A couple of days ago I transferred several hundred dollars into our joint checking account. Shortly after that I tried to make a purchase and my card got denied. I reviewed the balance -- negative $600.
WTF?

Looking through the statements, I realized that somebody was using the card to make purchases while finances on the account were limited. The purchases were small -- a coffee here and there -- while every overdraft fee was $35. Most of the negative balance was composed of the of overdraft fees. Since all the purchases where made around the area where my fiance worked, I talked to her. It turns out that she had visited a bank a couple of weeks ago in order to link her debit card to one of her accounts. There was a mistake and BoA linked her card with our joint checking account; that was not correct!

We went to BoA. They acknowledged the mistake and the fact that the bank had to refund the money. Yet, there was no any effort to help us out. The manager of the branch was not present and we were told to go to the bank where the account was 'linked.' Okay, fair enough. We drove 40 miles to that bank. Unfortunately, that bank could not help us because the account was created at a different location (the one that we had visited earlier). The teller who helped us made efforts to refund the money, but it was clear that she did not have enough privileges and no money was refunded. We were not able to get to the manager there as well. I know that the manager was on-site because there was a car parked in the spot named "branch manager."

When talking to the customer representative, I mentioned the fact that the bank did not even attempt to contact us when the account was getting overdrawn over and over again. They told us to keep the balance after every purchase. I do not check the account after every trip to Starbucks. Especially the account that I know should not be used unless somebody at the bank has made a mistake and linked it incorrectly. The thing that kicks me up the most is the fact that the teller who had linked the accounts ensured us that the joint account was not the primary one.

After driving all the freaking way to San Jose to find a person who could speak English and at least show some interest in our problems I am calling it quits. Once the account is refunded, it is going to be closed. ING Direct has a checking account that does not charge overdraft fees and let's you pay the interest on the purchases that were made when your account was negative.

Glad that I did not use BoA for my car loan needs.

Grrrr...

I was in a very similar cituation with Harris bank here. Been there done that.

Never had a problem with my credit union. In fact I financed both cars with them even tho the dealership could offer a slightly lower rate, just because I know I wouldn't have any hassles. I don't know why people pay fees for checks etc. When most Federal Credit unions all have free checking, I can withdraw cash from any Federal Credit union without paying any fees. In fact the credit union near where I work is a totally different bank, yet I still pay my checks in there and do all my banking there.

BoA are just in the game to make money. If that means stiffing as many customers out of $35.00 overdraft fees, they don't care.

I have everything except my house financed through my Credit Union. Never a problem at all, and extremely friendly and personal. Everyone know me by name etc. I've had all the big name banks in the past and compared to my CU, they blow big time.

Find a Credit Union, you can't go wrong.

I too use a credit union that I've been a member of for 12 years.

I've since moved all over the state, and currently the nearest branch is still 95 miles away. My wife banks with them too, and has never lived in a city they have an office.

I use them for everything, and have not a problem, even though I can't get to a branch anytime I need to. Everything is handled online, or if need be anything else can be taken care of over the phone.

Credit Unions Rock!

Damn, Im with Wells Fargo and only get $10 overdraft fees.

I had BoA about 6 years ago and ran into a similar problem. I closed the account and switched to a credit union. I do all my business with the same credit union, car loans, credit card, personal loans etc. I have not had any problems with my credit union.

Hey,

Did the bank make a mistake in your case too? I was told that BoA was going to refund the money, but something tells me that I'll have to jump through several hoops before this happens. Did you ever get your $ back?

BANK is a four letter word - join your credit union today!

I got my money back eventually but it was a real head-ache. Lot's of arguing on the phone.

Another vote here for a local credit union. You're way better off at one of those than at some huge bank.

I was a customer with Wachovia (Walkalloverya) for many years. And I can't say I've had as bad of an experience as you, there were many small things that heppened and were taken lightly by the big bank, while they were quite important to me. I moved to a smaller local bank, LSB of NC and now almost enjoy going to the bank. When I walk in they know me by name. They go far out of their way to help me. Wish I would have done it long ago. Not to mention that many of them are hot.

Bank of "America" is causing a stir here in Georgia by offering accounts and credit cards to people who don't have social security numbers (translation: illegal aliens). Plus of course you have to request English when using their ATMs or phone system.

We had several credit cards and long term CDs with MBNA, then Bank of America bought them out and we had to jump through all these hoops to get things switched over to their online banking, etc.

I had never heard anything good about Bank of America (except for what they say in their commercials), so we cancelled both cards and fortunately the CDs came to term in January, so we closed them.

I feel your pain about getting the refund. You will be jumping through many hoops. Make sure you document every call you make (over the phone or in person) and get everyone's name that you talk to.

Good luck!!

-Michael

Yeah, they've been doing that in the Southwest for quite some time now. Complete utter bullshit.

Fuck BoA. I left them several years ago, went to Regions for awhile, and now I'm with a local credit union. You can't go wrong. Free checking, no fees when I withdraw from another credit union's ATM, and I only have to pay the other bank's fee if for some reason I'm stuck withdrawing from a bank ATM. They're friendly, get the job done, and I couldn't be happier. The only problem I've had is having difficulty linking my online account to My Money program, but I can work around that easily.

for credit unions!

Are you using quicken? We use that and my wife has it set up so basically all our bills, our local credit union, brokerage accounts, mortgage, etc. are all tied together. May be worth switching to see if it works better, unless of course that's what you already use. Just a thought anyway.

Our credit union is actually located in another state, but we liked them so much when we moved we were able to keep them (they said it was no problem since we lived there when we set up the account). We do all our banking online anyway, and there's lots of credit unions in our new area where we can get cash, deposit checks, etc all for free. There's no way we'll ever go down the bank route again.

Credit union

Left Amsouth/Regions after they held on to a check (from another bank) for 10 days. Then let me have it in increments. Meanwhile the wifes check fully cleared Suntrust in 3 business days.

Using Microsoft Money. Works great on my other bills. I can export my banking info, but can't link to it live for some reason.

Maybe I should have spent the extra $15 and gotten Quicken.

I only have two accounts.

an online savings account with ING and a checking/saving account with my local credit union.

Another for the credit union. I've been a member for 14 years with no problems.

Update: We called the branch manager and... surprise! He was extremely polite and offered to refund all the fees without any further questions. Wow. Now we have to ensure that he follows up on the promise. At this point, only $35 came back (one fee out of way too many).

We did our part by acting politely and not stating any threats. I really don't want anybody to get fired for a mistake. In any case, I have opened yet another ING account in order to use it as my primary checking. $35 for an overdraft fee is a robbery! Charge me the percentage on the amount that went below 0, not a fixed fee and I'll be okay with it.

I was once a Washington Mutual account holder for several years until I discovered the benefits and joy of being a Credit Union member. I pay no overdraft fees...instead I have a line of credit which covers the overdraft and charged with very minimal interest--about a fraction of what WaMu used to charge me. Never going back to the big banks ever.