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Bank of America review: overcharged 56

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4:12 am EST
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That's right, another complaint concerning overdraft fees with Bank of America (BOA). Before you naysayers rise up against me, let me first tell you that I did not monitor my account or my spending as closely as I should have. Now with that being said, let me say this.

My checking account was -$136 (negative). After discovering this, I immediately transferred $300 from savings to my checking. Later on that night after 1 am, I discovered that my account was -$145 (negative). I asked myself how could this be.. I rectified this situation about 10 hrs earlier.

The next morning I contacted BOA and asked an explanation of how this could have happened. I was told that the system recognized that i overdrew my account an accessed my account the overdraft fee of $35 five times. Ouch!

Let me explain to you what I believed happened: The computer software charged me again for 5 items which caused my account to be overdrawn again even after I moved the $300 over from savings to checking.

The BOA contact explained to me that those additional charges were from today and that the previous charges were from the day before. Here is where it gets CrAZy. Before we got off the phone, she stated that 'once you get an overdraft fee it unfortunately begins to snowball'.

She was not lying at all. When I got off the phone with her about 12:30pm I had a balance of -$145. As you read this my account balance is -$320. I haven't made any additional transactions since this fiasco started.

Naysayers, I know what your thinking... You are probably going to say 'You should have been responsible in managing your checking account.' Your right but THATS NOT THE ISSUE. The issue here is that the software kept charging me additional overdraft fees AFTER I bought the account current with NO additional transactions pending.

In Conclusion... let me say this. You have your own opinion of what happened here and that's cool, its the American way. This isn't the first time I have complained to BOA about this problem. There is a glitch in the software and no one is publicly acknowledging the problem. You and I both know that the stock would plummet through the earth if the public knew.

It doesn't matter what you think, its my account, my mistake. I can tell you this NAYSAYERS just don't let this happen to you. Its easy to throw rocks when you don't live in a glass house, isn't it?

If you have a similar story please JOIN complaintsboard and tell us what has happened to you. Thats what I did. If you know a good lawyer have them contact this site and legally get our names so we can file a CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT against Bank of America.

America, WAKE UP ! The large corporations are draining the life out of the honest people who pay taxes. Stop Complaining and talk amongst yourselves and Complain and Protest. You dont have to march in the streets or have a sit in. You have the INTERNET and other people and friends who have been unfairly taken advantaged of. You are POWERFUL thats why this website exists!

Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

56 comments
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Valerie
Valerie
US
Send a message
Sep 18, 2008 6:37 am EDT

Not only does Bank of America provide poor customer service but I recently learned that they have a system in place to ensure the highest penalties possible when a customer goes into overdraft. I feel the biggest problem is the bank holds visa transactions and pends them to clear. They blame this on Visa and the retailer however I feel the bank us ultimately responsible for requiring a hold to be placed.

The problem lies with the way they withdrawal funds from their customers account. A customer may have 5 pending transactions for only a small amount per transaction. If they have a larger transaction that places their account in the negative the bank will withdraw the larger transaction first and then the next highest amount and so forth until all transaction have been taken out, even if the larger transaction was several days after the smaller transactions.

So the argument that is made is the bank is protecting the interest of the consumer because they took out the highest and most important amount first. That is a lie. They take the highest amount first in order to inflict as much monetary damage as possible.

I recommend that either a class action suit is placed together to stop this practice or that consumers encourage congress to pass a bill requesting funds be withdrawn in order that they were taken out by the consumer. It of course would then be the consumers responsibility to take care of any returned check. Also debit transactions would not be a problem because if the funds could not be immediately verified they would not be taken out.

If this has happened to you I recommend voicing your concern with the Bank. Keep records of the call and of any bank emails you may have. File a complaint with the [redacted], the Federal Trade Commission, your Local Better Business Bureau, and most importantly your State Banking Department.

Pressure needs to be put on Bank of America and other banks to help stop consumer abuse.

Valerie
Valerie
US
Send a message
Sep 29, 2008 6:05 am EDT

Bank of America posts transactions largest to smallest. Not in the order by the date the transactions occurred. We had made a few transactions on Saturday night and on Wednesday we accidentally made an atm withdrawal that overdrafted our account by $3. Ok fine, we would get a $35 fee. Wrong! They posted the transactions from largest to smallest. If the transactions were posted in the order that they were made, we would have received on fee, but instead we received 4! Then our direct deposits did not post on the day it was received. That never happened before.

What I get from this whole mess, is that Bank of America posted my transactions to get the most fees. So we received $140 in overdraft fees. And a negative balance on our account.

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Crysee
Send a message
Oct 01, 2008 6:32 pm EDT

The same thing happened to me! It is totally unfair. I was never aware of this post transactions lowest to highest BS. I work hard for my money, I don't work so they can find ways to take my money. I am changing banks. If someone plans on doing something about this PLEASE let me know!

Valerie
Valerie
US
Send a message
Oct 17, 2008 6:41 am EDT

My bank account was double charged for overdraft fees. This is not the first time this has occurred, and on previous occasions, I simply called customer service to get the erroneous charges reversed. However, this time, the representative I spoke with refused to refund the charges. She told me that money for 'pending transactions' was 'set aside' until those transactions cleared. This lowered the available balance, and when additional transactions went through, the account was assessed overdraft fees. The overdrafts were deducted from the money that had been 'set aside' for 'pending transactions'. Then, the 'pending transactions' went through and more overdraft fees were charged to the account.

