BB&T - Branch Banking & Trust Deceiving Innocent Customers Oak Hill, West Virginia

It's relatively common for banks to offer some of the money paid in fees back to the customer, usually around half but the actual amount may vary depending on circumstances. As you noted in your original post, the amount refunded was significantly less than the amount paid in fees. They effectively gave you a lollipop.

There is no need to completely stop using your debit card if you want to keep using it. As Jim noted, just maintain your own financial records and be diligent about filling it out after every transaction. If you have a credit card with an attractive rewards program, you might consider doing your daily spending on that credit card and pay it off every month.

I do agree with you about keeping accurate records, and you will be happy to know that I haven't had a NSF fee in over two weeks. I stopped using my debit card, and now only write actual checks. Yes, I do write them all down. The reason I asked for a running balance was to see exactly what I was being charged for. Since this time, I have figured it all out. You can continue to say what you want, but I do think that the banks are deceptive, but I also agree that we the people also need to handle our finances, which is what I am doing. I just can't understand why they gave money back if my accounting was wrong??? Doesn't make any sense to me. No I don't like paying fee's....I think I'll keep my money. I guess we will agree to disagree on certain aspects of the banking system.

Melissia:

Its really up to you if you want to arise above the rest or stay mired in snide remarks, sarcasm and all the other smokescreen to avoid the real issue here.

The on-line balance is and can be different from a written record because the bank may not debit your account immediately.  Any "holds" a merchamt may place may not come out at once and if the official submission by the merchant is delayed, then the hold is released by the bank until it is submitted.  That is the EXACT REASON nobody should ever rely on an on-line balance or telephone balance.  When you keep our own written record and do the math with each notation, you "remove" the money from your running balance right then and there, and without regard to when the merchant submits the debit to the bank, for all practical purposes the money is gone from your account and you won't spend it!  Come on Melissia, this isn't rocket science!  I am well aware you can use a computer...as such, I am confident you can do this and fully understand the reasons behind keeping your own WRITTEN RECORD.  Why do you wish to avoid this?  Its YOUR MONEY and YOUR ACCOUNT.  Don't you think YOU should know how much money you have so that you DO NOT run up NSF fees?  Of course, if money isn't important to you and paying NSF fees is chopped liver, then please send me a check! 

Melissia, we are not enemies here!  You or anyone else should NEVER pay NSF fees.  NSF fees are a bank profit center.  There's nothing wrong with profit but why should you, me or anyone else give that profit if we can avoid it?  And Melissia, YOU CAN!  Not only that, once you learn this, you can help others with the same faulty thinking.  Is there something wrong with this?

The common denominator of all these complainers is FAILURE TO MAINTAIN RECORDS!  How many complainers say they received NSF charges when they were keeping a WRITTEN RECORD which was accurate?  The common denominator is these people use an ATM card without knowing how much money they have.  They and you can avoid these problems by keeping a written record and doing the math right after each entry as well as taking out enough money from your own bank's ATM machine so that you avoid foreign ATM charges, excessive bookeeping. 

In reviewing your posting I see a revealing statement..."we went to the bank and asked for a daily running balance...".  Why ask them?  Don't you know?  Why not?

Therein lies the cause of your NSF charges.  Now that you know the cause, you have the choice...correct the cause or continue in your ways.

SHALOM

First of all, you did not answer any of my questions. Talk about dissertations...you sure gave one in your last post. Shalom?? Could that be Hebrew....Jewish maybe? You just really tipped your hat. Yo have got to be a banker, or run a bank, maybe own one??? Look, I'm not going to argue with you on line. What started out as a post to help other people has turned into you insulting me and my intelligence. Makes me kind of wonder why you go on here reading posts about banks and defending them?? If you really wanted to help, maybe you should be a little nicer. Personally, I think you just like to get a rise out of people. Thats ok too, it takes all kinds of people to make the world go round.

