I am a new customer to Wachovia Bank after moving to Atlanta in February. I was with the same bank (First Bank) in Denver, Colorado for 15 years with no problems. I have had nothing BUT problems with Wachovia.
One month ago I was charged numerous overdraft fees and found that their system actually withdraws debit card amounts from your checking account twice to be able to accrue fees. Specifics: I had an account balance of $200. I used my debit card for two charges - $30 each at noon. A check also came through that night for $150. Wachovia subtracted the two $30 transactions from my account (although they did not pay the merchants yet), leaving me with a balance of $140. My check came through for $150 and did not clear as a result and I was charged an NSF. The next day, they then subtracted the two $30 each payments a SECOND time from my account (this time so they could actually pay the merchant) and charged me two $35 NSF fees. They said they withdrew the funds the first day for their records and then paid the merchats the second, day so it made sense to them to withdraw the money twice. I spoke to numerous supervisors about having transactions deducted twice from my account, to no avail.
In March, Wachovia decided to not only place a hold on a specific CHECK, but after I had deposited $3000 CASH into my account, they put a hold on my ENTIRE ACCOUNT, which meant that for five days - even though I had deposited CASH, everything that came through my account was returned unpaid (this inculded my son's rent check and a mortgage payment). They still have not been able to give me a reason for the hold being placed.
Finally, I deposited a $7000 check on 8/13. Knowing that they arbitrarily place holds on checks, I assumed this would be the case. I checked my account online on 8/13 and it showed a posted balance of $7700 and an available balance of $700. So I knew the $7000 in funds were not available. Checked again on 8/14 - same scenrio. On 8/15 - same. On 8/16 though, the online banking showed that the posted balance and AVAILABLE balance were both $7700. I checked online to see if the check was being held - no. I checked my Wachovia account for any email messages in regard to there being a hold on the account - no. As a result of WHAT I WAS TOLD BY WACHOVIA - I then made arrangements for numerous checks to be written through online bill pay. I am now being told by customer service and a customer service supervisor that the funds WERE available until the night of 8/16, when Wachovia decided to place a hold on the $7000 deposit. This caused everything that was scheduled to be paid that day to be insufficient. As a result, I have had $140 in NSF fees so far, with $105 in more fees coming through tomorrow.
These are predatory and unfair practices. It seems Wachovia makes all the rules, bends and breaks all these rules and that the customer really has no say in any of it. They are the judge and jury so to speak. I am a person that has excellent credit, pays my bills on time, has a graduate degree and holds down a steady, professional job (12 years at my last company). To be treated like I am a cheating liar that deserves no respect is simply unacceptable. There MUST be laws against these types of practices. I WILL hire an attorney to pursue this if anyone has suggestions or referrals. Thanks
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