The Huntington Bank create false policies to justify taking money ripoff Columbus Ohio

I am a small potatoes customer of Huntington Bank and have been for years. As a matter of fact, I was layed off 3 months ago and work 10-15 hrs/wk part time and am on unemployment, so I really have had an income shock lately.  My bank has a pay by phone system to pay bills.  I love this the money is directly sent from my account to the payees when I pick up the phone and dial the proper numbers in.  This is better than auto deductions because, for me, I write the transaction in my register as I do it.  With auto pays, you have to remember to write it down (room for error in forgetting).  When the bank informed me that they have a new policy to pay overdrafts and that they would deposit an increment of money in my account and that there would be a charge, I immediately phoned and opted out.  I do not want a loan and a large fee.  I turned off my overdraft protection where savings would cover my checking if i went over because I realized if I lost my atm card, the finder could not only clean out my checking but also my very modest savings.  I never use the ATM machine, I just use my atm card for transactions, seems like I never really need cash anymore,but if I do, I get cash back at the grocery store.  Before I go out to go shopping, I call the 800 number and get my bank balance.  I also check off in my register what has cleared and what is pending.  Anything still outstanding explains why the balance in my checkbook is smaller than the balance the phone is giving me.  That way, I have verified that my checkbook balance is correct and I know what I can spend.  I can also transfer money over the phone from savings to checking and the transaction is instant and I can use that money that day.  I do not pay any fees to maintain my checking (I have the over 50 acct.), I only pay for checks, which I rarely use.  I also have my mortgage with this bank.  I pay my bills 10 days before they are due (this took approx. three months to rearrange the pay dates, every month I would pay a bill or two twice in the month so that I could move the pay date for those bills to the new date that I wanted to pay it).  I have no late payments, haven't bounced a check in over twenty years.  I knew that if I didn't opt out of the auto overdraft policy, it could get very confusing with all the charges.  I keep it real simple, money in and money out and I take the time (each time) to update my register.  The stores have new registers now-a-days that are so fast you feel guilty if you take the time to update your register, so generally we want to move on and update it later, but that is very dangerous, so I take the time.  As far as balances from the ATM go, when you deposit a check in the ATM machine there isn't a little person in there verifying that the check you put in the machine is matching the amount you say on the deposit slip.  There is no way for the bank to even verify that you put a check in the machine, there are criminals out there that might even just fill out a deposit slip and enter it with no check, thinking they could just tell the bank the next day that they forgot to put the check in, just to have access to an amount of money.  Essentially, the bank is trusting that you put in what you say you did, that is probably why only a percentage is available.  If you want full credit for your deposit, go into the bank cash the check and then deposit it and let the teller know that you are doing it this way to get immediate access to the full amount.  I have done this with checks that are around $100 but it may not be possible for large checks.  If I go in after 2pm then the deposit will be processed the next day before 2pm and will not show until the day after that, if I do not ask the teller to cash it and deposit the cash.  If you ask the questions and get the information on how your checking account works, keep diligent track of your transactions, live within your means you will not incur any extra charges and will not have any surprises.The charges can be very frustrating and trying to catch up to them in the check register can be confusing, but the bank is not responsible for anyone's mismanagement of their account.

Close your account and use check cashing places to cash your paycheck, and while you are there get money orders to pay your bills!

Most OD charges are from nothing other than irresponsibility.

If you are living paycheck to paycheck and running your balances very low, you should not have a checking account.

Anyone who determines available balance via the ATM printout certainly does not need a checking account. This is NEVER accurate. It takes time to post transactions.

Aafes is right..debits usually post before deposits. Every bank I can remember using has done it this way.

I never have any OD charges. I use my register to determine my balance. Not the ATM, and NOT the online banking.

Use ONLY your check register and you will not have any problems.

Close your account and use check cashing places to cash your paycheck, and while you are there get money orders to pay your bills!

Most OD charges are from nothing other than irresponsibility.

If you are living paycheck to paycheck and running your balances very low, you should not have a checking account.

Anyone who determines available balance via the ATM printout certainly does not need a checking account. This is NEVER accurate. It takes time to post transactions.

Aafes is right..debits usually post before deposits. Every bank I can remember using has done it this way.

I never have any OD charges. I use my register to determine my balance. Not the ATM, and NOT the online banking.

Use ONLY your check register and you will not have any problems.

Close your account and use check cashing places to cash your paycheck, and while you are there get money orders to pay your bills!

Most OD charges are from nothing other than irresponsibility.

If you are living paycheck to paycheck and running your balances very low, you should not have a checking account.

