Bank Of America Approved a 1.59 debit to charge a 35.00 fee to my 17 year old son Ripoff San Antonio Texas

Bank of America has the second worse customer sevice in the nation in an article from MSN.com. Of course this is not news to the people on this sight. Bank of America continues to expand instead of trying to improve customer service. This is their way of dealing with poor customer service, get rid of the competition.

Thanks for the info. I pay in cash and pay NO NSF fees. The first and ONLY NSF fee I paid was in 1981 and that was because I didn't hold for a check that took over 2 months to clear. But a $1.59? What did he buy, a big red on his debit card?

Thanks for the info. I pay in cash and pay NO NSF fees. The first and ONLY NSF fee I paid was in 1981 and that was because I didn't hold for a check that took over 2 months to clear. But a $1.59? What did he buy, a big red on his debit card?

Thanks for the info. I pay in cash and pay NO NSF fees. The first and ONLY NSF fee I paid was in 1981 and that was because I didn't hold for a check that took over 2 months to clear. But a $1.59? What did he buy, a big red on his debit card?

Thanks for the info. I pay in cash and pay NO NSF fees. The first and ONLY NSF fee I paid was in 1981 and that was because I didn't hold for a check that took over 2 months to clear. But a $1.59? What did he buy, a big red on his debit card?

Well regardless whether I am right or wrong bottom line, I am the customer it is my money and I have the right to choose who I do business with. I have closed my 6 accounts with BOA and my in laws have closed 3 as well. Now I also understand that BOA could carleess about my little accounts and maybe the new bank will not be any better. The days of business caring about customers and service is a thing of the past. The attitude is another one will be along to take your place. Just look at the number of complaints about BOA and even if they are not justified to BOA it is to the customer and BOA could care less.

BOA needs to know that no more how big you are it is still your customers that provide you with a profit and if they think they are too big to get hurt then they better look around.

has an extensive article on bank debit cards!

I do wonder why people think a $29 / yr subscription is "too much" when that $29 / yr could save them a real bundle but I digress.

On pg 4, for example, CRMA points out that people who used debit card more than 20 times a year racked up an AVERAGE of $223 in NSF fees, while people who never used debit cards AT ALL racked up an AVERAGE of $40 in NSF fees per year.

Why do the banks push "signature charges" on your debit card? Because the bank makes more money in processing charges. the fee to the store can easily be 7X higher when you sign for the charge rather than using your PIN.

The "REWARDS" offered for one using a signature debit cart are often illusory.

And the legal protections for fraudulent use and seller fraud are far weaker for a debit card than for a charge card. After all, when you have a problem with your debit card, you are trying to get YOUR money back, while with a charge card you and the CC bank are trying to get the CC BANK'S money back. See the difference?

Banks do 'offer' to use your savings account to provide your overdraft protection, but often they may 'forget' to set the connection, so you get NSF fees which are a form of short term overdraft loan and these loans can generate 1000% interest rates for the bank.

My take: Changing banks will do nothing if you persist in using a debit card. Simply cut up all debit cards and use a credit card. Then pay the credit card's full balance off every month and you will be money ahead.

And some credit cards do offer some good "rewards" instead of those phony "points" scams. I get 1% of my CC charges, paid in CASH to my bank account. cash rewards work best for me!

Rodney,

Read the terms and conditions of the Bank of America checking accounts on the website. The FIRST overdraft fee is $20.00 (formerly $19) and all subsequent overdraft charges are $35/item. This means that your son has done this sort of thing (or something similar) before, "sir". Maybe it's time to teach him a little something about becoming a man and being responsible. When he has a wife and children to support, he will needs these skills as you must well know by now.

BTW next time you run into G.W., make sure you give him a big hug and a bowl of chili. He's having a rough time right now.

No, I ordered the card online it was one the questions they asked if I wanted to link to another account. It was a box checked showing which account to link it with. I am just out of luck on that as they said they had no record showing I did that.

You mentioned you have overdraft protection going to your account. Do you have this in writing? If so, you can call and let them know that (or go into a branch).

That is incorrect in the state of Texas sir. This is the first time and it is 35.00 regardless of the first or 100th time.

Bank of America does not charge $35 the first time you go into overdraft. So how many times has your son overdrafted the account prior to this?

BOA has a scale of charges, usually the first incident is only $10 and it goes up from there with each occurrence; with $35 being the most they will charge.

Bank of America does not charge $35 the first time you go into overdraft. So how many times has your son overdrafted the account prior to this?

BOA has a scale of charges, usually the first incident is only $10 and it goes up from there with each occurrence; with $35 being the most they will charge.

Bank of America does not charge $35 the first time you go into overdraft. So how many times has your son overdrafted the account prior to this?

BOA has a scale of charges, usually the first incident is only $10 and it goes up from there with each occurrence; with $35 being the most they will charge.

I am not saying it was not his fault. The charges are excessive for the amount he went over and to keep allowing him to do so to charge fees is wrong. I also forgot to mention one very imporant detail when I requested the card it asked if I wanted linked to any other account and I linked it to my account which of course they had no record of this.

If that had been done as requested we would not have been charged. Once it again that is my fault, with BOA the customer is always wrong, I have had an account with them for 15 years, no more.

