I have considered myself to be good at balancing my bank account for many years.
For some reason, this year has deflated my ego and increased my distaste for certain banking practices, specifically overdraft fees.
After never really having these, I had 5 charged to me on two different occasions during the second half of the year...
at about $34-38 each.
I was suddenly out a nice chunk of change that continued to bring me below the magic zero balance.
The irony in both cases is that I had deposited money in the accounts on both occasions, which would keep me in the black.
On the second occasion, I even have an ATM withdrawal receipt from KEYBANK stating I have positive funds in my balance and yet, this same transaction was listed as one of the overdrafts.
I was extremely disappointed with the bank at this point and would have much rather seen a note on the ATM machine stating something to the effect of "Sorry, but due to insufficient funds, your transaction has been cancelled.
" Instead, the banks easily give money and then fine you for it later, which seems a little unethical to me.
With the technology that exists today to instantly wire funds anywhere in the world, they should be able to figure out how much really is left in my account, so that this does not happen again.
If I were to use the card at a store (as it is a debit card) I would be nothing more than happy to get DECLINED! When looking at the money deposited, they were in the form of a check and therefore only a certain amount was considered eligible towards my balance, thus any purchases I made that evening would be against me, no questions asked! The best part that really gets under my skin is that the bank charges you more than the cost of the transaction.
A $3 cup of coffee at Dunkin Donuts ended up costing me 38 extra dollars.
If you have ever been in this same position, I am sure you can relate to the displeasure I have been feeling as of late.
When the bank suggests I check my balances more frequently, I am at a loss of words seeing that there never really seems to be a consistent time frame for which they finalize a transaction.
With some conversation both over the phone and at the branch itself, I was at least able to get a refund on a few of the charges, but not all of them of course.
This latest time it happened, they said 'no' outright as it has occurred twice in less than 12 months time.
The other irony of all of this is that I also have a business account and a savings account with this bank that had money that could easily have been transferred over and none of these issues would have ever occurred.
As the bank is in the business of making money, they were not at all interested in looking at this in regards to refunding my charges.
Do they really think as a customer of theirs for over 6 years, I would not have transferred money over had I known there were limited funds in the other account? For this alone, I value my credit union where I easily have funds removed from my saving account when I spend with my checking account.
Many of you out there might just think it is me that is the fool and should get overdraft protection, but again, this is the bank trying to get more money and squeeze blood from the rock.
It goes without saying that I will make sure my calculations are in order and that if you are like me and have a spouse that likes to spend money, the receipts go into the register immediately so these problems do not occur.
As a final note and word of caution, make sure you are aware of your banks overdraft fees and how much of your deposits are initially available to you once you put them in.
The banks are a business that are looking for anyway to get money out of their customers ignorance, so please make sure you also look over your account details and requirements to help prevent these issues from occurring to you as well.
If my misfortune can help others, then so be it.