a friend wrote me a check for $15 dollars. bank of america charged me $6 to cash it. Another friend tried to get money from ATM Bank of America. He had $200 available. B of A ATM said not availble to he drew out $180.00 bank of america charged him an EIGHT DOLLAR ATM DENIAL FEE. causing his account to go netative. then another $35 fee. in 7 days the fees amount to over $200. ARE THE CUSTOMERS EVER GOING TO GET ANGRY ENOUGH TO STOP THIS. ??

How about banks like Wells Fargo that reorganize your transactions from largest to smallest in the hopes the account will be drawn negative faster thereby racking up even more overdraft fees. Their defense is that they want to insure that the more important items (usually bigger) get paid. Why does this matter if everything is honored anyway? And if the truly care so much about my best interest, why don't the simply pay all the items from smallest to largest? I paid over $800 in overdraft charges last week because of one item hitting early which caused everything else to incur a charge thereby preventing adequate funds after my next deposit to cover the next items and so on.

BofA also has a new overdraft charge. An additional $35 if your account is overdrawn for more than 5 days.

Ya, US bank is the one that caused me an overdraft by going back 3 months and retroactively revaluing several foreign exchange transactions that had already cleared. They just simply rewrote the account transactions. I only figured it out because I printed off the transactions as they occured.

I am amazed at how many folks continuously get riped off by banks and their "yea thats just the way it is" attitudes. It burns me all the way up. I do not use banks, never will. I will not conduct business with untrustworty enities, thieves or liars.

yeh. they were snapping shots of us in acapulco late 70s too.

Here's a simple idea,why not decline the debit card at the store if there is not enough money.Oh wait,that would mean the banks would never get there blood money.I hate banks.

BANKS GONE WILD----Five years ago I wrote 5 checks on a WFB checking account. 1@ $400-- & 4 others under $50. Three days later upon balancing my checkbook, I realized my account was $5.00 short. I immediatley called the 800 account access to see what checks cleared. The 4 small checks cleared & the $400 check was still out. I deposited $20 the next morning to cover it. I called the Access Number again to find that the $400 check cleared a day later & the 4 smaller checks were returned and substatials fees were assessed to my account.

Several months passed since I filed a complaint to WFB. I recieved a reimbursement check with an apology for the 'BANK ERROR'. Believe it or not, I still bank with them as there seems to be little integrity & ethics throughout the industry.

some of the issues are not just about the overdraft fees, but the way that rules, policies, and laws have changed within the last 10 years, most times without media publicity or banks ensuring that customers understand changes.
im only in my 40s, but the banking system i learned abuot no longer exists. what are people who are in their 60s or 70s suppose to do if even i, a masters-degree holding intelligent adult, have trouble learning about the new rules?
to me, it dont even matter WHAT the rules are, but you have to publicize it so that people can then choose their behaviours appropriately. then, those that are careless or inept will pay, but those of us who are conscientious about our accounts will not be screwed over by the banks.
being sneaky is the only way the banks can get fees from us, and i would question not only the morality of it, but also the legality of some of these bank moves.
examples: before 2000s, credits were always posted before debits, everything would be re-ordered during the overnite processing. now, some banks either do exact-time postings (which would still be ok), but most banks re-order your transactions during the overnight processing to do debits first while they hold credits. this is a way to get accounts in negative territory and then charge fees for NSF, even if you already made deposit.
example: automatic enrolment in "overdraft protection", and sometimes you cant even opt out of it. before 2000s, you usually had to apply for overdraft line, and credit checks were even done and not everyone got them. now, everyone automatically gets overdraft protection sometimes kind of hidden, and you have to sign documents to opt out.
example: this is my favourite screw-over tactic, which got me for a while the first year it changed. when i first got debit card in 1990s, my bank stressed how they would never be approved for purchases at merchants if you did not have money in your account. somewhere in the 2000s, this policy quietly changes at most banks so that when you dont have money, your debit card is still accepted, my bank allows up to 750$ negative. it used to be that if i did not have 3.00$ in my account to buy my coffee, the transaction woudl be denied (and then i could use another card where i knew money was at, or cash, or decline to purchase at all and walk out empty handed). nowadays, the transaction would be approved, which SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING. especially since i had 3 checking accts at the same bank, each debit card looked the same, and i knew where money was at but you had to look at each card # (well i wrote on the face of the cards with a marker anyway to name my accounts). i had money at the bank, just in chk acct #2 or #3, and used the wrong card by accident. if the merchant would still decline the card, then i would say, oops, ya no money there, here is this card that is where money is at. but banks dont get fees when you pay with your money, so they secretly started allowing overdrafting of card purchases for even like 20 cents or 2 dollars or 700$ or whatever, but they charge 38$ NSF fee. they would never get those fees from me if they did not secretly change the card processing rules at merchants.
that is why i got rid of those multiple accounts and that bank after it was merged with Chase Bank, one of the robber-baron banks out there.
so again, whatever the rules are, keep them the same or else be clear and obvious when they change. and the FDIC is as much to blame for this as the banks are. if the FDIC is changing regulations that help the banks charge more fees, it is usually because they are lobbied or, ahem, "influenced" by the bankers. the FDIC is supposed to be the regulator, not the rubber stamp.

A kinder, gentler overdraft policy, ROFLMAO Can I please have some of the stuff your been smoking!

This move doesn't strike me as a "customer service" move. This is more like the boss who constantly berates you then suddenly gives you a compliment. How honest is this, really?

Did BoA really do this for their customers or did they do it to avoid further government action? Either way, it's good for the consumer, but I don't think we should be patting BoA on the back for *finally* getting rid of humongous fees. Seriously- does it really take them $25 more labor to tell you you're $5.01 overdrawn than it does to tell you you're $5.00 overdrawn? Are they seriously saying that some people *like* paying $35 when they're overdrawn by $2.00? Yes, it might be embarrassing to not be able to buy a hamburger at McDonalds because you're overdrawn, but isn't it worth a little embarrassment not to have to pay a 25,000% loan??

B of A is the worst bank I have ever dealt with and I never had an overdraft fee. They charged fees which were not valid because we maintained the required balance. Every year, once a year, the charge would mysteriously appear. They credited it, but it seems like they hoped we wouldn't notice. We are now with a credit union and am amazed at the difference! Wish we had switched years ago.

Actually TimeStamping of both deposits and debits is the way. There should be no pending this or that with electronic funds. If the bank has to have manual data entry, there should be no fee for their shortcomings or lack of technology. I tried to tell my bank "IF there are no funds- Deny transactions (all of them). That didn't work, still wound up with negative $322 In fees- Left the bank and have been using PrePaid Visa or Mastercard, and cash only. I do not take checks nor use them. EVER!! In money matters there are no reasons for you to have to justify how what goes where and when. Cash says on the back - "For all debts public and private" There is no PENDING with cash. There is no NEGATIVE on cash or Fees.

