Bank One - J.P. Morgan Chase JP Morgan No cap on insufficient funds fees. They just keep adding them up, $15, $32, $35. Charged $192 in one day for less than that amount in actual charges Internet

Chase actually does have a term in at least one of their accounts. A monthly fee will be assessed unless you have direct deposit or make five debit card every month. If you don't meet those conditions, the monthly fee is $5.95. Any customer initiated swipe of the debit card will work. One could theoretically buy five cups of coffee with their debit card every month and the conditions will be satisfied.

With that out of the way, a prior rebuttal offered an incorrect premise. If that person was in another town and couldn't find a Chase ATM, he or she wouldn't have to pay out-of-network ATM fees. That person could simply run it as a non-pin transaction and that would still count.

Responses for Susan...I am not putting words into anyone else's mouth..these  are my opinions based on your replies...

"Really, does the bank follow you around with a gun and force you to use your debit card?"

Of course not. But is anyone forcing the bank to automatically enroll every single customer into courtesy overdraft protection? Or to re-sequence the order and times of our transactions (which coincidentally Chase will no longer be doing in the near future).

You are missing the point of this report. It is a complaint against the outrageous fees the bank is charging. Sure, if you never use your debit card you would never overdraft...and if you never drove a car you would never get a ticket either. This customer has a right to use a debit card and have a checking account. And they also have a right to know their rights..one of them being they did not need to be enrolled in overdraft protection.

Now speaking of which..near the end of the report the poster states..."They told me I could get overdraft protection, I'll pass- and after reading other people's stories in regards to that, I know it doesn't really do you any good to have it."

That statement is correct when dealing with a debit card that is used for everyday small purchases such as was done on this road trip. But it seems by this report that apparently the poster did have overdraft protection. So there appears to be additional confusion.

The purpose of so called "courtesy" overdraft protection..as well as the way the banks re-sequence and re-orders the times of our transactions, were intended to protect large CHECK transactions..such as a mortgage payment. But since this is dealing with many small transactions..the re-sequencing and OD protection do nothing but line the banks pockets with these outrageous, insane, unconscionable fees..since ALL the transactions are being covered regardless..Not just the large ones. And this is why I place some blame on the bank when this happens. The bank is not so innocent here..they are clearly and blatantly taking advantage of a mistake and/or misunderstanding here, as is quite often the case.

 " FYI there is no such thing as getting a monthly charge for not using your debit card."

I never heard of that either..but perhaps there is a bank that does?..if so maybe we can find more info if someone will post it.

  "You also claim stores double bill you, waitress bill double on tips and the pizza delivery guy charged you $22 instead of $20.  Really? it is everyone elses fault that you spend more than you have? "

I think it is obvious these are simply examples of how overdrafts can occur regardless of how well one keeps track of the account. It has happened to me as well on a few occasions. Now, since I am opted out of overdraft protection..these types of circumstances will no longer cause any fees..as if anyone else tries to spend more then I have, or I make an error and inadvertently attempt to use the card when the funds are depleted, the transaction is declined and my account is safe..from a mistake, or fraudulent activity AND most importantly... from the bank.

Congratulations..you are now officially better then the rest of us in your own mind. But you do not know what the future holds. One day you may find out unless you think you are impervious to ever making a mistake or being subjected to a merchant error or unauthorized hold. Or perhaps you have so much money in your checking account you do not have to worry?

It is a fact that this customer was careless with the account..that is a given and the customer does not deny it. But at the same time...it is outrageous that the bank let the card usage go on and on after the account was drained..I mean why not notify the customer in case it was stolen or a mistake?..or even better...like the good ol' days simply decline the card if the funds are not available. Perhaps the bank thought this customer honestly intended to pay hundreds of dollars for a coffee and gas station sandwich? Or perhaps the bank believed it was extending a "courtesy" by assuming a hamburger purchase was a mortgage payment?

Now before I subjected to any vicious and personal attacks for simply seeing the side of this customer..and exposing the banks part in this..note that I am not advocating irresponsibility. However 50 million customers have been effected by these heinous fees, according to the FDIC report the banks will take in around 40 Billion dollars in these types of fees for 2009 alone. So this is not an isolated incidence..and not the result of any intent of stealing from the bank..or any illegal activity. It is in my honest opinion the result of a mistake..and the bank taking advantage of the very American citizens who bailed them out with taxpayer dollars during an economic crisis.

Now I hope no one has the gall to debate that, but I won't be too surprised if someone does.

The person above who stated that Chase charges you a fee if you do not use your debit card is partialy correct. Chase does have an account that requires you to have EITHER direct deposit OR you need to use your debit card 6 times a month in order to not have the fee (ATM withdrawls do not count).

You said

You should know that the Chase bank encourages their checking customers to use their debit cards as much as possible during the month... or they will apply a monthly charge.

So while to you it may seem ridiculous to charge $1, it makes sense if it would help avoid the fee (much higher than $1 of course) at the end of the month. What if there wasn't a chase atm machine?? So I will have to take out $20 and pay a foreign atm fee and a chase atm fee for a $1 coffee??!! Don't be ridiculous.

