First Merit Bank charging eroneous overdraft fees to consumers , Internet

 let people post as they please, you are not the internet police

OK, given that statement, one would assume you have the skills and knowledge to be able to see this alleged incompetence on their part as mentally you compare your knowledge with theirs.  So then, having said that, what does your CHECK REGISTER say on the days when you were charged an O/D fee?  It is curious in your posting you did not reference your CHECK REGISTER.  Why is that?  In all probability, like all the rest of those complaining about O/D fees, you don't have a CHECK REGISTER.  Put another way, you have no clue what the balance in your account was when the bank said you had an overdraft.  Further, if the bank had made a mistake, you wouldn't be able to bring it to their attention because you have NO CONTEMPORANEOUS RECORDS to compare with their records. 

The ONLY REASON you have O/D fees is because YOU chose to continue to use the debit card WITHOUT having a clue as to what your balance was at the time.  There is no "grand conspiracy", "intent to defraud" or "tricky bookeeping" on the part of this bank.  You don't keep any records, you didn't have the money in the account at the time of the debit and YOU gave yourself an O/D fee.

There is only ONE WAY to stop O/D fees.  You keep contemporaneous records of each and every check or debit card usage and you keep a running balance by doing the subtraction right then and there.  By doing so, you have the most accurrate balance known to man.  If you want to buy $50 of gas, you check your balance.  If you only have $40 in the account, then you buy only $20 of gas.  Its THAT simple.  When a third grader goes to the candy store, they count their money first to see if they can buy what they want.

Before its brought up, sorry, I don't work for this or any other bank nor have I represented any.