Going cashless means you will have Less Cash. Banks no longer have my trust or my money. I may consider a credit union in the future, but today cash is king. Sure it's a hassle to keep several hundred around, but only have to carry what I need every day. I can almost guarantee that if you end banking, all your banking issues will be gone.

If you use "automatic deposits" Deduct cash at the counter and use cash. Going out for the evening? Use cash. Banks are no more than licensed/regulated crooks, no more no less. They will red tape and mumbo jumbo you to death. While holding on to your money. Try to argue with them, and things go into suspense. Not forward or backwards, effectively Limbo. You are buying a service from them for fees, Caveat Emptor - buyer beware. All of them are taught to steal for a profit to the shareholders.

so, what about those who got hit with overdrafts despite accurate bookkeeping?

The last bank I was with started taking 5 Business Days to process my bi-weekly PAYCHECK deposits. Suddenly, paychecks I deposited on Friday would not get credited to my acount until the following Wed. or Thurs. By all rights, the deposit should have been credited by Monday or Tuesday at the latest.

But no! The bank relies on fees, and since I kept an accurate ledger, I wasn't overdrafting despite living paycheck-to-paycheck. So, the only way they could force the issue was to delay my deposits by several days.

They finally got me when the 1st of the month landed on a weekend. I deposited my paycheck on Friday (as always), and wrote out my rent check on Monday. My landlord tried to cash it that Wednesday, but it came back NSF, because my deposit from Friday was still not credited.

I promptly stopped doing business with that bank, because I felt it was not right that I should be forced to wait a week for paycheck deposits to be credited. "Desposits made at this window will be credited the following business day" is a bold-faced lie.

It is amazing how many of the comments so smuggly state "if you don't have the money, then don't write the check". I am very sorry to say that it is not as simple as that. Automatic bill pay, which BofA offers as a "convenience" writes the check for you. Sometimes, you can't cancel the transaction. So say your car payment is supposed to come out on the 15th, but you try to cancel it on the 13th because you get paid every two weeks and your paycheck is actually going to get to you on the 17th. No problem, payment isn't due until the 20th. I will just stop the automatic payment. WRONG! Oh, and it gets better. So said car payment is $550. Checking account balance is $245. The payment clears(?????) and any transaction you made like say for gas or groceries is overdrafted and hit with huge fees. This happened to me. I couldn't stop the payment, or change my paycheck date and I ended up with a huge overdraft. It wasn't as simple of issue of not watching my account or maliciously writing a check, it was the bank's policies. If they had denied the check, I would have owed Ford a fee, and had a bounce fee. Fine...my bad. But instead, they paid it even though it overdrafted my account by over $300 and even though I tried to stop it before I thought it was going to go through, and it bounced all of my minor purchases. The resulting fees and the bounce took over half my check leaving me in a precarious position for the rest of my bills, which were also on automatic bill pay. When I called the bank to complain and asked "Why did you pay this, because I clearly did not have the money?" I was told that it was a convenience. So I told them that I did not want overdraft protection anymore. I don't want this "convenience". Well, they did not remove it. I am sorry, but these policies are designed to extract fees from people who are not out spending money willy nilly. I had never overdrafted my account until a few years ago. I have always kept a watchful eye. But the banks make a lot of money off of overdrafts. If you think that they aren't trying to make people overdraft, then you are naive at best. For those of you who are fortunate enough to have an income that allows a cushion at the end of the month, you are lucky. The cost of just living is high these days. For those of us not so fortunate, an episode such as this can start a cascade of negative events. My money is budgeted to the dime. This incident resulted in me being behind for several months, and incurring several more fees, which set me back even more. It was not my carelessness, or stupidity that caused it. Just a simple mistake. So get off of you high horses and be thankful that you apparently have been more blessed than me, because I would not wish what happened to me on anyone. Suffice to say, I no longer bank with B of A, or use automatic bill pay.

Kinder? Hardley. Managers and customer service reps have always been authorized to rebate fees caused by overdrafts of $7.00 or less. Now this will give District managers a reason to "coach" associates to rebate the $10.00 fees and decline the $35.00 fees on the fee rebate tool (designed to decision the fee so a customer cannot go to another branch and appeal the decision). Fleet used to offer a credit line called overdraft protection. Some old customers still have it. It is the only way to go and yet the banks have stopped offering it. Too bad it really worked well.

Well, I sat here for 10 min reading all your stories...thought I'd share a recent one of mine. I've been an account holder since 1989 and have rarely OD. Recently, I was checking out of a hotel and put cash in my pocket to pay for my stay. When the folio was presented, I saw $0 balance and walked away thinking I had done a pre-pay (which I have done before to save on the rate). I had asked that my debit card not be charged but presented only for incidentals when I checked in. I forgot to clarify this when I left, so I assume the OD charge. But that same day, I attempted to exit an unmanned parking structure and the kiosk would not accept my wrinkled dollar bill. I was forced to use my debit card as I was short on small cash. That $1.50 cost me another $35 (which the bank eventually credited back).

A few months ago I had a serious run in with overdrafts at Bank of America. I forgot about a purchase I made and ended up overdrafting eight times in two days. All were small purchases under $20.00. I just didn't know that I was overdrafting. I got a post card in the mail seven days later to tell me about the overdrafts. I immediately called to check the balance on my account and to my horror I had a negative $280.00 balance. I had even gotten paid in between when all of this started but because of all of the fees I was once again overdrafting. I listened to all of my activity and by that time I had 18 overdrafts. I called the bank 1800# and spoke to a representative who told me there was nothing she could do for me. I decided that I better go talk to the Branch Manager. I went into the bank and spoke with him at his desk which is right out in the open. I could not help it but I started crying and it was really hard to talk about this in front of all of the other customers. He also could not or would not remove any charges, not even one! I told him that I would be back with my husband to close all of our accounts and he said, "okay" We have five accounts and have been with the bank for 15 years with no other overdrafts. Anyone can make a mistake but mine cost me $630.00.

BofA once charged me $37 for over-drafting my account by 3 cents when I purchased a cup of coffee, just hours before my paycheck was credited to my account. They shouldn't be allowed to do this. I asked to opt-out of the "overdraft protection" scheme, because that is what they call it, but the teller just smirked and said that I couldn't. This "reform" is too little, too late. I'll never do business with them again.

I have been banking with BoA for about five years now. I travel extensively for work and need a bank with a national presence. I am not charge for checking (direct deposit)nor am I charged a maintenance fee for my savings account (automatic transfer from checking to savings once a month).

If you don't want to be a charged a overdraft fee don't create an overdraft.

All banks that issue debit cards should just decline the transaction if there is not enough money in the account to pay for a given purchase. This would eliminate all the B.S. Isn't that what credit card companies do? I greatly prefer embarassment instead of a 35 dollar overdraft charge. Wouldn't you? The banks have been ripping most people I know off for years now, ever since they allow you to take out more money than you have with an instant transaction. Check bouncers on the other hand should be forced to pay a fee, although not 35 dollars.

