I am the original poster of this rip-off report. I think many of you have valuable complaints and points of view however it sounds to me like those of you with opinions seem to be under the impression that we who have complained are nothing more than careless, irresponsible dimwits that fail to understand budgeting and record keeping in addition to consequence. That is not so, we are merely pointing out that this procedure that 1stcb uses is simply a rip-off, a way to take advantage of the situation. I have since switched back to Woodforest Bank where yes I am obligated to any OD fees that I incur but by a procedure that makes logical since as OD fees are not accessed on the account until all other funds have been removed and further debits actually send your balance below $0. This is not so with 1stcb. Where the misunderstanding is, is in the meaning of BALANCE. There is Available, Ledger, Current; call it what you will but the fact remains money there-money not. What 1stcb does is by their definition of "Balance" legal, but that doesn’t make it reputable. Regardless of the amount of money you have as your current balance (actually in the bank) at the time a payment "clears" or otherwise actually paid to merchant they will begin charging OD fees the minute your "Available" balance goes beyond your "Ledger". So If you have a Ledger balance of $5 and an Available balance of $10 and a check clears for $4 your ledger balance is $1 because the debit was covered by the amount actually in the account but 1stcb charges the OD fee of lets say $30 on this transaction because you are presumed in the negative (though not in reality). This procedure then brings you actual account balance to (-$29) so when the other $6 debit and $30 OD fee is assessed your balance is (-$65). If this was at Woodforest your balance would be (-$35) - see the difference. Don't get me wrong, Woodforest has the same policy regarding OD however they hit you at the bottom of the available balance instead of the top, if that makes any sinse. By that I mean if you deposit money into your account with 1stcb to bring your Available balance to a positive number then they do not charge the OD fee on any further transaction to clear where as Woodforest will continue to charge for anything that post negative prior to the pending deposit transferring to your ledger balance. I only concider 1stcb a rip-off because in the scheme of things you end up with more OD fees this way and this policy as it is called is not clearly stated nor explained in the contracted agreement you have with them. However, In the end its about understanding the process in which your bank elects to use and yes management but I must also point out that evedently if everyone stayed out of the negative as some of you have suggested then OD "privilages" would not be necessary in the first place and would most likley not exist for that reason.
