REQUIRED READING: Banks Intentionally Design Fees To Maximize Ripping Off Their Customers... LINK

[Blackhatjack]

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE ....

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/credit/2009-07-08-banks-overdraft-fees_N.htm

"Banks' 'courtesy' loans at soaring rates irk consumers"

"Today, each of the nation's 10 largest banks allows consumers to overdraw with checks, debit cards or at ATMs, a 2009 USA TODAY survey reveals. Large banks also reserve the right to process large transactions first, triggering more overdraft fees by emptying the account more quickly. Some even charge consumers before they overdraw by deducting a purchase when it's made, rather than when it clears, pushing the account into the red sooner."

SKIP

"It's unclear whether those efforts will be enough to rein in overdrafts, now the single-largest driver of consumer fee income for banks. In 2009, banks are expected to reap a record $38.5 billion from overdraft fees, nearly twice the $20.5 billion they stand to collect from credit card penalties such as late and over-limit fees."

SKIP

"Banks are lobbying heavily against restrictions. Why? "Overdraft fees are the mother lode of (deposit) fees," says Michael Moebs of Moebs Services, an economic research firm. "If it weren't for overdraft fees, 45% of banks and credit unions wouldn't have made money in 2008."

SKIP

"Yet Brad Nickum, a consultant who advised some of the largest banks on credit card and overdraft income, says profits — not costs — generally drive bank fees. "We've got this bastardized revenue stream that gets a disproportionate amount from a small portion of the customer base," Nickum says.
The 10% of checking accounts with the lowest balances generate about 40% of overdraft revenue, estimates Andrew Dresner, a partner at payment consulting firm Oliver Wyman."

MORE

[SoCalDem]

1. Banks also process checks before deposits

and will clear large items first, making multiple "charges" on smaller items, if there's an overdraft.

My son found this out the hard way:(

[conscious evolution]

5. This is illegal

Used to be anyway.
I remember several large banks were heavily fined for doing this to customers.The banks are supposed to credit and debit transactions in the order they were done.Not in the order that the bank decides.
It may be time to start considering a class action lawsuit for these shenanagans.

[Gormy Cuss]

10. It's not illegal to stack same day transactions.

For example, if the account has a balance of $119 and four checks arrive today, they can choose to process the $100 check that arrived at 2PM before the three $20 checks that arrived in the morning in order to have three bounced check fees rather than the one.

As this and other articles have pointed out overdraft fees are no longer about recouping expenses or exerting punitive measures to change consumer behavior. They're profit centers for the banks.

It most certainly is time to do something about it but a class action suit isn't enough. The bank regulations need to close the door on these obscene practices.

[madokie]

2. Our DIL had this problem a couple years ago

and come to find out it was because she was paying with her debit card the gas she was buying, somehow either the seller or the bank was putting a hold or something on her account until that cleared. It didn't take her long to get her fill of that and when she was finished with her bank they were apologizing to her and returned some of the charges they had taken from her.

[Horse with no Name]

14. This pisses me off

If you pay at the pump, the bank puts an automatic $50 hold on your account for 3 days.
It doesn't matter if you only got $10 worth of gas.
I don't pay at the pump anymore. If I walk inside the store, I am only debited for the amount that I actually use.

[MindPilot]

17. That's because the system doesn't know how much the gas will cost

When you put the card in and it authorizes the transaction, it will lock in a predetermined amount, say $100. You buy $35 worth of gas, but there is still $100 debited from the account at that point. If the bank leaves that lock in place for a while, and you go buy something else, you may now find your account overdrawn. Bingo! More fees.

[madokie]

18. That was what they were doing

sorry bastids anyway. No one had bothered to tell her before the fact and I guarantee the banks knows Her now

[msongs]

3. banks love people who are incompetent in handling their financial affairs lol nt

[Blackhatjack]

13. So I guess you LOL at Californians who got IOUs for working instead of direct deposit funds, right?

You know there are lots of customers in Calif that have direct deposit of their paychecks, and bank drafts are going to ring up lots of overdrafts for them.

I find it disgusting that you would laugh at people victimized by a financially superior bank which intentionally and fraudulently separates their customers from their money.

[LiberalEsto]

4. I'm waiting for banks to charge us

for breathing the air in their lobbies.

[Balbus]

6. Call your bank and "opt-out" of overdraft protection.

Believe me, it's not a "protection" of any sort.

[Gormy Cuss]

11. Good advice. There used to be this thing called overdraft protection that did work--

I had accounts where the banks would automatically redirect funds from a linked savings account should the checking account be overdrawn. I can't even find a bank willing to do that anymore.

Now when a bank offers you overdraft "protection," the best response is HELL NO.

[redqueen]

15. My credit union does that. (nt)

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

20. Redirection of funds from a linked savings account is practically a standard in Brazil.

Seriously, they do it without you even asking. And I use it liberally to minimize the idleness of my money.

[dionysus]

7. this is news to you?

j/k

[Kansas Wyatt]

8. About six months ago, my bank changed it's deposit terms.

If you didn't have your deposit in the bank by 3:30, then it would be credited at closing on the following business day. On Fridays, that meant that your account would not be credited, until closing on Monday. Talk about screwing working people over the weekends. So anything you would pay after your deposit would result in an overdraft, if you didn't beat their deadline.

I was hit a couple times, before I found out about their change, and threatened to close my account, so they removed the charges. Since then, I keep NOTHING in there, except just enough to pay bills and that's it. Cash & carry, with a bill pay checking account is what I do now. I even make them give me a cashiers check for my rent check, just to avoid running a large balance in my account.

[recoveringrepublican]

9. Our old credit union was bought out by another credit union

and while I so far have no problems with the new name, my old credit union was just great.

When my husband and I were young sometimes we had to be "creative" with our finances. Yes this meant floating checks and hoping they didn't reach my bank until pay day. We never bounced anything. I thought it was luck. One day I went to deposit some checks. The teller said I was lucky I came in. They had been holding 2 checks I had written, since they would have cleared out my account, but it was Wednesday and they couldn't hold it until Friday when they knew my husband's paycheck would be direct deposited. It seemed like this was a regular occurrence if it happened closer to fri.

[Coyote_Bandit]

12. Used to be that bankers were capable

of being quite successful without charging fees. Now they have to charge fees to underwrite the losses from their incompetent banking practices.

[Blackhatjack]

16. Without proper disclosure in advance, these practices are deceptive and fraudulent...

... and the law does not allow you to engage in fraudulent conduct just because you tell a customer that is what you are going to do if you get the chance.

That is why there are limits on payday lending, otherwise given the level of greed involved the APRs on those loans would likely reach 50,000% and never be repayable.

[MindPilot]

19. I once wrote a bad check for the down-payment on a house.

It had simply slipped my mind to transfer the funds from savings to checking. I got a phone call from someone at the bank asking if I really intended to write a check for $15,000 on a $85 balance. She transfered the funds, processed the check right away so my mistake wouldn't impact the real estate transaction and I wasn't charged a dime in fees.

That's how banks USED to do business.

[Blackhatjack]

21. A BIGGER Q: WHY is the MSM NOT COVERING THIS?

There is direct evidence coming into the public domain which shows without a doubt that banks are 'fleecing' their customers by engaging in unethical/illegal conduct.

AND WHERE IS THE MSM ON THIS?

Almost like a pin dropped.....