overdraftprotection

My Breakup With Wells Fargo Was Weird And Awkward
Matthew has spent 23 years as a customer of a bank that was eventually gobbled up by Wells Fargo. Finally tired of the bank's shenanigans, he moved his personal checking account to a local credit union. What he didn't count on was that Wells Fargo didn't want to let him go, and would stop at nothing to get his attention. Even overdrafting his account instead of declining transactions. More »

TCF Bank Adds New $28 Daily Overdrawn Balance Fee
Reader Jeff used to intentionally overdraw his bank account in order to have enough money to feed his family and gas the car. At $35 a pop, that's a pretty cheap loan. But now that's not going to be a viable option because TCF Bank has started to assess him a daily fee of $28 if his account is overdrawn by $5 or more. More »

Opt In To Overdraft Protection Right At The ATM
ATMs exist for routine banking transactions...deposits, withdrawals, balance inquiries, opting out of overdraft protection. Wait, what? GitEmSteveDave noticed, but didn't test, this option on a Sovereign Bank ATM. "I wonder how many people hit the button by accident and end up giving their rights up," he writes. Convenient, or dangerous? More »

Chase Just Goes Ahead And Adds Overdraft Protection To Your Account
Lori called up Chase to tell them that she was traveling internationally in the next few weeks. She wanted them to note her account so there wouldn't be any blocks when charges from far-away countries started appearing. Then the fast-talking rep just sort of added overdraft protection to Lori's account, just casually worked it in there, like she was doing her a courtesy. More »

BofA Customers, Watch Out For Overdraft Protection Auto-Enrolling
Will was meticulous about avoiding the succubus that is overdraft protection in his Bank of America checking account. So you can imagine what happened to him: The bank automatically stuck him with the so-called protection thanks to an automatic function that stuck him with a $100 credit card cash advance, along with the accompanying finance charges. More »

Remember: Checks Can Still Overdraft
Just remember, even though starting this week banks can't charge you overdrafts unless you opted into their overdraft program, they can still authorize overdrafted checks, ATM withdrawals, and automatic bill payments at their discretion and charge you a fee for it. More »

Look Out For These Fees As Bank Legislation Goes Into Full Effect
This is the first business day financial institutions have been required to give existing checking account customers the choice to opt in to overdraft protection. Since banks are looking for ways to make up for the lost revenue by sticking it to customers in other ways, they've dreamed up some new ways to trick you out of your money. More »

Branch Manager Quits Rather Than Trick Bank Customers Into Signing Up For Overdrafts
The bank branch manager who felt uncomfortable that his bank was making him choose between misleading customers into signing up for overdraft protection and keeping his job has decided to quit. More »

When It Comes To Overdraft Opt-In, Chase Won't Take No For An Answer
According to Robert, Chase is taking the Steve Urkel approach to persuasion, asking him again and again if he would like to partake in its delicious overdraft protection, brushing off his continuous "no" answers as Steve always did to Laura in Family Matters. More »

Get Customers To Sign Up For Overdraft Fees Or Get Fired
One of our readers is a bank teller branch manager and he feels queasy. His bank is making him trick customers into signing back up for overdraft fees, and if he doesn't, he'll get fired. More »

Chase Now Has Human ATM Greeter Who Helpfully Sells Overdraft Protection
As the August 15th deadline for bank customers to opt in to overdraft protection on their existing accounts looms, banks are trying some innovative new tactics. Nicole tells Consumerist that she visited an ATM Chase branch on a Saturday morning to withdraw some cash, and encountered an employee stationed near the ATMs, asking customers whether they had "made a decision" about their "debit card overdraft coverage." More »

Is Chase's Overdraft Fee "Opt-In" Purposefully Confusing?
Reader Victor, a former WaMu customer who wasn't exactly pleased to end up with Chase, thinks the bank's Federal Reserve mandated on-line overdraft fee "opt-in" form is purposefully confusing. He's sent a screenshot so you can take a look for yourself. More »

Consent-Only Overdraft Protection: Maybe Not So Great
Starting on July 1st, the Federal Reserve has required banks to get consent from customers before enrolling them in overdraft protection programs so they can experience the excitement of cascading overdrafts. The problem is that consumers may be trading overdraft fees for insufficient funds fees and good old-fashioned bounced checks...and end up worse off in the long run. More »

Stop Hungry Hungry Hippo Banks From Gobbling Your Bucks

—>Oh noes! The Hungry Hungry Hippo Banks are trying to gobble up your happy money fish! You only have 5 days left to get them to stop by writing the Fed and saying NO to banks default stuffing you into an overdraft fee programs. Send an email to regs.comments@federalreserve.gov with "Docket No. R-1343" in the subject line. Or you can use this online form.  More »