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regicide
Joined: 01 Sep 2006
Location: United States
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 Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 11:29 pm Post subject: Need someone to handle a Class Action Lawsuit against B O A |
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As of March, they are now charging overdraft fees on accounts that have any pending or holding transactions even if a deposit posts before those pending transactions do. They can't call it an "overdraft fee" if there is no actual overdraft. The only notification they gave for such a change was through people's bank statements.
I get mine online, not a paper copy. I don't need to refer to the statement if my account balances with my online activity, so I was never made aware of this policy. They should have mailed out separate notices in the mail.
I'm aware that there are numerous other people in this same boat, and this was an underhanded way of implementing such a new policy in order to essentially con money out of people who couldn't afford it to begin with.
Last edited by regicide on Wed Jul 30, 2008 5:13 am; edited 2 times in total |
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maeil
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Location: Haebangchon
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| Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 12:55 am Post subject: |
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I once wrote them a scathing letter about charging me an overdraft fee... I was in college and broke, and supposed to have a free student checking account. My balance was $0 or a few cents, and they charged me a $5 monthly fee which sent me $4 and change into overdraft, on which they charged me the $35 fee. They refunded the fee "as a courtesy" after I complained, but they didn't stop charging me the $5 monthly fee on my account until recently, with no further action by myself.
If you use online banking, fill out a customer service complaint form. They actually do get checked. (My account is from the greater Boston area, too.)
Oh, one other fun story about Bank of America. I had JUST arrived in Korea 3 years ago when they decided to close my account. Why? My roommate had bounced a check to me. It was a rather large one - he owed me for rent. Because we had the same address listed though, the bank thought it was some sort of scam and they disabled my check card - the only source of funds I had in Korea that first month. They then refused to send my new card to Korea. I had to get my father to go into the branch and then FedEx it for me. Broke and scared is not a good way to start off in Korea. Jetlag and late night calls back to the States to get it sorted out made things worse. |
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jillbean1217
Joined: 04 Jul 2008
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| Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 7:27 am Post subject: |
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| I actually think this has been happening since before March. I am constantly riding the line with my bank account being in the positive and negative zone. However, what I believe is happening is that if you're AVAILABLE balance in your account is less than a check that clears, you will have to pay the fee. Your actual balance no longer matters, it's a fake number for you to look at and feel good about, but the "available balance" (including check card purchases that have not cleared yet) is what screws you over. |
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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 8:27 am Post subject: |
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| Got to pay the national debt somehow.^^ |
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Zyzyfer
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: who, what, where, when, why, how?
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| Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 8:34 am Post subject: |
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Ugh, that's dumb. My account is connected to my grandparents' account through something we set up years ago, so it's something else to keep an eye on so I don't screw over their account. Yay.
Thanks for the heads up. |
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SHANE02
Joined: 04 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 9:00 pm Post subject: |
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I thought this thread was about someone on Dave's taking BOA to court.  |
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Trevor
Joined: 16 Nov 2005
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| Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 6:54 am Post subject: Re: Need someone to handle a Class Action Lawsuit against B |
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I was in a class action suit against Morgan Stanley. It was handled by Wolf, Hadenstein, et. al.., though I cannot say they are the best. Glancing on their website, I see that they are currently suing B of A in another matter. Here is their website address.
www.whafh.com
| regicide wrote: |
As of March, they are now charging overdraft fees on accounts that have any pending or holding transactions even if a deposit posts before those pending transactions do. They can't call it an "overdraft fee" if there is no actual overdraft. The only notification they gave for such a change was through people's bank statements.
I get mine online, not a paper copy. I don't need to refer to the statement if my account balances with my online activity, so I was never made aware of this policy. They should have mailed out separate notices in the mail.
I'm aware that there are numerous other people in this same boat, and this was an underhanded way of implementing such a new policy in order to essentially con money out of people who couldn't afford it to begin with. |
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Hyeon Een
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 10:06 pm Post subject: |
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Every time I get annoyed with British banks, I just think of American ones and everything seems OK again haha.
I was really really annoyed when I first opened an account in the 'states and THEY wanted to charge ME a monthly fee. WTF? By putting my money in their bank I am lending them money, and they want to charge me for that? what the hell is that? I don't care if it's only $5, it's still very inconsiderate. I also have a vague recollection of them making me buy a box of like 5 or 10 cheque [check] books at once. Why the hell did I need so many? I didn't.. but they had the nerve to charge me for them as well. In Britain they were always free. (Though you only got one at a time.) Do they still have cheque books? I haven't had one in years..