I have stopped using my Bank of America credit card because of the inconsistencies in when and how they apply the finance charges to my account. One time they figured it on the 10th and the next ime its the 15th with additional over the limit fees because of the additonal 5 days worth of finance charges.

Some Sage Advice. Cash out of state checks, don't deposit them. Most banks will allow you to do this even if you do not have enough $ in your account to cover it if it bounces. Deposit the cash later in the day or the next day. You can write checks on cash immediately. I use the phone banking line to balance my account each day at lunch. It lets me know if I forgot to enter a debit and it is easy to take the balance provided and subtract your outstanding items from it. I just check off each item as it posts.(this is also a feature of almost all phone banking). This allows me to know at any time just what I have available. If I am shopping i may review this more than once a day, such as at Christmas time. Have recurring debits made from your savings and not your checking. Easier to track. And connect your savings to your checking/debit account so that if overdrawn the money automatically transfers for a $10.00 fee. (Credit Unioons are great for this.If you are still overdrawing your accounts, GET A SECOND JOB!

I opened accounts with BankAmerica a few years ago, and asked to have overdrafts from checking automatically covered from my savings account. (My credit union does this). I was told by the branch manager that BankAmerica can not do this because regulations don't allow it. I was skeptical and asked to see a copy of the regulation. She agreed to get me a copy. For weeks I asked on every bank visit if she had the regulation, but she seemed to be having trouble getting it from the main office. Finally one day she told me that she got tired of everyone being evasive and asked a senior executive to get her a copy of this regulation. He apparently told her "There is no such regulation - it is just our policy". So the bank not only lies to its customers about this, but also to its own employees.

A few years ago an Ivy League professor had some of his graduate students do a study and they found that a well run bank can process a bounced check for about
$1.00 and a poorly run bank could have actual costs of as much as $2.50. So a $35 fee seems very generous for the bank stockholders, doesn't it? I have money in BankAmerica for ATM comvenience, but I still do my checking with my credit union.

I set up a credit card with my bank to only be used for overdraft protection. In their infinite wisdom they decided to reduce the credit line, making it useless. After some discussion it was returned to the previous useful amount. I understand they have to report my credit line as a liability. Apparently they make enough off of my accounts to find this acceptable.

Join a CREDIT UNION, CREDIT UNION, CREDIT UNION.
The North Carolina State Employee's Credit Union (SECU) has overdraft protection where they will take the amount from your savings if there is an overdraft in your checking. The fee is .50, yes 50 cents. The monthly fee for my interest bearing checking account is $1.00 per month, no fee for aN interest bearing regular savings account, no fee for a money market account if the balance of $250 is maintained. I dont have an accout with any major bank...I use my local credit union. I reccomend people switch to credit unions.
BTW...For those in the military or retired from the military...USAA gave me a 5.24% loan on a new Dodge Charger SXT.

Hard to believe. But then once you read the story you see that B of A isn't really giving much back to consumers. Now you can be charged for up to 10 returned checks per day generating a nice $350 fee. As a former federal bank examiner I have been aware for a very long time that B of A is proud of all of their "profit centers". They are after all a stock compnay. But what about a conscience? I've heard so many stories of people just being steam rolled by this type of policy that I have a hard time believing that B of A keeps it's customers.
To be fair though, there are many customers who aren't merely $0.05 overdrawn. There are, as we all know a lot of people who are for lack of a better explanation just plain financially challenged when it comes to keeping track of their finances. To those people I say you either catch on or go broke.

I had a pleasant experience just last month. I was in the middle of moving from one state to another. During that time I had a payment due on a credit card. I remembered the day before but had a terrible time getting on line from my motel. I thought I would do it the next day. Capital One has a policy that payments need to be made by 3:00 pm EST to be credited that day. I was about 2 hours late. A few days later after moving into my new place and getting my computer on line I noticed a $39 fee. I was really upset. Then I realized it was in fact my own fault. While I didn't like paying the fee who else could I blame. I called and explained the problem to a service person and she reversed the fee. Amazing. I can't recall the last time I was so pleased with a $39 transaction. That won't happen again. I've changed my billing date so it isn't on the first of the month now.

Whatever happened to living on what you have? Wanting to buy what we can't afford and trying to spend what we don't make is what has us in the plsce this country is now. Granted, banks try to take advantage but all big companies are nothing but greedy. When
I got into too much debt it was up to me to find a way to fix it and now I don't have any. The golden rule on all this is to be solvent you have to increase your income or decrease your outflow. So let's all grow up and take control of our own lives. If we don't write bad check and don't deal with big business we'll all be better off.

The most of the overdraft is made generaly when 2 people use the same account,or in my case in the moving period from a west to a easter state with limited access to the internet and busy looking for a place to live.in this economy charging fee,s should be illegal because it is always the poor ones suffer till the economy picks up.

I never bank with the chain banks they are only out to make money. I have used my local bank since I was 16. All decisions are made here and if I need a personal loan I just call my loan officer and the money will be in my account the next day. I think the locally owned banks are more forgiving with their fees because they know thier customers and we are more than just another account number

If you get hit with a fee call your bank!!! Put up a fight. My husband was on vacation, just before that he signed up for direct deposit his work paid employees who got a paper check on Monday but failed to mention to him that his direct deposit went in on Wednesday. So not knowing we made our regular purchases, he bought food and gas for his trip and went on his merry way. I checked our account on Tuesday and had 7 overdraft fees!! 7x35=245 in overdraft fees plus the amounts that went in to the red were more than his paycheck! Now he had no money to make his way back home. And i had no money to feed my family! I called BofA, they told me its not their fault and his work should pay our overdraft fees. If we had the paper check deposited on Monday this would not have happened. My husband called his work they were no help, so he canceled his direct deposit. I went into my local branch and spoke to a manager and explained the situation, turned on the water works, bought my daughter in, I told them the situation (emphasis on I NEED TO FEED MY DAUGHTER!) and by the time i left all were reversed. This was just a bump in the road of life, learn from your mistakes.

I worked in the banking industry for over 30 years before retiring. It was until the last 6 to 8 years that the accounting rules in banks changed. Before such time it was ALWAYS credits before debits. In other words, all credits (deposits) were accounted first, then all debits (checks/withdrawls) were accounted second.

Now it is customary to account for debits first then account credits second. The problem is, if you have say $100 balance and you make a $500 deposit on the same day you have 3 checks coming in totaling $525, you will be charged a $35 fee for each check that comes in times three. That fee is automatically deducted from your balance. The fee's alone will now make your balance negitive $5. Now all checks are over drawn. In effect, your deposit in now only worth $495.

