On the morning of 03/23 I stopped at a gas station and spent approximately $14.50 on my debit card. Then I went to the bank and deposited a check drawn on Wachovia, a local bank. I went through the drive-thru and requested that the check be cashed and distributed accordingly: $1000 to savings and $616.00 to checking. The teller advised that she had completed my transaction and gave me two deposit slips showing the amount deposited (no balance). She did not advise me of any hold or negative balances, so I took the slips and left.
Thinking that the money was deposited, I went on about my day. I purchased a few items, including lunch, using my debit card. Everything was good until I tried to pay a bill using my debit card. I was told that my card was declining for insufficient funds. I checked my account and, to my dismay, my account was grossly in the negative. I then called the bank and was told that several items posted to my account last night, causing my account to be overdrawn. I was shocked because I had been using the card all day with no concerns.
According to the bank, all transactions were presented to them at the same time. The charges are as follows: $201.96, $60.00, $59.40, $55.01, $9.12, $7.53 and $2.14. At the time these charges were presented, my current balance was $375.59. Instead of presenting the checks in a reasonable order, smallest amount to largest, they paid the larger amounts first. When the amount of 55.01 posted, it left the account with a balance of -. 78. They then presented the charges under $10 and charged me 4 overdraft fees. The amount of the overdraft fees is $140.00, and the amount that my account was short was less than $20.00.
I asked the teller to consider reimbursing me for 3 of the 4 charges, because there was ample money to pay all of the charges except one. She stated that she would not refund any overdraft fees. I thought my request was reasonable, so I asked to speak with a supervisor. The representative then advised me that my request did not warrant a supervisor, and as I was speaking, she disconnected the call.
Upset, I immediately went to the local branch located on 2nd Street in Macon, Georgia, where I spoke with Ms. Buffy regarding my concern. This is when the second bombshell was laid on me. She advised me that the teller I had spoken with that morning did not handle my request as asked. She did not cash the check as I requested; rather, she split the check and deposited a portion into checking and savings. Because the teller did not process the payment as cash, it would take two days before the funds would even show in the account. She advised me that my current balance was -190.00 and that anything that posted while the account was in the negative would incur additional overdraft fees.
I then requested that she either return my check so that I could present it to Wachovia, or make the funds available. She advised me that she could not do this, so I requested to speak with the manager. I spent 30 minutes talking with the manager with no success. He advised that he would not refund my account nor make the funds available. He stated that, the way the teller processed the check, he could not even see the check in the system.
I admit I did make a mistake; my husband used the card to pay for gas using credit. I was not aware of this, and as a result the account went into the negative. However, it does not warrant the bank taking advantage of me in this manner.
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