Wells Fargo Bank, Inc EXCESSIVE OVERDRAFT FEES BORDERING ON UNDERHANDED BUSINESS PRACTICES, Internet

Yes I can understand and would be willing to pay $35.00 on $300.00 or even $200.00 but at the same time you have to understand that we are in hard economic times and some times I have money to cover and some times I do not.

- Okay so on the times you don't have the money "to cover" your purchases that is the banks fault how?   

Your checking account is not a line of credit.  When you signed up for the account you agreed to the terms, and some of these terms were the fees that were charged if you overdraft.  It does not matter if you overdraft by $20 or $200 the FEE is the same.  Can honestly say that EVERYTHING you spent the money on is a necessity?  I somehow don't think that the $2.50 cup of coffee would qualify as a necessity. 

Yes the regulations are changing and it was basically because a very small percentage of people who couldn't manage their money or thought that the bank should "cover" their problems complained.   So as a result you will have the option to "opt out" of the overdraft protection, which I am not saying is a bad thing.  And as said before I highly suggest that you do that.  Although if you still think that the bank should "cover" your purchases, you may be more upset the first time your card gets declined for not having enough available. 

Now some banks are lowering or eliminating the overdraft fees up to a certain small amount, such as if you overdraft by under $5 they don't charge you a fee.  Some are allowing you to deposit the money by the end of that business day to avoid the overdraft fees, such as if you realize you are overdrafted by $50 on Monday you have until the close of business on Monday to deposit the money and avoid overdraft fees.  But NO regulation is going to help you if you are intentionally spending more money than you have, and not paying it back in a timely manner.

In addition to that if you have free checking that may not be so free anymore.  Several banks have started to add monthly fees to some accounts.  Not that free checking does not exist, but they have added several conditions in order to continue to qualify for the free checking.  So there are many cases where people actually managed their account and are now the ones being penalized for the negligence of others.

So if you do switch banks it is very important that you understand ALL of the terms of the account. If you don't like the terms keep looking for other banks until you find one that meets your needs.

to the employee giving advice--you sir are a f**king idiot---onbviously i will never get through to the dumb people of this earth but yet i still try--what is so hard for you to understand that you cannot keep an accurate register!!!!!!!!!!---i admit--i figured things out and have not been overdrfated in a long time--but most people spend according to what they have--what happens when you live check to check and only have 2-5$ at the end of the week----what happens when you make a deposit--and look online a couple days later and see your deposit posted to your account---with this information on the banks site--you spend a couple dollars---then find out a few days later the information you saw online changed!!!!--then get charged overdrfat after seeing your deposit was posted a couple days after you though!!!!---how are we supposto to know when deposits actually post with this false information???----are we to call and spend 15 minutes on hold to talk to someone to find out??---how do we know that info is right???????????---for some--overdrfat is a way of life and every week after week and deny the banks at fault and think they are-but know deep down it is not them---others it is the same and bounce around between banks--others it happens to once r twice---others it doesn't happen to at all cause they don't spend money---but some like to spend and when they make a deposit, and when they look online, the information should be accurate,and they should know when there deposit TRULY posted so they can spend more---if this continues and people smarten up--no one that lives check to check will spend and the economy will get worse--this will also lead to lower bonuses for the bankers as they will collect less overdraft--in the end you are f**king yourselves and everyone else

I see that some of the responses are helpful and hurtful.  Yes I can understand and would be willing to pay $35.00 on $300.00 or even $200.00 but at the same time you have to understand that we are in hard economic times and some times I have money to cover and some times I do not.  What I don't appreciate is Wells Fargo's underhanded business dealings.  You do not think that they know what they're doing.  Why do you think the laws are changing?  I see that some of the responses I got are directly from Wells Fargo representatives.  I want to say that I am sorry you represent WF.  I am sure WF will survive and I am sure they will have success.  There are always outliers and statistics is bogus.  But WF will get slammed with some type of class action suit that will hurt them and they will change.  Time will only tell.

Here's another tip, If you have direct deposit going into your account, after you receive your money go to the branch/atm and remove as much cash as you can making sure to leave $5. to $10. in the account to keep it open. Then as you see a payment get ready to come out, you know when they come out and for how much, go and make a deposit to cover that payment.      Do that for each as they come around.      And keep the cash secured away from the the bank where they can take it away from you in fees. That way when your wallet is empty, you stop spending. No more fees.

