Compass Bank Bank thievery with illegal NSF fees and vile, rude, non-listening customer service. Ocala Florida

The thread title suggests that illegal fees had been assessed but it turns out that the OP simply overdrafted. If only this site had some kind of Truth-in-Advertising policy...


So why did the bank manager say that online banking balances are inaccurate? (I doubt that he/she actually used the words you provided)

By chance did you try to use your online banking balance as a defense? For the record, online banking is not there for you to determine your account balance. It's great for bill pay, fund transfers, confirming transactions and checking for fraud but it's not intended for obtaining balances nor should it be.

By the way, there are seven licensed and working accountants in my family and they all know that online banking is not useful to obtain account balances.

NOT!!!!! Never, ever rely on online banking or atm balances
Any Accountant knows that -
1: Use a check register
2: When you get your monthly statement - turn it over - there is a ledger for debits and credits - USE IT
Do not blame the bank for YOUR mistake
As the daughter of a LICENSED CPA I know how to balance a checkbook
I have not had ONE overdraft fee in years - and NOOO I do not work for Compass Bank - My bank account is with a small West Texas Bank and has been for many years
Grow up - learn to take responsibility for your OWN actions
PERIOD

""What is even more amusing is that, in speaking with the bank manager, the bank manager said that their online banking system cannot be trusted, that it is faulty and does not display the correct bank balance.

How precious is that?! They offer online banking that ... doesn't work? And then punish their customers for trusting their online system?""

You CANNOT rely on the "on line" banking for determining what funds are available. NO BANK offers "real time" banking to ANY CONSUMER-PERIOD-such a system does NOT EXIST. Almost all banks have some sort of disclaimer or cautionary notice to this effect on thier websites. Even commercial accounts, that PAY for SPEEDIER processing do not get "real time" information on line.

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 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 reconciling an account register with the scheduled monthly account statement generated by the bank.

Ways to avoid these NSF/OD fees:

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, 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 gonna 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 gonna 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.

Follow ALL of these suggestions and you will NEVER pay an OD/NSF fee again unless it is a LEGITIMATE bank error, and then the bank will gladly and quickly rectify the situation and credit any fees generated as well as contact payees and cover any fees the payees assess to you.

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

I always find it funny when people who bounce their account or otherwise don't pay their bills say Class Action.

Dont overdraw, and you wont be charged over draft fees. Easy

You are not a skilled accountant if you actually think there is any way that an on-line register can be accurate and up to date. It has no way of knowing what transactions of many types you have made that have not cleared the bank yet. Keep your own current register with EVERY transaction documented.

You are just a poor money manager who has not taken the time to read and understand bank account policies and procedures.