Ameriserv aka US Bank ripoff overdrafts Sewrad Pennsylvania

Lisa, I think you might have mistaken the banks name. US Bank, N.A does not have branches or offices in Pennsylvania. Aside from that however, I first have a question and then a positive suggestion.

Question? Did you make a purchase with out sufficient funds to cover it? If you did, you are playing a game most commonly referred to as floating. Floating occurs when one makes a purchase (using either a check or check card) from a merchant in hopes that they can deposit funds into their account before the merchant posts the debit.

Some years ago this was a common practice that a large majority of people (including myself) did as a way to leverage the ever receding gap between income flow and expenses. However, as technology has improved, banks now have the ability to "hold" funds from debit card purchases instantly. One way in which to prevent an overdraft is to keep an accurate ledger balance. When you debit from your account, subtract that from your balance and you should never have a problem. Another additional solution would be some kind of overdraft protection in the way of a savings account or credit card that is linked to your account.

In addition, as the new check processing technology becomes more prevalent, the amount of time between when you write a check and when it clears your account will become less and less through time.

I hope that you come away from this with some benefit from hindsight, but until then, I hope that you do not encounter any additional overdraft fees.
Best Regards,

Mike