Report: Suntrust Bank

Reported By: (East Ridge Tennessee)

Suntrust Bank NSF Charges East Ridge Tennessee

... Let me clarify...

2Author 3Consumer 0Employee

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Suntrust Bank

4323 Ringgold Rd
East Ridge Tennessee 37412
U.S.A.
Phone:
Web Address:

Category: BBB Better Business Bureau

Submitted: Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Last posting: Wednesday, July 29, 2009

I left Suntrust for the very same reasons I see most people have complaints about. They encourage you to use the online banking to help you keep track of your account (without informing you how inaccurate it is), and the only reason they change the order of your transactions is for their benefit.

My problem with their "policy" is that its not clear. They show you two balances, the actual (what is actually in the bank) and the available (what will be in the bank after the transactions go through). If you go to the teller or atm it gives you the actual balance, but they go by the available balance for all their fees (which shows pending charges but not pending deposits).

When I went to dispute all the NSF charges, the man I talked to really couldn't explain it. The way it showed on the print out he gave me was like this....I made a charge then went straight to the bank to deposit money to cover it. They took the money from the available balance (not from the actual balance bc they hadn't really paid anything yet). This charged showed up as pending right away but not my deposit...even though they were made within 30 minutes of each other.

Earlier charges actually went through that same day and weren't covered (by the available balance) bc they took the charge out from that day, so they all got NSF charges. This whole time my actual balance was in the positive. It didn't go into the negative until the NSF charges. Then the next day the charge from the day before actually went through and I got another NSF charge for that. Oh and my deposit went through but the account was already negative by that time bc of NSF charges. Now right before this last charge went through, the available balance changed. Not because of the deposit i made, but bc they deposited my charge back into the available balance right before taking it out again...this time from the available and the actual balance.

According to the customer service man, the pending charge was taken out and couldn't cover previous transactions bc it was committed to the charge I made that day. Fine. But then I still got charged NSF for that charge. Now if they take it out and 'commit' (his words not mine) this money to something, shouldn't that at least be covered? The reason I had NSF for the other transactions is bc they took that money from the available balance on the day of the purchase.

Basically they are double charging. They take the money for the pending purchase from the available balance immediately and "commit" it to the purchase. This way they can get you with NSF fees right before they put your "committed" money back in the available balance just to take it out of the actual balance. But by now you're already in the negative so you can no longer cover the charge that was previously covered.

Now I keep a register. Thats how I knew to stop by the bank right after making the purchase. I knew I would be about $30 short once all the pending transactions went through. However, I knew that once the last purchase actually went through, my deposit would have gone through and everything would be covered. I didn't know that they went by the available balance for the fees since I was always told my actual balance when I asked.

I didn't use the online banking to see how much money I had. I used it to keep track of what had gone through and what hadn't. If something is pending, then the bank hasn't paid it yet and therefore its still in my account and my money. Pending charges should not be counted against you. I have had mystery pending transactions that just vanished instead of actually going through. If they want to go by the available balance to determine how much they will allow you to withdraw, fine. But until your actual account goes into the negative, they shouldn't be allowed to charge you NSF.

The bank I'm at now, my deposits go through immediately and the transactions go through in the order they are made. They aren't collected and then taken out largest first so all the small transactions won't be covered.

Non
East Ridge, Tennessee
U.S.A.

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:

2Author 3Consumer 0Employee

Consumer Suggestion

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"Available" vs. actual

Maggie - San Antonio (U.S.A.)

SUBMITTED: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 POSTED: Tuesday, June 23, 2009

"If something is pending, then the bank hasn't paid it yet and therefore its still in my account and my money."

So you're saying that means you should be able to spend it again? I've got some really bad news for you -- in the real world, once your money is spent, it's spent. Trying to spend it again is morally, and sometimes legally, fraud. Grow up, keep a register of your account, and get real.

Consumer Comment

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I see your problem...

Robert - Irvine (U.S.A.)

SUBMITTED: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 POSTED: Tuesday, June 23, 2009

You are spending money that is NOT available in your account.

"..I made a charge then went straight to the bank to deposit money to cover it."
- You can't beat money to the bank, if the money is not AVAILABLE in your account at the time you spend it you will overdraft.