In all, there were six overdrafts and the account was charged for twelve! I have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission. In addition, I will be closing my Bank of America account asap. I'm sick of their shady practices and 'creative accounting'.

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Jake
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Oct 30, 2008 9:54 pm EDT

OK, initially I felt the same way... I was really pissed off that transactions were posted from highest to lowest. It seemed to me that by posting the largest transactions first, the funds in the account would be depleted faster, and the smaller items would go into overdraft & you'd end up with multiple overdraft fees rather than just ONE fee for the largest transaction.

But here's how it was explained to me, by what seems to be the ONLY intelligent Customer Service Rep they have:

The reason they post transactions in order from Largest to Smallest is that when you pay your RENT or MORTGAGE PAYMENT, you want to be sure that these checks will be the ones to clear. No one wants their payments for Rent or Home Loans to bounce, and typically, those are the largest transactions most of us make on a monthly basis.

Given the choice, most of us would sleep better knowing that the check paying for the roof over our heads will be the first item to be posted when the bank does our daily account reconciliations...

Valerie
Valerie
US
Send a message
Nov 11, 2008 5:59 am EST

Third time this year BofA doubled my interest rate on cards I own. This one is the kicker though. Went from 14.9% @ $187.00 min payment to 27.99% @ $291.00 min payment in one billing cycle. Asked why. Response was because I did not opt out on the 'letter' I received in July.

I didn't get any stinking 'letter'! No late payments, great credit score (over 700) and bam! This should not be legal in this country! I will definately be interested in getting in on a class action suit against these loansharks. Am in the process of trying to negotiate my original interest rate with no success. Keep being put on hold and/ or transfered to someone else (phone tag) every time I call.

Valerie
Valerie
US
Send a message
Nov 15, 2008 11:08 am EST

I have been a customer with Bank of America since the first time I ever opened a banking account. I have had several issues over the years regarding banking fee's some that were my fault and others that weren't.

I recently had an issue with the bank because one day I was prompted to change my login name & password when I went to get to my online banking. Ever since that day I was having issues when I tried to login where a screen would come up telling me that either my user or password was incorrect which they were not. One night I had made several transactions knowing that there weren't enough funds in my one checking account and that before the deadline I would need to transfer funds in order to avoid any overdraft fees.

Well, when I tried to login to my account that night I received the same error of having an incorrect user name and/or password when I didn't. I tried to login several times that night to no avail. I knew I was going to have a problem so I made sure 1st thing that morning to contact a rep and make them aware of the issue as well as go ahead and transfer the funds I needed to. To make an extremely long and excruciating story short, I received the run around when I contacted customer support. The first rep tried to give excuses like that I shouldn't have used my card if I knew money wasn't in the account and such. Her manager told me he wouldn't give a refund because he couldn't verify that an error had been made by the bank but that if I could in fact verify that an error had been made that he would give a refund. I then spoke with a rep from tech support who verified the error but had been told to still give no refund.

Ok, so I took my evidence and argument to my local banking center and spoke with the VP there. After a long struggle with his superior he refunded 2 of 3 fees that had been charged (bear in mind each fee is $35 and aside from the 3 fees that had posted, 2 transactions were still in pending so those fees didn't hit till later that week.) The bank did this because they could recognize their error but still refused to give me a FULL refund because of it. So, when the 2 other fees hit my account I went back to the same VP (Very nice guy) who pleaded just about (I heard him) with some banking individuals over the phone urging that those fees needed to be refunded as well. They refused!

Get this... I understand that when you screw up with your banking it is your fault, however, and this isn't the first time this has happened to me, but when fees hit because of a banking error the bank states they will refund them. They are full of it though! The issue I had was a bank error and was confirmed to be a bank error by several of the banking staff. Regardless they acted as though some blame should be put on my part and therefore would only give a partial refund so my original BS fees totaling $175 was reduced to a whopping $105. So I was pretty much charged $105 because I was unable to login to my account to cover my ###. How do you like that?!?!?! Even when you are aware of what you need to do to keep from getting his with fees the bank always finds a way to screw you over. Even the VP at the banking center I went to said that it was crap and that he wished he could do something but he just didn't have that kind of authority. He said that the individuals who do have that authority (the millionaires taking my hard earned cash) should have to handle customer service complaints because it really was hard for this guy on a regular basis to pretty much have to tell banking customers that yeah even though this is the banks fault we have the ability to ruin your credit and steal your money and there isn't anything you can do about it.

The bank is one big LIAR. If they say they will give a refund for fees that hit your account due to a bank error then they should. Not give a partial refund and say screw you and HAHA under their breath. As an individual this really hits hard. I live paycheck to paycheck and recently had a baby (now 2 months). I of course never qualified for WIC so even though I am struggling because of the economy I still get no help with having to provide for my son. Now I have to pay the bank $105 to avoid getting a bad rap on my credit report for fees that were caused because of their own error.

