Banks and your checking account...

phobicsquirrel

Anyone use a checking account? Well since the govt made them cut their overdraft charges back some banks are getting ready to get their money back by sticking it to free checking accounts...
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-bankfees-20100622,0,2170791,print.story

xmacro

Yup, another f*ck up by Congress, who never wants to hear there's consequences for every action, or that it's not possible to wave a magic wand and fix everything

kuzi16

xmacro:

Yup, another f*ck up by Congress, who never wants to hear there's consequences for every action, or that it's not possible to wave a magic wand and fix everything

this is another situation where government regulation caused as many problems as it fixed.

but somebody had to do SOMETHING!!!

before the legislation passed all you had to do was not overdraft your account and you wouldnt get charged. so... personal responsibility
now you do everything right and play by the rules and you get charged. thanks big government!!


... however, im sure banks are gunna be blamed for this.

fla-gypsy

banks had plenty of dirty tricks to stick you with an overdraft charge but letting Congress get involved in it will only cost you more.

kuzi16

fla-gypsy:

banks had plenty of dirty tricks to stick you with an overdraft charge

what? you pulling out more money than you have?

heck the one time i DID overdraft, my bank was ok with it because my PAYCHECK bounced. they waived my fee. granted thats one bank but generally speaking, if you didnt pull out more than you had you didnt get a fee. now, simply by having money in the bank, you are getting a fee.

phobicsquirrel

Kuzi, yes I agree but you have to look at who gets these charges and then there are times that it is the banks fault. A lot of people are let's say it, poor when they get hit with these charges. Though it isn't always their fault or the person's fault.. well maybe it's their fault but it's sort of grey. Like say you get paid on friday, you have 30 bucks in your account and you have paid all your bills for the month and you are just waiting till the end of the week when you get paid. Well you needed to get food and then you had to get gas. Well you got food and have like 11 bucks left. You go to the tank and put ten bucks in. Well now you have 1 buck. Well friday comes around and you see you got your check, though it's about 200 dollars light.. Why because a item less then 2.00 went through and it was put on before your check shows up (mind you everything posts the same day/time) and because of that 2.00 a few other things finally come through that you totally forgot about and pushes you over 100 bucks maybe even more in just FEES!!! now your broker than you were as your check really sucks anyway. So see banks use to use these fees as a deterant but anymore more and more people have less money to use and work much more. How is that really their fault (that is if they have a job). When the banks make huge amounts off of them. Now I can see sure, a fee is fine but they have abused that fee for some time.
I find it amazing that the lack of compassion from the other side on issues of the masses. Oh they should have been more responsible or it's their fault. Well why don't I hear that about the institutions that screw the masses over? I don't. Maybe some on here feel that way but the general way is they don't. Why is it okay to these places to continue to milk an already poorer and poorer? Why are we always the one who gets it in the rear? It's total BS.
..and I don't see how this is the govt's fault for trying to quell the storm for the masses?

kuzi16

phobicsquirrel:

Kuzi, yes I agree but you have to look at who gets these charges and then there are times that it is the banks fault. A lot of people are let's say it, poor when they get hit with these charges. Though it isn't always their fault or the person's fault.. well maybe it's their fault but it's sort of grey. Like say you get paid on friday, you have 30 bucks in your account and you have paid all your bills for the month and you are just waiting till the end of the week when you get paid. Well you needed to get food and then you had to get gas. Well you got food and have like 11 bucks left. You go to the tank and put ten bucks in. Well now you have 1 buck. Well friday comes around and you see you got your check, though it's about 200 dollars light.. Why because a item less then 2.00 went through and it was put on before your check shows up (mind you everything posts the same day/time) and because of that 2.00 a few other things finally come through that you totally forgot about and pushes you over 100 bucks maybe even more in just FEES!!! now your broker than you were as your check really sucks anyway. So see banks use to use these fees as a deterant but anymore more and more people have less money to use and work much more. How is that really their fault (that is if they have a job). When the banks make huge amounts off of them. Now I can see sure, a fee is fine but they have abused that fee for some time.
I find it amazing that the lack of compassion from the other side on issues of the masses. Oh they should have been more responsible or it's their fault. Well why don't I hear that about the institutions that screw the masses over? I don't. Maybe some on here feel that way but the general way is they don't. Why is it okay to these places to continue to milk an already poorer and poorer? Why are we always the one who gets it in the rear? It's total BS.
..and I don't see how this is the govt's fault for trying to quell the storm for the masses?

