This is not the first time we have become overdrawn. We live on a tight budget I am afraid and sometimes this happens. Wachovia has had more than enough money out of me for me to have had my son's braces completely finished.
This last incident, I cannot overlook. We had around $1,200 in check card cahrges which were "held" on 9/1 & 9/2 ($1,000 to the orthodontist by the way). We had the funds to cover these when they were presented to the bank — no problem at all. So far as I understand, they were aware of these charges and they no longer made the funds available to me; therefore, if not cleared, they could be construed that way by any sane individual.
Alas, not the loan sharks at Wachovia! They want their cake and to eat it too. On 9/6 a more recent check for $159 clears the bank (BEFORE 7 smaller "held" funds charges) and for my grave sin of being overdrawn by about $120 they hit me 7 x $30 = $210!!
Not only that, but since they charged me $210 (instead of the $30 which in my opinion s/h/b the case) they caused us to go into a hole I cannot dig out of until I am next paid on the 15th. God knows how many little things will bounce, and bounce again on the second attempt (like two checks for $4.33 each for my kid's life insurance, CHA-CHING $120! (2 attemps each) or the $23.95 fee for AOl, CHA-CHING! $60 more... You get the idea.
Now we are $480 overdrawn and I still have to wait until the 15th to get paid. My husband (who is self employed, meanwhile is depositing a few hundred here and there as he get checks, but SWOOSH they are getting sucked up by fees.
CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT NEEDED. The time is now. With gas at $3.00 a gallon we can scarce afford to have a month's mortgage payment go to these unscrupulous blood suckers for what is in reality a very small overdraft (if you strip away their BS fees.) How long will we have to be subjected to this out and out piracy, in the name of God, before someone calles these monsters to task? Please help. Thanks for your patience with my rantings.
THose of you who have never bounced a check and have no problems like these, God bless you. All I can tell you is that the price is way too high and the fees cause more of an overdraft making it MUCH, MUCH worse than any small amount you may have overdrawn the account.
I have been so cash poor that I have had to chose between losing car insurance and floating a check (did I ASK for the hurricane to knock down my tree limb and cost us $350 to have sawed down?) The bankers get richer and everyone shoves it under the rug because we "should have been able to balance our check book" it is an awful predatory form of price gouging to those who can least afford it.
Bless those of you who have not fallen short of cash and never experienced the outrage of 20 hours work going to pay bank fees for some nominal amount of overdraft. What ever happened to usury laws? Thanks again for your time.
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