Anyone who determines available balance via the ATM printout certainly does not need a checking account. This is NEVER accurate. It takes time to post transactions.

Aafes is right..debits usually post before deposits. Every bank I can remember using has done it this way.

I never have any OD charges. I use my register to determine my balance. Not the ATM, and NOT the online banking.

Use ONLY your check register and you will not have any problems.

Close your account and use check cashing places to cash your paycheck, and while you are there get money orders to pay your bills!

Most OD charges are from nothing other than irresponsibility.

If you are living paycheck to paycheck and running your balances very low, you should not have a checking account.

Anyone who determines available balance via the ATM printout certainly does not need a checking account. This is NEVER accurate. It takes time to post transactions.

Aafes is right..debits usually post before deposits. Every bank I can remember using has done it this way.

I never have any OD charges. I use my register to determine my balance. Not the ATM, and NOT the online banking.

Use ONLY your check register and you will not have any problems.

Again I will disagree with your assertions.

The one point we are in agreement on is monitoring your finances, including a checking account.

Until very, very recently banks were not disclosing this lending practice in their account agreements. One bank, I will not mention by name, simply inserted a leaflet into account statements advising the "new service" was being made available to the account holder. NO WHERE was there an opportunity for an account holder to apply for or to decline the service. If electronic deposits were being made on the account, the service was available. What was not disclosed in the leaflet was the huge interest in the form of fees.

If the practice is so valid, why are the banks lobbying so hard against having the practice fall under the Federal Truth In Lending laws.

In the past, you opened a checking account and had to APPLY and QUALIFY for overdraft protection - why suddenly is this not a credit based program. In the past, if you did not manage your account and an insufficient check appeared at the bank they would either pay it at their discretion, charge a fee and require you to make the check good, or if your account history was poor they would simply send the check back as insufficient.

I am certain many of the posters with hundreds of dollars in fees would have much preferred a transaction be denied rather than pay these fees.

Reality - few people write checks any longer. If money is NOT available in an account the bank should NOT authorize the debit transaction. It is much preferable to be a little embarrassed and walk away without merchandise than to find yourself scammed with huge fees by the bank.

I am having so much fun on this site. All the information about how your bank does business is provided to you when you open an account, normally in some form of statement of fees and funds availability. You sign a form which acknowledges you received the form and you agree to its terms and conditions. Therefore the bank is not, and I quote: Most major banks now offer "courtesy overdraft" loans. This occurs, without your permission, when your account exceeds your available balance., overdrafting your account without your permission. For two reasons this statement is invalid, you signed and agreed to the terms and you authorized the charges that are overdrafting you. The bank is not there forcing you to swipe your card or to write a check. However to those who agree with my logic, which is to monitor your account and take responsibility for your actions, give up now, I have found trying to speak logically with those who cannot even keep their account in good standing is futile and frustrating. They will come up with statements such as, you should give me my deposit 2-3 days before I am paid to cover these items (I would love to see one of them go to their payroll directly and give them that argument) or you should not have cut off times, etc. The list goes on, however in almost every post there is someone who states I have never been overdrawn because I keep track of my account, so therefore the answer to all the problems is just to take responsibility of your money. Moving on

I am having so much fun on this site. All the information about how your bank does business is provided to you when you open an account, normally in some form of statement of fees and funds availability. You sign a form which acknowledges you received the form and you agree to its terms and conditions. Therefore the bank is not, and I quote: Most major banks now offer "courtesy overdraft" loans. This occurs, without your permission, when your account exceeds your available balance., overdrafting your account without your permission. For two reasons this statement is invalid, you signed and agreed to the terms and you authorized the charges that are overdrafting you. The bank is not there forcing you to swipe your card or to write a check. However to those who agree with my logic, which is to monitor your account and take responsibility for your actions, give up now, I have found trying to speak logically with those who cannot even keep their account in good standing is futile and frustrating. They will come up with statements such as, you should give me my deposit 2-3 days before I am paid to cover these items (I would love to see one of them go to their payroll directly and give them that argument) or you should not have cut off times, etc. The list goes on, however in almost every post there is someone who states I have never been overdrawn because I keep track of my account, so therefore the answer to all the problems is just to take responsibility of your money. Moving on

