#excessbankfees

[moneystories]

The fees are too damn high

The main issue that I and millions of other people have encountered with banking is the rather high fees. In specific, overdraw fees cause me the most disadvantage and at times, frustration. These fee are charged if the available amount of money is exceeded when people try to withdraw. This fee stands in the way of easy and convenient banking. Another significant issue that I have with banking is the fee charged when I use an ATM that is not part of my bank. I understand that certain businesses need to make profit off of having an ATM for their customers, but I think it would be more convenient for members of banks if the banks covered such fees. These fees are an issue to me because many times, when I need to use an ATM machine, the ATM of my bank is too far for immediate use. If my bank covered ATM fees I would be encouraged to use them more, therefore helping other businesses.

[moneystories]

Overdraft problems, and this bank is one.

I stopped keeping a paper check book a long time ago.  I would just check my online banking and see my balance.  Then my bank merged with another bank, which had different policies.  They also quickly extended me overdraft privilege.  Funds were taking longer to come out of my account, so checking my online banking wasn't giving me an accurate sense.  I kept spending and racking up hundreds of overdraft charges, because I didn't really know how much was in my account.  Many people at the bank were unsympathetic, telling me to stop spending the money if I didn't have it or just keep extra in the account.  If I had extra, I wouldn't have this problem! A couple of people at this bank, though, really helped me.  A branch manager sat down with me and suggested I make a list of all the automatic drafts from my account, and keep it on a sticky inside my check book.  I wasn't keeping a check book, so I put the stick on my desk at work.  Then I decided I better start keeping a checkbook. Things were going well until the bank extended overdraft privilege again (after I'd lost it for too many overdrafts and negative balances).  Charges started racking up i couldn't even understand.  It felt like a vicious cycle I'd never get out of.  I called the bank to get some explanation and was told something about how things were processed.  The woman I spoke with gave me an option to have the privilege only for checks and ACH, but not for my debit card.  This would mean I was covered in the event of a true emergency or paying bills, but there would be no danger of me accidentally overdrafting to buy my kids snacks or something silly.  It's been 4 months since we started that plan and I am doing much better keeping track of my funds, avoiding the need for overdraft privilege and the excess fees.