Just to clariy folks......THE IS NO MAGICAL MIGNIGHT HOUR WERE EVERTHING POSTS AT ONE TIME!!!!!!!!!

Please, QUIT thinking and saying this!!! I worked in customer service for Wachovia for 7 years and heard this load of crap from customers HOURS ON END DAILY!!!

Take some time and LEARN HOW TO BALANCE YOUR ACCT!!

WE DIDN'T GIVE YOU THOSE LEDGERS WHEN YOU OPENED YOUR ACCT FOR NOTHING!!! USE THE DAMN THINGS!!

So, are they also going to start posting debit transactions in the order of smallest amount to largest amount? Or at least post them in the order they were made or submitted to BoA? No? Oh, so when Bob has $5 in his account and had 3 transactions - one for $1.50, one for $1, and one for $5.01, they'll post the $5.01 first? And then they'll charge him 3 overdraft fees altogether as a direct result of that decision? Sorry... I'm far from convinced that BoA has "absolved the evil" within their company.

Good Luck Joe, from NC - I doubt you'll find a bank - or credit union - that pays items low to high. each has it's pros and cons. Unfortunately, bank systems don't have the flexibility for each consumer to make the choice - either lower potential OD fees or guarantee larger, more important pymts don't bounce.

The easy solution is to join a credit union, since they policies and practices are almost always more customer friendly. When I once overdrew an account my credit union automatically opened an "overdraft reserve" (basically a personal line of credit) on my account to cover it - and they don't charge me a fee for the overdraft reserve or for overdrawing a check or ATM transaction. Now I never have to worry about overdrawing a check or ATM transaction and it doesn't cost me a penny.

I think its funny how many people overdraft their account. I have had an account since i was 17 years old and i am now 25. Not once have i Overdrafted! People really need to learn how to balance a checkbook. I think you learn that in high school. Dont spend what you dont have!

Believe it or not, there is a reason that banks process the charges from largest to smallest. There are some small kindnesses in the banking world and this is one of them. The thinking is that the largest charges are usually the most important. So the check for the largest amount, perhaps the one for your mortgage or rent, comes out first. That way, the most important things are getting paid first. It's unfortunate that it can result in more overdraft charges, but it could be saving you a change in an interest rate or a drop in your credit rating. And I will agree with the others that have said it is up to the consumers to make sure there is enough in the account to cover what is being taken out.

This is besides the point but how about you missed one mortgage payment with BofA in September 2008, requested in October 2008 for some type of workout and to this date (June 12, 2009), still have not heard from anyone in regard to a solution from collections or the Loss Mitt departments in regard to one late payment missed in September 2008. Maybe you ask why I missed my payment? I like others have been affected by this economy, i.e., lost a good paying job making $20K more than I currently do, went through $35K in 401K plan to stay afloat up to that point, hike in gasoline prices at the time, food prices increased and utilities increased. Also, lets mention the fact that there are no part time jobs to be found anywhere including McDonalds or any local grocery store, anything, anywhere. But BofA continues to rack up late charges on my mortgage and will not waive and will not communicate with me in regard to resolving this solution. I leave messages with people who are not in a position to help me and my analyst will not return my calls. Lets not mention my credit is shot because BofA will not make a decision about my missed mortgage payment. I am behind in my mortgage by ONE payment of $1,146.85 and $499.95 in LATE FEES. NO ONE AT BANK OF AMERICA WILL SPEAK WITH ME. I have documentation showing I have called every 2 weeks since the deliquency and no one will give me a resolution or solution to this simple problem. This dollar amount is so small in comparison to the mass deliquencies and if BofA would solve simple problems such as this one, maybe they and everyone else would not be in financial difficulties. Ask, if I can request a friend or family member to help me out? They are ALL facing crisis of their own, financially. My Dad is 84 years old, I doubt that it would be healthy for me to ask him for money. My sister is facing the same situation in Florida being the major bread winning in her family and laid off for most of this year making less than $300 per week unemployment. Who is there to ask for assistance? Sure, I have accounts in credit unions and am slowing moving my assets over to a more friendly, decisive banking institution. Thank you for your time and I appreciate any comments you may have.

I discontinued accounts with Wachovia several years ago for the same problems. In my case, I often would not be aware of the overdraft until the little note came from the bank - at least a week after the initial overdraft. Meanwhile i would have written additional checks or used my debit card. This resulted in additional overdraft charges.
What a marvelous way for the bank to make money!

Sometimes you just make a mistake in hitting the wrong keys. I was using an ATM at my bank, the sun was glaring on the screen, and I typed in $400 instead of $40 - the ATM still have me the $400 even though I only had $300 in the bank - that just seems like they are trying to charge you a fee - if I don't have $400 in the bank, don't give me $400! I put it back the next day and they took the fee off after some begging, thankfully. Overdraft is just an excuse to charge you excessive fees, plain and simple. I don't want it, but they give it to you anyway.

I'm a student and have had this happen several times despite keeping track of my account. What's the worst, is that if you do online banking, and don't always keep careful track of things with a checkbook (or on paper), little charges can slip by, or things you paid for will sometimes take WEEKS to be posted to your account...next thing you know you're in the hole maybe a few cents. Also, I've noticed some comments about Bank of America charging an overdraft fee if you are overdrawn at 'the end' of the day? WRONG. They charge an overdraft fee the SECOND your account goes below zero, it's automated I think. Anyway, I've argued my way out of a few accidental overdrafts but I'm glad this new rule is in place...it's just ridiculous and has made me consider switching banks because I feel like I'm being PREYED ON.

I really don't have a problem with paying for a mistake that I made. I goofed. I have to pay. I do have a problem with how much it costs. Do you think the bank would pay me $39 if they made a mistake on my account? Nope.

The gentleman from Tampa expressed the situation perfectly. I check my account everyday before midnight. Regularly it is in the black yet I wake up the nest moorning to find that multiple minor debit charges have gone overdraft because a check that is outstanding has cleared. In all cases they clear at varible times. The accounting, however, clears the check and makes although still pending takes numerous minor debit purchases overdraft. I always make immediate deposits to cover the manuver but they still take the 35.00 per debit, which often are small amounts under 20.00 dollars. They have nailed me for 1500.00 dollars in charges this year. Since this is kin to stealing I now write checks from another bank.
This was the only way I could fight back. Debit charges are seen instantly but checks take time and particularly love coming in on the weekend without any knowledge thereof unitl monday when it's an I GOTCHA!

You might also want to deposit money before writing the checks. Checks are presented five minutes after they;re written so if you spend the money before you deposit it, that's a you problem not a bank problem.