This is really unfair. I know I shouldn't have these fees and they know I shouldn't but they are the ones with the power. How F'ed up is that?!?! Someone really needs to take down this corporation and I would love to be the one to do it. You know why?!?! So I can take the money that the bank has stolen from me and many others and use it to start a bank that works for the people. It isn't fair that some jerk gets to sit in his expensive home living off my hard earned cash and others just like me.

I am not a member of Bank of America so I can fork over my cash to them to spend, but so I can responsibly pay my bills and use that cash for the well being of my child. I am really tired of people who like me are getting ripped off for faults that are not there own. Is this the America our founders envisioned? Did they really set up this country so the big man can take more money from the little man.

If you have ever been in my shoes so to speak, then please reply to this report with your own stories of how the bank still charged you fees even after admitting to the fact that those fees were due to a bank error. I believe that if enough people get together with enough substantial evidence that they were charged fees due to a Bank's error that together we can take this monster of a bank down.

As a community we have to say enough is enough and rally together to do something about it. I am confident that if we can then a lawyer will have enough evidence to take this thing to court and fight it. It will be a big gain for our working class community all around this country. And once we've taken down the big guys we can get together and build up a new banking system to change the way things work so that they are fair and just, just as our founding fathers wanted this country to be.

Valerie
Valerie
US
Send a message
Nov 19, 2008 5:44 am EST

Simple to explain: I sent a payment Monday, they supposedly 'received and posted it Saturday' due on Friday. According to BofA, you need to mail your payment 7-10 days in advance due to the USPS. Doesn't mail usually take 2 days. Not according to BofA. I called to dispute the late charge of $39 and was told that if I had a problem with the date they received it, I should contact the USPS. I was offered a half credit for mailing my payment on time.

Then they took my 0% balance transfer interest rate up to 9.99%. But the kicker is they went back to October and decided to recalculate my interest rate and charge me an additional $12 in interest= $51 dollars total charges.

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Laurie
Haslet, US
Send a message
Nov 19, 2008 8:46 am EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Check your bank statement - when did they process the payment with your bank?

If before the due date, then they received it before the due date and chose not to post your account as paid until after the due date. That is a violation of the Fair Credit Billing Act.

You can file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission AND Office of Thrift Supervision.

GEMB credit is one company that does this alot.

Valerie
Valerie
US
Send a message
Nov 20, 2008 8:50 am EST

Due to other companies taking ach debits without permission I requested Bank of America to close my account, they refused due to the account being in a negative. I then asked for a hold to be placed on account so no further ach debits could be processed. I was also told this was not possible.

After a month of ach debits i racked up almost $1500 in overdraft fees. The bank decided to transfer $950 from my other checking account to cover some of the outstanding fees, leaving me; a single mother of 3 young children totally broke with no money to pay rent, or put food on my table. I went to a branch where I explained the situation and a HOLD was put on my account within seconds. If this hold was put on the account a month earlier when I asked and was wrongly told it was not possible; none of these overdraft charges would have been adding up all that time.

I have made numerous phone calls, sent letters, emails, etc with absolutely no help in the matter. The only return call I got from the bank was to ask me when I planned on making a deposit to cover the remaining overdrafts? NEVER! I currently show a -$402 balance.

I would greatly appreciate any help anyone might be able to give in this situation.

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roselyne
Send a message
Nov 21, 2008 12:16 pm EST

you are right, I am having the same problems, OVERCHARGES FEES...Do you know the latest about ATM machines, [b of a}..Get this !You have to check the cut off time, if you make a deposit, anywhere else, ie, Albertsons market, in my case...I was told by a ###, at my branch, !Can you believe it.An other word, beware of those machines, .they advertise, at your branch"no enveloppe, immediate credit for cash deposits, deposits made by 8pm, will post w/today's business"
But don't you dare, go elsewhere, you'll be charged!Again in my case, I went back to take apicture and cut off time is 1pm. writing on a silver type plate...So when I asked"can you please reverse the $105.00, because I was not aware of it?Nada, you have to read..The same t6hing happen, in aug, same machine, same location, at this time the ### I spoke to said"I have no way of finding the time of your dep, I can see you made one, but cannot reverse charges.To make a long story short, whom would like to pay $105.00, knowing there is a time limit on this machine.and at both times, deposits were made before 6pm.{irst one at 5:53 pm, other at 4:52 pm.I thought one could deposit through ATM, and get credited the same day...No way...An other word what's the convenience of it, you must rush, from where ever you might be, to make it to your branch, forget about kids getting out of school, forget about groceries..Do not have a LIFE...I am telling you!I have been punished, because the first IDIOT, did not do her job instead of barking at me, she should have said"All ATM outside of your branch have a cut off time, No NO, and the winner is...minus $105.00.One should hear the way these people talk to a client...It's like being in shool "DISMISSED"
Thank you for your time,
Bye now

Valerie
Valerie
US
Send a message
Nov 26, 2008 4:15 am EST

Bank of America will pick and choose in what order charges appear on your statement, in order to charge overdraft fees. They intentionally re-order the largest amount first regardless of date made, and even whether anything has actually posted or not. Bank of America will charge an overdraft fee when the system they use, (not available for view by customers), says that you have overdrawn your account. Even when the direct website www.bankofamerica.com says there is money available.