the way to fix this problem is not to legislate out overdraft fees but to legislate that deposits must hit before withdraws in a 24 hour period.

i am familiar with that hypothetical you set up.

im sure that does happen. many banks will work with you in situations like that as long as you are not making a habit of it. all you have to do is ask.


also, i have been in a situation where i needed food and gas and i had $5 in my account. the way to get around that is
1) borrow $20 from a friend
2) credit card
3) walk to the store, dont drive. buy BP&J and a loaf of bread
4) eat that crappy can of creamed corn you accidentally bought a few months ago.
5) plan farther ahead
6) pay your credit card bill, gas bill, electric bill 3 days late.(most credit cards wont report to credit reports unless you are a month or more late, and most electric/gas companies will work with you for a payment plan if you call BEFORE its late)

ive been poor. ive been homeless. i had a checking account the entire time. not once did i overdraft. why? because i went out of my way to not to. if it was close, i didnt use the card. there were times where it sucked REALLY BAD. but i was never once in the hole because i took a risk that i should not have taken.


why dont you hear about how they screw the masses over? because they dont screw anyone over. all of this info about fees is in the paperwork that YOU SIGNED when you signed up for the account. know the rules. play by them.

phobicsquirrel

kuzi16:

phobicsquirrel:

Kuzi, yes I agree but you have to look at who gets these charges and then there are times that it is the banks fault. A lot of people are let's say it, poor when they get hit with these charges. Though it isn't always their fault or the person's fault.. well maybe it's their fault but it's sort of grey. Like say you get paid on friday, you have 30 bucks in your account and you have paid all your bills for the month and you are just waiting till the end of the week when you get paid. Well you needed to get food and then you had to get gas. Well you got food and have like 11 bucks left. You go to the tank and put ten bucks in. Well now you have 1 buck. Well friday comes around and you see you got your check, though it's about 200 dollars light.. Why because a item less then 2.00 went through and it was put on before your check shows up (mind you everything posts the same day/time) and because of that 2.00 a few other things finally come through that you totally forgot about and pushes you over 100 bucks maybe even more in just FEES!!! now your broker than you were as your check really sucks anyway. So see banks use to use these fees as a deterant but anymore more and more people have less money to use and work much more. How is that really their fault (that is if they have a job). When the banks make huge amounts off of them. Now I can see sure, a fee is fine but they have abused that fee for some time.
I find it amazing that the lack of compassion from the other side on issues of the masses. Oh they should have been more responsible or it's their fault. Well why don't I hear that about the institutions that screw the masses over? I don't. Maybe some on here feel that way but the general way is they don't. Why is it okay to these places to continue to milk an already poorer and poorer? Why are we always the one who gets it in the rear? It's total BS.
..and I don't see how this is the govt's fault for trying to quell the storm for the masses?

the way to fix this problem is not to legislate out overdraft fees but to legislate that deposits must hit before withdraws in a 24 hour period.

i am familiar with that hypothetical you set up.

im sure that does happen. many banks will work with you in situations like that as long as you are not making a habit of it. all you have to do is ask.


also, i have been in a situation where i needed food and gas and i had $5 in my account. the way to get around that is
1) borrow $20 from a friend
2) credit card
3) walk to the store, dont drive. buy BP&J and a loaf of bread
4) eat that crappy can of creamed corn you accidentally bought a few months ago.
5) plan farther ahead
6) pay your credit card bill, gas bill, electric bill 3 days late.(most credit cards wont report to credit reports unless you are a month or more late, and most electric/gas companies will work with you for a payment plan if you call BEFORE its late)

ive been poor. ive been homeless. i had a checking account the entire time. not once did i overdraft. why? because i went out of my way to not to. if it was close, i didnt use the card. there were times where it sucked REALLY BAD. but i was never once in the hole because i took a risk that i should not have taken.


why dont you hear about how they screw the masses over? because they dont screw anyone over. all of this info about fees is in the paperwork that YOU SIGNED when you signed up for the account. know the rules. play by them.

