Fifth Third Bank Fees Stole my Honeymoon!! Cincinnati Ohio

I'm not against online banking for those who UNDERSTAND the limits of the system and the fee schedule. This includes knowing what HOLDS the bank may place on deposits. I don't have any trouble whatsoever with my bank but many folks do.

""Since this was a merchant error, have you contacted the merchant or the bank to see if either will refund some/all of the fee?""

This is why I am against giving bank account information to any merchant, service provider, utility, etc. IF the payee makes a mistake, the consumer is immediately hit with an OD/NSF fee (if the available balance dips negative) by the bank and has to jump through hoops to get the money and fees credited.

Using a real credit card for such transactions avoids such fees altogether if the merchant makes such an error.

No it wasn't fair but it wasn't the bank's fault. It was Lowes. That's why you should use online banking or the phone system to verify holds on your account and what has posted. Since this was a merchant error, have you contacted the merchant or the bank to see if either will refund some/all of the fee?

it's par for the course for just about every bank out there now.

I've been a customer of 5/3 for about 20 years. I have a love/hate relationship with them, but as the OP pointed out, they are very convenient (in every grocery store and on every corner) so I suck it up and stay with them. I simply REFUSE to pay to access my own money.

Anyway, being a single gal, I live pretty much paycheck to paycheck. I don't have the luxury of having a few grand kicking around in my checking account to not worry about NSFs. Therefore, I am meticulous about keeping track of what I spend, because I RARELY have cash on me. I use my debit card for everything.

THe one thing I think is quite unfair, however, is that they (and all banks do it now) charge you for pending transactions that would put your account in the negative. True, if you keep track of your expenditures, you won't have this problem - but what if it's not your fault?

Case in point - I went to Lowe's over the winter and purchased an electric fireplace. It was $349.00. I used my debit card of course...and the cashier swiped it and the number didn't register, so she swiped it again. Guess what happened....it went into my "pending transactions" twice...so that's $700 hanging out there when it should have only been $349.00. Of course, I didn't know this until I started getting the "you overdrafted" letters.

After that purchase, I went to do some grocery shopping and I believe made one other debit card purchase at WalMart. All totaled, MY calculations were that I spent around $500 that day. I had plenty of cash in there to cover this. However, with the Lowe's double-swipe, my "pending" transactions were $850, about $50 more than I had in my account.

Now, once the charge hard-posted a few days later, Lowe's only posted ONE sale of $349 to my account, and the other $349 charge dropped off...but the damage was done. 5/3 charged me on that "pending" transaction that never came through. Was that fair?

I can not speek for anyone else on here, but personally I am not "against" online banking. In fact it is a very useful tool to manage your account. But it was never meant to be used as the ONLY method of managing your account. I use online banking along with a register to verify everything is being posted and there is no fradulent charges being posted.

"...As far as the fees. The bottom line is you can't spend money you don't have. What is so difficult to understand here?..."

Unlike the people that have problems, you actually seem to "get it". The people that have problems just don't want to hear that they actually might be wrong in how they are managing their account. Now you do state that you haven't used a ledger and have been okay. When in reality you are keeping a "mental" register since you check it every day. You know what was posted and also what is still out there. This is also how you watch out for(and according to your post have found) fraudulent transactions. I would guess that you are doing other "safe practices" such as not using your debit card for small purchases when you have a low balance. And of course not spending more than you have thinking you can beat the money back.

But for most people, they need to use some method of keeping track of their purchases and deposits. Whether this is the good ole pen and paper method, or some financial software such as Quicken is up to the person. Then using On-Line banking as a verification of their own ledger.

I am not sure why so many people are against online banking. I will agree that ATM balances are not always accurate, but at least with Fifth Third's online banking, it is very accurate. Waiting to get a statement in the mail seems dumb, when a statement can be pulled up any time of day and any time of the week online. By the time you get your statement in the mail, you have another week or two worth of transactions. Also, fraud is at an all time high and if you check your statement online daily, you can check for fraudlent activity before it gets out of hand. For example, I had an unauthorized transaction on my account in the morning and found it by afternoon. I was able to get the card blocked before any more transactions could come through. If I waited to get a paper statement, I could have been taken for thousands of dollars.

