Bank Atlantic
Reviews and Complaints

This started when I went to do a transaction at the Branch in Tamarc on Commercial and University the teller in the drive thru this day was slow it took one hour of waiting I think anyone would be mad and I was not the only one believe me there was tempers and horns blowing, when I did get up there to the teller I was so mad and I did cuss and swear I had every right to I wonder where Debbie Hoffacker was that day hiding? Never came out to see what the issue was. There was one more issue I had with this bank is I went into the bank and went to this teller she just could not understand a simple request I ask for a two year old could of did better then she did. This bank you can not complain because the tellers are always right. You are wrong because you can not voice your opion nor get mad when a teller can't do something right you have to keep your mouth closed I was never that type of person if you do something wrong I will let you know.

The out come of these issues is Debbie Hoffacker wrote me a letter kicking me out of the bank. I went to Inverrary Branch with the letter and the branch manager told me to call Debbie and talk to her which I did and we came to an agreement that has long has I be nice to the tellers she would give me another chance and if any more problems she would close my account at once I agreed.

On October 18th 2011 My account was closed. Debbie Hoffacker lied was dishonest or has a memory issue that she really needs to address. I would really be very careful of Bank Atlantic and also this dishonest garbage that should never work at a bank if she has problems with memory she really needs help. My advice is go to another bank rather then have to deal with dishonest and memory issues from a confused person. BeWARE of this bank be safe then sorry later.

Bank Atlantic charged me almost $200 in fees for a $4.95 overdraft. When I spoke with the bank manager I told him I was disputing the fees. He refused to help me other than provide the "recoveries" phone number. I called recoveries and the woman was rude and refused to help me. She said I had to go back to talk with the manager. He had already refused to help me and refused to let me dispute it. I thought the collection laws said I have 30 days to dispute the charges. The bank will not work with me or even talk with me. I think they are taking advantage of me and overcharging fees on such a small overdraft. The fact that they sold this debt to a collection agency after 30 days and refused to talk to me or try to help me is immoral if not illegal. I feel like I should have the opportunity to dispute these fees as the original overdraft was $4.95 and now I owe about $200. This all happened in just a months time. Even the collection agency told me I should be able to dispute it with Bank Atlantic. The collection agency is more helpful than the Bank! This is unacceptable. Are there laws to help protect consumers from Banks om situations like this?

I have proof that bank has charged me fraudulently. On May 21st 2009, I had a transaction put through by my insurance company to debit my checking account on May 22nd. I have done this in the past with this company and never had any problems. The transaction posted on my account on May 23rd per my online account with Bank Atlantic. However, two bank fees posted to my account showing a date of May 22nd. I called my bank when I saw the fees a few days later and asked them why they charged a fee for an account that is not negative. They told it was because an authorization was place on my account from the previously mentioned insurance for the amount of $409.27. I advised them on the information that I printed online and they said that in their system that I couldn’t see the transaction posted on the May 21st.
This is where this gets grayer. I asked to speak to supervisor and I got Carol. I asked Carol; “If a transaction shows posting on May 23rd when does that mean it came through?” She said; “Since the 23rd is a non business day that means that it came through on Friday the 22nd after the close of business.” This is a direct contradiction. How can one transaction post for the first time on different days? One can say that it was pending on the 21st and came out of my account on the 23rd. This is not what happened. I have documents that I printed from their website showing the transaction to be pending on the 23rd and debiting my account on the 26th. I have printed actual statement from them that they mailed to me showing my account balance being $199.83 on the 21st. This is enough to cover the transactions that I got charged for. I emailed, visited a branch, and called again. I was told the system does not lie- the system that generated the documents in which I base my plea on. I even had my insurance company send them a letter. No resolution; I was asked to trust their system.
Few days later their system charged me three ATM fees for transactions that I made at mall shoe stores. I had to dig up my purchase receipt to prove that incorrectly charge me. I after spending more of time in a branch, they credited the fees. I bring this up to say that this bank’s system is very capable of making errors even put through credit card transaction as ATM withdrawals—I am familiar with merchant account process so this still blows my mind.
On June 12, 2009, I went into the branch located on Glades Rd in Boca Raton, FL; just west of I 95 and closed my account. I no longer wanted to do business with fraudulent this company. The teller closed my account and gave me remaining balance. Just when I thought Bank Atlantic was out my life. I get a letter showing another negative balance and two more fees on the account. I called and asked them what was the matter this account is closed. They said that the teller did not close my account. I swear on everything that I love including my very life that I walked into that branch and closed that account.
I have had enough. I am consumer that is being taken advantage by this bank with a system that makes errors and they do not apologize. They have made me so livid I can barely control myself and I need some resolution. I have been a customer at this bank since I was 18 and I have this account in question since 2005 and this how they treat me for a couple late fees? Wow.
This is the resolution that I seek. According to their notice they paid a Sallie Mae draft of $124.73 and a pending transaction for $4.25 (The pending transaction has showing when I close the account that is why I was not given the full amount, the Sallie Mae I canceled the ACH online- I am not sure what happen there but it another issue—I would preferred from them to bounce the check and I would pay whatever fees directly with Sallie Mae). This totals $128.98. They charged me $70 in fraudulent fees so I am willing to pay them $58.98 once this is settled.
Consumers should be able trust that the information on their bank statements. If we hold this true then I had money in my account. I have proven that they system makes mistakes and I have proof they have charged overdraft see for an account did not overdraft. I am angry but I more so disappointed.
Your time in this matter is greatly appreciated and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Every concerned Consumer,