When you accidentally go over by a dollar or two the bank does not give you a chance to put funds in the account because they immediately charge you an insufficient funds fee before the transaction even shows as pending. With the re-ordering of posts and they immediate NSF charge they have turned one small overdraft into seven. They have done this to me and my wife several times. there have been many times we would check our balance and then the next day (even without spending a dime ) our balance wound be at negative 300 dollars.

Keep the change is a bad idea if you do not have a large safety net in the bank it provides an easy opportunity to charge you a 10 dollar fee for transferring the keep the change that has not even hit your savings account where you can transfer it yourself.

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D Moore
Send a message
Nov 30, 2008 12:25 pm EST

I had the same problem and it made me feel as if i was being ripped off ! My suggestion close the account and never bank there again

Valerie
Valerie
US
Send a message
Dec 03, 2008 6:07 am EST

I have two credit card accounts with Bank of America. In the past few months they have reduced my credit limits; raised my interest rates to almost 30% and gave me an incorrect address to send a letter to 'opt-out' of the higher interest rates.

I followed the instructions given to exercise my 'opt-out' right and refuse the interest rate change. I had a time limit to send the letter, which I followed. My letter was returned to me, marked as undeliverable as addressed. I double checked all addresses and I addressed it correctly. Of course the time limit has passed and now I automatically go to the higher interest rate.

All this seems like legalized extortion to me. I pay my bills on time. I pay more than the minimum payments. All this nonsense is going to be the financial ruin of our country if we allow it to continue.

I have no problem with paying a reasonable interest rate. That is good business. I have no problem with paying for things that I purchase. That too is good business. I do have a problem with being robbed blind and it is all being done legally (as far as I know). These practices must be stopped and these companies must be brought under control.

There are no 'bail-outs' for all of us average citizens. What good is raising rates to beyond reasonable rates? Make minimum payments so high that people have to choose between paying living expenses or their credit cards. It's a no brainier to see who will win that argument.

These companies are trying to pull in as much cash as possible from those of us that believe in and value our credit rating but the ultimate cost of this is spiraling so far out of control; it's down right frightening.

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Terry
US
Send a message
Dec 06, 2008 8:49 am EST

Bank Of America continually neglects the Grace Period promised and required by law on their credit cards. Making it impossible to mail payments on time to meet the due date. Then they try and charge late fees. This is a Bank of America scam.

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Diana
US
Send a message
Dec 25, 2008 5:14 am EST

Even if you are diligent about keeping track of your money it is IMPOSSIBLE to keep track of it through Bank of America. Every month my husband and I keep all of our receipts, update our checkbook daily and compare our monthly statements to each bill and our checkbook, and we still wind up paying almost over $100 in fees to this place. It is impossible to know when they are going to put a 'pending' transaction through. I could go to four different stores on Thursday afternoon and then write a check at the grocery store on Saturday. They will hold the Thursday transactions until that check goes through on Monday or Tuesday and then charge me fees! They do it all of the time. For one month I printed out a copy of my daily account details through the BofA website and every single day shows a different amount available, even if I went three days without spending any money at all! Bank of America rips people off! I will never recommend them to anyone, not even my worst enemy!

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Martin
US
Send a message
Jan 04, 2009 10:05 am EST

I have automatic payments set up for my Bank of America (BOA) credit card set to pay a certain amount on the day I receive my e-statement. BOA is claiming that one of the payments was never made because my bank told them the account was closed. The bank account was never closed and none of the other automatic payments have been late or missing or declined by the bank. They were unhelpful on the phone. They told me to take it up with my bank. So I checked into it and of course the bank has no idea why BOA would make such a claim. And of course BOA is charging a higher interest on the supposed missing payment. Grrr...

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Michael
US
Send a message
Jan 07, 2009 1:29 pm EST

I sold my car in Sep 3 Saturday for $9000 cash, Since I needed the money in my account ASAP, I couldn't wait until Monday and went to a Bank of America ATM after 30 minutes I made the sell and made an ATM deposit for $9000 cash (It was mostly $100 bills, maybe some $50 bills). I received my receipt. Sep 6 the money was in money account fully available. I used $3000 of it and put the rest into my savings account. After two weeks Sep 21, the bank took the $9000 from my account with the reason of Envelope not found. I called the bank and they started an investigation and they said it can take about 2 or 3 weeks to investigate the problem and they refused to put the money back until the investigation is over. Right now, my major account is in -$8700, unusable, all bill payments is tied to that account, automatic payments and also my paycheck goes to that account. I need to make a lot of changes. I trusted the bank to make this large ATM Deposit, not a second I didn't think there would be a problem. Now I will never make ATM Deposits ever.

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angry ex customer to be
thomasville, US
Send a message
Jan 09, 2009 6:14 pm EST

I wish now I had heeded the advice of several people before I opened an account with the worst bank in America! All they care about is how to twist your transactions around so they can steal money from your account for "overdraft" fees. DO NOT BANK WITH THEM UNLESS YOU HAVE MONEY TO BURN!

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Luter
US
Send a message
Jan 14, 2009 8:30 am EST

Bank of America charges me overdraft fees on pending charges in my account...even though I had plenty of funds in my account to cover the withdrawals. When I contacted 'Customer Service' they explained that the fees were legal based on their policies. So, if you put it in writing that you are going to take advantage of someone...it's okay?

