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Copy of letter to OCC:
Bank of America charges overdraft fees on accounts with a positive balance by debiting them when checks are issued via online banking rather than when they are cashed.
A check for $4,400 was inadvertently sent from the wrong account with a balance of $3,000 on BofA online banking. Four small checks were posted following this. Discovering the mistake the day the checks were issued I immediately transferred $5000 into the account, then checked with customer service, who indicated that an overdraft fee of $35 would be charged for each check. This is a total of $175.
Contacting the recipients of the checks to make sure that they had been able to cash them, however, I was informed that the checks had neither been received nor cashed, which means that the account has a current real balance of over $8,0000, an excess of more than $3,000 over the written checks.
A second call to Bank of America online Banking Service clarified that checks are debited on issuance rather than when they are cashed (these will be received as paper checks, not electronic transfers. This means that I would be charged overdraft fees of $175 on an account which has never had a negative balance and currently carries a positive balance of $8,000. Nice trick for BofA, but legal?
I have resolved my particular problem with belligerence and acidity, but this is a situation which, if legal, should not be. It's one of several gotcha's in the Bank of America online system. Beware.
I specifically opened a savings account to prevent overdraft fees. Bank continued to charge overdraft fees. I pointed out that they had funds in the Bank that were linked to cover their alledged overdrafts (they hold deposited funds unpredicable amounts of time, even from within their own system. That deliberately causes overdrafts).
The assistant branch manager wrote back saying I never signed the form linking the accounts.
On their opening documents for the savings, it shows the accounts are linked.
After 13 or 15 overdrafts and now returned checks, they have started withidrawing funds from the savings account depsite the Manager's claim they could not and would not do that.
Has anyone filed in Federal court aganist Bank of America on this issue?
Larry
Everyone needs to be very careful dealing with Bank of America. They are really hurting for money, as they just spent megabucks saving Countrywide. They are not up front with customers, have hidden fees, high rates, and are indignant when approached with a problem. I recommend that as soon as you can, get out from under them!
B of a just screwed me. They informed me that a new policy they put into effect march 1st 2008 allows them to back date a transaction 1 whole day. say on mon you have $2 in your account. tues morning you deposit $100 and then goto lunch and spend $20 Tues afternoon and use your debit card. B of A can back date that transaction to go through on mon when you did not have any funds therefore you incure a $35 overdraft fee. legal ? I don't think so. somebody needs to stop them!
Oh, I have a story for you guys...about a month ago..I had direct deposit from my job, so I waited until it cleared, and transferred $120 from a non bank of america atm...I had the funds, it was not pending, believe me I make sure to check these things, a few times..so few days later my account was blocked..no phone call...I was told it was an empty envelope deposit. I told the agent I never use envelopes, since the new machines let you put in cash...she didn't really know what to say..but kept saying it would be cleared by the next day..
I was unsure of why this happened..and didn't know it had to do with that withdrawal..so 2 days later, still blocked called again after looking at my account online the $120 disappeared, and a weird fee was on the checking account, of $180. I didn't know what it was, so I asked the first agent didn't know, the second didn't, the third said it was because the amount wasn't avaliable since it was a non bank of america atm...but the funds were there and NOT PENDING.
I didn't understand this..and no one really knew what the fee was. So, now of course I HAD bills that are taken out monthly during that time, so of course this happened the day the money was taken out...(which would have been there..if this wasn't screwed up) than took out $200 dollar worth of overdraft fees, and money from my savings account, then again recently, and for whatever reason that money was transferred back, and titled "refund". No one seems to want to help out with this..and it does not make any sense to me...since no one truly knew what the fees were..help anyone? I thought about writing a letter, instead of attempting to speak to agents.
What can I do they are really nasty at the bank and they wont give me my money back after I tried to pay my cable bill with my checking account and they took the money from a zero balance savings account and charged me overdraft fees and stole it from my checking account someone please help me
Oh. I had 3 overdraft items come through and I deposited enough money to cover them. Then they took out their fees and bounced them again. They charged me overdraft fees for those same items again and it kept snowballing. I can't stand this bank and I am gonna switch as soon as I get a chance.
I use B of A and know for a fact they do not withdraw funds for bill pay until the check is submitted to the bank to be cashed. So keep track of what you pay!
BOA is awful! I am having the same issues as above, we have been charged over $1000 in fees when our balance was never negative. It is quite ironic that Bank of America was boasting they did not need stimulus funds, no wonder why they are stealing from customer accounts by manipulating transactions and pendings and the holds. I do not understand how this is legal, it is robbery! And the fact that BOA can report over $40 million in revenue from overdraft fees . . .
