Not only does Bank of America provide poor customer service but I recently learned that they have a system in place to ensure the highest penalties possible when a customer goes into overdraft.
I feel the biggest problem is the bank holds visa transactions and pends them to clear. They blame this on Visa and the retailer however I feel the bank us ultimately responsible for requiring a hold to be placed.
The problem lies with the way they withdrawl funds from their customers account. A customer may have 5 pending transactions for only a small amount per transaction. If they have a larger transaction that places their account in the negative the bank will withdraw the larger transaction first and then the next highest amount and so forth until all transaction have been taken out, even if the larger transaction was several days after the smaller transactions.
So the argument that is made is the bank is protecting the interest of the consumer because they took out the highest and most important amount first. That is a lie. They take the highest amount first in order to inflict as much monetary damage as possible.
I recommend that either a class action suit is placed together to stop this practice or that consumers encourage congress to pass a bill requesting funds be withdrawn in order that they were taken out by the consumer. It of course would then be the consumers responsibilty to take care of any returned check. Also debit transactions would not be a problem because if the funds could not be immediatly verified they would not be taken out.
If this has happened to you I recommend voicing your concern with the Bank. Keep records of the call and of any bank emails you may have. File a complaint with the complaint, the Federal Trade Commission, your Local Better Business Bureau, and most importantly your State Banking Department.
Pressure needs to be put on Bank of America and other banks to help stop consumer abuse.
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