B of A went on to explain that there were authorized charges being held against my account, which is why these charges were legitimate. When I asked why I couldn't see those authorized charges prior to them being accessed they explained they have a system problem that doesn't allow you to see these fees. Isn't that convenient.

Bottom line is that my account was never OD...B of A even admitted this to me. According to them this is a timing issue. They 'held' authorized charges that were going to be posting to my account prior to me making a deposit--even though they were both on the same day. I knew these charges would be coming out which is why I deposited money...duh. I'm not an idiot and I know how a checking account works. I'm an educated individual with a good job and I don't appreciate being taken advantage of. Apparently B of A didn't get enough of our money from the TARP and now need to invent ways to overdraw peoples accounts in order to get additional income.

Bottom line is that B of A is unethical in this practice. Not that anyone at B of A cares, but I will be closing my bank account. I'm just a lowely working fool who doesn't mean crap to B of A however I refuse to let this type of mismanaged, financial giant take advantage of me any longer. In addition, I will be filing a complaint with the banking regulators as well as my elected officials. The $70 I was charged isn't the issue to me at this point, its the fact that this type of unethical behavior is practiced. At some point someone will have to take all the individual claims against B of A seriously and hopefully will do something about it.

Word of warning...don't bank with Bank of America.

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Ricky
US
Send a message
Jan 23, 2009 8:14 am EST

I have 4 overdraft fees each for $35 and there is no explanation as to why this has occurred. I will have to leave bank of america and go elsewhere, i have learned that they do not bank in 'real time' so this leads me to have to find another bank to do business with. I will call them tomorrow and talk it out with them because this was done unjustly and I am sick of making Bank of America rich because of the way they conduct their transactions.

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Mel
US
Send a message
Jan 26, 2009 7:34 am EST

I am a student who lives in Lake Forest, CA. I do all of my banking in Lakewood, since I go to LBCC. I was recently checking my online statement, when I noticed that I had been charged 8 overdraft fees for transactions that were still 'pending'; all of which were under $30.00. There was over $300 in my account: basically food money for the next 2 weeks.

I see the fees, and say WTF?! Smack dab in the middle of the page was a solid chunk of 8 O.D. fees, each for $35.00! $210.00 in overdraft fees that should never have been charged. So, I called the bank, and they said that there was nothing they could do. I eventually got them to reverse 2 of the charges, but they 'could not reverse any more because it was beyond their power'. What a load of CRAP!

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Collin
US
Send a message
Feb 14, 2009 7:27 am EST

10 overdraft charges in 2 days! Bank of America still approved several transactions although my balance was considerably negative. Bank of America just made $350.00 instantly. It's magic! And clearly consumer fraud. In addition to the overdraft fees generated by BOA's authorizations to transactions, the method of placing high to low transactions will also generate overdraft fees, even if the low transaction occurred 2 days before the high. BOA will place the higher transaction first thus generating more overdraft fees.

Surely this is unacceptable and I will gladly join in on any class action lawsuits that are being filed.

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grwoman
Grand Rapids, US
Send a message
Feb 15, 2009 11:53 am EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I am unsure what to think of your complaint. YOU should be responsible enough to know how much money is in your account.

Second, if you actually had enough in there, then I have to believe the overdraft would not have occurred in the first place, at all.

Third, if the bank is that bad, close the account; and open at a different bank.

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Mat
US
Send a message
Feb 23, 2009 3:55 pm EST

On 2/04/08 my local branch of Bank of America changed their ATM to a new machine that counts your cash and scans your checks for you. This 'added convenience' was so that all cash deposits or cash portions of your deposits would be 'immediate' as their ATMs, tellers, and fliers for their new machine states.

I had 2 large transactions that were coming out of my bank on 02/05/08, and needed to deposit $200.00 dollars into my account to cover the transactions. I called my local branch to see what time they were open until so that I could schedule a break from work accordingly, and was told that it was OK if I could not make it in time because the new machine (ATM) would deposit my cash immediately.

Well lo and behold that this is not true. My cash deposit from the new ATM took just as long as it did on the old ATM to deposit into my account, 2 days. This caused me to obtain 3 overdraft charges for $35.00 each, a total of $105.00.

I called customer service expecting to clear up the matter quickly. Why wouldn't it be easy, their own written advertisement states 'Immediate credit for cash deposits'? As it was explained to me by three different customer service agents this just means that I could spend the deposited money, not that I actually had the money. Well of course I didn't have the money; I gave it to you to collect interest on for 2 days along with millions of other lied to customers of your establishment. The charges were not reversed due to the fact that they were not 'banking errors' it was my misunderstanding of what 'they' consider to be immediate.

After all of this I took another look at my account and noticed that the items I was being charged overage fees for, were Items that were paid for BEFORE the items that overdrew my account. Just to verify I called and got the dates and times of the transactions. The bank had charged me fees for items that were put through on 02/03, and 02/04. Mind you the transactions that caused this were not until 02/05.

I asked why this was so being that even though I should have no ODC's I have three where at most I should have one. I was told that the larger items are put through first, 'for my protection'. The smaller items, although they were posted first are moved to the end of the days transactions despite the order the payments were actually made, once again 'for my protection'.