Come to think of it, I never closed my US bank account. That was 8 years ago. If I have 8 years worth of $5 a month fees I best never go back to the US haha. I'm pretty sure I will be given the same SS number if I ever reside there again.. |
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crsandus
Joined: 05 Oct 2004
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regicide
Joined: 01 Sep 2006
Location: United States
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| Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 1:48 am Post subject: |
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CNNMoney.com
Raw Deal: Overdraft fees and overdraft protection plans
Saturday August 16, 12:18 pm ET
By Jessica Dickler, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Terry Read transferred $400 into his wife's checking account on a Friday. Over the weekend, his wife used her debit card to make some small purchases, and on Monday she was slammed with a $35 overdraft fee because his cash transfer hadn't cleared yet.
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"They took my $400 out of my account immediately of course," Read said. Since both use the same bank, hitting his wife with an overdraft fee seemed "absolutely ridiculous" to him.
Overdraft fees set in when a bank approves a transaction even if the customer doesn't have sufficient funds. The bank is essentially providing a temporary loan and charging plenty - usually between $25 and $35, no matter how big or small the transaction.
Banks typically provide overdraft protection automatically, and while it's touted as a convenience, the cost can come as a shock to unsuspecting customers. "Banks should have to get their customers' affirmative consent before signing them up for their most expensive loans," Jean Ann Fox, director of financial services at the Consumer Federation of America said in a statement.
Almost half of all overdrafts happen with debit card purchases, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. And most debit overdrafts are small, averaging less than the overdraft fee, the consumer advocacy group said.
In a recent study, the Consumer Federation of America found that overdraft fees at the 10 largest banks are on the rise. The average highest fee charged for overdrafts is $34.65, up 15% from 2005, the consumer group said.
There can be additional fees if the overdraft is not repaid by making a sufficient deposit within a few days and customers can rack up as many as six or seven overdraft fees in one day if they aren't aware of their low balance.
Now Congress may step in.
Reps. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. and Barney Frank, D-Mass., have proposed the Consumer Overdraft Protection Fair Practices Act in an attempt to protect consumers from hefty fees.
"I've been working on reducing sky-high overdraft fees for several years now," Congresswoman Maloney said in an e-mail to CNNMoney.com. "Overdraft loans can be useful financial tools, but many consumers are being enrolled in costly overdraft protection programs without their consent. [Under the bill] consumers would have to "opt-in" to overdraft protection programs and banks would be required to inform consumers when they are about to overdraw their accounts."
The bill, which is currently pending before Congress, also requires that banks provide full, written disclosure of their overdraft policies to customers.
In a statement, Citibank said that full disclosure is already standard practice, and overdraft fees should not be viewed as unfair or deceptive, since Citi customers are informed about the practice and the $34 overdraft fee.
What can you do?
Other banks also counter that their overdraft policies are clear and the fees are disclosed at the time an account is opened. Also, since many banks offer online banking, telephone banking and balance alerts via e-mail for free, consumers should be able to keep a careful eye on their balance.
"In most cases, banking customers can avoid overdrafting their accounts and paying any associated fee by knowing their balances," said Fred Solomon, a spokesman at PNC bank.
PNC recently sent its customers a notice allowing them to opt-out of overdraft access. "They can call PNC and we will automatically exclude them from the convenience of overdraft access for all ATM transactions and purchases," Solomon said.
Other banks will do this too, although the consumer may have to take the initiative and ask for it.
Another way to avoid costly overdraft fees is to sign up for an overdraft protection plan with a linked account. Those plans allow banking customers to link their checking account with a savings account or even their credit card. So if you write a check and there isn't enough money in your checking account to cover it, then the bank will draw the money from another account.
But that assumes that you have other funds. And despite the fact that you're backing the account with your own money, in most cases there's a charge for that service too, although it's far less than the overdraft fee. For example, Chase customers get charged $5 for each time they use their overdraft protection plan. Fifth Third Bancorp offers this service for $9 a pop. If you use the overdraft protection more than 10 times in a 12-month period, then the fee gets upped to $15.
Despite the expense, there is an upside to overdraft protection. It not only allows you to complete a transaction and remain in good standing with the parties you do business with, you also avoid the potential embarrassment of being denied at the register. That might be worth $35 to some people. |
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Toon Army
Joined: 12 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 5:44 am Post subject: |
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| SHANE02 wrote: |
| I thought this thread was about someone on Dave's taking BOA to court. |
me too  |
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