I have accounts at Fifth Third bank. If you look at your statement online, your pending items show at the top. If there is a dollar fee that is either a gas purchase (so you need to know how much you spent) or maybe a retail store checking to verify the card is active. JcPenney is one that I can think of that does this. The dollar will fall off once the charge CLEARS the account.

Also, there is nothing wrong with using a debit card especially if you use online banking. Some people will hold checks for weeks before cashing whereas debit purchases hit in a matter of days. Again, they show on your online statement IMMEDIATELY in most cases so it is easy to track. I have not done a ledger for two years because I check my account daily. I write 1 check a month, if that and have not been overdrawn (and I live paycheck to paycheck).

As far as the fees. The bottom line is you can't spend money you don't have. What is so difficult to understand here? This is not Fifth Third's policy it is a GOVERNMENT regulation. It is illegal to spend money you don't have. You can't go to Wal-mart and charge $100.00 if you have $1.00 in your account. Fifth Third and other banks will charge for NSF because the money is NOT there. Look at it as a loan. They are loaning you the money (NSF fee) in order for you to get your groceries before you actually have the money.

I agree with the other posters as to the fees being applied before the charge was posted.How long have you been with your bank? All banks has been doing that for years.If you are using a debit card, debits are shown pending right away(like within seconds).As a responsible checking account customer, you should of known that.There is no floating of checks or debits anymore. That went out with the dinosaurs.And as for $2500.00 in fees, I would take the account back from my wife and do it myself.Or better yet, get your own account, that way you will know what is going on.She is taking you down with her and in Ohio we have seperate credit bureaus (if you want one)..All debits will be pending as soon as the card is swiped.If you have been paying attention to your statments or even calling customer service, you would of known that.DO NOT USE THE AUTOMATED OR ONLINE to follow your account. They take sometimes up to 24 hrs or more to update.They may not show a debit your wife just made or a check that came thru..Don't blame the bank for sloppy account keeping.This goes for anybank out there big or small..And if you want to find another bank within the grocery stores,try US Bank..but they also have the same rules.And you will find yourself back to square one. Just take the account from your wife and let someone else handle it.

That you cannot make a debit card transaction, and THEN make a deposit to cover it? If the money isn't in the account and available when you swipe that card, you're overdrawn.

That you cannot make a debit card transaction, and THEN make a deposit to cover it? If the money isn't in the account and available when you swipe that card, you're overdrawn.

That you cannot make a debit card transaction, and THEN make a deposit to cover it? If the money isn't in the account and available when you swipe that card, you're overdrawn.

That you cannot make a debit card transaction, and THEN make a deposit to cover it? If the money isn't in the account and available when you swipe that card, you're overdrawn.

Ric, I strongly suggest that you open a personal checking account for yourself at a separate bank and do not give your wife access to this account. According to your numbers, she averaged nearly $140 a month in overdraft fees and if her habits are left unchecked, she will drag you into a financial disaster.

Your last two sentences lead me to conclude that you are using online and/or phone banking to determine your account balance. This is not wise as these systems are not intended to be used that way. You must keep your own ledger or check register. Here's the link to a check register that you can print out for free:

(((Redacted)))

You can also create your own or find some that range in size from a full sheet of paper to a DayPlanner size.

Your wife is going to have to stop authorizing transactions before the funds are available. It sounds as if she is making debits and planning to make a deposit later on to cover them. That simply doesn't work anymore. Transactions should only be authorized when there are funds available to cover them.

Best of luck to you both.


CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

Ric, I strongly suggest that you open a personal checking account for yourself at a separate bank and do not give your wife access to this account. According to your numbers, she averaged nearly $140 a month in overdraft fees and if her habits are left unchecked, she will drag you into a financial disaster.

Your last two sentences lead me to conclude that you are using online and/or phone banking to determine your account balance. This is not wise as these systems are not intended to be used that way. You must keep your own ledger or check register. Here's the link to a check register that you can print out for free:

(((Redacted)))

You can also create your own or find some that range in size from a full sheet of paper to a DayPlanner size.