So, I was not only charged for one overdraft item from the 'immediate' deposit not truly being immediate, but I was then charged 2 more times 'for my protection'. I find it very strange that the time of my deposits are critical, but the times of my transactions are irrelevant. Enjoy my $105.00. It will be the last penny you see from me.

By the way... Fraud, False Advertisement, and Theft appear to be common practices from Bank of America. I have never had any problem like this with ANY other institution I have or still use. I hope this someday comes to an end; I would hate to be the company whose slogan is 'We make money because we take yours.”

Should anyone need more information for their own needs, I do have all times, dates, and documents to support every word of my statement stored away for a rainy day.

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Luke
US
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Mar 12, 2009 8:12 am EDT

It seems with 'Bank of America' that they are looking for ways of taking people's money. I print out an online statement everyday on my account and items that have already cleared and posted are rearranged at times to produce the effect of not having sufficient funds - when you clearly had sufficient funds to cover the items that already posted and cleared. I was charged 5 fees due to this and after the fees were charged - they rearranged my account again to clear the 5 NSF fees charged and once again items that were previously cleared were rearranged and then I was charged five additional fees for those items.

After speaking with a representative she stated that they would not refund any fees and that the NSF fees they charge take presonance on the account and are applied first and that is why the items were rearranged which seems very dishonest to me. After items have cleared and posted that is exactly what it should be - cleared and posted. I don't think a bank should have the autonomy over a customers cash to be able to readjust and reapplied in ways that clearly only benefit the banking institution. I have printed copies of every statement showing each set of activities. Due to what they decided to do in rearranging the cleared posted items to clear the first set of 5 fees I was charged a total of 10 fees. If they had not rearranged the items in my account all items would have remained cleared and posted. I keep a very good check register and I know the economy is hard right now - but I think this is a shameless way to regroup by ripping off consumers that have entrusted a banking institution with their hard earned cash.

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FactJack
Seattle, US
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Mar 16, 2009 8:09 am EDT

I've heard this before too. However, when merchants decide to push their pending items to posted (merchants... not the bank), then the bank puts them through. It may have been the merchants and not the bank. Most banks take credits before debits (deposits before withdrawals) and if that's the case, then that might be why your account is all crazy right now. Look a little closer at when the merchant put the item through (usually 48-72 hours with the exception of car rentals which can usually pend for 30 days).

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Mickey
US
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Apr 07, 2009 10:35 am EDT

This has been happening for years and it seems I am the latest victim. Last week (on the 2nd of March, of the year 2009), my account was suspiciously overdrawn according to BoA email and their Website. The weekend prior, I had decided to buy a xbox 360, and went on the website to make sure I had enough money to do so. The site said I had a total of 274 dollars, which should have included all the items that were waiting to be processed in their system.

However, this sadly wasn't the case. There were 3 items, in my honest opinion, left out on purpose. They hadn't been processed for over a week, and for some reason never was accounted for when the system told me I had 274 dollars remaining. They weren't even on the web page when I looked at it. Even on the day prior to the overdraft, they weren't even there, leaving me to believe they had been taken care of.

On the 2nd of March, I get a notice, telling me I have insufficient funds in my account, even though I got an email that day telling me I had 10 dollars remaining. Turns out the first 2 items had been charged. The first item was a 16 dollar haircut and the second one was a 5 dollar fast food order. They took out the 16 dollar one first, then the 5 dollar one, so that I would be overdrafted, not once, but twice, to maximize profit.

All the while, I was told in emails that I had money still on my account. Then on Friday, March 6th, I was charged 10 dollars for an item I bought twice on paypal in the course of 10 mins, both 10 dollars. The first one I bought, went through the next day, the one that I just got overdrafted on took over 1 week. I had bought them on Feb 25th. This was also never on the account, or never taken in consideration on how much money I had left.

Today, March 9th, I went into BoA to discuss this issue with them. I brought proof of what I am saying with me, with printed emails, exact print outs from their site, emails from them, and all the receipts. I told them that I had been overdrafted unfairly, and wanted to discuss this matter. I asked the Employee why was the 16 dollar purchase first, before the 5 dollar one. She said it was in the system first, which is true. However, here's the kicker. The xbox 360 that I had bought that weekend, was processed before any one of these ever were.

When I pointed this out they told me that it was my fault for not keep track of what was going on with the system. I am 19 years old and in this day of age, most teenagers don't really keep track of how much they spend, they just go online to see how much is remaining and take it as is. So I asked to file a petition to have these fees reversed due to that. They told me I had overdrafted my account 3 months ago, which was a lie. I hadn't overdrafted the account for over 8 months, last time in July.

Before I forget, during this whole process, I asked her how long can a company not report any charges to a debt card. They told me 3 days and after that we don't consider the charge valid.

Soon after this, I asked them about the whole paypal thing and why was it not processed when the other was. They told me that paypal didn't report it...which would mean the 3 days were up right? No. They said you will need to discuss with Paypal, even though it was over the 3 day reporting period. They still charged me for the overdraft on that, even though what they said earlier contradicted this charge.

I was charged over 120 dollars for a 'system error.' I would have gladly paid for the 16 dollar overdraft fee, but they insisted it was all my fault and not theirs. That being said, I had clear evidence they were keeping things back and not showing them up on my account. Were they doing it on purpose? I hope not, but it really looks that way.

