Regions Bank Still charging 35.00 for overdraft charges, even when opt out confirmed! Internet

So you admit that you over drafted your account?

At the risk of myself being considered a promoter of irresponsibility..I will still post the following. But first let me say, if you fight this hard enough with your bank and are persistent...banks have been known to offer half the fees back, in rare cases or if for example a close relative has a large account with the bank they do forgive all..it will depend on your history as well...do you have a history of overdrafting with this bank?

In the best case...I would feel it is right that you willingly accept the 35.00 fee for overdrafting at the pump...in all fairness that was your fault and right is right. The manipulations the bank is doing to compound the fees however..may be criminal..as here in California Wells Fargo recently lost a lawsuit for doing these very tactics..and can no longer manipulate the times of transactions..and are ordered to pay back the victims. They are not to pay back for any legitimate overdrafts..only overdrafts caused by re-sequencing..and what the bank had termed the "shadow line", which was essentially a ploy used with malice to gouge the banks customers. The new laws regarding opt in prevent the shadow line fees, but this does not mean what they already stole from so many is to be forgiven.

Quite a few banks from many states have been doing this (the Judge in the recent Wells Fargo case found approx 25% of all banks were re-sequencing high to low), so they decided to condense all these lawsuits into one federal Court which is in Miami. The Federal judge has thrown out any cause to dismiss entered by the defendants council..so it is looking good for the plaintiffs.

The current defendants are ..

    * Bank of America
    * Branch Banking & Trust (BB&T)
    * Citibank
    * Fifth Third Bank
    * Huntington National Bank
    * JPMorgan Chase
    * Keybank
    * M&T Bank
    * National City Bank
    * PNC Bank
    * SunTrust Banks
    * TD Bank
    * Union Bank
    * U.S. Bank
    * Wachovia
    * Wells Fargo Bank

But due to numerous complaints..the following banks are being investigated..and guess what?..Regions made the list. Not to say you will get anything back with 100% certainty, but I feel you will once the case is won or settled. It will take a while as there could be appeals, and then they need to determine who gets what..not an easy task..but it is very possible..and minus lawyers fees but hey..at least this may put a stop to it...
    * Capital One Bank
    * First Tennessee Bank
    * HSBC
    * RBS
    * Regions Bank
    * TCF Bank

Maybe if these banks did the right thing on their own..we can keep the d**n Feds out of it. It seems by what some banks claim that made policy changes for the better on their own, is changes they have made were due to all the complaints..but I have a feeling the lawsuits and threat of more regulations is the main deciding factor. Greed does not care about it's customer service, rights or suffering..it only cares about itself. Fortunately in this country, the small guy can make changes..granted a long road uphill battle it can be. But once in a rare while, you win.

I forgot all about this since my bank no longer does it. It is called re-sequencing...and many banks are in a class action lawsuit for this. Granted..you were obviously careless and were using this card without knowing how much was in the account..but it seems you should have been opted out.

Regardless, what the re-sequencing does in effect...is allow the bank to turn one legitimate overdraft, into as many as 10..which was typically the limit. Although technically there didn't have to be a limit.

So..if the $20 was a gas pump transaction and it wiped the account out...those smaller transactions must have been made previously. So the smaller transactions did have the funds..but were subject to fees due solely to the banks manipulations. When they rearranged the times to post the $20.00 first sometime in the wee hours of the morning, it made it so the smaller transactions posted after..and then are subject to overdraft fees.

Am I in to something here? That may answer how they did this...but as far as getting away with it...I hope you can fight them on this. They did not actually break the law if this is the case...but they are posting transactions in a way that is harmful to their customers...but makes them some extra income via unjust fees. I guess the lesson is be more careful at the pump..and switch to a more consumer friendly bank. Also keep track of the account yourself..if you leave it to the bank or trust their online statements...well you already see where it got you.

I do not know if this will help..but if what I stated is what happened..you could try to tell them you were not opted in so it is their fault for allowing the card to pump in more then you had. Granted that is playing dumb..but you may need this money more then they do.

..the bank is in clear violation of new laws.

Actually...you do not "opt out" of standard overdraft coverage with the debit card anymore. Since the new laws...every single checking account customer in the USA is considered opted out...unless they opt in by signature.

I would ask the bank to show the documentation/contract where you signed up to be opted in. If they refuse to present this documentation..report back and I will help you figure out what to do next. I really expected these kinds of reports to go away after the law changes..and they have. This is the first one.

What the bank told you only holds true if you are opted in...the one dollar is irrelevant. The way it works..if the account can not cover a point of sale or ATM transaction, the transaction is declined and no fee.

An issue can come up at a gas pump however if you chose to use your debit card as a credit card. If you chose debit..it will generally run up 50 or 75 dollars to check the account. If the account can not cover it..the screen will tell you the transaction can not be completed, please see attendant inside..or something to that effect. Then you can tell the attendant how much gas you want..and as long as the account can cover it..you are good to go. If not it should also be declined at the counter.

Now if you chose credit...it may only check the account with one dollar..so if for example you only had 2 dollars in the account, it might allow you to overdraft at the pump. The lawmakers are aware this is a flaw and has of yet I have not heard a remedy. It would make sense if they held 50 or 75 on credit choice as well, or if they only allow a debit card to be used as a debit card....which is all it is.

But...even if the gas pump was to cause an overdraft..that would mean the card will not work again until a deposit is made and you should have only the one fee at most.

The exception is any auto/electronic bill pay or check transactions...those will always be subject to fees if overdrawn since they are ACH and follow different regulations.

Were all these transactions point of sale or ATM transactions that are being charged fees? Judging by how small they are it appears so.

You weren't totally clear but I am sure that the $1 that was authorized was for a purchase you were attempting to do from another company(such as a gas station), so these comments are mainly based on that.  But if by chance you are saying that the bank is doing an ADDITIONAL $1 authorization every time you use your card, then that is something totally new that I have not heard of.

When you "opt out", you opt-out of them approving transactions if that transaction would put you into the negative, or by chance you are already in the negative.  It does NOT mean that you can't overdraft and get hit with overdraft fees.   Because by law if an transaction was authorized, and yes the $1 was an authorization, the bank can not decline the transaction.  So if you spent more than the $1 and final amount that puts you into overdraft you will be charged with overdraft fees. 

Now, there are some banks that will give you to the end of the business day to make your account positive again to avoid the fees.  However, this requires that you are keeping track and know you went negative.

This is why no matter how many new rules or regulations banks put in to protect account holders from themself.  NOTHING takes the place of taking PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY keeping an accurate written register of YOUR transactions.