I have been bitten by Wachovia's tranaction processing proceedures. The way they post their transactions, checks first, then largest to smallest debit/credit transactions, has cost us $700.00 overnight! 20 transactions and all under $15!
Last week purchased an item from our neighbor and wrote him a check for $480. As usual he didn't deposit it for several days.
Monday was a holiday so we took the opportunity to do a quick service on one of our work vehicles before using it. However, we soon discovered it needed new rotors. Per our bank register we didn't have the necessary funds to purchase the parts, but since the check we wrote to our neighbor didn't clear yet we approached him about the situation and he agreed to hold it for a few days.
Through Tuesday, February 17th, we kept a close eye on our account. We budgeted our Tuesday's operating expenses on what was available (still under the assumption that the $480 check was in a 'float' status). We arrived home from Tuesday's work at 1:30 AM Wednesday, at which time we checked our available balance: it was at ~ $198.00. However, when we awoke 6 hours later we found that we were now overdrawn by $1,100! We were hit with 20 overdraft fees @ $35 per item - OVERNIGHT! $700 in fees!
Looking at our on-line ledger we realized the check we gave to our neighbor cleared. Wachovia posted it BEFORE any of the debit card transactions we made over the three-day weekend! They posted it as clearing on the 17th even though it did not appear on the on-line ledger when we checked it at 1:30 AM Wednesday (EST).
Looking over the on-line ledger, there were transactions from as far back as the 12th that 'posted' on the 17th. Purchases we made DAYS prior to the check being presented were posting AFTER the check was. And since Wachovia posts largest to smallest, all our small transactions from the previous severals days posted last - blasting us with 20 unavailable funds fees! And these transactions were under $15 and one as small as $1.84.
If Wachovia posted the items AS THEY ARE PRESENTED, we would have 1 (ONE), unavailable funds fee, not 20!
And to top it off, going by their on-line ledger, there were only 13 overdrawn transactions: 5 transactions that posted, 2 pending, and 5 on hold.
I called up Wachovia and spoke with two representatives and two supervisors who all told me there was nothing they could do. They said that since it was not a 'bank error' there was nothing they could do. And since they reversed some charges for us back in September, (fraudulent charges that hit our account) they couldn't even give us back the customary $250 refund.
When I asked them why we were being charged 20 unavailable funds fees when I could only see 13 per their on-line ledger, they said that the amounts on HOLD would fall in order of amount, and thus reveal that 7 additional transactions were now unavailable.
I am so frustrated with Wachovia. Their posting process should be illegal! They should post transactions as presented. And not favor certain transactions over others. They should post all transactions as presented.
I don't know what to do. I plan on filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, but I don't see that resulting in a refund any time soon - if ever. What is going to stop them from doing this to others? Something must be done to stop them from these practices! This is predatory banking and it must be stopped!
0 comments