I am having so much fun on this site. All the information about how your bank does business is provided to you when you open an account, normally in some form of statement of fees and funds availability. You sign a form which acknowledges you received the form and you agree to its terms and conditions. Therefore the bank is not, and I quote: Most major banks now offer "courtesy overdraft" loans. This occurs, without your permission, when your account exceeds your available balance., overdrafting your account without your permission. For two reasons this statement is invalid, you signed and agreed to the terms and you authorized the charges that are overdrafting you. The bank is not there forcing you to swipe your card or to write a check. However to those who agree with my logic, which is to monitor your account and take responsibility for your actions, give up now, I have found trying to speak logically with those who cannot even keep their account in good standing is futile and frustrating. They will come up with statements such as, you should give me my deposit 2-3 days before I am paid to cover these items (I would love to see one of them go to their payroll directly and give them that argument) or you should not have cut off times, etc. The list goes on, however in almost every post there is someone who states I have never been overdrawn because I keep track of my account, so therefore the answer to all the problems is just to take responsibility of your money. Moving on

David from Columbus:

If your bank always posts deposits first, I commend you for having such a good bank. That is NOT however the case with all banks as I have found researching this matter and is also evidenced by the myriad of posts on this website pertaining that EXACT subject.

Many posters here have been told, directly by their bank that debits/transactions they have made following an ATM deposit or direct deposit were processed first and fees assessed due to insufficient funds to pay these transactions.

ATM transactions are an exact case in point. A "journal" entry is made subject to verification of the deposit you indicate you made. A portion of the funds may be made available subject to verification.

A scenario: You make an ATM deposit late in the evening. You utilize your account for several transactions the same evening. The merchants involved send their batches through ACH at midnight. The bank empties the ATM the following day after the banking day starts. The bank processes and verifies the deposit of your paycheck. The paycheck is submitted to ACH for clearing. Your previous days transactions post to your account PRIOR to the check clearing. The account balance is insufficient, fees are charged. ACH clears your paycheck the next day.

Tell me it doesn't happen. Many, many here have experienced this exact scenario.

Direct Deposits - Posting time depends on YOUR bank, there is no regulated or required time for these deposits to post. The bank HAS the money 2-3 days prior to the actual paydate. The bank has the option to post the money early if it is their policy, my credit union does this. Another bank, on the same post, does not post my coworkers direct deposits prior to 9:00 a.m. on the actual paydate.

Only two things were correct in your post. It is the responsibility of the individual to track his/her finances and not spend money that they do not know is fully available; and "free checking" is not free. It would not be viable for a bank to simply funnel your money in and out and stay in business.

Incidentally, it costs the bank an average of $3.50 to process a check, even if insufficient. So, please justify banks charging an average nationwide of $28.50 for this transaction???

I don't really know where Aafes gets his logic...

1. When you make a deposit into an ATM machine, a portion of the actual deposit is made immediately available to you. Immediately available meaning that you can spend it.

2. When a direct deposit goes into your account, it is indeed... directly deposited and made immediately available for you to spend. A lot of people think that direct deposits go in right at midnight, and that is hardly ever the case. Look online or call the automated phone line. If you hear your paycheck amount, it's there. Spend it if you want, but not before you know it's there.

3. Items don't post over the weekend, so don't worry about those "non-banking" days. Nothing will clear your account before Monday.

4. Deposits are ALWAYS processed first, meaning that before the bank debits your account for the money that you spent or checks that have come in, any deposit that you made will be processed and added to your account first. So transactions don't "post prior to the deposit," it's exactly the opposite.

The only thing that I did agree with in that post was the fact that it is necessary to record things that you spend. Foreign ATM fees, checks, debit card purchases, and even deposits. It's especially important to do that if you overdraw your account frequently.

I'm sure that everyone will agree: the bank is NOT your friend. You have to PAY ATTENTION! Sometimes people go through rough times, and sometimes mistakes happen. When they do, call the bank and see about getting some of those fees reversed. Don't expect anything if you're prone to over drafting your account or if you've had a refund recently (yes, we can see every refund that you've ever had, so don't play dumb). Contrary to what I read in another post, we do not get fired for refunding fees, and yes, we do have the power to do it.

If you're getting charged miscellaneous fees like a minimum balance fee, over usage fees, POS fees, etc... You're probably not in the right account. Call the bank, ask to get in an account that will avoid fees and suit your needs and get those miscellaneous fees back.

Don't give the bank a chance to make money off of you, and they won't. I think it's pretty simple.

To the OP and the second poster. It is not only this bank. Most major banks now offer "courtesy overdraft" loans. This occurs, without your permission, when your account exceeds your available balance. The bank pays the transaction and charges a fee, averaging $25.00 or more per transaction, regardless of the amount of the transaction.

This generates fee based income in the billions for banks nationwide on an annual basis. The practice is exempt from the Truth in Lending Act, in which a lender would be required to notify you in advance of the fees/interest. The bank will tell you it is to help their customers avoid embarrassing situations with merchants - which is of course BS, they want the fees.