I agree with half of what you said, yes the 24 hour period would have been a good idea. However I dunno back before I was born when checks bounced they were less and banks didn't actually use them as part of their revenue stream. Now things have changed and banks make 40 some percent of their money from these fees, something tells me that's absurd. I bank locally and I have had them waive fees on a few occasions and if I really did screw the pooch I'll eat it. However the big banks, like BOA, wells fargo, US bank use it not as just a fee but as a revenue stream. Now if banks actually invested in their community and made smart investments then perhaps they would be **** people over with these fees. Now if they were just there as "oh I over drew my account" then okay but it's more or less about them taking the most expensive item then going from there to the least expensive just to hit the account holder with the most fees.
I know, I had it happen several times with US bank when I had them and I've had it happen a couple of times with my credit union, however it wasn't too hard to have a lot of the fees reversed but it still was a hassle. Why make people go through it? simple, it's that these institutions know that people (us) are more or less honorable meaning that if do something we'll take the beating for it, thus paying the fees. However some of us won't but they are in the minority. It's how they do it. The same with the credit cards and all their fees. It's a vicious circle and we the public are getting it in the rear.

kuzi16

like you said it is a way oif getting people to not overdraw.
not only that when you signed up for the account, they were legally obligated to tell you about those fees. you agree to it before hand and sign off on it. same thing with the credit cards. that big stack of fine print that you get with your credit cards? yeah... read it. it is the list of rules that are set up for that card. if you dont like the rules... dont get the card. again, you have to agree to the rules. as long as you understand the rules, its not a problem. because i read the rules, i have never got a fee from my credit card.

the public may be "getting it in the rear" according to you but they agreed to in a contract they signed where 100% of the rules were set and signed off on then they entered this venture.

Vulchor

Nice try Squirrel, but just give it up man...Laker and I have packed it in, not worth it---at least not regularly. Sometimes we just have to remember what Vanderbilt said.. "The public be damned"-----more people feel this way than you want to believe. Im out.

PuroFreak

This problem goes even deeper than fees from overdrafts being used as a source of income to the banks. It isn't so much a source of income, but another way to recoup some of the money they have lost from people who spend more money than they have in the bank, then never pay the bank back. Pheebs, you mentioned how these fees weren't common years ago, but years ago more people paid their bills and budgeted their money. Lack of personal responsibility is a growing epidemic in this country and has been for decades. This has lead to banks having to try other ways to make money just to survive. Then you throw the government in the mix telling them they must make risky loans because "everyone deserves to own their own home," and they are having to find more ways to make up for money they are losing daily... Now the government has taken away that outlet and they are finding other ways. If the government would step out of the way and let banks take care of business and actually remain a profitable business that answers to the customers, maybe some of that personal responsibility would start coming back.

Joeyjoe21_8

So you always see those advertising ads people saying check into cash is cheeper then bank accounts...bs...cuz what do you do with ur check when you cash it...u spend it, lose it, etc...as well, they charge a fee based on percent of ur check size... you can get free checking accounts by using their bill service and bam...free...I have wells fargo...free...completely not one dollar goes to fees...I couldnt be happier with them either...if anything goes wrong, i call them and its settled instantly

phobicsquirrel

PuroFreak:

This problem goes even deeper than fees from overdrafts being used as a source of income to the banks. It isn't so much a source of income, but another way to recoup some of the money they have lost from people who spend more money than they have in the bank, then never pay the bank back. Pheebs, you mentioned how these fees weren't common years ago, but years ago more people paid their bills and budgeted their money. Lack of personal responsibility is a growing epidemic in this country and has been for decades. This has lead to banks having to try other ways to make money just to survive. Then you throw the government in the mix telling them they must make risky loans because "everyone deserves to own their own home," and they are having to find more ways to make up for money they are losing daily... Now the government has taken away that outlet and they are finding other ways. If the government would step out of the way and let banks take care of business and actually remain a profitable business that answers to the customers, maybe some of that personal responsibility would start coming back.

Yeah I get it, and I know what you mean. But look at our culture too? I mean I can barely remember a time when i didn't see credit cards. Things these days are touted as if you can get something now then pay later. Which is cool, right? Though think of the climate. I mean 40 years ago a lot of people had good paying jobs, had savings and yes were more responsible. But now jobs pay a lot less, people work more, and they pay a lot more for things. One of the biggest groups that get hit with these fees are the 20 somethings. Why, well because of school and just starting out. School anymore is just a stick in the butt. I mean it costs so much, many go so deep in debt they'll probably never pay it off. I know, responsibility is what we are after but when your country doesn't do it, the biggest corporations (banks) don't have to worry about it, why does poor jane and sam have to be roasted and screwed by the very institutions that make money off of ripping people off (our taxes)? I Mean no where is this stuff being taught any more.

