Fvck Bank of America

[ggnl]

I'm a BofA customer and my balance is always correct. What you might be seeing is vendors preauthorizing stuff.

 

[davew0670]

go to your branch and talk to someone in person. threaten to close the account and they will help you. dont do it over the phone. phone customer service is completely worthless in this situation.

 

[jpeyton]

Attach a free line of credit to your account, or overdraft protection. It's FREE, and you're never going to pay overdraft fees for small things like gas or groceries.

 

[mzkhadir]

go for Washington Mutual. No ATM Fees.

 

[Doboji]

Originally posted by: davew0670
go to your branch and talk to someone in person. threaten to close the account and they will help you. dont do it over the phone. phone customer service is completely worthless in this situation.

:thumbsup: I'll try this later today.

 

[CRXican]

Washington Mutual is the way to go if you like banks

Credit Unions > Banks

 

[Blieb]

Sometimes transactions go through in batches.

Not everything is instant. A lot of the time, I go to a gas station, and the transaction takes up to a WEEk to show in my transactions. Then again, I go to walmart and it's in the account instantly.

It's not BOA who's doing it to you. The places you're using the card aren't reporting the transaction until a later time (presumably in batches).

 

[Argo]

Originally posted by: Amused
This is why you keep a checkbook register and record all transactions.

If you bounce anything, it's your fault. Relying on BofA to keep track for you is a bit foolish.

I never balanced a checkbook in my life. I do check my accounts online every 2-3 days to verify that all transactions were made by me and there is no fraud. Other than that I don't balance anything. I do have $6k in overdraft protection and I usually keep around $1-2k on my checking account to prevent overdraft. The only time I ever bounced anything was back in college when I was poor and stupid.

 

[davew0670]

the easiest solution to this is to NOT use your debit card as a credit card whenever possible.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: mzkhadir
go for Washington Mutual. No ATM Fees.

No bank charges ATM fees for their own ATMs. WaMu doesn't charge ATM fees for any bank that uses their ATM. But if you're a WaMu customer and you use a non-WaMu ATM, you can be charged fees.

 

[athithi]

From my personal experience, I too believe that BoA specifically tries keep things tight and customer-unfriendly so they can benefit from fees and penalties. Nothing wrong or illegal about it, but there are plenty of other places that are more accomodating of their customers. I too might be changing banks in the near future - I am in a transitionary contract right now and once I find something that I want to stick to longer, one of the first things I'll do is switch banks.

BTW, kudos to people that manually keep track of every single checking transaction (in a little notebook too!). I wish I had your kind of free time You guys must be living the good life

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: athithi

BTW, kudos to people that manually keep track of every single checking transaction (in a little notebook too!). I wish I had your kind of free time You guys must be living the good life

It takes all of 10 seconds to jot down a transaction. Less if you just save your receipts and do it at the end of the day.

If you pay bank fees, you have no one to blame but yourself.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: davew0670
the easiest solution to this is to NOT use your debit card as a credit card whenever possible.

Thank you.

and CitiBank pays 5% back on gas purchases

 

[40Hands]

Witing down transactions are a thing of the past. My online banking system usually updates within an hour. (BankNorth) Never had an overdrawn fee. What really gets me is people who still write checks for things other then paying bills... :roll:

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: Doboji

starting balance $80
Day 1.
I go to mcdonalds and spend $6.00
Get gas for $35
Pizzahut for $15

Day 2.
Movie for $8.50
Bought a Gatorade at 7-11 for $1.69

Account shows Balance: 13.81

I dont spend anything for a couple of days.

I need to get gas on Day 4 I check my balance. My balance shows $24 I'm confused now, because I know I spent money. So I'm scratching my head oh crap what hasn't shown up? Ahhh the movie I went to. that was 8.50.... so I really have $15.50

Next time, withdraw cash and pay for the stuff with that money. Such a small amount anyway. The best part is you will always instantly know how much you can buy.

Sure Debit cards are more convenient and easier to use, but until you get where you have a nice cushion in your account, get used to the fees.

 

[kranky]

Credit card for big purchases and cash for small ones fixes that problem. I get $200 from the ATM about every two weeks and that works for me. I don't like debit cards (for multiple reasons) and I have no desire to race around to ATMs to get $10 all the time.

I sympathize that BofA isn't really user-friendly, but remember that BofA couldn't care less about you as a customer. Giant banks tolerate small customers (and I include myself in that category) but they don't cater to them. They see small customers as a source of income from fees, as you have seen. Fees are the fastest-growing area of bank profits and they continue to structure things that way.

