Wachovia is a bank set up to maximize fees to get all it can from its customers! I want everyone to know so they don't have this happen to them. I got my money back but it took me going to three different Wachovias and talking to 5 different people.
My husband switched his check over to Wachovia two months ago. Thank God we have two other accounts at other banks because they have been a nightmare. Since he started his account there has been questionable OD fees. I kept thinking he was balancing his account correctly but after I took a look online I was shocked. Last week he was charged $245 dollars in OD fees even though the account was never negative. As a matter of fact he went down to $6.95 and then you see a OD charge of $245 and then you see where his check was deposited (minus the fees of course).
I thought there was a mistake and called the bank who told me that when he used his card as a debit and/or credit the funds were automatically taken out of his "available balance". She said that using the card had caused the fees. I then asked her how he was able to go negative since he has only used his check card? My point was if he had used his card as credit and the amount was taken from "available balance" then you shouldn't be able to charge more then you have in the available balance. *And for you Wachovia employees yes we did specifically opt out of OD protection and OD on our Visa Card.
Here is what they do: When you swipe your card they use those amounts to create OD fees. So if you have $50 in your account and you use your card and happen to spend $55 then you have already acquired a $35 fee... Even though the bank isn't having to pay out any money on that charge. The bank has a two or three day wait "hold" until the merchant release the hold. This is when it "hard post" to your account. This is when most banks will charge you for the OD if you did not have funds available.
So with this in mind you could use your card and go deposit $1000 in cash five minutes later and you would still be charged the OD fee. I know I am going to hear "if you keep up with your register". That is not the point. The point is that Wachovia is not having to pay out any funds on this pending charge until the merchant releases the payment. This is when it actually hard post to your account. They are actually allowed to float money but they are charging you instantly for using your card. Then if you don't have the money in your account when it hard post then they will charge you twice for an OD fee.
I don't know how they can justify charging you $35 for something that has not cleared. They are charging advance OD fees where there was no actual overdraft. If you can not spend a pending cash deposit how in the h*ll can they charge for a pending charge? It is just wrong.
Well it took me going to three banks and talking (arguing) with 5 different people to get our fees back. I think this is a dishonest business practice and I will be closing our account. I think they are taking advantage of their customers and I don't believe most people realize that they are doing this. They argued with me until they were blue in the face but there is no arguing with logic.
The last finance manager I talked to said they didn't do advance charges and that charging OD fees twice is illegal. I told her that I thought many things they were doing were. What really made me mad was the way they treat you. The finance managers desk here are purposely set up to look like a judges. They are set out in the open in a position to make you feel small and inferior. Just another tactic this bank uses. I have a Bachelors degree in Computer Science and this woman was trying to tell me that "she was sorry I just didn't understand their process". I told her that I understood it fully. I understood that Wachovia was doing whatever it could to get as much as it could from its customers by maximizing fees. She pulled up my account and after looking at the holds and my balance apparently she saw something that wasn't quite right and told me that she was giving me my OD funds back.
So don't give up and let them steal your money from you. It is wrong. Stand up and make them account for what they are doing.
Swtjen01
Dothan, Alabama
U.S.A.
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