Every transaction processed on a Saturday is done as Monday's business day. No matter WHAT transaction you do Saturday your receipt will show Monday's date. Your daughter should have still be able to use her debit card unless her account was negative because the deposit will still show as pending, just not posted.
Boycott bank of america - they have no respect for humanity whatsoever. They could care less if they take food off of the poorest hard working persons table, and shelter from your elderly grandmother - while their ceo's live in the lap of luxury.They blatantly give false account information over the phone that can cause a person to incur unlimited fees .Their trickery and overdraft policies are a pure human rights violation, a form of theft, and should soon be made illegal. I encourage every one who has been victimized from their tyranny to file in small claims court, and tack on an additional 35$ fee for every one of their detestable acts of theft. What they are doing is illegal, because it is the equivalent of giving false account information when charges dis-appear as described in some of these comments.
They charged me a late fee where I had just shy of $2000 in my checking account and they stated that I never had automatic payment before because it doesn't show. But I never made any extra previous payments before and they always took the minimum for all the previous months! Go figure how this works...?
It a sceem, how it can be legal? they charge me 8 x $35.00 using card from 4 days ago for $4-$6 charges, instead of nsf on check for $26.00 ! witch went true 9.01 AM, 9.03 AM I deposit $170.00 after I went home check on balance ( hoping for 170-26 and maybe one charge -35.00) WAOOAW, Imgagin my suprise! and they have gots to charge you another $35.00 becouse you Dinot pay their RANDSOM on time ? They must be in Cahoots with goverment becouse this is ABSOLUT BU...T ! Sombudy need to do somthing!
Damage Resulting = They screw me up completly I almast have hard attack, I have to go around city not to see "### of America" branches or logo!
Due to an error our young working daughter gave us a check to deposit thinking her salary was being deposited on a specific day. We even waited a
couple of days to ensure the dust had settled. It hadn't. In a 38 hour period she incurred $420.00 in bouncing fees - FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY
DOLLARS! She works when the bank is open so I went to the bank. Of course they couldn't speak to me about the account. We immediately deposited
over $1000. to stop the madness. Who knew they could hold the deposit over a 24 hour period and continue to bounce fees. There must be some
class action suit in the works. If there is, sign us up. I had raced to bank from our bank to make the deposit and left my ID in car. Of course I had to
produce ID even though I had cash AND a deposit slip. I asked what in the world was the point? (Other than further delaying a deposit). Her response:
"We can't have just anyone coming in off the streets and putting money in people's accounts." OMG. Margaret
I agree with everyone on this comment board and I am so sorry to hear about all the trouble that you are all having. I have helped several people that have mortgages with ASC, Countrywide, and other mortgage companies that don't seem to care if they harass people or suck them dry. The comments I have heard are along the lines of trying to get blood from a stone or turnip, or something like that.
The company I work for actually will take you out of the loop of contact with ASC, or Countrywide or whomever you have servicing your loan. Let us know what you are looking for us to do for you and we will pursue the help that you want, no matter what.
We have all aspects of the mortgage business covered from being a mortgage mediation company, a title company, a real estate company, all the way to having access to attorneys for litigation or help to avoid foreclosure. No aspect of help is turned away.
Let me tell you, most of the customers that I deal with have told me about the fear and the frustration of working with mortgage companies that don't seem to care or give them the runaround. To be totally fair, mortgage companies have their ways of dealing with people. Some are good, some are horrible. But one thing all mortgage companies love is being vague. When they are vague, they don't have to give you information until you ASK for it. How does that help you? How can you try to save your home if you don't know how to ask the right questions?
That’s another reason why this company was created. We take your number out of their "system". The collection calls stop immediatly. We also have the option of having your mail from the mortgage company come to our offices and into your file. We take the burden away from you so you can live your life without the phone calls and the letters.
I know that some people are going to look at this comment and go, this guy is trying to drum up business. Well, you're right. But here's the kicker. I used to work in mortgage collections. I used to make the phone calls and send the letters. I used to work around the people that make your lives hell. And I kept asking myself, why? Why are these people not being told about the help that’s readily available? Why are these people not being helped to make payment arrangements that are realistic? Why does this company care more about the money than about customer service when that is supposed to be their primary objective?
That's why I got out. I can not stand collectors. Just because they are hiding behind a company name they think that they can say anything or act anyway they like with the customers, being friendly with one and the next 40-50 they can treat like crap. Where is the customer service? And the "Obama Plan" for assistance? Most companies will not give you all the information that is needed to qualify. We make sure in our initial consultation of your finances if you qualify for the program.