I work for a bank and can honestly attest that most people who are complaining on here are doing so because they are simply stupid. If you have $100.00 in your account and spend $10.00 and also write a check for $100.00 you just committed fraud. You are lucky the bank does not prosecute. You don't get a free pass for being stupid. If you over draw by a few pennies most banks will waive the overdraft fee as we do where I work. Too many people like writing "faith" checks and then complain when they all bounce. You do not have thr right to to bounce checks without penalty. When you open an account with any bank you are agreeing to the terms, conditions and fee schedule. If you object then you don't open the account. The only problem with the banking industry related to overdfarts is gas stations. Depending on the bank a hold of $1.00 or $50.00 is placed on the account until the time when the station collects the transaction. Where I work we put a $1.00 hold when the card is swiped, obviously neither party knows what the total is until you're done pumping gas. If you have $20.00 and pump $40.00 worth of gas it will still go through. Other than this most problems are self inflicted.

Of course they dont tell you the $10 fee will cause you to overdraft by more than $5 causing them to charge the $35 dollars anyway.

Saying that "people who overdraft deserve the charges" doesn't settle the argument. Nobody thinks there shouldn't be a penalty for overdrafts. The issue is the size of the penalty in regard to the amount of the overdraft. What if instead of $35, the penalty was $1,000,000 per transaction? Would you still say "oh well, they could have avoided it"?

A policy with penalties scaled to the total negative balance in an account is reasonable, whereas a policy with a flat fee for each individual transaction is not (especially when larger payments are deducted first).

Thanks for this....I had two $35 charges that i just emailed them about. B of A has been great in the past about erasing them altogether when I inquire. They have been very good to me for over 15 years.

Banks are businesses and will always be glad to charge their customers at the slightest opportunity.

BofA...B VERY ofA

PAY CASH!! NO OVERDRAFT FEES!

I'm not sure what I think about this... On the one hand, what BoA is doing is absolutely autrocious. On the other hand I'm not sure that trading one tyrant for another is going to do us any good. The strong almost always lord over the weak, whether it's a company or the government. It's why I deal with the smallest institution possible as often as possible.

Go back to the days without debit and credit cards; withdraw cash from the ATM within what is in your account and spend only what is in your pocket. The banks cannot charge you overdraft fees this way. Keep a spreadsheet on what checks and automatic payments you have set up so you always have a positive balance in your account.

This sounds like a "gimmick" to me. My trust in banks has dropped a lot since they got the first bailout money and refused to use it to open up credit, along with the funny games they used and are still using with their credit cards and the huge fees they are charging there!

Today its very hard to keep your checkbook from overdrafting when you are out of work or on a fixed income thanks to greed and mismanagement in Corporate America, and the bills keep coming in demanding payment OR ELSE!

Today, the consumer can't win, and never will as long as Corporate America runs the country!

Anyone who thought that things would "change" under Obama is finding out that all we are getting is "Bush Lite"!!!

HAIL OBAMA????

I was told at one time that only checks are subject to overdraft and I rarely use checks anymore. I pay all bills that I can online and use my debit card as a credit card (USAA pays me to use it that way). So even though I have overdraft protection it never gets used because my card will just decline.

One other comment I meant to add - it's not realistic to equate an overdraft fee to an interest rate for a loan. An overdraft fee is a penalty for using funds that are not yours to use. It's not meant to be strictly for paying interest on the funds you had no right to use.

Yes, the large daily overdraft charges are excessive but the penalty for the actual overdraft is a fee meant to discourage people from creating overdrafts. Some people just never learn, apparently.

The overdraft fees that the banks charge are outrageous. Here is a story from an ex-customer on Citizens Bank in New York State.

My paycheck is direct deposited on Fridays. One weekend I was using my debit card quite a bit because we were shopping and getting ready for my niece's 30th birthday. On Monday my insurance payment was coming out automatically from my checking account.

During the weekend all my debits came out just fine - a total of 7 all together. On Monday the insurance payment came out and it was for $320. I had made a mistake and overdrew my account. At 5:00 AM on Monday morning my account was still in the black. I went to the bank to make a deposit at 9:00 when they opened and I had overdrawn the account by then. The problem is not that the bank charged me a $32 NSF fee for that check. My problem was that they paid the automatic payment and then made the other (6) debit withdrawals bounce. So instead of getting (1) NSF fee for the insurance payment I received (7) $32 NSF Fees for the one check. It was and is a nightmare. I told them I would pay the (1) fee, but not the others. They have since added more fees for being overdrawn and now the amount is over $400!!! Pure and simple this is nothing but robbery by the banks and I hope Congress does something about it.

Citizens Bank paid my $320 check and then

I've been caught with this senario several times with Bank Of America:

Balance: 25

Pending charges:
26
4.5
5
3.5
5

As all 5 hit on the same day (as pending!) Bank Of America will process the 26 dollar charge 1st and then collect $35 dollar fees on all the smaller items which would not be deficient except by the order in which they were processed. A representative told me "We process from highest to lowest". Previously they would limit the number of 35 dollar fees to 5 per day but now they are saying they will collect up to 10. In my mind this should be criminal.

First of all, I have to say I don't necessarily agree with the handling of debit card transactions by the bank, in particular when they let a transaction go through when funds are not available. I think the biggest overdraft issues began with the debit card. It can make the transactions along with their timing difficult to figure out.

If you know you're going to be cutting it close with your checking account balance, you need to be extra vigilant with balancing your account. You also need to be aware of the holds placed when you used your debit card. It's not only gas stations that may place incorrect holds, it could be a new waitress not knowing she needs to change the amount from the $$ of the bill to the amount including the tip you left. You may want to avoid use of the debit card if you're that low on your balance.

Collected funds are something else that also come into play. It's unfortunate but with check fraud so prevalent now, the banks are not only protecting themselves but the consumer but not giving immediate access to funds from a check deposit. These rules regarding funds availability are determined by the Fed, not by individual banks. The bank can decide to place an extended hold on a large check deposit if the transaction is unusual or on a new account.

It can be difficult to understand all the rules & regulations involved with banking but honestly, at least 50% of the overdrafts are caused by the consumer not being responsible with their accounts. No one wants to be responsible for anything these days. I'm particularly curious about the person who wants the bank to alert them when they're "about to overdraw" there account. I can't imagine how the bank is supposed to know what checks have not yet been presented for payment or payments have been set up or when that customer might decide to buy themselves a latte.

Regions bank will charge the overdraft fee based on the date of the transaction. If you made the transaction on 6/7 and the balance on 6/7 was not there you get charged the OD fee regardless if the transaction came through on 6/9 and you had the money on 6/9. Its bad bad bad. Loosing many customers over that.

This is the way banks should be dealing with the economy. I wonder how many overdrafts our congressmen/congresswomen are having with their congressinal bank accounts the we know nothing about, and what is the fee that is charged them for kiting checks?

I am in the process of closing out my account with TCF Bank as a result of the $35 service fees they charge. Now, I am not opposed to the idea of service fees as I understand a bank is a business but these fees add up quickly and put you in a hole with your finances. This past month I have accumulated $770.00 in service fees and currently have a negative balance with TCF Bank. My personal finances would be better served to bank elsewhere and I do have better options which I am excercising. I don't need a bank that is competitive with others. I need a bank that is better than others. There's a difference.