I can be contacted at [protected]@yahoo.com

Hello everyone,
I need everyone that has been screwed by Bank Atlantic OD Fees & NSF Fees to contact me at [protected]@gmail.com and write the story of how you were robbed! I am going to the news with this and need support. I am also starting a petition to take to my lawyer, so please indicate if you would like your name and phone number listed. I would appreciate all the help I can get, those people should be put out of business! I'm going to organize a rally in front of the bank, protesting, dates are to come later.

Thank you for all your help!
Jilted in Jupiter
Sandi

Bank Atlantic counts restaurant transactions TWICE. If the first swipe is for 35.00, then tip is added and the second swipe is for 41.00 (to include the tip), for that day you are charged 76.00. If you had a balance of less than 75.00, you now you have a 35.00 check overdraft fee to pay, which keeps your balance below zero, and any subsequent 3.00 checks each incur 35.00 fees. During that day, if you had other charges (say 2.00, 3.00, 4.00), you still HAVE NOT exceeded your balance, but due to sequencing, the highest is done first. You now have four 35.00 overdraft fees for a total of 140.00! And you never were truly under your limit!

Yes, Bank Atlantic sequences your debit transactions from highest to lowest, groups them carefully, first as Authorization and then, at their convenience, and possibly 1 to 2 days later, as Purchase. Interestingly, other offending transactions that were executed a couple of days prior to the restaurant transaction initially as 'authorize' now as 'purchase' to ensure more late fees based on timing of the 'purchase' transactions even though you've never actually gone below zero.

My son (on a teen income) lost of 200.00 when he NEVER WENT UNDER ZERO.

It's a scam to maximize their ability to extract fees from their lower-end customers. The high end customers would not be affected by this as they keep their balances clear of zero.

April 2008, (Sunday), Upon making a deposit of $500.00 I asked the cashier to cash the check (local bank) and then deposit into my account as cash. I further said tht if you cannot do this, I will wait until the next day and cash the check and then make the deposit into my account. The cashier said that would not be a problem. I took $100.00 cash and deposited $400.00. The cashier said the $400 would be available the next business day (Monday). On Tuesday I purchased items with no problem. Later that afternoon I was in the process of purchasing groceries when the cashier said that my debit card was declined. I drove to the bank and when I asked the manager to explain she told me "We allowed you to make those purchases so as to not embarass you". The amount in my account should have been $368.00. By their account, I owed them over that amount due to fees. They stated that the check was out of state (It is from here in Jupiter!) - "The bank company is out of state". I have yet to get a response from them, even after contacting the President of the Bank! I take that back, I heard from a collection agency trying to get the money they say I owe them! Where the heck do these people come off stealing from customers and, quite literally, believe they have the right to do so without any consequences. What can I do about this!?

It is a real shame that as a single parent of 2, I am not receiving a paycheck this week due to the amount of overdraft fees that I have been charged. I am being charged $448.00 overdraft fees for $158.77 worth of charges. It really is sad that in our countries poor financial state, that banks still continue these awful practices!
One of their very own Branch Managers advised me to never ever use my debit card to only use cash, I guess I know why now, because it’s a totally legal scam! They charge the debits from greatest amount to least amount so that you are able to charge me as many overdrafts as possible.
Does it even make sense to do this; obliviously a customer who is possibly over drafting doesn't have any money... so let’s charge him $32.00 for every dollar that he spends. Come on.
I don't mind paying fees if I am in the wrong... but if I am checking my acct on their website and it clearly shows all the activity on my acct I don't think that it is good business practice for the next day when I view the acct again for it to be completely different, and instead of the bank looking out for the customers best interest (charging the least amount of fee possible) they charge the most, to the poorest people. I can not afford anymore fees and do not get paid again until next Thursday. The paycheck that I recvd today was completely used to pay overdraft fees and I still have a negative balance. I can't pay daycare, gas for work, nothing. This is such a sad practice. I will be contacting the Federal Reserve, BBB, Federal Trade Commission, The Florida Office of Financial Regulation and the Florida Attorney General to name a few.
And everyone else should too, change happens in numbers, not in people just getting mad and switching to another bank who does the same thing.