Is there anything to do about a bank that does shady stuff like charging you for withdrawal before it's drawn?

We always used a small community bank that would process credits ahead of debits. Imagine our surprise when we moved, opened an account at one of the "big banks" and found that debits were processed before credits, sometimes well ahead.

Example: We deposited cash at the bank at 2PM, assuming (wrongfully) that it would be immediately credited. At 7:30 PM that night, we used our debit card to purchase groceries. Two days later, we had an overdraft fee assessed to our account because the debit card purchase, which had occurred five and a half hours later than our deposit, was processed first along with other debits (we were aware that those debits would process first).

Needless to say, we closed that account immediately and opened one with a credit union after first making absolutely sure that their policy was to post credits immediately.

To answer your question, this is a common and unfortunate practice of some banks and specifically geared to generate more revenue for those banks. I found out after the fact that a class action suit had been filed against the bank in question, but it has been stalled in court for years.

Moral of the story: Familiarize yourself with a bank's practices for processing transactions before you open an account. Get it in writing if someone tells you something that differs from stated policy. Never assume that one bank's policies are going to be the same as the next. Finally, whenever possible, bank with a credit union.

unfortunately from your description it sounds like you probably do not have a valid cause to depute the fees. However in reality it depends, from my understanding you overdrew your account by very little which caused them to tack on large fees, which I agree are completely outrageous (but thats how banks seem to be making their money these days).

Your example of being 125 dollars in the black and then having fees put you in debt does sound odd, and it could be that you were wrongfully charged.

If you can prove through their records, such as the date you cashed a check or deposited money, that you should have had a large enough balance to prevent over drafting then you do have a valid cause of dispute, in which case you need to talk to a bank rep. and ask to dispute the charges, either the bank manager will be able to remove the fines or you can move escalate the issue to arbitration (which the manager should suggest if he does not have the authority to reverse the charges, if not ask him about it.), note that depending on the arbitration clause in the contract you signed you may be liable for some of the costs associated with hiring an arbitrator, I would not recommend going into arbitration unless you have a solid case and a lot of money at stake.

Also you can file a complaint about the bank with the Federal Reserve Board or your state's Department of Banking if the problem is still unresolved.

In the future I would recommend tieing a credit card to your checking accounts because that way if you do overdraft it will be charged to your credit card and you will not be charged an insane fee.

I've dealt with this kind of thing, and have to tell you that many banks and credit unions play this little game.

Sometimes I've had it go the other way as well; where they will pay something off but not change the account balance. So, if I'm not watching what I'm doing and I check online, I say, "oh I've got money", then when I buy something; BAM overdraft fee.

Here's the thing to do though; go to your bank and talk to the manager about fees you have. If you consistently have fees, they probably won't work with you. However, if you've not run afoul of them before, they will likely waive the fees.

There is an ebook that covers details with banking and more (such as filing in small claims, and other stuff) that I'd recommend. The book also recommends credit unions over banks. It has actually helped me get fees waived and now I only deal with credit unions personally :)

http://cgi.ebay.com/MESSING-WITH-THE-MAN...

Go to the bank and talk to the officer in charge of your account. Tell him actually what you had said here. If the officer still do not want to accommodate your complain and reversed those charges you can write a letter detailing what had transpired and tell them you want to close your account. Furthermore send a copy of your letter to the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Sorry to hear about your experience. I have been banking with National City, now known as PNC, for a number of years and have not had any problems. With online banking, I haven't even gone into the bank since early 2009 when I needed to return something to my safety deposit box. I love my bank!!!

sorry but your story is really hard to follow...

You say it's like you stopping to get gas and then put in the money... so it sounds like the payment is today not tomorrow...
If you take the money out before you put the money in, of course you are going to get charged fees.
Of course, they are going to process withdrawals before deposits... as you can see, it makes them a lot of money.

The money needs to be there before, you take it out. If you are planning on spending the money today, you need to put the money in yesterday and it has to be in cash for it to process so quickly.

Pay all their fees, close the accounts and get the hell out of there!!! Yes they its not fair but it is legal. There is nothing you can do except close the acct and get out. Try your local credit union they are more client friendly.