What a bunch of crybabies. I have never bounced a check. Not once. It just takes a bit of responsibility. Don't rely on monthly statements. Keep your own ledger, I use a program, and track every payment. At the end of the month check everything against your statement. Stop using your debit card all the time. Use your card like an "old fashioned" ATM and keep cash on yourself for purchases. Stop blaming the banks for YOUR inability to manage your money. It's your money and yet you expect everyone else to manage it for you. YOU should know when your account is low. Welcome to real life.

I had never bounced a check until late last week, I apparently made the deadly mistake of going to the bank on a Saturday and transfering money from my savings account and depositing it into my checking account. then also on the weekend paid several bills online. The bank processed all payments first and then the deposit all dated for the next business date on Monday. Charging me $231.00 in ovedrafts before they processed the deposit. In my mind I was never ovedrawn and after they decided it was convenient for them to process the deposit I had a positive balance of over $2000.00 even after they deducted the $231.00 in fees. According to the bank they process from small to large so if my deposit was smaller than the debit transactions they would ave posted it first. Over twenty years with this bank never a bounced check, business, savings, CD's and personal checking accounts and this is how they provide customer service. This was an interbank account to account transfer... they did not have to wait for a deposit to clear another bank. Beware they are just thieves.

It's amazing how little responsibility the majority of you take on this issue. "The bank caused me to overdraw and hit me with fees..." YOU caused yourself to overdraw because YOU are an idiot who can't do math. Take responsibility. Know your accounts and for christ's sake, read the terms & conditions when they're given to you. We're a society of rules & regulations, this should be easy. Why does the bank need to stop your card at $0 when you're out of cash. Maybe YOU should stop your card when you're at $0. Nah, it has to be someone else's fault. Just like the house you were living in that was just foreclosed on. Someone else's fault...right?

Recently a check I had sent to my lawyer for a retainer that was post dated was deposited early and six debit transactions that hit at the same time were each charged thirty five dollars . Needless to say that will be the last time I send out a post dated check. OUCH ......

Most of you are either not smart enough to understand how a checking account works, not well-versed in how banking works, or just too wrapped up in being angry at your own irresponsbility to realize that banks are businesses and have a right to charge fees. If you deposit 10 checks drawn on other banks, your bank cannot release the full amount of those checks until they clear. Why? Because you'd run out and spend it and then if one or more bounce, you will be in the red and charged overdraft fees. So don't spend it before you know those funds are available to you. Pretty simple, right? Debit cards allow you to overdraft because of a system issue - most are now run through Visa and it is how Visa works - and banks have little control over how the Visa program handles insufficient funds situations. Visa dictates those terms to the banks who use their debit card service. You want the convenience of Visa debit cards, but you don't want to be responsible for tracking your expenses. It is NOT the bank's responsibility to watch your account for you! It's YOURS! I forgot to transfer money from my savings to my checking and my account overdrew. I paid $48.00 in OD charges. Was I mad? You bet! I was mad at MYSELF for not making the transfer. People, it's time to grow up and start being responsible for yourselves. The banks are not your parents.

I have constantly found that my bank does the same thing where in the course of a single day the withdrawals are changed in order from one hour to the next. I check my account twice a day and the ledger changes between my web site checks.

I have found that BofA isn't nearly as bad as the old WAMU. I only hope Chase will do better...for the consumer. BofA has an account with no monthly fee but I had their "gold" account which turned into nothing but fees every month even with a nice balance in it. Do you think they'd change to the no fee for me? No. I had to go through a huge online and phone change for anything to be done. In the meantime, I've gotten a checking account with my credit union.

I've been with US Bank for five years and have always been satistfied with them. I have had to pay the "stupid tax" a few times, but the $8 daily charge for being overdrawn doesn't kick in until you've been overdrawn for at least three business days.

I am writing this note to make people of the unfair business practices that Bank of America is engaging in.
In the past, banks have charged an overdraft fee for posted items that took your checking account into a negative balance. This practice is fairly standard, and while the fees are high at $35 dollars an item, it is a known charge that each person can avoid with due diligence and careful accounting.
However, Bank of America has taken overdraft fees to a new level. Now Bank of America charges an Overdraft Fee if the "Pending Balance", goes into a negative, even though the actual account balance is still positive. Even though the bank has not yet "PAID" the item. In other words, the pending item has not posted to the account, so the account balance is still positive, but the pending balance is negative, so Bank of America charges a $35 dollar overdraft fee.
My example would be a pending watch repair charge that took my pending balance on Monday, 04/27, to a negative balance, but because of the watch company's merchant services, the item did not post to the account until 04/29. At no time did my actual balance drop below zero, but because my pending balance on Monday, 04/27, dropped below zero, Bank of America charged my account a $35 overdraft fee.
Bank of America changed their overdraft fee policies back in March of 2008, but I never heard of any change. I do not usually run my checking account in a way that this overdraft event would even be a consideration, but this one in a thousand event occurred with the watch repair.
I think the banking system in general and Bank of America in particular should not be preying on the unemployed this way, trying to generate a fee on something that has not even been paid yet. This type of fee generation is wrong, just wrong, and congress should do something about it.

Billie Speaks the truth. Plus.. Can't use cash anymore. Employer requires direct deposit. Banks take advantage. Time to stand up for ourselves. Legislation is the only way.

Taking the moral high ground that consumers shouldn't spend money they don't have might make you feel good but the point is moot. People sometimes do; the issue is how much the banks charge for overdrafts. Overdraft fees should be regulated. I thought usury was illegal.

Bank of America's new policy will merely give its staff another excuse to deny requests for the compromise of excessive overdraft fees. It will not save consumers anything.

Use a credit union when you overdraft 100 bucks it still only costs you 10. Far better deal. I don't work at a credit union I just use one.

To Carol who's daugter had the debit card issue. We have found that alot of gas stations & other merchants actually have the policy of doubling the amount of the debit to insure they can collect the funds. So it's not the bank placing a hold on your account it's actually the merchants saying you owe them more.

When an account ends the day overdrawn, BOA and other banks will charge a overdraft fee for every charge that was posted to that account that day regardless of the amounts or total overdraft. I think the best reform possible is to require banks to post the charges from smallest to largest. The banks would not be allowed to charge fees on the smaller charges where the balance is sufficient to cover checks.

Give me a break!!! Do you not get that the people who are being charged overdraft fees have written checks when they don't have enough money in their account to cover them??? Where is personal responsibility in all this??? Why must there always be someone else to blame if I or you screw up??? This is so ridiculous. If you don't bounce checks you won't have the overdraft fees. It is as simple as that.