As to ATM balances. When you deposit a payroll check or have it direct deposited a "journal entry" is made showing the deposit towards the balance of the account. Actual funds are not available until the deposit has cleared.

Most people make the mistake of believing the direct deposit or paycheck deposit, made typically on Friday is available immediately. It is not truly available until the next banking day, Monday. The banks allow them to spend these funds, knowing fully that the transactions will post prior to the deposit. This allows them to charge fees.

This should be criminal, in my opinion.

The only way to avoid the fees. Keep an accurate checkbook register of every transaction, include foreign ATM fees and merchant fees for debit transactions. Don't spend a PENNY of your deposits until the end of the next banking day. This may be difficult at first but after a few paydays becomes routine.

And, as another poster said, RUN don't walk to a good credit union.

Or if you deposit your check through the ATM you can drive home get on line and your money is always showing than wham they decide not to put all of it through only a small percentage and wait 5 days to clear your check and bounce all debit and atms from over the weekend.

Never in my life have I heard someone actually complain that a percentage of the money you deposit into the ATM is made immediately available! Depending upon the age of your account, the machine will make up to $400 available immediately. That should be enough to cover any outstanding items that you have. If not, that's unfortunate. The rest of the deposit does not clear in five days, it actually processes and clears on the next business day.

In your post you ask "I would have to stop and write everything down that I buy.

Huh? who on earth does that? "

I will give you the simple answer... people who dont pay overdraft charges do that. Easy huh?

At any given time you can have unposted checks, uncollected funds and pending debit transactions. There is no way the ATM could possibly know this. It doesn't matter where you bank, it is the same everywhere.

Slam the bank for the bad things that they do, but this doesn't seem to be one of them. This one is 100% YOUR bad.

I have had horrible experiences with Huntington Bank and would tell anyone who is thinking about banking there not too. Do you know if someone waves your fees they can get fired and often do get fired. We pay for all the new equipment they get and their end of the year bonus the employess get with fees, they bank certain ways and you get use to it then with out letting you know they change on you. Like when you deposit your check (if you have a low balance) they wont bounce anything they just pend it until your check clears than wham after years of them doing it this way at christmas time (when they must need to get their revenue up) decide to bounce everytime you use your debit card--(even though your money is in there they decide not to pend it just bounce it)they lie and are dishonest.Or if you deposit your check through the ATM you can drive home get on line and your money is always showing than wham they decide not to put all of it through only a small percentage and wait 5 days to clear your check and bounce all debit and atms from over the weekend. Whatever I hate this bank . Heres my new Christmas song Jingle Bells Jingle Bells Batman smells I hate Huntington Bank. Run to the credit union.

I am a huntington bank account holder ( not for long)
Huntingtons nsf fees as with business fees are outlined in teeney tiney writing in a small booklet they give you when you sign up, get your maginifing glass out and read, as with all financial dealings.Read them , but I can guarantee that they will change thier policy's to suit the cash flow for the month. I have dealt with them debiting my atm , it sits in the pending section of online banking for a few days, then if you have written a larger check that doesn't have suffucient funds they will bounce your atms and pay the check . They pay the largest as a FAVOR to the customer, I have been told it is done to prevent a house payment or car payment to bounce.( yeah right it would have bounced anyway ) I have paid so many fees to huntington I could have bought a few new computers.
Now I know whats coming next is you should keep a registry..... WELL guess what it is the year 2005 and with the day and age of computers , I do not see my teller handwriting out her transactions into a accountant log. Yet as consumers, we are at fault to pay the price for
large banks to manipulate the system to suit the needs of thier investors. Which brings me to the final POINT, Banks are a business and to make as much money as possible.. So that being said they control your accounts to squeeze cash from your pocketbooks.
I have been lied to , manipulated, lied to some more, and put up with more ignorance that I can stand ( call the 1-800 # sometime) they don't have a clue.
I am leaving Huntington, you will not get one more dime from me, but in essence you really don't care, because I am a small fish, and there will be one to replace me soon.
I have learned alot about deposits and your new timed deposits and credits, checks. Your holding small gas charges, atms,giving $ at the atm even if you have no $ ( or none posted yet) in your account. no posting deposits after 3 pm even though you are open until 5 ( cash included !!)
god forbid a friday deposit, you won't see money until tuesday.
I bid you fairwell and will tell all I know, till death, my experience with your bank. You will not get my children nor grandchildren and so on, we will pass this on for generations.Good Day ;)

