Wells Fargo Bank Na overdraft fees charged as high as 350,000% is nothing more than legal usury. FIGHT NOW Las Vegas Nevada

When you overdraft an account you are charged a set "fee", it does not matter if you overdrew your account by $0.01 or $100.00 the fee is the same and it NOT defined as Interest.

When you signed up for the account you agreed to the fees charged. If you think they are unfair then you should not have opened the account. If you don't like the fees you have a simple choice. Don't overdraw your account..No Overdraft No Fee...Simple..

- Keep an accurate Register.
- Don't spend money until it has posted to your account.
- Write down every transaction you do.
- Don't think you can "float" transactions.
- NEVER rely on On-Line Banking. It may not show everything you have spent.
- STOP using your Debit Card for Small purchases.

I anticipate reading how well the OP fares battling the evil bank. As noted, he agreed to the fees when he opened the account and now claims that they are "messing with the wrong person". This thread has some serious potential for fun.

By the way, while it is legal to record phone calls in Nevada, you are giving bad legal advice to suggest that others record their own phone calls with the bank. Some states have different laws. For example, in some states the person being recorded must be explicitly informed of that.

First, you have the right idea (try to change the laws) but a state law won't work. National banks run under Federal law, usually out of Delaware or South Dakota for various reasons. And Federal law will supercede state law (we fought a war regarding this 140 years ago), even if the state law is more strict. California has tried to regulate various things in the last ten years or so but the Feds have struck most of them down because it would usurp the Fed's authority.

The best course of action is to work on the Federal level.

Other than that, what the other poster said is correct: A fee is not interest.

Robert,

You must be a manager or employee of Well Fargo or some other bank. Your response is almost word for word what Wells Fargo trains their people to say.....

Edgeman, I was not giving legal advice, what I was merely saying was, creditors have a right to record their phone calls. They claim it is for quality purposes, but we all know it is for legal purposes..........And if they are recording that call and try to use that in court against you, then do we not have the right to record the same call? The lawer/s I spoke to regarding this say different. AND YES this will be a fun thread, that is if enough people in the same boat I am in use this site.

J.G., You must be a lawer, you know a bit of what I am in the process of learning, however the State level is only a starting point. I like the fact that you have something at least constructive to say. What all of you are wrong about is whether a fee is interest. By definition from the American Heritage Dictionary, " INTEREST, a charge for a loan, usually a percentage for the amount loaned."

The two key words are a CHARGE (could this by synonymous for fee) and USUALLY does not mean always. So a fee is essentially interest. And Yes this is USURY.

Neither of you are in my shoes right now. I have never in my life had to struggle to make an income. I work for myself now because the career I had in Semi-Conductor Process Eng. has been out sourced to countries like China, Malaysia and Taiwan. Good ol American Dream right. I now re-model homes and only started this as temporary employment that pays a decent wage. But, when you have six customers in one year back out of a job on the on the day before you start the job, bills start mounting.

Creditors are ruthless and under extreme pressure I made decisions to pay bills expecting to be done with a job on say a Thursday and not be able to finish until Saturday. Get paid after the bank closes on Saturday and Overdraft at 8:00 am on Monday only to be surprised at 9:00am (bank opening time) with funds in hand that I get charged hundreds of dollars in fees for a one hour loan.

In addition, I never agreed to these fees. I opend this account when I was six years old, was a member of First Interstate Bank when Wells Fargo bought them out. I've stayed loyal to this bank for essentially 35 years........

I think the public commenting period is over, but the Federal Reserve is working on part of the "problem" with overdrafts at banks:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/bcreg/20080502a.htm

Look at the text for the changes for Regulation AA & DD. It's a start. The Federal Reserve considers overdraft charges to be "fees" instead of interest, so it's not included under Truth in Lending (but rather Unfair Practices and Truth in Savings)

--> I'm not a lawyer; I just spent enough time at work dealing with lawyers and compliance with various laws that I absorbed the knowledge.

No.

There is no "right" to record telephone calls. One has the ability to do so which may or may not be legal depending on the state the person doing the recording lives in and whether or not they inform the other party that the conversation is being recorded.