As I read through these responses, I alternate between feelings of "I can't believe a bank would do that..." and "Wait, who's fault is it?". Come on people! If you don't have the money, don't make the purchase! I realize accounting errors happen, but if they happen that frequently to you, perhaps you should hire an accountant! You could pay them with all the money you'll save on overdraft fees. I am perpetually aware of how much I have in my account, if I'm even remotely close to the bottom of the barrel I don't even consider spending. I haven't had an overdraft on my account since I was 16. We can blame all we want, but it's our money, our responsibility. Believe it or not, a bank is a business. Businesses are there to make money, what do you expect????

Before anybody gets the idea that Bank of America has now become the "good guys" by only charging $10 for an overdraft, one should be aware of the fact that a study was once made which showed that it costs the bank less than $1 to process an overdraft. At $10 they are still gouging the consumer.

And the banks' greed does not stop at ridiculous charges for the person who wrote a bad check either. If I am the unknowing recipient of a rubber check, when I go to deposit it in my account, I get charged a fee if it bounces! How is that my fault? What did I do wrong to deserve a fine? How was I suppose to know that the person wrote me a bad check? Absolutely criminal.

Another banking crime example? OK - how about the fact that all withdrawals are subtracted from my account immediately. But if I go deposit a check that is over some undetermined (and in my personal experience an apparently completely subjective) amount, they will hold the deposit for up to 21 days before making it available to me!! They claim it is to make sure it is a good check, but come on...that's B.S. In today's electronic world it takes no more then a single business day to determine that and this occurs with checks even from unquestionable financial resources like any of the largest "too big to fail" institutions and the US Treasury (e.g. tax refund). So in effect, my bank is getting thousands of dollars in a free loan, for 1 - 3 weeks, from a single customer. Now multiply that by the 10s of thousands and probably millions of transactions they do this with in a year. That is free money for them that they can go invest and earn huge profits on without paying anyone a single cent of interest and preventing it from being withdrawn by the money's rightful owner. Again.....totally criminal (or should be).

It is surprising what a phone will do in certain circumstances. For instance, last week I paid a bill online, I knew that a few days later some automatic payments would go through and if I didn't transfer money from savings to my checking, that I would overdraft. So I promptly transferred money. Only I didn't realize that I hit the wrong button and transferred money from checking to savings! Huge error on my part. I didn't find out until a few days ago when I checked my account and found 6 overdraft fees of $33 a piece. So I called customer service, freely admitted my mistake and asked for forgiveness. They reversed the last three overdraft charges. I would much rather pay $99 than $198. I didn't make a stink about the other three because obviously the error was mine and mine alone. I also found that if I have a direct deposit the same day the checks or debit purchases occur, even if my statement shows me going in the red, they do not charge me overdraft charges. Overdrafts happen to everyone, some do it regularly, others, it is honest mistakes that happen rarely. Call your bank and see if the can help if you are one of the ones who do it rarely.

Personally, I'm not as concerned about the amount of the charge as I am about the order in which checks are paid. Banks typically pay in an order that brings in the most fees. Here is an example:

I have $200 in my bank account. I write checks (or use a debit card) for $5, $25, $50, and $195, and my payroll direct deposit is scheduled to add another $2000 to my account tonight. The bank processes normal deposits before processing checks, but the payroll deposit typically doesn't run until early in the morning. (Who knew?) The bank will pay the $195 check, then the $50, then the $25, then the $5. This results in a fee three times for each transaction after the initial $195. If the bank paid them in reverse order, there would only be one fee because the account will not overdraft until the final check for $195 goes through. Two or three hours later my payroll deposit will hit and I will have a positive ending balance for the day on my account, but it will reflect a deduction of three overdraft charges.

I am looking for a bank that pays transactions in smallest-to-largest order. While I don't intend to overdraft my account, sometimes the accounting rules used by banks are so arcane that an overdraft can truly be due to accounting order and not due to intent to defraud.

A lot of you are very wrong! Yes if you over draft your account its your fault and you should pay.
But there are a lot of other reason a person gets hit. I have personally seen a person buy something online or hold a hotel/car on a debit card and seen a "hold" put on the account larger than the transaction itself. Some gas stations even put a $100 hold on your account if you pay at the pump. Even if you get $10 in gas. And I have seen that put an account into the red even thought the hold then came off. Is that $35 charge fair?
I personally have seen once on my account, I checked the online balance the night before my direct deposit at 9:00 after the bank closed and saw a check had not come out, so I used my debit card for a $10 purchase knowing the check couldn't come in until the bank opened in the morning at the earliest and knowing that my direct deposit would be put in at midnight. Well I was wrong the bank entered the check the next afternoon but charged the overdraft fee anyway. Is that fair?
I have also seen a person have 7 transactions come out on one day and the account go negative by less than $50 but the car payment for $400 is the first one to come out, and triggers the bounce fee and then every other transaction gets another $35 fee. yet had the smaller debit card sales come out first the only one to bounce would have been the large check. yet the bank charges $245. Now rightly so the person should have paid the $35 because the check was over drawn but the $245, because of the way the bank orders the checks speciffically to make this happen? not only is it unfair it should be illegal. And thats what I told my congressman and senator when I wrote them.
And I personally check my account online at least three times a week, and I have noticed the bank delays reporting payments that come outand skews the account details and things take long to match up. It almost appears to be an effort to confuse people as to what is in their account in the hopes of getting them to bounce something.
These banks steal billions from taxpayers in TARP money and then still have the nerve to treat customers like this? I say let them all burn.
its very wrong.

A lot of you are very wrong! Yes if you over draft your account its your fault and you should pay.
But there are a lot of other reason a person gets hit. I have personally seen a person buy something online or hold a hotel/car on a debit card and seen a "hold" put on the account larger than the transaction itself. Some gas stations even put a $100 hold on your account if you pay at the pump. Even if you get $10 in gas. And I have seen that put an account into the red even thought the hold then came off. Is that $35 charge fair?
I personally have seen once on my account, I checked the online balance the night before my direct deposit at 9:00 after the bank closed and saw a check had not come out, so I used my debit card for a $10 purchase knowing the check couldn't come in until the bank opened in the morning at the earliest and knowing that my direct deposit would be put in at midnight. Well I was wrong the bank entered the check the next afternoon but charged the overdraft fee anyway. Is that fair?
I have also seen a person have 7 transactions come out on one day and the account go negative by less than $50 but the car payment for $400 is the first one to come out, and triggers the bounce fee and then every other transaction gets another $35 fee. yet had the smaller debit card sales come out first the only one to bounce would have been the large check. yet the bank charges $245. Now rightly so the person should have paid the $35 because the check was over drawn but the $245, because of the way the bank orders the checks speciffically to make this happen? not only is it unfair it should be illegal. And thats what I told my congressman and senator when I wrote them.
And I personally check my account online at least three times a week, and I have noticed the bank delays reporting payments that come outand skews the account details and things take long to match up. It almost appears to be an effort to confuse people as to what is in their account in the hopes of getting them to bounce something.
These banks steal billions from taxpayers in TARP money and then still have the nerve to treat customers like this? I say let them all burn.
its very wrong.

