Hideous bank fees, my saga today

[Big C]

This precicely why we do business with a local bank.
We get their business and they get ours.
Will NEVER do business with any bank that took my tax BAILOUT money then paid it out to employees as a bonus.

 

[WriterofWords]

Don't worry about being judged, we all make mistakes, it comes along with being human. Anyone who judges you needs to look in the mirror and say "ok, your turn to be judged and you are lacking".

 

[OlliOlliOlli]

Quote:
I used to need a well-known bank when I used to go traveling around to different places, but I've become a bit of a homebody, so I don't see the negativity of using a small bank anymore.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

isn't the 3 day wait for your deposits awful, even if its cash or a bank check, I found a credit union that's a lot more fair than a regular bank. none of that 3 day crap

 

[BattleChickens]

So I’m guessing you’re with a BIG bank . . . With those astronomical overdraft fees, Wells Fargo was the first that popped into my mind, or Bank of America, perhaps. I have been in banking for quite some time now – both with a small, locally-owned Savings and Loan and (now) with a small(ish) Credit Union. It seems to me that BIG banks generally don’t give a rip about you, their customer. They’ve forgotten that the customers are their bread and butter because there are so many of them. I agree with lalaland, find a local bank or credit union. Right now is an excellent time to refinance your mortgage, too. You may be surprised how competitive the rates of smaller financial institutions can be. What they may lack in rates, though, is more made up for in the level of customer service and care you will receive. Now that I know better, I will never bank with a BIG bank again. Nevertheless, I am sorry that happened to you – it totally SUCKS!

 

[Big C]

Quote:
I used to need a well-known bank when I used to go traveling around to different places, but I've become a bit of a homebody, so I don't see the negativity of using a small bank anymore.

Our small bank has the overdraft protection from our savings as mentioned before.
Also we have a debit/credit card from them so we can travel for business, trips etc...

Small banks have "grown up".
We can go online to our account to do transfers, etc...
Plus small banks actually care.

Glad that you got your situation taken care of.

 

[EweSheep]

Lucky you guys got more stuff than my local bank does! I asked for overdrawn fees to be taking out of savings and they said no. I know my previous bank did and they were wonderful until I lost my job and then they got greedy with me, therefore losing everything in bankruptcy.

I like my bank i have now because they went the extra mile to protect my credit cards and if they question the statment they need to pay, they would give us a call to make sure. One time they caught some foreigner got a hold of my debit card in Romania for a pocket camera and we told the bank no, we didnt authorize the purchase nor do we know of anyone in that foreign country nor we visited there recently. The bank denied the vendor his payments for the camera. After that, i dont know if they did investigation or not.

I am afraid some small banks will go over their heads like Wells Fargo did.

 

[bettisworth]

Yes banks are crooks. A good friend of mine, who works at a bank, told me that her particular branch makes over $250,000.00 a month on overdraft fees alone. And there are 10 branches in this area. A good reason why they offer "free checking". Now you can see why they have the posh entry ways.

Remember though, you go in to open an account, and they shove papers at you saying "sign here". And in the legal sense, you have just contracted to all of their fine print and "banking policies". And they are so nice to "guard" our money for us.

I actually bank at a local old credit union now.

 

[speckledhen]

With banks going under every day, you'd think they'd cut a good customer some slack rather than lose business.

 

[australorpchick]

You can opt out of having the bank cover a temporary shortage for you. If this should ever happen again, the bank won't "advance" the money to let the charges clear and you won't get the horrible fees. Check with your bank to get all the details about opting out. Better yet, say goodbye to your bank and go with a credit union (they usually have better loan & deposit rates). Also, having a small savings account linked up for overdraft protection would be a good idea.