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Report: #342544

Complaint Review: Sovereign Bank - Lawrence Massachusetts

  • Submitted:
  • Updated:
  • Reported By: Methuen Massachusetts
  • Author Confirmed What's this?
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  • Sovereign Bank Lawrence, Massachusetts U.S.A.

Sovereign Bank Sovereign charge insufficient funds fees when ATM balance shows as positive. Lawrence Massachusetts

*Consumer Comment: Use common sense

*Author of original report: Their brochure says you can use your ATM card to check your balance

*Consumer Suggestion: ATM withdrawals

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If the ATM tells you that you have money available, then is it legal for the bank to charge an insufficient funds fee for that transaction?

When I brought my receipts and documentation to the clerk at the Reading, MA Branch of the Sovereign Bank, the clerk told me that the Bank reserves the right to re-order the transactions. That the fees would not be reversed.
But aren't the ATM receipts a legal document?


Here are some examples from my own account.


ATM receipt
Dec 20: 2 ATM cash withdrawals leaving a positive balance on the ATM receipt.

Mini-Statement issued at the ATM on Dec 29:
Dec 20: 1 of the ATM withdrawals from above is shown, no fee following.
Dec 21: The only transactions for this day are:
The 2nd ATM transaction from above on Dec 20 per ATM receipt followed by a $33.00 insufficient fund fee.

The very next transaction was a deposit on 12/24.

My question: The last transaction prior to the deposit was the ATM withdrawal showing a remaining positive balance, and so why the fee?

=============Next example================


Jan 2: ATM cash withdrawal leaving a positive balance on the ATM receipt.

The monthly statement shows:
Jan 2: One check cashed, followed by an insufficient funds fee.
THEN the ATM withdrawal followed by an insufficient fund fee.

The very next transaction was a deposit on Jan 3.

My question: Why the fee on the ATM transaction which stated a positive remaining balance? And why the fee on the check if the next ATM transaction still showed a positive balance?

============== Next example ===============

ATM receipt
June 9: ATM cash withdrawal leaving a positive balance on the ATM receipt.

Mini-Statement issued by the ATM on June 15:
June 9: Check cashed and 4 ATM withdrawals. (None of them are the same amount as the June 9 ATM withdrawal receipt above). No fees for any of these transactions.
June 10: ATM withdrawal (from June 9 ATM receipt showing money avail after withdrawal.) followed by an insufficient fund fee.

The very next transaction was a deposit.

----My question. If the check cleared on June 9 along with ATM withdrawals, without a fee per the mini-statement, and the ATM receipt of June 9 showed a remaining positive balance, why the insufficient fund fee following the ATM withdrawal?

================= Next example==========
4 ATM receipts:
June 14: 2 ATM withdrawals with positive balance available afterwards. (on the ATM receipt)
June 15: 1 ATM withdrawal with positive balance available afterwards.
June 16: 1 ATM withdrawal with positive balance available afterwards.

Mini-Statement issued by ATM on June 19:
June 16:
2 ATM withdrawals from above matching the June 14 ATM receipts (no fee following)
1 ATM withdrawal from above matching the June 15 receipt followed by $33.00 fee.
1 ATM withdrawal from above matching the June 16 receipt followed by $33.00 fee.

---My question: If the ATM reported a positive balance following the withdrawals, why the insufficient fund fees?


If the ATM tells you that you have money available, then is it legal to charge an insufficient funds fee for that transaction?

AJ
Methuen, Massachusetts
U.S.A.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 06/20/2008 07:12 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/sovereign-bank/lawrence-massachusetts/sovereign-bank-sovereign-charge-insufficient-funds-fees-when-atm-balance-shows-as-positive-342544. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
0Author
3Consumer
0Employee/Owner

#3 Consumer Comment

Use common sense

AUTHOR: John - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Saturday, June 21, 2008

How would they know about any checks that you wrote that haven't been presented yet? Do you really think they are some kind of mind readers? I also noticed you neglected putting actual truthful figures down in the OP as they would shoot your complaint out of the water like many others who can't/refuse to balance a checkbook. Nothing remotely illegal or a ripoff. Just stupidity.

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#2 Author of original report

Their brochure says you can use your ATM card to check your balance

AUTHOR: I Think Sovereign Bank Is Doing Something Illegal - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Saturday, June 21, 2008

One of Sovereign's brochures that I have at home says that I can use my ATM card to check my balance. It's in black and white.

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#1 Consumer Suggestion

ATM withdrawals

AUTHOR: Nancy - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Friday, June 20, 2008

WHY would you make so many ATM withdrawals on one day? The balance in teh ATM is NEVER to be considered that accurate. You NEED TO KEEP A CHECKBOOK register. IF you do not know how, then maybe you sould use only cash. FYI it is NOT the tellers job to to answer your questions, they do not know the answers anyway unless they actually worked in item processing. Since you did not give any amounts in your examples, i can not figure out what is going on. MOST banks charge a fee for those mini records, do you keep track of that too? USE your checkbook register, and reconcile your bank statement every month and you should not have a problem with NSF.

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