Charter One Bank Overdraft Fees scam, Customer Ripoff, Knowingly deceitful Internet

If you read the report, it was the exchange rate charge which the customer was unaware of that caused the overdraft, not an accounting error.

Of course it is important to keep a register, and opting out of overdraft coverage is also a great way to keep a step ahead..since if you can not overdraft the account with the debit card..even by a penny, then you can not get a fee for this.

This transaction should have been declined, or the customer should have been notified immediately that the account was in danger of overdrafting. I know since I have switched to Chase bank..even though they as well have their share of ethics issues and pending lawsuits..do now have better OD policies for checking account debit card users.

For example in this case the customer was obviously not opted out of OD protection. Chase would have notified this customer by text message or other means of choice, and Chase actually allows a "float" so to speak. If you overdraft and can bring the account current by the end of the business day, you do not get charged a fee, more then fair.

I would try to fight this out with the bank..if you do not have a history of overdrafting the account, or have not overdrafted in 12 months or more, most banks will forgive the fee..sometimes it takes a bit of fight and sometimes it is a matter of getting to the right person...and sometimes they will tell you the old bank cliche' LIE..."sorry, there is nothing we can do".

But there is something YOU can do..close the account and find a better bank or better yet a local credit union with policies that actually protect you from these kind of honest human errors and oversights, and not use them against you for the sole purpose of financially bleeding you.

And the OP is 100% correct that these banks use computerized systems designed with malice to encourage overdraft fees and manipulate transactions..it is a fact known by many now. So in this case checking the account did about as much good as using a register...if items and services are being charged to the account (as well as unknown authorization holds which IMO should be illegal) and you do not know about it...how can you record it in you register? And if the bank is not putting these charges on the statement until days later..then checking the statement as well does no good...well no good for the customer..very good for the bank apparently.

There is only one way to beat the banks on overdrafts. Stay one step ahead of them. What I mean is, it's good to check your account daily,  but you must also keep a checkbook register. Ask for one at your bank. They used to give them out with a box of checks but now they don't (well my bank doesn't, anyway). That's because they don't want you to use one, because then they won't make any money from overdraft fees. Buy a little cheap calculator and enter every single transaction that you make. Make a  habit of this. If you spend three dollars at the convenience mart, right it in the register. Then calculate it and get your balance. You cannot rely on the balance that the bank says you have, only the balance in your register. Because the bank doesn't always put things through right away. Then, daily, check your account online and see which transactions in your register have gone through. Also, check for transactions you may have forgotten to write down. EVERY DAY do this. Also check for hidden fees that will show up online. Like check image fees or research fees (research fees are if you ask the bank to check on something for you like why you got an overdraft fee). They are very sneaky, but you can win. Also, (this happened to me) check for "extra" money. If it shows in your register that you have $200 and the bank is saying you have $400, don't say "Oh yay, I must have forgotten to write a deposit down", because what happened to me is exactly that, but it wasn't my fault, the bank had double deposited a $200 deposit that I had made, giving me an extra $200. So I figured I just forgot to write it down and spent it, then two months later,they realized their mistake and withdrew the extra $200! Suddenly I am getting  overdraft charges left and right. The bank researches it and says it was their mistake and took off the overdraft charges but still charged me a $15 research fee! So I am bound and determined now to never assume anything, and if I have extra money, I will immediately check with the bank.

Also, if you don't want overdraft charges anymore, you can tell your bank that you decline the overdraft protection and you won't get charged anymore. The down side is that if you don't have funds in your account for a purchase, you will get denied at the register. Good luck.

Switching banks won't change anything. They all charge for account overdrafts.