Get this: I made a $500 deposit to my bank three days ago, which got processed yesterday. An Amazon purchase I made of $4.99 got processed yesterday as well. I looked at my account activity and saw that I was charged an overdraft fee. I call my bank. The dude tells me that if I make a deposit, they hold ALL of the money in my account until the deposit clears. To be clear, not just the amount of the deposited check, but ALL of the money in my account. I.E. on the day of the deposit, I can't withdraw funds, and if I use my check card, I get an overdraft fee.
Me: "But what if I had tried to use an ATM yesterday?"
Dude: "Typically you would not be able to withdraw funds from your account on a day when a deposit is being processed. So if you had tried to withdraw from an ATM, you would not have been able to."
Me: "But I've just never seen this happen before. I'm sure I have made purchases on the same day as a deposit before."
Dude: "you probably just never made a purchase on the same day as a deposit before."
Me: ".........."
Dude: "You can find an explanation of this in your account documentation."
Me: "......"
I have trouble comprehending this, and repeatedly ask for clarification. The customer service dude eventually says:
"Basically, if you had not made a deposit on that day, you would not have been charged an overdraft fee."
What kind of shit is that?! Luckily, he agreed to reverse the charge "just this once." But I'm definitely switching banks. If you've got an account with Salem Five bank, I suggest you dump them right quick! And I'm sure they're not the only bank doing this, so you might want to check your documentation if you're banking elsewhere.
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Comments
I just don't find this
By garym
Sat, 12/31/2005 - 8:32am
I just don't find this plausible unless there's some other factor that wasn't mentioned. If any major bank routinely froze depositors' accounts for a day whenever a deposit was made, we'd be hearing about it constantly.
Find it plausible or not,
By Aqua
Sat, 12/31/2005 - 7:28pm
Find it plausible or not, it's what happened. You can call them and ask if you need verification.
A complaint to the State
By Ron Newman
Sun, 01/01/2006 - 3:57pm
A complaint to the State Banking Commissioner on Tuesday -- or even the threat of such a complaint -- should resolve this issue.
they've already agreed to
By Aqua
Sun, 01/01/2006 - 5:14pm
they've already agreed to reverse the charge... But "just this once."
That's good -- but you
By Ron Newman
Sun, 01/01/2006 - 5:23pm
That's good -- but you should [b]still[/b] tell the Banking Commissioner's office what happened. They may need your complaint in order to establish a pattern.
will do
By Aqua
Sun, 01/01/2006 - 6:16pm
will do
banking
By Anonymous
Mon, 01/23/2006 - 8:55am
You really should educate yourself when it comes to banking. This rule is reg cc which is used by all banks so any bank you go to has the same policy.