 

[codeyf]

Originally posted by: Amused
This is why you keep a checkbook register and record all transactions.

If you bounce anything, it's your fault. Relying on BofA to keep track for you is a bit foolish.

:thumbsup:

Also, I've found lots of restaraunts these days automatically charge for the bill + a predetermined tip amount. Then, when they transmit their transactions later in the week, I end up with a credit for the original amount, then a debit for the actual amount. And I know it's not BoA, cuz I see it all the time when I use my Paypal Debit Master Card too.

So, to further beat a dead horse, don't blame BoA for not tracking your expenditures for you.

 

[athithi]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: athithi

BTW, kudos to people that manually keep track of every single checking transaction (in a little notebook too!). I wish I had your kind of free time You guys must be living the good life

It takes all of 10 seconds to jot down a transaction. Less if you just save your receipts and do it at the end of the day.

If you pay bank fees, you have no one to blame but yourself.

In theory, it takes 10 seconds, In practice, it takes a lifetime of developing traits like that. Some people just have to do that and some people just cannot, no matter what the stakes. To some people routine matters, to others it is mortifying.

Yes, only you are to blame for paying bank fees. But sometimes you just get used to dealing with more flexible organizations and when you suddenly move to one like BoA, the difference takes you by surprise. It's easier for me to switch banks than to make a lifestyle change just so I can work with BoA's uber-tight penalty schemes. I am not even complaining about BoA - just stating that their operating procedures are not a good match for me as a customer and that they will lose my miniscule business in the near future. I suspect that is also going to be the case with the OP.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: BroeBo
Witing down transactions are a thing of the past. My online banking system usually updates within an hour. (BankNorth) Never had an overdrawn fee. What really gets me is people who still write checks for things other then paying bills... :roll:

And if the bank makes an error, you'll never know it.

Trusting the bank to keep track of your money is just foolish, no matter how you look at it. Any number of mistakes could occur anywhere along the line from merchant to bank.

A debit card is an electronic check. You still have a checking account. It is up to YOU to keep track of everything.

 

[Anonemous]

why don't you just get a normal credit card? no overdraft fees, just the risk of overspending. then use the funds from your bank to pay it off... I only use my debit card to withdrawl from ATMs and supermarkets.

 

[40Hands]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: BroeBo
Witing down transactions are a thing of the past. My online banking system usually updates within an hour. (BankNorth) Never had an overdrawn fee. What really gets me is people who still write checks for things other then paying bills... :roll:

And if the bank makes an error, you'll never know it.

Trusting the bank to keep track of your money is just foolish, no matter how you look at it. Any number of mistakes could occur anywhere along the line from merchant to bank.

A debit card is an electronic check. You still have a checking account. It is up to YOU to keep track of everything.

If they make an error then I will most likely notice it (if its an amount that is worth noticing) I do have a good idea at all times of how much money I have in my account.

I am aware of what kind of account I have and I have had it for 5+ years with no issues what so ever. Not worth it for me to have to carry around a book and remember to write down everything each time I use my debit card.

 

[Jmman]

Maybe I am slow or something, but just about every bank I have ever used does the exact same thing. I think the general idea is to keep track of how much money you have in your account as you go......:roll:

 

[40Hands]

Originally posted by: Jmman
Maybe I am slow or something, but just about every bank I have ever used does the exact same thing. I think the general idea is to keep track of how much money you have in your account as you go......:roll:

Not all. My transactions usually show up within an hour of my purchase under "Pending". The money is already taken from my balance. Once they go from pending to the transaction section and my balance does not change.

 

[gooseman]

Originally posted by: Doboji

Originally posted by: Amused
This is why you keep a checkbook register and record all transactions.

If you bounce anything, it's your fault. Relying on BofA to keep track for you is a bit foolish.

Then the online banking option is worthless. Not to mention it's a real pain in the ass to write down every 2-3$ transaction.

Also why is it the other banks don't do it this way?

Reality is Bank of America does this because they are counting on people making miscalculations so they can profit.

-Max

No offense here but it seems to me that they are only making a profit off YOUR stupidity and laziness. Balance your checkbook and quit whinning.

 

[CRXican]

who honestly still writes checks and balances check books?

silly old folks

The online banking from my credit union is very easy to use and updates pretty quick. I keep very close track of my money and tend to remember just where I spend all of my money. I don't have any problems.