Comments on: Overdraft Fees: Some Banks Let You Opt Out

By: Alisha

Alisha — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:14:47 +0000

Is it only me that sees the “use a check registry” argument as a total waste of breath? Let’s put it this way, I bank at Fifth Third. 5/3 posts transactions based on largest to smallest. So let us say for arguments sake that I have 20.00$ in the bank. I make purchases in order (and therefore recorded in my register in order) for 4.00$, 8.00$, 3.00$, and say I have an automatic bill that comes out between a certain few days that I either forget, or assume is coming out at the tail end for 14.99. The bill comes out earlier than I prepared for, but still at the tail end of the charges. 5/3 charges the 14.99 first, then the 8.00, and that already puts me in the red. So I get NSF charges for 3 transactions in all. When in reality if I went by my check register, I would only have one. My point, in this day and age keeping a check register is no more protection from a possible NSF than any other method because they have some serious backdoor/screw the customer policies.

By: Lamont

Lamont — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:27:26 +0000

@Scott yeh honestly I disagree also it’s simple enough for a transaction to be denied using a debit card. In essence debit means to debit funds available or on hands so if no funds are available why should a transaction be allowed to be processed? Like the previous person said I’d get a credit card if that’s the case. Also I’ve witnessed first hand how banks process transactions from largest to smallest purposely to allow your account to drawn down to zero and then process the remaining transactions.

By: Clint

Clint — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:22:25 +0000

Customers need to be aware of how much money is in their account. But let’s remember that 45% of banks would not make a profit without these fees. Their policies attempt to maximize the amount of overdrafts through all sorts of tricky means – including reordering transactions, speeding up purchases and delaying deposits.

By: Kristian

Kristian — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:00:06 +0000

… or you should know what is going on in your account everyday and not spend money you don’t have. I’m sorry. Is that too logical?

Or even more logical, why not return debit cards to their original form and not allow them to go into negative territory. If I wanted a line a credit I’d get a credit card. A rep had the nerve to lecture me to the effect that I should use a check registry. Really? 2009 and I’m supposed to use a check registry? I keep my check registry right next to my vhs recorder and answering machine and all the other useless junk from 1985. You know what check registries are great for? People who write CHECKS. I use a ELECTRONIC debit card which can use the magical powers of the interweb to deny my transaction.

Here’s the really dodgy part. Debit cards originally had this function. Accidentally dip below the line? No prob, transaction denied and you can whip out cash or apologize and be on your way. Then some tart decided they could make money off all these instances and started charging $10, $15… finally $35 at most places. Fine, if you want to be like that then I’ll just OPT OUT. “Sorry we don’t have that technology” is the reply I got. Orly? It existed in 1992. What happened? Was is lost to time like the Ark of the Covenant?

It’s easy to say “Just keep track of your money loser” when you’re not near the poverty line. This practice is predatory pure and simple. Most important though is that YOU DON’T HAVE A CHOICE. Most banks don’t offer opt outs and those that do make it so difficult that most people just throw up their hands. I don’t get these overdraft fees often but just recently I was charged $140 for going $1.22 negative. That’s the equivalent of curb stomping someone for jaywalking. Thank goodness this is finally being addressed.

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:03:15 +0000

…or you should know what is going on in your account everyday and not spend money you don’t have. I’m sorry. Is that too logical?

By: Smithee

Smithee — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:31:57 +0000

You are so right. I’ll fix that now.

By: Walt

Walt — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:11:45 +0000

Bank of America also decided it won’t impose an overdraft fee if your account is below -$10, unless you don’t fix it within five days.

I’m assuming you mean ABOVE -$10

By: Jason @ One Money Design

Jason @ One Money Design — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:08:09 +0000

That’s a good feature. Thanks MyJourney.

By: MyJourney

MyJourney — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:37:13 +0000

I know Chase does. I get a constant daily email every time my account goes below and stays below $500 (you set the limit).

By: Jason @ One Money Design

Jason @ One Money Design — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:30:39 +0000

I’ve had some days in the past of poor cash flow managment and overdrafted. I would usually call and ask the overdraft fees be reinstated. If the customer service rep wouldn’t do it, I would call again until I found someone who would. Pretty sad on my end when I just needed to fix the root cause of my problem. And thankfully, it is fixed with better cash flow management and living on a spending plan. I’m glad to hear banks or loosening up a bit on these fees, but I still want to see people fix what is causing the overdraft. Maybe that means more awareness to spending habits or keeping an extra hidden cushion amount in the account. Can you set up an online notification service based on your account balance threshold? That would be a nice feature and might help people.

By: MyJourney

MyJourney — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:16:13 +0000

ING IS THE BEST! They give you a $165 overdraft line and charge you only 7% if you dip into it. No fees, no penalties and a rate lower than 90% of the CCS out there!

By: David@DINKS Finance

David@DINKS Finance — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:45:19 +0000

I like it! Makes so much more sense. It’s definitely something I would want to take part in, even though my account rarely gets to that dangerously low level.

By: Sasha

Sasha — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:48:59 +0000

I am happy to see that banks are discontinuing the petty approach they had going before. I left 5th/3rd because of their overdraft policy. I am a few paychecks away from disowning my current credit union because of their overdraft policy. I HATE overdraft fees, and despite my best efforts to get all the information upfront, I always seem to be the last to know how come they are on my account. Usually if I incur them it’s because of a recurring payment that I had canceled well in advanced of the next withdrawal, but the company pushed it through anyhow. The fee pushes me into dangerously close to $0 territory, but I don’t budget for it because I canceled it. 5th/3rd got dropped due to this, AFTER they refunded my fees due to their poor customer service. My credit union is out as soon as I get enough to start my ING checking with the $25 start up bonus. I would think that I asked all that I need to know to protect myself, but apparently I don’t. :-(
I may reconsider Chase (I was with them when they were Bank1 up here), though I still have a bit of a sour taste from my last experience with them (unrelated to overdraft).