Wachovia Bank Of NC Wachovia's practice of maxing out same day overdraft fees is the same as Bank of America, whicn just lost a huge class action lawsuit, with Wachovia now headed for the same class action scenario. Internet

People who do not have FINANCIAL COMMON SENSE generate overdraft fees by not keeping written records of their account usage.  They keep using an ATM card WITHOUT HAVING A CLUE of their balance and then cry, whine and stomp their sorry feet when they get overdraft fees and in the process blame everybody in sight because of THEIR foolishness.

Come on banks....please, please, PLEASE increase those overdraft fees to $100 each.  Why not PROFIT on stupidity!!!!!

I guess you are talking about the Closson suit against Bank of America that was filled in 2004 and had the judgement from the settlement entered in Aug 2009.

So let's see here. 

Manage your account by keeping a register and not spending more than you have available.  So that you don't get overdraft fees in the first place. 

OR

Don't manage your account, and get hit with over $2000 in OD fees in a year.  Hoping that some lawyer, who is getting a few MILLION in fees(actually 8.125 Million in this case), gets a bank to agree to a settlement.  Where each member of the class gets..drum roll please..no more than $78.

Yea your right why in the world would anyone take RESPONSIBILITY over their own account by actually managing it.  After all they "won" against the "evil banks", and as a result were able to have a very nice dinner.  Of course since this suit was settled when they continue to show lack of account management and overdraft again. There will be no going "back to the well" the second time to try and get the bank to pay up again.  Because no matter how many regulations you put into place.  No matter how many policies you change if you do not manage your account you will overdraft, and these banks will make that $78 back rather quickly.

related articles on the web, correct?

related articles on the web, correct?

Take responsibility for your own account?? Who came up with that concept - Jees - sue sue sue - how bout YOU keep a check register, reconcile your monthly statement and whala!! You have money in your account - guess that is just too hard to do.

Good luck - any bank you take your monies too has the same policy!!! How ingenious!

This is on you - you can't manage you money then keep it under the mattress - me a bank defender?? Guess so but I prefer to call it taking responsibility for YOUR own actions!~

..against Wachovia, Bank of America and others, is still pending. The dismissal stage was a fail for the banks, and it will go to trial.

Here is the info...hope it helps.

MIAMI--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Marking a substantial step forward in litigation over the banking industry’s abusive and excessive overdraft fee policies and practices, plaintiffs' counsel announced that bank customers have filed a series of nationwide class action lawsuits against Bank of America, Wachovia, U.S. Bank, JPMorgan Chase and Citibank. The complaints were filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami, where all federal lawsuits brought against the banking industry for abusive overdraft fees have been coordinated before the Honorable James Lawrence King.

"The collection of excessive overdraft fees, usually around $35 per transaction, impacts millions of Americans each year and has become a multibillion-dollar profit center for the banks," explained lead plaintiffs’ counsel Bruce S. Rogow. "In many instances, these overdraft fees cost customers hundreds of dollars in a matter of days, or even hours, when they may be overdrawn by only a few dollars. Charging a $35 overdraft fee when a college student uses her debit card to buy a cup of coffee is unconscionable."

How Bank "Overdraft Protection" Works and Why the Abusive Collection of Overdraft Fees is a National Concern

Today, when customers open checking accounts, banks provide debit cards for the withdrawal of cash from ATM machines and the purchase of goods and services. Many bank customers are not aware that as part of the process of obtaining the debit card, banks automatically enroll their customers in "overdraft protection." The overdraft protection kicks in if the customer spends more than he or she has in the account to cover the purchase, up to a limit of a few hundred dollars.

Banks could simply decline to honor customer ATM or point-of-sale transactions if the account lacks sufficient funds, or could warn customers that if they go through with the transaction an overdraft fee will be assessed. In fact, until a few years ago, most banks simply declined debit transactions that would overdraw an account.

"Banks do not record charges and purchases on ATM or debit cards in the order they actually occur,"

stated plaintiffs’ counsel Michael W. Sobol of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP. "Instead, banks reorder the charges and purchases so that the largest charge or purchase is the first one paid by the bank. This manipulative practice is intentionally designed, the complaints allege, to maximize overdraft fee revenue."

"If you buy your kids a $15 meal at McDonalds on your debit card and your account was overdrawn, that lunch actually cost you $50," added Mr. Sobol. "The bank won’t decline the debit transaction, nor will the bank tell you that you have overdrawn your account and is about to turn your $15 lunch into a $50 expense."

In 2007, banks collected more than $17 billion in overdraft fees. That number nearly doubled in 2008, as more and more consumers struggled to maintain positive checking account balances. In 2009, banks are expected to bring in up to $40 billion in overdraft charges from nearly 50 million customers.