Your wife is going to have to stop authorizing transactions before the funds are available. It sounds as if she is making debits and planning to make a deposit later on to cover them. That simply doesn't work anymore. Transactions should only be authorized when there are funds available to cover them.

Best of luck to you both.


CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

Your wife has had over $2500 in OD fees in the last year and a half. Yet at no time did she, or you and her, actually sit down and think about what you are doing or what is going on. Instead just keep doing the same thing, and thinking "oh that evil bank". Where if you look at one sentence you wrote it says exactly what your problem is.

"This leaves you with no opportunity to deposit money before these items render your account negative."
- You can no longer FLOAT Transactions. No matter how hard you try you will NEVER beat the money back to the bank. You have to treat the money gone from your account the second you swipe your debit card or write a check.

No where in your report do you write where she actually used a register to keep track of the balance, instead it appears you are relying on the on-line banking. There is an easy solution that will solve the problem. Write down your transasctions as you make them in a register, treating the money as gone as soon as you do, and never spend more than is AVAILABLE in your account AT THAT TIME. If you do this your "pending" transactions can not take you below $0 and you can't overdraft.

If you don't want to keep your own accurate register cut up and throw away the debit card. Go back to using cash, especially for your small purchases. If you OD at least you would only be hit once for that $40-$60 ATM withdraw rather than the 5-10 $5 or so purchases.

4. Stop all automatic "bill pays" or other types of automatic debits from your account. Stop paying bills on line. Give your bank account information to NO MERCHANT, utility, service provider-period. No exceptions.

Go back to MAILING CHECKS to pay your obligations.

If you need to shop online or set up an "auto-pay," then I suggest you use a REAL CREDIT CARD or a secured credit card for this purpose.

If you follow the steps in the previous rebuttal plus this "step 4" you will never pay and NSF/OD fee again!

PS. Don't bother with checking your balance online or via telephone. Have your bank MAIL you a monthly statement and use that monthly statement to RECONCILE your account register.

"Fifth thirds method is to assume your account with be negative by subtracting the " Pending " items from you balance before they post."

They would KNOW it will make you negative as soon as it's initially submitted when not enough funds are in the account to cover it. That's what everyone who overdrafts doesn't get. Your 'wife' apparently didn't care about the honeymoon as she actually gave it away. You may have more serious problems in your life than your lack of math skills and what you perceive as the bank allegedly robbing you. BTW, what did the police say? You did call them since you were 'stolen' from right?

Ric, if you want this to stop, you should do all of the following:

1. Keep a accurate check register with all your transactions written on it.
2. Stop using your debit card. Stick to checks and cash
3. Stop relying on an online system from the bank to tell you what your balance is. That's what your check register is for.

You've been doing all of these things for too long and it's been costing you a lot of money. No bank can overdraft your account - only you as the account holder can spend more in your account.

No matter which bank you go to, they all are pretty much the same and have the same practices, so even if you were at another bank - this would still happen to you. Do those things I indicated and you can never overdraft your account unless you intend to.

Ric, if you want this to stop, you should do all of the following:

1. Keep a accurate check register with all your transactions written on it.
2. Stop using your debit card. Stick to checks and cash
3. Stop relying on an online system from the bank to tell you what your balance is. That's what your check register is for.

You've been doing all of these things for too long and it's been costing you a lot of money. No bank can overdraft your account - only you as the account holder can spend more in your account.

No matter which bank you go to, they all are pretty much the same and have the same practices, so even if you were at another bank - this would still happen to you. Do those things I indicated and you can never overdraft your account unless you intend to.

Ric, if you want this to stop, you should do all of the following:

1. Keep a accurate check register with all your transactions written on it.
2. Stop using your debit card. Stick to checks and cash
3. Stop relying on an online system from the bank to tell you what your balance is. That's what your check register is for.

You've been doing all of these things for too long and it's been costing you a lot of money. No bank can overdraft your account - only you as the account holder can spend more in your account.

No matter which bank you go to, they all are pretty much the same and have the same practices, so even if you were at another bank - this would still happen to you. Do those things I indicated and you can never overdraft your account unless you intend to.