Shalom

The common denominator of all these complaints is the complainer doesn't or won't keep a contemporaneous record of each and every transaction, including ATM fees.  They rely on an on-line balance or telephone automated balance because they are too damned lazy to keep the record.  They want the easy way...they don't have and won't develope the discipline to KEEP A WRITTEN RECORD.  Why is it important to do this?  Because when you subtract the charge or debit from the running balance you have maintained in YOUR WRITTEN RECORD, for all practical purposes that money is gone from your account and you won't spend it!  Again, this isn't rocket science!  You can forget about "current balance", "available balance", "pending transactions" etc because the balance you have maintained in your WRITTEN RECORD will already reflect the charge just as soon as you do the math!  Again, this isn't rocket science.

You can make all the snide remarks you want.  The bottom line is what you want is the easy way out...look it up on the computer because its just so-o-o-o hard to write it down and do the subtraction.  Poor baby.

I hold out this idea for you.  You can climb out above all the whiners and complainers and have that most accurate balance I've told you about.  All you need to do is keep that written record, do the math right then and there and live within the balance.  How many times do I need to say it, this isn't rocket science! 

The other alternative is to keep on doing it like you are and be one of the many other lazy people who would rather whine about NSF fees which they can avoid.  Doesn't make much sense, does it?

Am I saying your lazy?  Yes!  Am I saying you want the easy way out rather than handle your personal banking business with the acurracy it deserves?  Yes, I'm saying that too!  And right now I want you to get so damned mad at me that you'll remember what I've said and suddenly it will dawn on you keeping a written record is your best source of the most accurate balance you can have.  Don't believe me?  Ask you bank.

SHALOM

First of all, I don't disagree with you about all of the things that you mentioned in your post, other than the fact that I am lazy. However, I didn't realize that I was such an idiot. I mean, this is 2009, and all transactions are instantly noted in our account. The problem is, your charges show up, and then disappear. Why? There is no reason to do that, other than to mislead your customers. If your pending transactions stayed pending until they posted, then you could use the on line tool to keep track of your debit card. As you read in my post, I am keeping track of all of my debits. BB&T leads people to believe that the on line tool is accurate, when in actuality, it is not. All I was trying to do in my post was to help people understand that the on line balances are not correct, and that they do have to keep track of all of their debits. Which is basically what you felt the need to yell at me about.  Another thing. I never mentioned filing any type of suit over this. Oh, but I do have a question for you...why the two different running daily balances?? One for the bank and one for the customer. Please explain that Jim in all of your infinite wisdom. Oh, actually two questions...if the bank didn't make a mistake, then why give any money back?? I don't usually make a habit of giving money back when I'm right. Also, did you know that BB&T is in the process of changing all of their policies at the beginning of the year?? Makes ya wonder. By the way, how long have you worked for them??? God Bless.

Not once thru out your disertation did you mention the ONE THING which would have prevented all this and if the bank made a mistake, would have given you the evidence to win your case! 

All this stuff about available balance and current balance isn't the cause.  You can get around all this once and for all and you can have at your fingertips the exact and perfect balance in that account at any time of the day.  Notice I said PERFECT.  How?  You keep a WRITTEN RECORD of each and every transaction.  When you use the card, you write it down in your check register, pocket notebook or whatever.  You do the math right then and there and you will have the most accurate balance known to humankind.  Whether or not the merchant holds the money or is slow in submitting that information to the bank, IT WON'T MATTER because you have already deducted it and for all practical purposes that money is gone from your account.  Please don't write back and tell me this won't work.  It will and it does!  Oh of course, its going to take the discipline to write things down immediately, but that's the price of responsibility.  But, you can continue to check the balance on line AFTER THE FACT, rack up NSF fees and then blame the bank like lazy people do.

So, which way is it going to be?

One more thing.  Rather than go to the ATM every other day, why not go to your bank's ATM at the start of the week and get out as much cash as you'll need for the week rather than racking up foreign ATM fees during the week?