All of our business goes to our local credit union

As an employee of another finiancial institution I hear this story frequently. I have to say that 99.9% of the time the customers account is overdrawn because they are not writing down the debits on their register or balancing their account on a monthly basis. Nobody can take money out of the atm with their card unless they have given out their pin number and you can't depend on the balance you get from the atm or telephone banking because you probably still have checks or debits outstanding, so you would have to subtract those from the balance you get from the machine. Years ago you could play the float game, but with electronic transactions and check 21 that just does not work anymore. Customers should always go by the balance in their register, not what they get from the atm machine.
I think it is about time that people start taking responsibality for their own actions. If they play that game and get bit, so be it. Own up to it. A big problem with our socity is that it is always someone elses fault.
The bank I work at knows and uses reg E, and we are sympathic with those that don't abuse their accounts and work with them to resolve issues and reverse nsf fees.

First off...when you open an account to a bank they give you a list of rules and charges that one should read carefully before opening the account, as when you sign, you say you agree to the rules set by the bank to include service charges Next, all atm's by any bank are balanced at certain times of day, and unless you are doing internet banking, none of this is instantaneous, So one should treat atm banking as if you are writing a check If you can prove a bank error your charge will be cheerfully refunded. However if you are haphazerd in record keeping, and it is not the bank's fault you are short, they may still refund the charges if you are not a repeat offender. But if this is a more than occasional offense, than the charges will stand. Huntington is a hometown bank and we serve people both great and small. I'm an employee, a customer, and a stockholder, as I believe in Huntington...and I'm no fatcat either. Have a good day and God bless.

In agreement with this gentleman, I also have seen such ignorance with Huntington. When confronting their 'help desk' I was told that it is illegal to 'overdraw' monies on your account and they could take legal action against me if I had another overdraw (first offense).

I went on to have a logical conversation with this helpless desk person and explain that it would be foolish to file a suit against everyone who overdrafts their accounts. Afterall, I have learned that banks who boast the largest revenues for their end of year are based almost entirely on sur-charges such as overdraft fees they collect.

I will dispute but one thing the gentleman above states about Huntington Banks. He stated that they make tens of thousands of dollars on our blood, swear and tears. I would like to clarify that Huntington has posted record numbers of financial gains in each of their quarters in business. Those quarters aren't based in the thousands but the millions and tens of millions of dollars are gained by these banking companies. Let me assure you also that it isn't just Huntington Banks. Although, they are one of the top three worst banks i've ever dealt with in my life. We are dropping Huntington Banks after trying to deposit $28,000 and asking for $5,000 back in cash. I advised them to contact the issuing bank on the checks. They said they could give us $100 and that was it. I went down the street to another bank. Opened a brand new account with another bank and deposited the $28,000 and they gave me back $9,000 for my business expenses. So, don't think for a minute it's just the little guy. We have sums of money coming and going all the time in our account. We rarely leave large sums of money in Huntington because of how long it takes them to deposit checks. An example is my wife's unemployment check. This is a STATE OF OHIO issued check. It took them nine days to cash it into our account. Of course by that time, that's when our bounced checks returned that time I mentioned above.

Huntington is very cleavor in their business. But know for sure they consider "OUR" money theirs. No question about it. They invest it, they pass it out. And if you are a wealthy Huntington Account Investor (investments, etc) you are a golden child. Anyone else (which is the bulk of us) makes Huntington the big bad bank that it is.

In closing, I can state that I have a family member who was a branch manager for one of the Huntington Banks in Columbus, Ohio region. She was with them for several years. She left because of so much poor customer service it began degrading her professional name in the business. She now works for another bank and from the continued complaints she receives, she states she is very pleased having left Huntington that it was a quote end-quote "train wreck how they treated their customers". And that was a branch manager!

So, form your own opinions folks. But don't think for a minute your $29.95 bounced check fees don't add up to millions and tens of millions is PURE PROFITS for the investors in Huntington. Just like in the government and taxes. It's us, the little guy who gets taken advantage of. We provide allot of money to a select few rich folks who care zero about honesty, compassion, dignity or even morals. They have one thing in mind. Making money. And making as much of it as possible to keep up with their neighbor's who just bought that new Porche or Yacht. Read fortune magazine. Those are the enemies folks. At least to us little folks. Please don't take that literally. But most of those fortune mag folks are in it to win it. They want to die with the most money no matter who they walk on, kill or mame in the process. They must not have been hugged enough as a kid is all I can think. he he he

Thanks for reading my rant. Good post, by the way. Huntington Bank is quite a company. And yes they are so well represented on Capital Hill that they don't have to worry about much at the federal level.