gmill880

phobicsquirrel:

kuzi16:

phobicsquirrel:

Kuzi, yes I agree but you have to look at who gets these charges and then there are times that it is the banks fault. A lot of people are let's say it, poor when they get hit with these charges. Though it isn't always their fault or the person's fault.. well maybe it's their fault but it's sort of grey. Like say you get paid on friday, you have 30 bucks in your account and you have paid all your bills for the month and you are just waiting till the end of the week when you get paid. Well you needed to get food and then you had to get gas. Well you got food and have like 11 bucks left. You go to the tank and put ten bucks in. Well now you have 1 buck. Well friday comes around and you see you got your check, though it's about 200 dollars light.. Why because a item less then 2.00 went through and it was put on before your check shows up (mind you everything posts the same day/time) and because of that 2.00 a few other things finally come through that you totally forgot about and pushes you over 100 bucks maybe even more in just FEES!!! now your broker than you were as your check really sucks anyway. So see banks use to use these fees as a deterant but anymore more and more people have less money to use and work much more. How is that really their fault (that is if they have a job). When the banks make huge amounts off of them. Now I can see sure, a fee is fine but they have abused that fee for some time.
I find it amazing that the lack of compassion from the other side on issues of the masses. Oh they should have been more responsible or it's their fault. Well why don't I hear that about the institutions that screw the masses over? I don't. Maybe some on here feel that way but the general way is they don't. Why is it okay to these places to continue to milk an already poorer and poorer? Why are we always the one who gets it in the rear? It's total BS.
..and I don't see how this is the govt's fault for trying to quell the storm for the masses?

the way to fix this problem is not to legislate out overdraft fees but to legislate that deposits must hit before withdraws in a 24 hour period.

i am familiar with that hypothetical you set up.

im sure that does happen. many banks will work with you in situations like that as long as you are not making a habit of it. all you have to do is ask.


also, i have been in a situation where i needed food and gas and i had $5 in my account. the way to get around that is
1) borrow $20 from a friend
2) credit card
3) walk to the store, dont drive. buy BP&J and a loaf of bread
4) eat that crappy can of creamed corn you accidentally bought a few months ago.
5) plan farther ahead
6) pay your credit card bill, gas bill, electric bill 3 days late.(most credit cards wont report to credit reports unless you are a month or more late, and most electric/gas companies will work with you for a payment plan if you call BEFORE its late)

ive been poor. ive been homeless. i had a checking account the entire time. not once did i overdraft. why? because i went out of my way to not to. if it was close, i didnt use the card. there were times where it sucked REALLY BAD. but i was never once in the hole because i took a risk that i should not have taken.


why dont you hear about how they screw the masses over? because they dont screw anyone over. all of this info about fees is in the paperwork that YOU SIGNED when you signed up for the account. know the rules. play by them.

I agree with half of what you said, yes the 24 hour period would have been a good idea. However I dunno back before I was born when checks bounced they were less and banks didn't actually use them as part of their revenue stream. Now things have changed and banks make 40 some percent of their money from these fees, something tells me that's absurd. I bank locally and I have had them waive fees on a few occasions and if I really did screw the pooch I'll eat it. However the big banks, like BOA, wells fargo, US bank use it not as just a fee but as a revenue stream. Now if banks actually invested in their community and made smart investments then perhaps they would be **** people over with these fees. Now if they were just there as "oh I over drew my account" then okay but it's more or less about them taking the most expensive item then going from there to the least expensive just to hit the account holder with the most fees.
I know, I had it happen several times with US bank when I had them and I've had it happen a couple of times with my credit union, however it wasn't too hard to have a lot of the fees reversed but it still was a hassle. Why make people go through it? simple, it's that these institutions know that people (us) are more or less honorable meaning that if do something we'll take the beating for it, thus paying the fees. However some of us won't but they are in the minority. It's how they do it. The same with the credit cards and all their fees. It's a vicious circle and we the public are getting it in the rear.