Your statement "At one time credits were posted immediately then they changed their policy to not post until the merchant submittted for final payment. This was done for no other reason than to increase charges.", is not entirely correct.

Many smaller merchants and independently owned ATM's perform a process known as "batch posting". Rather than pay the transmission fee for each transaction, they send a batch file containing all transactions either to the bank or to the company which provides the processing service for them.

Usually this is done daily, after midnight, but some merchants do so every few days. Transactions on weekends are generally not sent before Sunday after midnight.

When the transaction occurs the system will either simply verify the account is active, or the merchant's agreement with his his processing service offers some guarantee of payment, without actually checking the account balance. Gas purchases are a prime example, some gasoline retailers only post an initial $1.00 charge to the account to activate the pump, updating after the purchase when the batch is sent.

The courtesy pay program is indeed a fee generating scam by the banks. They prey on anyone who is not meticulous about financial management. There are even some banks that will allow cash withdrawals at ATM's. The fee is NEVER disclosed in advance.

I highly recommend you leave Bank of America. I have had them before and found that they are just too much to deal with. The long wait times for large deposits to clear, high charges for anything.

The original post is, clearly, solely your son's fault. He approved charges when there wasn't enough money in the account. However, it is still wrong of BoA to have such a high charge for this so-called "service".

Personally I have USAA. While they are not open to the general public, they are undisputedly the best company to do anything with. Their customer service is #1.

Anyways, they have a neat feature where you can tie a USAA credit card to you bank account to provide overdraft protection. If your checking account gets overdrafted, the charge goes to the credit card instead. Look for a bank that provides similar protection.

In the meantime, advise your son on how to maintain accurate records.

I highly recommend you leave Bank of America. I have had them before and found that they are just too much to deal with. The long wait times for large deposits to clear, high charges for anything.

The original post is, clearly, solely your son's fault. He approved charges when there wasn't enough money in the account. However, it is still wrong of BoA to have such a high charge for this so-called "service".

Personally I have USAA. While they are not open to the general public, they are undisputedly the best company to do anything with. Their customer service is #1.

Anyways, they have a neat feature where you can tie a USAA credit card to you bank account to provide overdraft protection. If your checking account gets overdrafted, the charge goes to the credit card instead. Look for a bank that provides similar protection.

In the meantime, advise your son on how to maintain accurate records.

I highly recommend you leave Bank of America. I have had them before and found that they are just too much to deal with. The long wait times for large deposits to clear, high charges for anything.

The original post is, clearly, solely your son's fault. He approved charges when there wasn't enough money in the account. However, it is still wrong of BoA to have such a high charge for this so-called "service".

Personally I have USAA. While they are not open to the general public, they are undisputedly the best company to do anything with. Their customer service is #1.

Anyways, they have a neat feature where you can tie a USAA credit card to you bank account to provide overdraft protection. If your checking account gets overdrafted, the charge goes to the credit card instead. Look for a bank that provides similar protection.

In the meantime, advise your son on how to maintain accurate records.

I think he learned his lesson and that is just half of the problem. One time charge yes to keep approving small purchases and charge 35.00 that is ridiculous. Then to respond that it was a courtesy, no to pay it as a courtesy would have not to charge him. It was done to create profit. Just as many others have said BOA looks and tries to manipulate posting to their best interest. At one time credits were posted immediately then they changed their policy to not post until the merchant submittted for final payment. This was done for no other reason than to increase charges. If they wanted they can program the debit card not to approve if funds are not there. I guarantee if had been for a large amount of money they would not have approved it. I have had too many problems with them it is time to leave. I started to the last time they paid a 75.00 check as 2000.00 now we are thru once and for all.

It can be frustrating as you're learning.

But, I would suggest you have a good long "sit-down" with your son and teach him how to maintain an ACCURATE account register so that he doesn't overdraw the account!

The amount of the purchase $1.59 isn't the issue. He could have been making a $100 purchase and overdrew the account $5 and still be assessed the $30 "overdraft" fee.

If he keeps an accurate account register, he shouldn't have any more problems in the future. This can be a good lesson for him that will help him the rest of his life.

He might get angry now, but he'll thank you later.

Get those lessons going!

Teach your son banking.

$1.59 says your son goes to the closest ATM and agrees to the fee. Teach him that if there is $30.00 in the account and the ATM fee is $1.59, he should only take out $28.41 instead of $30.00.

Debit cards are no different than the old days of paper checks, they take time to clear. Don't write a check or use the debit card if there isn't money in the account to cover it. Easy!

Teach your son banking.

$1.59 says your son goes to the closest ATM and agrees to the fee. Teach him that if there is $30.00 in the account and the ATM fee is $1.59, he should only take out $28.41 instead of $30.00.

Debit cards are no different than the old days of paper checks, they take time to clear. Don't write a check or use the debit card if there isn't money in the account to cover it. Easy!

Teach your son banking.

$1.59 says your son goes to the closest ATM and agrees to the fee. Teach him that if there is $30.00 in the account and the ATM fee is $1.59, he should only take out $28.41 instead of $30.00.

Debit cards are no different than the old days of paper checks, they take time to clear. Don't write a check or use the debit card if there isn't money in the account to cover it. Easy!