financial edge these days than not.
My point is: when one innocently makes an error in their accounting or miscalcualtes thier balance which causes an $8 check to result in over $200 of OD charges THAT IS A CRIME by the banks!! What was not mentioned in this article is that the banks' strategy is to cover the highest check first so that all the little checks that come in on the same day each earn the bank a $35 dollar fee(Wells Fargo Bank) By the time the customer finds out (in our case 3 days later) the charges are devastating!
So i feel if several checks come in and one check puts the acct over the balance- making the acccount OD the lower amt checks should get priority. (By the way in our case, the account was 47Cents overdrawn when the fees started piling up.) I had to spend over an hour arguing my way to a supervisor to get half of those fees dropped. I threatened to pull out all my savings if they did not at least compromise.

Ethically the banks should Pay the smaller checks off first until the balance reaches 0- then do the OD dance. But alas.....that will never happen......will it? what sickens me is for .5% interest on my money that the bank is using to invest and build up THEIR capital.....i barely get $2 a month interest on my savings. These fees are another "justified" means of hijacking our savings accounts!
And that is another issue. why bother with an interest bearing account when the monthly svc fee costs more than the interest if you can't maintain their minimum balance....it really suks!
better off stuffing your hard earned money in your mattress. hahaha!

Canadian Banks can be just as bad.....I moved myself and my business last month. Had $19.95 in a current account with the National Bank Of Canada. I've tried to have overdraft protection added to my account, but of course, because I don't have a sterling credit rating, I was refused. (Imagine how hard a decision it was on their part) In the fluster of getting ready to move, and the move itself, I forgot about my monthly bank charges (from the National Bank itself) for that account.....$21.95, and $9.95.....of course the $21.95 comes out first....so both monthly payments went NSF, at a cost of $40.00 each. How's that for making profit!!! (Charge overdraft on your own charges...someone somewhere got a bonus for figuring that one out!)
I spoke to the 1-800 # to try and reason with them.....they said, impossible for them to do anything for me, I'd have to go the Branch to speak to them directly. I now live two and a half hours away, which makes doing that near impossible. I've tried calling the branch to speak to a supervisor about it....no return call yet, that was two weeks ago.
No doubt this will end up in some collection agency eventually, before someone wakes up! And I'll get to live with the consequences of that as well.
Amazes me that the Bank can call me once or twice a month to try and sell me insurances that I don't need, but have them return a call about something important......almost impossible!

It is criminal what Banks are allowed to get away with.

The Banks lost reputation and the common people try to educate they self’s about how the financial institution work with they money. We avoid surprised at what our banks do. They have been ripping us off for years with the full blessing of the governments. Its call legalized crime.

Did you write the cheque or authorize the withdrawal without being 100% certain of what funds where available in your account?

If the answer was yes, then you took the gamble and lost. If you don't want fees, don't do the transactions. In today's day of internet & telephone banking there is no excuse for not knowing what's happening by the minute in your accounts.

I know I'm going to be blasted for this, but perhaps you should consider the older generation's habit of balancing your cheque book. Take some responsibility for your actions. The bank or credit union did not write the cheque that overdrew your account. You did.

lol at the fools on here. You all deserve what you get, haha!

"oh my daughter is in school and we help her" ..whaa whaa... not the banks fault, not the banks responsibility to put your daughter through school.

everybody always wants a hand out. everybody always thinks others should do things for them for free.

it's a scam that they hit you up with the biggest check first but come on, get some sense paying off a bunch of things when you DON'T EVEN HAVE THE MONEY!

learn how to save, cut back and watch your money

the funniest one is dude begging for an overdraft...lol. if you need it that bad no wonder they won't give it to you, haha. That was an easy decision for them "well, lets see. he never pays anybody else back nor has he paid us back from before, should we lend him more? ummmmmm" ...*fires employee for even thinking of giving this fool anymore access to credit*

Yes it is a personal fault when you write a cheque without making sure you have enough money in your account, but heres the fun part even if you have the money THEY STILL FIND A WAY TO CHARGE YOUR ASS!!!
I had enough money in my account and had written two cheques , apperantly I was only able to write a cheque for$500 , I wrote a cheque for about $750 and had to pay overdraft fees. Now thats what I call grade A bullshit, I have to pay them because I want to access MY money ! Apperantly this was line 3562 in the fine printed contract I singe . And yes the two fools above will say its bussiness thats how it works! Well whatever happened to decensy, it is simply immoral to charge $40 because a cheque bounced,who decides on this price? Why not 5 dollars, something we can afford.They say its to cover the costs of all the extra paperwork, I cant imagine how much paperwork was done for 40 dollars worth . I call it a big TIP ,since the employees wages should be taking care of the paperwork. You can use logic all yuo want but it's just plain wrong!
TO Jason: You are an absollute MORON! Laughing at people's misfortunes will only rack up some bad karma .....I guess you ran out of frineds to scold, so you found this page. Suggestion: fuck your own ass!

This is only one facet of a problem that is facing middle class people in the U.S. Many of the problems with overdraft fees, credit card usage and mortgages, etc. stem from the erosion of the earning power of the middle class.

Until Americans start voting for their own best interests and stop voting on the basis of their "feelings", we will continue to see our lifestyles and finances erode. Our children will bear the brunt of our choices because we are not only passing along our national debt, but we are also unable to give them a solid financial start in life.

My personal recommendation is that we start a grassroots organization to rid our U.S. congress of any incumbents. Tax laws and other laws are made to benefit those who are already wealthy and they are the ones contributing to politicians campaigns.

HOWEVER, there are more non-wealthy Americans who if they united could rid our government of those who have forgotten that they are answerable to us.