Here's the problem I have with BofA fees (not just overdraft fees...If I make a mistake, that's MY fault!) Here's the situation: I sent money to a company for a service, for 4 1/2 years, through a direct withdrawal from my checking account. I decide to not do business with that company any longer, and I have to pay a $28 "Stop Payment" fee. All because I agreed to pay by automatic withdrawal. Gee, thanks.

I hate BofA for the same reasons. I had my first mortgage with them some thirty years ago. I stopped doing business with them over their checking acct policies. I move to georgia and got a loan withCountrywidw,and guess what? Bof A buys countrywide and now I am with this hated bank again.But,never will they get any other business with me again.

REcenbtly I discovered on Saturday a charge because a business accidently put me on autoship and overdrew my account . The charge hadn't posted yet and I was told that the bank wouldn"t stop the charge kuntil it did. I managed to find out who but the bank still refused to stop the charge and put TWO more overdraft charges on my account for $1.00 movie rentals. My bank official refusedc to remove them endinging in the bank charging $38.per overdraft.This Compass. Bank in Lago,Vista Texas. I was told to get the charge from the merchant.I guess in hard times the bank needs money.Awfully expensive for a $1.00 unknown mistake for a senior citizen.

If you don't like the charges at Bank of America, then switch to a different financial institution. I work at a Credit Union and we charge $10 for overdraft checks of any amount and we "pay" as many checks as possible to reduce the amount of fees charged. Small banks and credit Unions are the answer.

I have found out that it does absolutely no good to talk to the branch manager. They are only there to do one thing collect a paycheck.

Which this is a nice gesture from the bank, I personally would LOVE the option to simply have my transaction refused because I'm trying to spend money I don't have. I've only even bounced once, because my auto-withdraw insurance doubled at my sons birth despite having a "family plan", but that's an entirely different can of worms.

I work for a bank and I have to say that I like what Bank of America is doing. However, I hate when people complain about overdraft fees. Everyone makes a mistake every now and then and your bank will probably forgive it if you ask. But frequently bouncing checks is actually illegal. A check is a legal contract that promises the payee that you have x dollars at this bank and that they can get it by submitting the check. If overdraft fees aren't at least a little excessive, it will cause more people to pass bad checks on purpose. Also, your checks usually post at night at the end of the day in which they were presented. Meaning Mondays checks won't show up in our systems until Tuesday morning. Deposits show up the day they are received. This is the reason checks and debits are posted before deposits. The checks are actually from the prior day, while the deposits are from the current day. And if you didn't have the money in the account when you wrote the check, its your fault if it bounces. You're not suppose to write a check in the hopes that your direct deposit will beat the check to the account. Everyone does it, but it gets tiresome when you play the game, get burned, and then complain.

This is not as friendly of a policy as one might think. It states if you end the day with less than a -$5 balance. But, say you have an automatic bill pay hit, that for example, puts you at -$1, and not realizing this, you go grab fast food, and then later that day go to Starbuck. Here is what happens. Your bill putting you at -$1 STILL hits you with a $35 fee because your $5 fast food and your $3 coffee puts you at -$9 end of day balance. By the time you notice, your account shows you are at -$114 because of that $40 Big Mac and $38 coffee. (And you thought Starbucks was expensive before....)

So BofA loans you $9 and you have to pay back $105 in fees. Even if you pay them back the next day! How is that legal?

Sunflower Bank in Kansas stopped allowing overdrafts on their customers debit cards two years ago. This lasted less than three months. I'm sure their quartarly earnings were at an all time low, so they went back to business aas usual. I overdrafted my account due to an error that was MY fault by $150. Problem was that one was a car payment for $600.00 and 6 other small charges totaling less than $120. Yes , thats right even though I have a $1000.00 overdraft, they said they had to pay the check first because it was larger and paid $27.00 for EACH of the other debits that day. I don't care how you want to spin it. That is just wrong.

Debit card were marketed to account holders as a way to help the account holder stay within their budget. Then somewhere along the way, banks began processing debit card use similar to a credit card, by accepting the debit card purchase when there was no money in the account. There are some people who incorrectly believed that the debit card would not function if the account did not have sufficient funds, only to learn that the debit card switched to a credit card function, which would then trigger overdraft fees to the account.

I feel the banks should not be able to charge a fee unless they pay the check into overdraft, if the bounce it then they get nothing since they don't even touch the withdrawl checks they co to clearing houses

One issue not addresed here yet...If a balance is zero or the account is overdrawn,a debit card transaction should be denied, but it IS NOT. The bank will happily allow you to continue to overdraw your account(my son would buy $5 coffee, $7 lunch or $10 gas)and then keep stacking on the fees. I have discussed this with my bank -asking that if the account is empty then I don't want the card to work and they said they can't do that...this is even the case at for an ATM withdrawal- the transaction is allowed even though there is no money. The overdraft fees can really stack up.

Scrolling down all these comments and trying to read at least some of them, it's obvious that you have touched a nerve. The first time I ever bounced a check (because I didn't enter a payment)I was horrified at the cost. At that time (long ago) if you didn't have money in your account, the check was returned , period end of story. The store charged me for the returned check and the bank charged me for the overdraft. We were young and poor and it really, really hurt. Fast forward to the present where at least most banks will go ahead and honor a payment and you only get charged for the overdraft. That's better than it used to be.
If you think Bank of America is bad, you should see how Nevada State Bank handles overdrafts. It's got to be a main source of revenue for them and they have absolutely no sympathy for their customers. I learned late one Friday (by looking at my account online) that a debit card purchase that day overdrew my account. My branch is open on Saturday so I ran in to make a deposit. They charge a fee for every day the account is in the red and that includes weekends. Weekend deposits are not posted until Monday, but they have absolutely no problem posting overdraft fees on Saturdays and Sundays. And their response to my complaint was "those are our rules".

I have worked for a few banks over the past ten years and can say that I have never seen a customer charged and overdraft fee if a deposit is made the same day the account goes into the red. Regardless of how the debits/credits are processed the math doesnt lie. If you keep track of what you spend and dont spend a single penny more than what you have then you'll never have this problem. Also everyone knows what happens if you overdraw the account, so to act surpised when you are charged a fee for even a small overdraft doesnt help your case. I'm not going to sit here and say that I'm perfect and have never paid an overdraft fee. I work for the bank and have probably paid more in fees that the average customer but I have never expect to have a fee refunded for a any of my overdrafts. Also most people can get one or two fees refunded if they come in and are just honest about what happened and its not an everyday "mistake". Keep in mind that every fee that is refunded can directly effect someones pay and it could be the person sitting in from of you. So put yourself in their position. Bottom line is if you spend only what you have then this is a non-issue.