"While all bank customers could have been affected, these overdraft fee policies disproportionately affect young people, the elderly and the poor, who are most likely to maintain low account balances," noted Mr. Rogow. "Moreover, these fees have the tendency to create a domino effect, resulting in even more fees."

Further Information for Bank Customers

Bank customers assessed overdraft fees who wish to learn more about this litigation should visit [www.bank-overdraft.com] where they can submit their complaint to plaintiffs’ counsel.
Contacts

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
Michael W. Sobol, 415-956-1000
or
Bruce S. Rogow, 954-767-8909

..that they simply refuse to acknowledge that there is a difference between a large check payment, and an everyday debit card transaction.

Now way back in the days of yore, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, checking account customers were concerned that a large payment such as a mortgage would be protected if the check could not cover it. So the bank as a "courtesy", would cover the payment, and charge a fee, fair enough.

And back in those days of yore, it was pretty simple..you write a check, record the amount in your check register,and you knew what you had available. As well, back in those days of yore, there was no direct deposit, no online banking statements, and there was no electronic money transfers.

But what the banks have done, and this is why there are so many complaints, negative media attention, lawsuits, and law changes, as well as many banks making policy changes on their own, is USE these antiquated dinosaur policies designed to protect LARGE CHECK transactions, against debit card users, and take advantage of honest consumer errors in order to fleece their accounts.

Although the debit card account is tied into the checking account, there are two separate numbers,,right? You have a checking account number, and a debit account number. When you swipe that debit card, you can select debit, OR credit and the transaction will be approved, correct?

That is because, there is a MAJOR difference between a large check transaction, and a cup of coffee or diapers paid for with a debit card, and the banks know this darn well.

What the CURRENT lawsuits are going to address, and so far no bank defense has been acceptable to the presiding Judge to dismiss, is that customers were not aware, or was it not properly disclosed in their agreements that debit card transactions would be covered in the event of an overdraft, and that regardless of the terms of the contract agreement, that the banks have breached the contract due to "Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing" and that the plaintiffs have right to seek damages since they were using "objectively reasonable conduct".

Now I agree that we all need to be responsible for knowing what is in our accounts, there is no argument there on my part, however, the bank also need to be responsible for using unnecessary policies that take advantage of customer error, and use it to fleece the account.

Now IF, the banks were not automatically enrolling every customer into courtesy or standard overdraft protection on their DEBIT cards, and not re-sequencing and manipulating the transaction times and orders, and not using excessive check hold time considering modern technology allows most checks to be safely cleared in one business day at most, I would see no reason to complain.

And ironically, the few banks and credit unions that has fair and ethical policies, seem to have no complaints here regarding this topic. Regardless, the laws are changing soon to prevent any bank from automatically enrolling every customer in OD protection for debit card and ATM transactions, unless they opt in and want it, and many banks are changing the policies so that DEBIT card transactions are recorded real time, and not manipulated. This is a major step forward in consumer protection.

Why? Because human beings are not perfect. We make mistakes, we are subjected to unreasonable excessive check clearing times, we are subjected to unauthorized charges, and holds we are unaware of, and a register is as good as toilet paper in those cases. So why not the bank actually be on our side? After all, we are trusting them with our savings, our direct deposits, and under the assumption that since they are insured by the FDIC, and use taxpayer dollars to bail them out, that they are naturally to be held to a higher standard then a rent a car agreement.

Wachovia does post deposits for that business day before they post debits. I understand your post and how you feel about it but please, let's stick with facts.

Here is a statement from a friend. The deposit cleared yesterday according to Wachovias online statement yesterday and listed "funds available". We check the Wachovia account now at 10:18PM the following day,,,and it is posted with todays date, and listed as "processing". Is this "normal"? No overdraft occured because the previous balance was sufficient, but I can see how this can cause problems if someone had a lower previous balance.

04/09/2010	Deposit	AUTOMATED CREDIT  STORES PAYROLL		$880.99	Processing †
04/08/2010	Other	MISCELLANEOUS FEE ATM NON-WACHOVIA WITHDRAWALS	$2.50		$733.90
04/08/2010	ATM	WITHDRAWAL CT 7-11 04/07	$42.75		$736.40
04/08/2010	Other	AUTOMATED DEBIT AT&T CARE PAYMENT	$70.10		$779.15
04/07/2010	Purchase	PURCHASE 699 RENT A CAR- LA 04/06	$11.00		$849.25

Since the company has said this person should be paid on April 9th. It will post to the account during processing for the business day of the 9th which begins at midnight. But since the bank kows it will post that night the money is available for use for transactions made on the 9th. Just as making a cash deposit before the 2 PM cutoff time will show as prcessig and means it is available for transactions. It's there to use throughout the day, will cover any transactions posting that night and will show as hard posted(with the date) tomorrow morning after it's gone through processing.