I am happy to say that I am done with them for ever. They obviously are more worried about getting money than keep customers, even though, they are the ones giving it to them in the first place.

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George
US
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Apr 07, 2009 10:36 am EDT

I've been a BOA account holder for 9 years. I noticed for the first time in November that BOA took 10 insufficient fund fees from my account even though I could not visually see a negative balance in my account.

I went into my local branch to ask for a explanation and was told by the bank rep that even though I did not show negative balances on that date, there were other transactions that were already in my account that posted on that actual date and not the date that they were showing.

BOA said that the PENDING and the POSTED date can be confusing, because the date can change once the item moves out of pending to posted the date could change. I went to another location to speak to a branch manager who called customer service and the rep had half of the fees refunded to my account but could not give me back all of them.

My husband transferred money into my account on December 23, 2008 to go shopping for Christmas gifts for the family, which went into one of my three accounts with BOA, I noticed today that back on Dec 24th I had four overdraft fees but again there were no negative amounts showing on those days.

I woke up this morning, Monday, December 29th to print out a statement to take with me up to BOA to find that I had four more addit'l overdraft fees pending in my account, I went up to BOA and was told the same thing again as to why I incurred these fees.

I could not believe that the bank rep said to me that with the economy being the way it is and banks falling on hard times that I would most likely not have any luck disputing the fees. I asked her why did the overdraft protection I signed up for on Saturday not go into effect this morning as I was told it would.

I was told that even though it went to effect this morning those fees were from card swipes made on the 26th. The same negative items that do not show up online or on statements. I deposited money into my account and transferred money from another account into the account with the pending fees to make sure there wouldn't be anymore fees for any reason.

I checked my account this evening because I am now terrified of my money being in a account at BOA which I will be closing as soon as everything is cleared. I find out this evening that the money I put in my account now is gone from four new Overdraft fees.

I called bank of america furious because this is way out of hand and was told that these fees are pending as of right now so they can't help me this evening, but to call tomorrow after they post to my account.

I tried to tell the rep that there are not any negative amounts for these fees to come from and to my surprise after she stated she couldn't provide me any help she said the same thing the bank rep said at the bank that these are tough times in the economy and refunds are not being considered as often as before. I will continue to address this but I feel completely robbed and cheated!

BOA has no valid reason or explanation for these actions.

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Dan Bell
Pasadena, US
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Apr 28, 2009 1:27 pm EDT

We are casting a documentary about unfair bank policies. Looking for stories with complaints about banks. If you are cast we will pay you. If interested contact bellmartel@sbcglobal.net for more information. Casting needs to be concluded by May 1st, 2009.

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Jacky
US
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May 04, 2009 1:47 pm EDT

On March 11, 2009 I attempted to make a $1000.00 payment on my credit card account I have with Bank of America. The normal online system was not working at that time so I called the help line and they directed me to another web site called "easypay.com". I made the payment and thought everything was fine until I checked my account activity on line on March 25th, 2009. To my surprise, due to a routing or account number error with my bank the $1000.00 payment had been charged back to my card along with a $39.00 late fee.

I immediately called an account representative and he explained what happened with the routing/account number and agreed to waive the $39.00 late fee and credit me back $164.00 of interest charged to may account because of the error. At that time I questioned why I had $519.73 of charges that were showing as a cash advance as I had never used the cash advance option on this card. The interest rate on a cash advance is 24.99% apr. as compared to 15.99% apr which is the normal rate on this account. He said he would move that out of that area and into the lower interest rate options as the whole error had been resolved and that I was not to worry about it.

On April 1, 2009 I rechecked my account and found that I was only credited $19.50 on the late fee and not the full $39.00 as promised and the $519.73 was still being charged the 24.99% as if it were a cash advance. When I asked about the account reps that said it would be taken care of she said they lied to me.

I contacted the help line again and spoke to the supervisor, Sally Tordoff, and she informed me that it could not be moved out of the cash advance interest rate, they would not refund me the rest of the $39.00 late fee, and that I was at fault for being late with the payment. I offered to pay of the $519.73 at that time so I would not be subjected to the 24.99% rate until the account is paid off. She said that was not possible. She admitted having problems with their webiste and even at that time I could not make a payment because the site was not working correctly. She actual;y wanted me to use the "easypay.com" web site again.

I have been a customer with B of A since 1988 and this is very poor treatment. The $519.73 at 24.99% apr could add another $2000.00 in interest I will have to pay over the life of this loan..This is just another way for B of A to to rob from the customer.

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alphababe206
springfield, US
Send a message
May 05, 2009 6:52 am EDT

This same thing happened to me! They cancelled my "keep the change" transfer and charged me 3 times for it saying I had insuffient funds for the "keep the change"...I never went negative and they would not refund my money! Its bull and frankly there should be something that can be done! This didn't happen in the past..so why is it happening now? Someone needs to start a class action against them to bring some attention to it...maybe then they will rethink their practices. Also, I honestly believe they hold debits back so they can bounce things right before your check gets deposited. There has been lots of times I know things should have already cleared, but magically they all do right before our automatic deposit does! It amazes me this is not monitored more!
Lisa Ashlock
Springfield, AR

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Peter
US
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May 07, 2009 1:42 pm EDT

I have held several accounts with Bank of America that I am now in the process of closing. Six years ago I opened a checking account that I was told "No Fee, No minimum balance". Beginning in February on this year I noticed the Bank started to deducted an unauthorized fee from my account. Just because I entrusted them with my account information should not legally allow them to begin taking money from it. And six years later? Most businesses would send a bill not go directly into your account. I went to the branch office and was told it was an error and they credited the money back. Again in April I found another deduction. This time I called and was told they told me they have never offered a "No minimum balance account" and that I could avoid the fee if I opened another account. I fully intend to open another account but never again with Bank of America.