"..Now I keep a register. Thats how I knew to stop by the bank right after making the purchase. I knew I would be about $30 short once all the pending transactions went through..."
- So you knew you would overdraft and complain when you actually did?

"..Pending charges should not be counted against you..."
- Do pending charges just show up out of the blue? NO(unless there is fraud and that is a whole other matter). They show up because you went to a store and made a purchase. By this statement it seems as if you are hoping to "float" transactions, which you can no longer do. If the money is not AVAILABLE at the time you attempt to spend it you can overdraft.

"..The bank I'm at now, my deposits go through immediately and the transactions go through in the order they are made..."
- Please tell us the name of this bank. Because I can almost guarantee that you are under false assumptions with your new bank.

Consumer Comment

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I screen with this report EXACTLY!!!

Thatsnotright - Milwaukee (U.S.A.)

SUBMITTED: Sunday, July 26, 2009 POSTED: Sunday, July 26, 2009

I don't care what the other two who rebutted says...Suntrust makes it impossible with excessive NSF fees.

I was the victim of fraud. My check card was used without my authorization for a auto-payment for T-mobile. I am not a T-mobile customer!!! I keep my Suntrust account (one of my many bank accounts) for small purchases and necessities. Upon checking my account, I was hit with THREE nsf fees!! I don't keep track of my register with online banking but Quicken 2009 but both could not tell me why I received those charges. I finally spoke with someone who provided rude customer service I could barely understand. When I was told that T-mobile was trying to charge my account, I immediately asked to file a dispute charge. I asked for the amount t-mobile was taking and they said nothing. I was being charged for something I didn't authorize for ATTEMPTS being made?!! Here I am now having to fight both Suntrust and that cell phone company.

Non, I totally understand what you're going through and I hope you can find a good bank...I recommend BofA.

Update By Author

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Let me clarify...

Non - East Ridge (U.S.A.)

SUBMITTED: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 POSTED: Wednesday, July 29, 2009

I understand that I was spending money that was not available...and I had no problem paying the NSF for that last transaction...I was hoping I could make it to the bank before the transaction went through, but I didn't make it (Actually I did, but they take their time to put the deposits thru). My fault. However, all the other transactions were covered. The only purchase not covered was the last one, however, because it was the largest, it depleted my funds faster and therefore the smaller transactions were suddenly not covered and I was charged NSF several times.
No matter what you say, they shouldn't be able to charge NSF unless my actual account is in the negative. And transactions should go thru in the order they are made.
I also believe they should inform people of their "policy" when they open an account. I can't tell you what was in the fine print of my agreement bc I had opened the account so long ago, online banking wasn't even an option at the time, and since then my home bank had closed so I wouldn't be able to talk to them if I wanted to.
I also had a problem with charges being made to my account that I didn't authorize, but they didn't do anything about that either. They actually let them charge me again after I told them I didn't authorize the first charge. I managed to get some of my money back, but not all of it, and I had to request a new debit card so they couldn't charge me anymore.
My bank now is actually a credit union. And the first thing I asked was about how the charges are taken out of my account. I made sure to read my agreement also. And I regularly check my account to make sure what they told me was true. The transactions come out of my account in the order they go through...not largest amount first. If I have $100 in the bank and make a $3 purchase at 9 am, $5 at 10 am, $10 at 12 pm, and a $95 purchase at 3 pm, I will only be charged NSF once. (This is not something I do, its just an example. At Suntrust I would have had 3 NSF charges instead of one) Also my deposits are available immediately. the only deposits that wouldn't go through immediately would be large personal checks. I don't have to worry about that though bc sadly no one is writing me large personal checks.....
I have worked for the post office for 7 years and my deposited paychecks were never available until the next day at suntrust (thats assuming I could make it to the bank on friday before their cutoff time of 2 pm...otherwise I had to wait till monday, or tuesday if monday was a holiday). I could cash the check at my current bank with no problem. At suntrust I had to deposit it and wait for it to go through before touching that money.
Also, when I had a problem with an order I made and not receiving the product, my credit union resolved it in less than a week and I got the whole amount back.