OR....you can learn how to do simple math and keep a register.

So during this entire 2 year period did it not occur to you one to try and figure out what you may be doing wrong and what you can do to stop the fees?  Of course not because you probably felt that you are right and it is the bank that has to be wrong.

It is great that you have proof that you paid them almost $3,000 in two years.  Just how much time did you spend getting that proof.  Since you didn't mention it I would bet that you spent more time trying to prove the bank wrong instead of managing your account. 

You will have people come here and tell you that you are right.  That the banks are evil and you did absoulty nothing wrong.  Or that you you may have been "slightly" wrong but the banks are so evil that you are still not to blame.  They may tell you about lawsuits that are being filed, or even how the banks are changing their policies.  Because they are telling you exactly what you want to hear you will ignore everyone else who is telling you what you need to do.

Unfortunatly what they won't tell you is that if the suits go anywhere you will be luckly if you get a couple overdraft fees refunded.  Also, that even with the change in polices that unless you manage your account you will still have account issues and FEES. 

The new policies to "OPT-Out" only deal with Debit Card and ATM transactions.  Checks and ACH(on-line payments and automatic debits) are handled differently.  So if the bank shows that you do not have enough "available" to cover that $2.50 cup of coffee your debit card would be declined at the Point of Sale.  So you are thinking great no Overdraft fee.

However, since ACH transactions don't post until overnight you may have $2.50 "available" according to the bank but in reality you have already spent another $100 which would overdraft your account.  But since the bank does not know about it yet they still approve the $2.50 purchase.  So overnight they still must pay the $2.50 because that was already authorized.  They then have a choice to pay the ACH and charge you an overdraft fee or to reject the payment(and still charge you a fee).  If you have opted-out and had another few transactions they may decide to reject this payment.  So yes you will reduce the number of "overdraft" fees, but you will get hit with more fees from the company that you have now sent a bad payment to.  Because they will hit you with a rejected payment fee, which can be as much if not more than the OD fee.  A late payment fee as well as the additional interest that they will charge you.  Not to mention that if it happens to be a credit card that may put your card into the "default rate" which would mean you are now subject to an increase in your interest rate.

I thought that I had enough to cover all the amounts that were going to come out of my checking account. In order to make sure I had some money in my other wells fargo checking I went ahead and transferred $40.00 from my first checking account to my second wells fargo checking account.

- Really?  If you "thought" you had enough why did you transfer the funds.  The answer is you actually didn't know because you do not do proper account management.

So for your case here are some suggestions.

- Use only ONE checking account.  You have not proven yourself to be able to handle one account, let alone two.  So reducing the amount of accounts you have will reduce the managment you have to do.

- Keep a Register.  Write down every single transaction when you make it or when it is scheduled to be paid.  This way you know what you have spent when YOU spend it.

- Stop ALL automatic debits.  This way there is no "guess" as to when they will come out.  You can submit them on your schedule. 

- When you are able to Opt-Out of the Overdraft Protection.  But remember that still does not get you out of managing your account.

- Understand the banks funds availability.  That is when deposited funds will become AVAILABLE for your use.

Now this is not only for this bank but ANY bank you may decide to do business with.

i to was also charged what i would amount to a couple thousand in overdraft fees over a year or 2 period--i am a little slow and i smartened up to the scheme--once you know what the scheme is you can take counter measures--as usual--here is my tips to avoid overdraft

#1--reduce the # of transactions you have--i find most people use there atm/debit for basic purchases and this leaves many transactions to account for which makes it harder on you--by the end of the month my monthly statement is half a page long with roughly 10 transactions most of which are online bill pay-my monthly statements use to be 2-3 pages long mostly with debit card purchases-THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP!!!!!

#1a--do not use your atm to make daily purchases--use your atm to withdraw cash and use the cash for daily purchases--this will drastically cut down on the # of transactions--once you cut the transactions--you will not have things pending at all times--

#1b--live by the banks schedule---once you cut transactions--it will be days before you need to do anything again and everything pending will be clear and posted--with this--you can actually go online and your numbers will match those in YOUR records