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Samuel Dreessen
Chicago, US
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Jun 05, 2009 5:40 pm EDT

They really need a better and more SECURE atm system. This doesn't make sense.

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Peter
Encinitas, US
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Jun 10, 2009 1:31 pm EDT

I agree 100% that Bank of America is corrupt. I wonder if some kind of class action suit would work? They constantly charge fees whenever they can. They just recently changed their policy to where the charge overdraft fees even if the online banking shows a positive balance. They delay posting credits to the account to create more overdraft fees, and they deduct the highest debits first then the lowest creating the most overdrafts possible. I really can't believe how corrupt they are. I've been charged thousands of dollars over the last 6 years. I should have closed my account years ago, but everytime it happens, I just can't believe that they would do it again. And recently, the changed their policy to where your account doesn't even have to be in the "red" for them to charge overdraft fees. They have their own behind the scenes system that works to their advantage and I'm certain they make millions a year on fools like me. I have to close my account now but it's such a pain because of all the direct deposits and automated stuff I've got going on with them including merchant accounts etc. I wish Bank of American would have to pay for their greed, not get bailed out by the governments.

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Rhonda
Katy, US
Send a message
Jun 12, 2009 4:53 pm EDT

We can fight this! I've been charged NSF fees too when i never went into the negative! I want to file a law suit! My monthly statement shows me always in the positive and also shows NSF fees! That is where they are screwing up because you HAVE to go into the negative to be charged an NSF fee.

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linda13
Holiday, US
Send a message
Jul 02, 2009 5:29 pm EDT

Hey all you have to do is DEDUCT ! from you're balance what you spend. I don't understand why people can't use a calculator and sit down for 5 min. and balance a check book. Easier to be lazy and blame a bank. I recomend you put a few extra buck's in the bank to cover the expence for being stupid

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ZTC0420
Aiken, US
Send a message
Jul 20, 2009 9:41 pm EDT

Bank of America was nothing but trouble for me, plus everyone else I knew who used it. Find a new bank, one that actually wants your business!

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Alex
US
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Jul 21, 2009 6:51 pm EDT

I made certain charges on my debit card on one day that posted immediately to my account (could see them online) that brought my balance to under $100. The following day a large check hits my account which should have resulted in a single overdraft fee. Instead, BOA un-posted three charges that had posted agains the account the previous day, applied the check amount, then re-posted the charges which resulted in four overdraft fees instead of the one.

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Gabriel
US
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Aug 05, 2009 6:07 pm EDT

My branch manager Michael Esperenza in San Diego, California stated to me that if I use my ATM Debit Visa and choose "debit, " that it prompts me to enter my four-digit code, and that those funds are withdrawn immediately granted the account is in positive territory. I did just that! Checking my account balance on mobile banking it showed that the balance was "Not Available" on three occasions. Thus prompting me to purchase items using the four-digit code so I know I won't overdraft the account. Trusting that the debit card knows what is in the account immediately during that approval process is something that consumers can trust. Was that just a lie?

So I then went ahead and made several small purchases using the card as a debit using my personal pin. Bank of America online took a check transaction "bill pay" of Linda McArthur's on June 15th in the amount of $400 and took it out in front of my eyes on my online account and withdrew that amount immediately posting the new balance less $400. I see my account is now showing that this $400 transaction was not withdrawn until June 20th. A total change that has caused numerous small overdrafts that I was told I would be protected from if I use my ATM debit card as a debit card needing the personal pin that would only withdraw funds if it were available.

Now B of A is charging NUMEROUS OVERDRAFTS on those small purchases that I used the ATM debit with pin feature. NONE OF THOSE TRANSACTIONS SHOULD HAVE A $35 FEE ATTACHED TO THEM! PLACING LARGER WITHDRAWALS BEFORE TRANSACTIONS ALREADY POSTED IS DISHONEST AND I WILL TAKE THIS WELL BEYOND B OF A! Clever way of collecting fees where they are not in time order! Bill pay postings should not be placed before transactions that were made before it! B of A seems to pick and choose when larger withdrawals actually post to an account prompting numerous overdraft fees in its favor. I CANT WAIT TO TELL EVERYONE I KNOW HOW DISHONEST YOU CARD SHUFFLERS ARE!

I know I owe overdraft fees on items like the $400 bill pay...but NOT numerous debit pinned transaction overdrafts that were made AND posted before that $400 bill pay posting.

I want an explanation in writing why I should not trust an available balance on my account if there is a pending bill pay item to be calculated.

Consumers need to be aware of your rules...posting is a funny profitable business for you to pretend you don't know what's coming and going.

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