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Millions of people have never balanced their checking account. Many don’t bother recording checks they have written and go by “ available balance” and bounce checks. Debit cards are a better alternative for those lacking basic discipline.
if you're really "middle-aged", then I'm sure you know the old joke (actually I've heard it said with all seriousness)
"How can I be out of money when I still have all these checks?"
This thread has had me reminiscing about some of the crazy stuff I saw at the bank.
Like a guy with a checking account with an average balance of less than $100 walking in one day and depositing a large check - $5000 IIRC - and badgering the teller to please post it to his account immediately. She told him she could only post $100 of it that day due to bank policy. Guy gets mad and leaves.
Literally five minutes later a woman walks in with a check drawn off this man's account for - you guessed it - $100. A flag was placed on his account and sure as heck, the check he deposited came back NSF, written off a closed account.
It's not just checks. More and more services are requiring autopay or direct pay with a debit / credit card. People have more stuff coming out of their accounts directly via a automated system then ever before.
If you get low in your account and have 3-4 auto pay items hit at the same time (which is always convent that the bank clears these at the same time in your account) then you can easily have 4-5 overdraft fees immediately. Many banks will allow 8 or 9 in a row if you have direct deposit of funds from a Job or SS because it is guaranteed the bank will gt their fees. You don't get a call or get contacted as this is called a "Service".
I also find it suspicious that banks will hold certain transactions with Debit cards like a McDonalds purchase for days then put it through when an account is low from other transactions, its seems like a way to generate more fees. MY nephew showed me his bank statement online and you could see purchases made from all different days posting all together when his accounts gets low as if the bank is hoping you screw up and can get more fees.
For those of us with balances of well above risk of overdraft we don't notice it.
no Bank is holding transactions trying to figure just the right moment to get you on your McD's purchase 4 days ago.
Just as stated early, it would be a worthwhile discussion to consider disclosure of check-posting rules. That is - when 5 transactions come in, in what order are they paid? Ex:
You have 5 checks presenting today. Your balance happens to be $500.
Check 1: $450
Checks 2 - 5: $50 each
Total being presented: $650
Your Bank always pays biggest first. So the $450 sails through as does check #2. But then 3-5 bounce, and you get socked with 3 fees.
Now, should the Bank be required to disclose their method? Maybe. Should the Banks have some weird law passed "all Banks must process the maximum # of checks possible in order to reduce the # that fall into overdraft"? I'd say not, but I could see Warren being all for that.
This thread has had me reminiscing about some of the crazy stuff I saw at the bank.
Like a guy with a checking account with an average balance of less than $100 walking in one day and depositing a large check - $5000 IIRC - and badgering the teller to please post it to his account immediately. She told him she could only post $100 of it that day due to bank policy. Guy gets mad and leaves.
Literally five minutes later a woman walks in with a check drawn off this man's account for - you guessed it - $100. A flag was placed on his account and sure as heck, the check he deposited came back NSF, written off a closed account.
Tellers see this crap every single day.
check-kiting is WAY over the heads of most people.
check-kiting is WAY over the heads of most people.
Had a guy accuse our branch of stealing his cash ATM deposit. We told him nobody is allowed to enter an ATM machine alone. So he says 'Well I bet BOTH employees were in on it". We told him that ATM entry is triple custody, meaning no less than three employees at a time enter the internal side of the machine.
He settled down after that. The old "deposit an empty envelope" scheme is soooo tired. lol.
I can add to this as I worked at a bank while in College too. They'd bounce a check and come ripping into the bank demanding to know where their money went. I'd print out a couple months of transactions and basically read it to them. Most of the time they simply forgot to deposit a check they left lying around the apartment.
Many of these fools would still be arguing even after detailing all their transactions. I felt bad for the security guards that had to convince them to leave. One guy was so livid he said cancel my account I'm going elsewhere. I asked him if he wanted it all in ones because it's nine bucks. A couple of people eavesdropping started to laugh. The guy left fuming holding his nine bucks.
I suppose thankfully, he didn't still have any outstanding checks
Yep, don't see anyone arguing that there shouldn't be a fee. I think upwards of $35 is excessive.
OK.
So, as noted, almost every Bank will waive a single fee for long-time customers. That covers your "mistake".
I assume every Bank has some type of overdraft protection, and for many accounts it is not a fee. That could cover most otherwise-responsible people who make mistakes.
Or, the Banks could just charge everybody what - $10? Is that reasonable? $20?
Is it reasonable for them to put a cap on it? Maybe 10 overdrafts in a year? Because on #11, they're shutting your account and putting a note on your credit file, and few other Banks would be interested in taking over your problem.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BoBromhal
check-kiting is WAY over the heads of most people.
When I had a business I did pretty well with most paying by credit card, but I did once have a customer give me a check that bounced, NSF for about $600. I had no luck contacting him, but knowing how the bank works, I called every day to verify the check, and for 3 days was told it was not good. Then the 4th day they said it was good, he must have made a deposit so I took it to that bank and cashed it immediately, then deposited the cash into my bank.
When I had a business I did pretty well with most paying by credit card, but I did once have a customer give me a check that bounced, NSF for about $600. I had no luck contacting him, but knowing how the bank works, I called every day to verify the check, and for 3 days was told it was not good. Then the 4th day they said it was good, he must have made a deposit so I took it to that bank and cashed it immediately, then deposited the cash into my bank.
truly, we might better consider doing away with checks altogether. From ancient times of 2016...
So Elizabeth Warren was leading an apparently bi-partisan attack on banks that charged overdraft fees on checking accounts. This leaves me confused. Writing a check for more money than you have is a federal crime. Banks provide overdraft protection from people who have spent more money than they've put in. Why would they not be entitled to charge a fee for that?
Sometimes the direct deposit sitting there too and they take the checks before the deposit. If you are pro banks - good for you- I worked in the financial arena over 12 years. They play dirty.
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