Wachovia Bank They help theirselves to my bank account and think nothing of it. New Bern North Carolina

Nikki, if that's the reason not to recommend people go to credit unions - then stop because there aren't enough people using them at this point to get them near the capacity where they have to go to offline banking. Maybe one day, you might have one credit union get to that point, but it isn't going to be anytime soon, and the others will never get to that point because of the membership restrictions some credit unions have.

You said you have direct deposit. Say you get paid on Friday and your direct deposit goes in on Thurday night. Are you making purchases on Thursday figuring your direct deposit will go in at midnight to cover the charges? You do know you cannot do that, don't you? Your direct deposit will not cover charges made on Thursday if the direct deposit goes in Thursday night.

Of course, with computers and everything, it probably does not "cost" them $35 to pay each of those purchases and charge you. However, that is what their fees are. They my not seem fair, but they are legal.

To the poster who keeps telling everyone to go to a credit union, please stop. Do you know why credit unions can do things in real time instead of waiting for nighttime to post deposits? Because they are not innundated with so many customers and can keep their computers online. The big banks had to go to offline computing to avoid a crash because of so many customers, in so many states, with so many branches at one time. If the credit unions become too innundated with customers, they will have to resort to offline banking too.

"I called Customer Service and was told the same thing over and over about the Overdraft Protection, etc. I am not disputing the fact that if I overdraw, it's my fault. I am disputing the fact that these fees are outrageous!"

First, I'm not with Wachovia - never worked in a bank EVER nor will I.

It's sort of irrelevant whether you think the fees are outrageous; you agreed to pay those fees when you signed up for the account. The fees are meant to be punitive and all banks have their fees set at $35 for every NSF transaction, so $105 from your account means 3 overdraft transactions. You ought to be outraged every time you incur that fee - but you should be outraged at yourself for doing it, and not the bank. The bank is doing what you agreed to accept.

But you ask another interesting question:

'Would I get in trouble if I put a letter to the Editor in my newspaper, or called a news channel, called 9 on your side, or if I put up posters or something to that effect? How far can I go, wothout getting in trouble, in order to advertise Wachovia and warn people about them.'

You have the freedom to express yourself, but you're good to temper that expression with the potential consequence associated with free expression. A letter to the Editor is harmless when Wachovia is the only bank in town. You can call a news channel and they might send a junior reporter to look into this, but you won't be happy when the reporter comes back and won't do the report because the bank didn't do anything wrong and the fees are in line with BofA, and other major banks.

TV reporters like legit victims - you are not one in this particular case. You can put up posters if you want to express your displeasure, though I would be careful not to place it on Private Property other than your own. I think you begin to tread on interesting ground if you were to protest in front of the branch - you might want to consult a lawyer on that one because I won't touch that one. I've seen things like that done with a car dealership, but you need to find out whether your protest will be done on the bank's property - if it is, they have the right to escort you off the property and disturbing the peace (even if peaceful), could be a consequence. As I said, talk to a lawyer about that.

I am sorry to say this, but you're right to say it's your fault. Checking your account online is one of the reasons why you're running into the problems you are, not because of the bank; your online balance is not always accurate because the merchants you buy from (and use your debit card) or write checks to, don't immediately cash their checks.

The thing I always tell clients is the importance of keeping a checkbook, because it will pay off in the end. If you knew you might overdraft, you might not want to buy one thing or another. Only your written record of transactions will give you an accurate assessment of your account. If you add up all of the fees you paid to Wachovia you will quickly understand how much money you save by deciding to track your transactions in writing.

Am I rich? Yes. Did I get to be this way because I understand how financial institutions work? Not because of, but I do know. I don't care whether you stay with Wachovia, move to BofA, or better yet - find a Credit Union. You will be treated much better if you can find a Credit Union. Best of Luck to you.

This is by far the funniest ignorant post I have read.
First you state:
"I would look at my account online, there would be fees of $35.00, $70.00, $105.00. I could never understand where they would come up with the $105.00, but I overlooked it for a while."

then it's suddenly:
"I am not disputing the fact that if I overdraw, it's my fault. I am disputing the fact that these fees are outrageous! It is highway robbery."

It wasn't outrageous or robbery when you nonchalantly said screw it and "overlooked" them for awhile. Your account is in the negative because you admittedly overdraft and then blow it off to boot.