Bank Of America - BofA Overdraft Fees = Usery... San Francisco California

...and usery is illegal.

Long story short: A bounced check I deposited resulted in overdraft. Did 10 small debit transactions over the next five days and was charged a $35 fee per transaction. So, it cost me $350 to "borrow" a total of $112.36 for five days. This is an annual interest rate of 312%.

I've spent the better part of this afternoon reading similar complaints. Almost all noted that the "associates" at Bank of America were smug and surly when dealing with customers on the subject of excessive fees. Indeed, all the posts by bank employees bear this out. Many were downright creepy, calling customers derogatory names and disclosing private information.

Most posts defending excessive fees blame the customer for not monitoring their accounts closely enough. This is beside the point. While recouping expenses is necessary for any business, it is not the bank's job to impart punitive "lessons" on their customers, or to bullying them into signing up for their overdraft "protection". (Love the thuggish connotation.)

Verizon Wireless is implicated in a class-action lawsuit for using fees as a profit center instead of a vehicle to recoup costs, in clear violation of California law. This is exactly what BofA does. The bank has a fiduciary duty to protect its customers' money, and instead it steals from them.

In the old days, BofA would reverse fees upon request. Now, the bank's employees are instructed to lie. ("It is simply 'not possible' to reverse fees due to blah, blah.... Bullsh*t!! If it could be done 10 years ago, it can be done now.)

I will not even get into how slow their online bill pay service is. Money leaves my account on one day and is sent to my mortgage company THREE DAYS later. Gotta love the float.

I will watch closely and join the next inevitable class action suit.

Corey
Oakland, California
U.S.A.