I Got Hit With a $4 Bank Fee From Wachovia

Last month, my landlord revoked credit card rent payments without enough notice to set up direct debit for April’s rent. I had to scramble to move around some money to write a check for April’s rent. Well, it would have taken too long to get the money from my ING Direct, so I had to transfer a few hundred dollars from my Wachovia savings to Wachovia checking until the ING Direct transfer would take place.

The two-day dip in my savings account made my average daily balance for the month go below the minimum to avoid fees, so I got stuck with a $4 fee.

While my landlord should have given me more warning before changing their accepted methods of payment, I’ll accept this fee as my fault. I don’t like keeping that much of a balance in this account — usually just the minimum — because the amount of interest earned is pathetic (0.15% APY). I should keep a little more in their for cases like this, when ING Direct can’t get the money to my primary checking account fast enough.

Update: I just called Wachovia to clarify whether it was a minimum balance (on any particular day) or a minimum average daily balance (over the statement cycle period) that earned me the fee. The customer service representative described the details which have changed since the last time I asked, a $200 minimum balance (if the account goes below this on any day, they’ll slap you with a fee) and a $300 minimum average daily balance (if at the end of the statement cycle, your average balance is less, they’ll slap you with a fee).

The CSR “as a courtesy” offered to reverse the $4 fee. I didn’t ask for a credit or imply that I was unhappy. I like friendly, happy customer service associates.

Now, I just have to make sure I don’t accidentally download my transactions with Quicken, or I’ll be slapped with another fee.