We take all that frustration away from you and create solutions that work. I have done it for several people. And I can do it for you too. If you want more specifics or just want to ask questions about your situation, call our offices at [protected] and check out the website, www.realtymediationservice.onlybusiness.com which is being updated with a few new options available. And this isn't just for people facing foreclosure, people that are current and want to pay off their home early, call me. I can and will help as many people as I am able to. What have you got to lose? Website address is http://realtymediationservice.onlybusiness.com...and if our offer is not for you, best of luck. In all your endeavors.
The trick to get your money back from the Bank of America overdraft scam. What you need to do is go to your local small claims court, and make a complaint. Depending where you are in the country it normally only costs around 50 dollers to make this complaint. It would be to much of a hassel for BOA to hire an attorney for a few hundred bucks. They should refund you your overdraft charges. I would get your money out of BOA after whatever happens...
I am a Bank of America associate. I would not have a Bank of America account if it was the last bank on earth. Every day I see people being cheated out of money and it makes me sick.
If you are a Bank of America customer these are things you need to look out for:
$3 per month check enclosure fee :
This fee is for the few( if any) physical checks that you might get back at the end of the month. If you dont have it they will just send copies of the checks on the back of your statement. Be sure to look for this and ask if you can choose to not " have check enclosure".
$20 per month Prima account fee:
This type of checking account is supposed to be free if you have a mortgage with B of A, or a home equity loan or line of credit. It also is free if you have a combined balance of over $10, 000 consistently. Even though the computer is supposed to take this into account, it often doesnt, check your account for these $20 monthly fees and change your account type if you cannot get it waived. Also heads up the associates at the banking centers get kickbacks for putting people in these accounts and I have seen people on SSI put in these account so they will make money for the bank.
$8.95 My Access checking account fee:
This account is supposed to be free with a combined balance of $1500 or a monthly direct deposit, like from a paycheck or any other income. Make sure that you are not receiving it.
$5 per month savings account fee:
This fee will be taken out of your savings account unless you have a continuous balance of $300 or a $25 per month automatic transfer from your checking account. Also if you make more than 3 withdrawls or transfers out of your savings account per month they will charge you $3 per transaction, I have seen people have up to $60 worth of these fees for taking their own money out of their account.
How to get around these fees:
Dont have a savings account unless you have the ability to keep $300 in it. Call in to the customer service and say that you are a student at " anytown" community college. They will not ask you to prove it and you can qualify for a Campus Edge checking account which is free. You can have as many of these accounts as you like.
Hardship clause: If you have overdrafts, you can get up to $140 worth of them back per year for hardship. This can include, job loss, death in the family ( close family), serious illness, natural disaster . You will not be asked to prove this but you can call up and make this claim to get up to $140 back per year. Make your story sound legit.
Hope this helps someone. I continue to work for B of A because I can help people every day realize they are paying too much and help them to get their hard earned money back.
The fees are ridiculous, now at $35.00, and they do not treat every customer the same. I tried to login to on line banking the night before and was unable to do so, the next day I was able to login and noticed that I had six overdraft fees, which could have been avoided if was able to login. I called and complained and the most they were willing to credit back was $35.00, I immediately took care of the overdraft fees by transferring money. Now of days $175.00 is a lot of money.
Does anyone notice that ever sense Bank of America bought Country Wide they have been very aggressive with charging fees. Now we know whose money they used to buy it!
Again, with them buying Merrill Lynch ...there goes the fees again.
You could look at your bank statement one moment and see that your account is in good standing then 3 hours later they have made the decision for you that the higher amount items presented for paying are a priority, therefore stacking all of your low charges at the end of the line can cause your oversite up to 5 overdraft fees of $35.00. If they didn't do that your $4.82 check would of went through along with your $20.00, $30.00 etc.
And forget getting them to forgive them, I 'm pretty sure by the way the customer service reps talk (ie: I'm going to get in trouble for this) they get credit for how many overrides they DON'T give out or penalized for those they do give.
They are becoming a joke in the industry.
My latest (and last) statement from BOA included both a new (for me) $12 monthly maintenance fee and $3 for imaging checks written. Apparently my modest monthly auto deposit wasn't large enough, although a year or so ago the local manager assured me that I was still eligible for free checking. I had already declined the imaging-for-a-charge option but when I complained was not offered reimbursement.
This is the same BOA that waited until I paid off a $2000 overdraft line before abruptly discontinuing it for me (despite my longstanding perfect repayment history.)
I have closed my BOA account and gone next door to a local bank where the above services are free.
I understand that Mr. Buffet just bailed BOA out with a very large stock purchase. I think this time he may have backed a wrong horse. BOA deserves to fail.