Key Bank - Rip Off NSF Charges EXORBITANT NSF CHARGES PORTLAND Oregon

It seems a lot of your issues were that you misunderstand how banking works. First of all Saturday's are NOT banking days. NO bank will post transactions on a Saturday. Since you deposited money in an ATM the first day it would probably become available is the next Tuesday. So between then and that Tuesday each and every additional purchase you made would put you into a bigger overdraft because the money was not available yet.

The overdraft fee is a FEE not a LOAN or interest, they would charge you the same amount if you overdrafted by $0.01 or $100.01. There is no Usury because there is no interest.

The best thing you can do is not overdraft..obviously. But if you do overdraft then you must STOP taking any money out of your account until you are 100% certain that all transactions have been posted(Debits, Credits, and fees) and you are back in a positive status. This may take 5-7 days from the time you deposit the money. Especially if there are any weekends or holidays, and you have debits and/or checks outstanding. This may seem tough, but it is really the only way to guarantee to stop the "cascade" effect of fees.

Guess you learned an expensive lesson. Every bank will charge you if you spend more than you have.

I have had the same checking account with Key Bank for 12 years now. I understand exactly what the other Key Bank customer was talking about. I made two debit card purchases for under $4.00 each, which cleared when I used the card because odvioiusly the money was there. However at the end of the following banking day, a check that I forgot to write down for $106, over drafted my account by $97.00. Completely my fault.

The overdraft posted to my account after banking hrs on Friday. Account was showing a negative $97.00 even though they were returning the check for NSF. Meaning my account only had $9.00 in it when the check was presented but that was being held. (The other $7.00 for the two debits was showing has already cleared). Nothing I could do about it over the week end. I went to Key Bank 9AM Monday morning with cash in hand which also included $37.00 for the over draft fee, which had not even posted yet. I talked to a very nice desk employed who handled everything and assured me I was all set.

The following day my account was a positive $24.00. However, the next day I had two more NSF charges for $37 each. I was over drawn again! The surprise was that I was not over drawn this time until after they took the two additional fees out. I had no idea how this could happen because I had no checks out and had not used my Debit card since the original overdraft.

I went back to the bank. I talked to the same person who told me I was all set, just two days before. She did not understand why I had the additional fees either and had to get her supervisor. She explained to me that the overdraft were due to the two small debits. She insisted they both posted to my account after the overdrafted check and that because my funds were are hold pending the return of the check, I had to pay the two fees. There was no talking to her about it. She would hear nothing.

I had overdraft protection available of approximately $50.00. Why didn't the overdraft protection cover the two small debits? I was informed that over draft protection does not cover purchases under $5 each. She refused to remove the charges. Just pay up or it would go into collections and affect your credit. The first NSF fee was my fault, the other two were rip-offs using the manipulation of their electronic system and small print in their overdraft policy. Even then they could have taken care of me in the interests of customer service as a long time customer, they refused.

I am in the process of closing out my account and switching banks. FYI - Yes, they still can continue to overdraft you even after you pay up and they tell you that you are OK. They can still continue to overdraft you even if you have nothing more out. You are at thier mercy in this piggy back rip-off. This needs to be regulated some how.

Using an account register and reconciling that register with a monthly account statement from the bank will prevent any account holder from causing any NSF/OD fees.

The majority (if not all) of the reports I've read about NSF/OD fees have common behaviors of the account holders:

using atm cards for everyday purchases.
using more than ONE card attached to the account (husband and wife)
using atm cards for online purchases.
using atm cards for 'auto-bill pay' (autodebits)
relying upon telephone or online account balances to determine what money is available for that shopping trip to Walmart.
*NOT using an account register.
*not reconciling an account register with the scheduled monthly account statement generated by the bank.

Ways to avoid these NSF/OD fees:

1. Use an account register and reconcile the account register with a monthly written statement generated by the bank. If the bank is not mailing statements, contact customer service to have monthly statements MAILED to you.

1a. Be aware of ATM fees, such as the 'non-bank ATM fee' that most banks charge when you use an ATM that is not owned by your bank to make a withdrawal and post that fee in your account register immediately.

1b. Also be aware of any monthly 'account service fee' charged by your bank and post that to your register on the appropriate date.

2. Do NOT GIVE bank account information (or ATM card info) to any merchant, service provider, utility, online service to pay for services and goods. Use a REAL credit card for this purpose (either secured cc or unsecured cc.) Do not setup any automatic deposit to an account that is attached to said cc-NO auto payments to CC company-mail a check each month. If the entity demanding payment makes a mistake, you're gonna have a host of problems and risk OD/NSF fees.

3. Do NOT use an ATM card for everyday expenses-USE CASH. Establish a monthly budget and withdrawal a weekly 'allowance' for every day expenses such as 'milk and bread' from the corner store, Burger King, etc. This will reduce the amount of transactions on the bank account which in turn makes RECONCILING the account and detecting ERRORS easier to accomplish. Again, if the entity demanding payment makes a mistake, you're gonna risk NSF/OD fees.

4. Do not shop with the ATM card-use a real credit card. A real credit card offers protections that you don't have with an ATM card. If the merchant/service makes a mistake, you can dispute it with the CC company WITHOUT getting any OD/NSF. Not true if you use an ATM card-if the merchant makes a mistake, your money is gone until you can convince your bank to give it back, as well as OD/NSF fees.

5. ONLY ONE ATM CARD to one account. Do NOT have 2 or more atm cards for one bank account. Having 'his and hers' ATM cards attached to the same account is the same as in the old days when some folks would have 2 checkbooks for writing checks. It was an invitation to disaster then, and it is today.

6. Verify that deposits to the account have actually cleared. Deposits can take anywhere between 1 and 5 BUSINESS days to clear depending on the type and/or source of the deposit. Deposits over $5000 can take even LONGER before they are posted to the account.

The Federal Reserve publishes a “Consumer Compliance Handbook” which gives detailed information about what banks can and cannot do with deposits, holds, and funds availability. You can download this handbook at http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/supmanual/cch/200711/cch200711.pdf

Follow ALL of these suggestions and you will NEVER cause an OD/NSF fee again unless it is a LEGITIMATE bank error or caused by a merchant. If it is caused by a bank error the bank will gladly and quickly rectify the situation and credit any fees generated as well as contact payees and cover any fees the payees assess to you. If the fee is caused by a merchant error, you will need to hold the merchant accountable for the fees, although in many cases the bank may reverse the fees as a courtesy.

This is a tried and true method to avoid these fees. It works EVERY TIME it's tried.