Advising people to record their phone calls with their banks without disclosing the above coul potentially have gotten a lot of people in quite the legal tangle. In my book, that is a bad thing.

Over the past few weeks I have been collecting alot of data, some from the net and some from other sources. J.G. Not only the Fedral Reserve is working on something to stop this but so is the FDIC. Following is a link or many that describes similar action to the words you speak...... Thanks for being proactive.

http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_financial_services/005850.html

http://justbankcharges.blogspot.com/2008/04/banks-lose-overdraft-charges-case.html

http://www.responsiblelending.org/issues/overdraft/?gclid=CKnjva2X6ZQCFQEqIgodjzUrAA

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/hr0705072.shtml

In addition I also have case file from various states where judges ruled against this USURY practice. (oh by the way whomever continues to argue about the difference between a fee and interest, Please leave this site/link. Every definition I can find calls interest A FEE: A FEE IS A CHARGE AND USURY IS DEFINED AS "AN EXHORBITANT FEE FOR A LOAN")

OK EDGEMAN:

LET ME CLARIFY........ When the bank or any creditor calls, they do advise.." This call MAY be monitored or recorded for quality purposes" They are informing, NOT asking permission......Since they have informed me that they are recording me..........I WILL record them......for quality purposes of course........(I have a recording of three creditors stating that they have a right to record me, but I have no right to record them, and that is BS (Balogna sliced))If they want to tangle with me then so be it. I would only introduce my recording in a court to rebutt their perfectly edited recording. Any time they call me they do not have my permission to record, but they do so anyway........NOW if I need to speak to a creditor and set up an arrangement "say with CITI Card for a payment" If I don't submit to their demands then they hang up.......So, Everytime a creditor calls and says "THIS CALL MAY BE....." I simply say "LIKEWISE"....If the call continues then so be it.............NOW I don't record these calls for legal reasons, which some egghead like yourself wouldn't understand......I record them for MORAL reasons......Again you MAY not understand........I have hours of recordings that will be sent some day in the near future to every Media organization in this country.....It is filled with the snotty, petulant, egotistic rude behavior that will blight this industry.......My aim is not to use a recording in a flawwed legal system. MY AIM IS TO CREATE PUBLIC DISDAIN against USURY practices by banks and credit card companies.......If the MEDIA is afraid to lose sponsors then the growing most powerfull MEDIA ("THE BLOGOSPHERE") will suffice.......Congress MOVES TOO SLOW....And they are owned by the banks....we all know that.....So good sir my advice stands...........LEGAL OR NOT LEGAL IF THE BANK HAS A RIGHT TO RECORD YOU (given the circumstance they hang up if you refuse) THEN YOU INDEED HAVE THE RIGHT TO RECORD THEM.......JUST BE CAREFULL HOW YOU USE IT.........

"That which is legal is not necesarily moral, and that which is moral is not necesarily legal."

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, by the blood of patriots........................and Tyrants"

Thomas Jefferson

You mention a couple of times that whoever you talk to at WF repeats the same answer, you deduce it's "trained" and therefore usury. You're getting the same answer because it's a common fact known by everyone you're speaking with. There is no other way to say it. It's like asking a sampling of people what color the sky is. Chances are they'll say "blue". This doesn't consitute a conspiracy.

As for not accepting WF's rules regarding your account since you were a little boy at the time you opened the account by a bank acquired by WF, well, you did. Through each acquisition you would have been sent notification of new ownership. You would have been sent new checks, cards, etc with the new business name on it. If you read the paperwork that accompanied these documents, you would know that continuing to use the accounts constitutes acceptance of the new terms and conditions.

While I appreciate your situation (times are tough), it all comes down to keeping a positive balance in your account ledger. Don't go by the bank's IVR or online reporting as there will be delays in activity. These systems do not operate on "live time". The typically are only updated every 24 hrs and do not update at all over the weekend.

I'm all for fighting for what you think is right, but think about what you're doing. You're angry you were charged a fee for drawing on funds you don't have. Drawing on unavailable funds is a crime. I don't think the Fed is going to have much sympthy. Sorry.