RBS Citizens, NA And Citizens Bank Of Pennsylvania Citizens Bank charges excessive overdraft fees, and then charges more overdraft fees because they took your money in the first place!!! Boston Massachusetts

..tell someone else to tell someone else to take responsibility and keep a register and not spend more then you have etc... but it does nothing to prevent what the banks are doing to people..yes...I firmly believe the banks share some of the blame..and here is why and how..

You see, when you joined the bank..apparently you are participating in a service which the bank deceptively calls "overdraft protection". When you joined the bank, they probably did not ask you to sign up to enroll in the so called "service", nor did they ask if you wish to opt out of it. And for good reason. This type of overdraft protection works very well for the bank when used in tandem with re-sequencing, manipulating and otherwise altering times of transations and deposets, holds, authorizations, online bank statement inaccuracies and a host of other tactics that can and do..in the event of an overdraft, for any reason, bring on many additional fees on top of a single overdraft that may have only been by 1 dollar as you stated.

So..in all logic it would seem having this protection is in the banks best financial interests..right? And considering the banks have fleeced over 38 billion dollars in these fees from their customer pockets in 2009 alone..I would say it has worked in their favor quite well. Seems this overdraft "protection" really only protected the banks financial interests..would you not agree?

So correct, and I fully agree that the customer bears responsibility to keep accurate track of their funds, especially once they are aware of what the bank will do..but this in no way should also excuse the bank from many of the tactics they are using to make it so easy to overdraft..to in a sense "encourage" it by making the statements so confusing and holding withdrawals, and delaying deposits and manipulation and altering time etc...I don't know..

It just seems to me if a few simple changes were made in the laws and the banks policies...that actually did a little more to actually "protect" their customers money..rather then to fleece as much as possible with a scheme the bank so verily calls "overdraft protection", that we would not see so many rip off reports here consistently coming in. The banks are NOT what they used to be..they do not care about their customers well being..nor do they seem to appreciate their share of the tax payers bailout of 700 billion dollars.

Until some laws are changed..which some of us are diligently working on..I would STRONGLY suggest anyone who is low income..or can only afford to keep a low balance..and does not have a savings account to "link" to with a transfer service to actually protect from overdrafts..that they walk..no...RUN to the bank..and have them put in WRITING that you OPT OUT of overdraft protection that you never intended to sign for in the first place..or if you did you were misinformed about how it really works..and that in the event the debit card is used at a point of sale or ATM..and there are no funds available at the time..that the transaction is to be declined. then it will be more like the "good old days" where you get to keep your money..instead of giving it to your bank with fees..and paying them 35 dollars for a cup of coffee.

People need to take responsibility for their own actions.  First, even direct deposits can be late.  You must keep track of your own money.  It is not citizens bank's fault if you overdraft.  It's not citizens bank's fault if you use your debit/credit card and overdraft.  I have been with citizens bank for years.  Once my rent was taken out twice by mistake and left me quite a bit 'overdrawn'.  I had cable, insurance, and utility payments taken out around the same time, which made me 'way' overdrawn.  I check my account every couple days to make sure everything has been taken out that should, and nothing taken out that shouldn't.  When I noticed this, I immediately called my landlord and went to the bank.  I was charged $5 for each item overdrawn.  The bank immediately took the charges off, because it was not my error.  It took the landlord 3 days to get the money back into my account.  The bank was very patient because they knew the money would be returned.  I write down every cent I spend whether by debit/credit, check or automatic withdrawal.  I may be off sometimes by a couple bucks, but I have never, ever overdrawn my account.  Again - don't blame the bank.