Really, does the bank follow you around with a gun and force you to use your debit card?  FYI there is no such thing as getting a monthly charge for not using your debit card.  You also claim stores double bill you, waitress bill double on tips and the pizza delivery guy charged you $22 instead of $20.  Really? it is everyone elses fault that you spend more than you have? 

I never have cash in my pocket so I use my debit card for every purchase. Yesterday I went to the store for milk.  It was on sale for $1.99 a gallon and I used my debit card to pay for it.  The difference is, we had money in the account to cover that debit.

You should know that the Chase bank encourages their checking customers to use their debit cards as much as possible during the month... or they will apply a monthly charge. So while to you it may seem ridiculous to charge $1, it makes sense if it would help avoid the fee (much higher than $1 of course) at the end of the month. What if there wasn't a chase atm machine?? So I will have to take out $20 and pay a foreign atm fee and a chase atm fee for a $1 coffee??!! Don't be ridiculous.

Moreover, it is absolutely soo very common to go over your account. I'm sure there have been instances where you were charged twice at a store or a waitress "misread" your tip on a receipt or you just simply didn't take into account the hidden money fee your bank was going to charge, etc. Not to mention that today when most Americans are struggling to get by, where every dollar counts.

Now, with that being said, the bank feeds on these mistakes, part of everyday life. So lets say you start your day with a $50 balance. (I live in nyc where its more card friendly than cash) With your debit card you bought (in order) your morning coffee $2.5, breakfast bagel $2, metro $4, lunch $6, chewing gum $1.5, afternoon snack $1.5, another coffee $2.5, take a cab home $10. Your finally home and decide to order pizza for the kids $18 add tip totaling $20 (cutting it close.. but payday is tommorow). But somehow pizza delivery guy thought I wrote 22... ooops now I'm over $2. Acknowledge the mistake a pay the $35 insufficient funds fee. Wrong... since they were all posted the same day, I will be charged $35 Nine Timess.. thats right nine times!! For all nine transactions made to overdraw my account which totals $315.. for being overdrawn $2. I wish I was making this up, but this happened to me last week. Unlike complaint above, I was not given the courtesy of reducing any of these outrageous charges!! I paid it and closed my account. That is just plain abuse, especially their lack of consideration when I addressed this to the manager. 

Off to a better bank, considering Wachovia. I've heard nice things from friends.

I was a little confused by your rip off complaint.  When you use your debit card the money is deducted from your account.  The same is true at Chase or Wells Fargo, Compass, Teachers Union, FPL Credit Union, etc.  A credit card is a separate line of credit accessed when you charge a purchase or service.  You are sent a bill at the end of the billing cycle and you pay either the whole amount charged or a minimum amount.  A debit card is attached to your checking account.  The, "limit" is what the balance is in the account, (although most cards have daily limits in case of fraud) and when you use the card the merchant is given an approval code, you get a slip to sign or your used your PIN number and the amount of the purchase is deducted from your checking account, in full.  There is no bill.  

My husband and I each have debit cards that pull from the same checking account. Being Christmas this and that was spent. 

On the 28th I balanced our account and found we were $19.84 in the red, but the debits that did it on the 24th were still pending.   Online I transfered $200 from saving and expected bounce fees. The deposit was posted immediatly, the debits cleared later that day and Chase didn't charge us a single bounce fees. 

Course now we will have to pay $4.95 because our savings is below $300 but I will take that ding. lol

For the record, we do not have overdraft protection. Chase bought us from Bank One, Bank One bought us from First Chicago, they bought us from someone else whos name escapes me right now. 

In 20 years we have only paid bounce fees twice and both times it was our fault. 

I agree with everyone saying I am at fault for overdrafting. I never stated I was not at fault, read it, reread it.

My point is: to charge someone the amount of overdraft fees I was being charged was ridiculous. (Chase isn't my primary banking account). I bank with a credit union that uses a "debit" card as a "debit" card: Debit refers to an item of debt in an account. It is basically a financial amount that is deducted from an account balance. The credit union interprets this as- you don't have a positive balance, you don't take money out.  

Obviously the bank agreed to some degree that what they were charging in overdraft fees was ridiculous, or they wouldn't have reduced some of the penalties. That's clear. What I am trying to get across is beware of of banks that are going to charge you overdraft fees with no set limits, beware of banks that don't tell you your debit card is going to be used as a "credit" card. You can keep on charging without ANY money in your account.

Lastly, if I didn't take some responsibilty in overdrafting and would not have paid. What I am saying is- Really???? In these times do you need to charge outrageous amounts for a simple mistake. How about a flat rate, you spent too much- your purchases were clearly made all within a couple of days- pay $200. The end.  

Didn't you stop to think how much money you were spending versus how much money you had in your account? Reminds me of the old girlfriend. She figured as long as she had checks, she had money. This is just the new version.

YOU are at fault - using your debit card to charge $1?? Ridiculous!! From what I have read you do NOT keep a check register, reconcile your monthly bank statements nor want to take responsibility for your overspending

Good luck - the way you spend you will have the same problems at any banking establishment

BTW I do not work for Chase or any other bank - I learned the hard way how to watch my money ie overdrafting my account at my bank one too many times

Really?

Do you really need a bank to tell you that if you only have $1.00 in your account, don't spend $1.01? 

I just don't understand why people spend more than they have then blaim the bank.