#2--try to deduct more than you spent--for example i go food shopping and use my atm--if i spent 22$ i put in my record i spent 25$---this may give you a little cushion and i do this to be on the extra safe side--also when you look online-the bank shows you have more in your account than you thought you did--every couple weeks when i look online-and nothing is pending or checks outstanding-i balance the book and put in my real number--you should be able to calculate off the top of your head how much extra you may see in the bank-providing you do not have many transactions to keep track of

i hope this helps--and these are the measures i have gone through that worked for me--have not had overdraft in a long time-more than a year--i use to geth them every week for months and months straight-roughly 120-160$---i know what it is like to live check to check and people like me are vulnerable--providing they do what the banks want them to do--use there atm for daily crap which is why they have these keep the change programs---but in all seriousness--good luck getting your money back--i suggest you switch banks and start over using these tips--some banks if you open a new account and ask to be taken off of overdrfat they will tell you yes but they really won't---until the new laws go into effect-bankers will still collect millions in bonuses from overdraft fees--and let us not forget they MAKE you overdraft by playing with the dates of transactions and deposits--until then good luck--until they figure out another way to rob us and then we will have to make counter measures to those--it will be an ongoing war

Ways to avoid these NSF/OD fees:

Using an account register and reconciling that register with a monthly account statement from the bank will prevent any account holder from causing any NSF/OD fees.

The majority (if not all) of the reports I've read about NSF/OD fees have common behaviors of the account holders:

-using ATM cards for everyday purchases.
-using more than ONE ATM card attached to the account (husband and wife)
-using ATM cards for online purchases.
-using ATM cards for 'auto-bill pay' (autodebits)
**relying upon telephone or online account balances to determine what money is available for that shopping trip to Walmart.

**NOT using an account register.

**NOT verifying deposits have cleared.

1. Use an account register and reconcile the account register with a monthly written statement generated by the bank.  If the bank is not mailing statements, contact customer service to have monthly statements MAILED to you.

1a. Be aware of ATM fees, such as the 'non-bank ATM fee' that most banks charge when you use an ATM that is not owned by your bank to make a withdrawal and post that fee in your account register immediately.

1b. Also be aware of any monthly 'account service fee' charged by your bank and post that to your register on the appropriate date.

2.  Do NOT GIVE bank account information (or ATM card info) to any merchant, service provider, utility, or online service to pay for services and goods.  Use a REAL credit card for this purpose (either secured cc or unsecured cc.)  Do not setup any automatic deposit to an account that is attached to said cc-NO auto payments to CC company-mail a check each month.  If the entity demanding payment makes a mistake, you're going to have a host of problems and risk OD/NSF fees.

3.  Do NOT use an ATM card for everyday expenses-USE CASH.  Establish a monthly budget and withdrawal a weekly 'allowance' for every day expenses such as 'milk and bread' from the corner store, Burger King, etc.  This will reduce the amount of transactions on the bank account which in turn makes RECONCILING the account and detecting ERRORS easier to accomplish.  Again, if the entity demanding payment makes a mistake, you're going to risk NSF/OD fees.

4. Do not shop with the ATM card-use a real credit card.  A real credit card offers protections that you don't have with an ATM card.  If the merchant/service makes a mistake, you can dispute it with the CC company WITHOUT getting any OD/NSF. Not true if you use an ATM card-if the merchant makes a mistake; your money is gone until you can convince your bank to give it back, as well as OD/NSF fees.

5. ONLY ONE ATM CARD to one account.  Do NOT have 2 or more atm cards for one bank account. Having 'his and hers' ATM cards attached to the same account is the same as in the old days when some folks would have 2 checkbooks for writing checks.  It was an invitation to disaster then, and it is today.

6.  Verify that deposits to the account have actually cleared.  Deposits can take anywhere between 1 and 5 BUSINESS days to clear depending on the type and/or source of the deposit.  Deposits over $5000 can take even LONGER before they are posted to the account.

The Federal Reserve publishes a Consumer Compliance Handbook which gives detailed information about what banks can and cannot do with deposits, holds, and funds availability.  You can download this handbook at http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/supmanual/cch/200911/cch200911.pdf

Follow ALL of these suggestions and you will NEVER pay an OD/NSF fee again unless it is a LEGITIMATE bank error or caused by a merchant.  If it is caused by a bank error the bank will rectify the situation and credit any fees generated as well as contact payees and cover any fees the payees assess to you.  If the fee is caused by a merchant error, you will need to hold the merchant accountable for the fees, although in many cases the bank may reverse the fees as a courtesy if the merchant confirms that the merchant made an error.

This is a tried and true method to avoid these fees. It works EVERY TIME it's tried.