When it rains...

shootist16

shootist16

knife law moderator
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Dec 25, 1998
Messages
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I really hate to post a sob story on here, but I've had a run of bad luck. Most of you know about the neighbor, fence issue that cost me $500 for a survey. Last week my son had to have an oral surgical procedure done. The doctor said our part would be $125. Ended up being $570. My wife has to have a hysterectomy on the 14th of this month. Thats 4 to 8 weeks off from work. She has no sick time so thats 4 to 8 weeks with no income. I've been trying to pick up side jobs to help. My paycheck goes direct deposit on Thursday, it didn't go in until Friday last week. We were $120 short so the bank charged us $210 in overdraft fees. We have never bounced a check. We had money in savings to cover it, but the bank doesn't transfer the money from savings to checking, they just charge you overdraft fees. Anyway, if I don't seem to be in a good mood in the near future you know why.
 
FWIW Banks will sometimes drop those over-draft fees if you simply ask. I just recently had a similar situation with Bank of America. I got a supervisor on the phone and said my piece and she said OK we'll drop those charges, simple as that. I'm still in shock and BoA has a customer for life...

I realize this is only a small part of your problem but every little bit helps.
Keep on keepin on...
 
My wife asked them to drop the charges and they said no. I emailed customer service and advised I would be switching banks due to this. No response. If I haven't heard anything by tomorrow, I'm switching.
 
One of the few things I've learned is that THINGS ALWAYS GET BETTER. Be patient, but work on getting out of your hole now. Maybe you can get on with UPS for temporary Christmas work. They'll work you, but they pay well and they hire a lot of people in December. APPLY NOW. And dump that bank. Instead, join a federal credit union for all your financial services (saving and checking accounts, etc.). If you can join a credit union quickly, I'll bet somebody there will help you with some good advice on surviving this crunch. Plan on eating a lot of rice and beans for the winter, too. Good luck. You'll make it!
 
One more idea: Before you dump that bank, see if you can sit down with somebody there who handles "customer service" or something like that, and explain the bind you're in and ask if they would be kind enough to waive or reduce those overdraft charges since you had the funds in your saving account. It never hurts to ask nicely! But you should still join a credit union.
 
I have also had charges reversed simply by asking. Don't call, actually go in and talk to someone in person. Explain the situation and ask if they can reverse them. Worst thing that can happen is a sting to your pride and you'd still be out the money. On the good side, they might reverse the charges, or even have some suggestions to help you through the rough spot.

Keep your chin up.. things will improve. :thumbup:
 
Wells Fargo dropped about 100 in overlimit charges for my daughter. All we had to do is ask the right person.
 
shootist16 said:
My wife asked them to drop the charges and they said no. I emailed customer service and advised I would be switching banks due to this. No response. If I haven't heard anything by tomorrow, I'm switching.
Click to expand...

e-mailing is no good, you need to speak to a real person. In many cases if you are polite and explain that your pay was late and that you had money in savings, but they didn't take that into consideration and that they could have transferred those funds if they wished, they will drop the charges. If they still won't, then tell them they are not doing their job in YOUR best interests and you will be moving your banking elsewhere. As a closing shot tell the them you have one and half a million dollars in offshore banking that comes into maturity in 6 months :)
 
I agree. In many cases you can get the bank to drop the fees by going in and explaining the situation to a real person--as high-up as possible.

Still "$120 short so the bank charged us $210 in overdraft fees."?

It sounds like you bank with one of the crime families or something. I thought that loan-sharking was illegal.

Even if you do get this corrected, I would not want to stay with a bank that has those kind of policies.

Anyway, best of luck to you, and I hope that your wife and son have full recoveries from their procedures.
 
tyr_shadowblade said:
Several cheques, each with an overdraft fee of approx. $35, double-charged (they "try to clear the check a second time" the same day, in case the funds magically were deposited in your account -- then charge additional overdraft fee). "This is a finance charge."
Click to expand...


That is exactly what they did. The bank is First Tennessee btw.
 
It's very unusual for a bank not to work with a customer on overdraft charges, it sounds like you need a new bank. I have had good results with First Fidelity Bank.
 
I spoke to someone in charge today. They wouldn't talk to me until I told them I was closing my accounts and banking somewhere else. She very reluctantly refunded the $210, and wasn't polite about it. She said that I had to fill out a credit card application with them and that they normally do not refund these charges.

Bottom line... I'm still switching banks. I am very glad they refunded the money, but they were very pushy. The fact that I worked a robbery last week at one of their branches and the manager told the clerks to not co-operate with the police until they filled out forms for the bank first didn't help any.
 
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