Maybe I'm a little slow today but ...I don't understand why someone would be upset by having to pay fee's they agreed to pay if they did something like overdraw their account. I spent 10 plus years in banking and I don't see how banks could possible make 40% of their profits from overdraft fees Pheebs, maybe you saw or read that somewhere and could provide a link because for that to be true in the banking world that would require some really strange math. Anyways I didn't join this discussion to argue with anyone about their ideas as most will not be swayed from what they truly believe. However in my opinion in the scenario presented , overdrafting to pay for bills, food, gas or anything else ( IF DONE INTENTIONALLY ) not the occasional mistake/accident is no different than straight up stealing . Its the same as if my neighbor came home one payday and said " You know what , i have a lot of sh_it to pay for this week and I think I'll go over to my neighbor Gene's house and just relieve him of about $400 or $500 bucks to make ends meet this week". Thats what people who do this intentionally are doing ...maybe they don't look at it as stealing because its big institutions, what they don't think of is the shareholders in the bank who could be everyone from the bank C.E.O. all the way down to the small households trying to save for childrens futures or the local farmers and mill/factory workers ...they just took a hit for you because of your decision to overdraft and some of these people are in worse shape than the people who INTENTIONALLY overdraft and look at it as "borrowing". I assure you if my neighbor or anyone else "dropped into my house" with the intention of "borrowing" something from me that I did not want them to have they would not have to worry about food,gas or anymore bills if you catch my drift . Peace out ...just sayin ...

gmill880

One thing I do agree with though is that even though the penalties were spelled out in the paperwork you signed and agreed to , the banks did get a little over zealous with the amounts they would charge for overdrafts and things of that nature.

Joeyjoe21_8

well another thing...when you have a checking account, you can have the bank decline a charge if there isnt funds in the account....for instance, If I wanted a 30 dollar cigar and I am out partying and happen to buy one, and when I swiped my card I only had 25 bucks in the checkings, The bank can decline the card therefore never having a overdraft fee....Wells fargo does it if you want them to, you just have to call them.

cabinetmaker

Joeyjoe21_8:

well another thing...when you have a checking account, you can have the bank decline a charge if there isnt funds in the account....for instance, If I wanted a 30 dollar cigar and I am out partying and happen to buy one, and when I swiped my card I only had 25 bucks in the checkings, The bank can decline the card therefore never having a overdraft fee....Wells fargo does it if you want them to, you just have to call them.

But that would require personal responsibility, and if we use personal responsibility we can't blame greedy banks and evil corporations when we overdraft our accounts... That simply won't do.

mrpillow

My Wells Fargo student checking/savings account is fixing to get hit by this, which is rather irritating as it's the bank that has an on-campus branch and ATMs. I have to maintain a balance of $500 or face a monthly charge, which is rather annoying for a poor college kid LOL

undulac

I work for a bank and although I don't work on the branch side, I am in constant contact with them. First off, it you overdraft your account, it's your fault. Secondly, banks are not non-profit organizations. They are for profit. Does anyone get pissed when ccom makes us pay for cigars? (Don't answer that) Even though they are for profit, they still offer a product that is completely free if used correctly.

Let's use an example of a checking account with an average balance of $1,000 in it. Those people assume the bank make money on them. It's quite the opposite. The bank needs that person to have a balance of over $8,000 to possibly break even (at the low end) . If you have $1,000, the bank takes that money and lends it out at say 6%. The bank has to also borrow money from the fed to loan money out at around 2%. They also have to pay savings accounts and CD's. If the bank lent your $1,000 out at 6%, they would generate $60 per year off of you (simple interest, it's actually a little higher with an APY). Now they have to pay someone to send you statements out every month, pay for the paper to print on, pay for the ink, pay for someone to stuff the envelopes, pay the compliance department to make sure the statements are within regulation, pay for the electricity so those people can see, pay for water so those same people can flush the toilet, pay for medical/dental and retirement, not to mention they need tellers so you can make a transaction, and if that isn't convenient enough, have ATM's that cost hundreds of thousand to purchase and upkeep, and to get there they have to pave the parking lot and paint stripes in them so you know where to park. They also have to pay for your FDIC insurance, need computer to be able to do this, track your checks, deduct that money from your account, wire money to thousand of other banks a day so they get your payments which get internet and electronic banking involved.

I can go on all night but I think you get the picture. Also, I used the word "you" a lot. This was not intended to anyone. If fact, as I read this, I didn't look at one name in this thread. Just venting. Oh, and I forgot, they need to pay a loan officer to go out and generate business, pay a credit analyst to see if the loan is worth while, pay for the docs to be drawn up, print them. Never mind, I think I made my point.