I opened a personal checking account with Chase when it was still Washington Mutual. I also opened a business checking account. Recently I overdrew my account by less than $3 and they hit me with a $34.00 overdraft fee. I went to the branch and spoke with the manager, who said he would remove the fee out of his own "courtesy." I told him I didn't care why he removed it, just that I wanted it gone. He removed the fee. A couple weeks later, my account overdrew again by a whopping $1.52. Again, I got hit with a $34.00 fee. I read an article in the NY Times that Chase was going to stop charging overdraft fees in Q1 2010. I emailed Chase asking why they didn't just go ahead and stop charging the fees now, seeing as they obviously know it's costing them customers. I got the standard copy and paste answer. Below is the email chain, where you can tell that the responses are copied and pasted:
"Thank you for contacting Chase.
We apologize for any inconvenience that you may be
experiencing due to the insufficient funds fees assessed
to your account.
Our records indicate that your beginning day balance on
10/01 was $58.71. The following transactions were
presented on this date:
WM Supercenter in the amount of $38.22, x in
the amount of $19.98, and x in the amount of $2.03.
At the end of the business day, your account was overdrawn
by $1.52. Your direct deposit in the amount of $3.74 was
not credited to your account until 10/02. As a
result, your account incurred an insufficient funds fee in
the amount of $34.00.
Please keep in mind, when a transaction overdraws your
account, you must make a cash deposit, direct deposit or
electronic funds transfer on the same business day and
before the cut-off time to prevent insufficient fund fees.
We understand your frustration regarding the assessment of
insufficient funds fees to your account. Regrettably, as
previous courtesy adjustments exist in your account we are
unable to absorb the fee. Please accept our apology for
any inconvenience this matter has caused.
We offer many tools to help you manage your account
including; personalized alerts, a large ATM network for
balance inquiries, Chase Mobile text messages, 24
automated telephone phone and Chase.com.
If you require further assistance, please e-mail us via
the Secure Message Center or contact Chase By Phone at
1-800-935-9935. Chase By Phone representatives are
available to assist you 7:00 AM - 9:00 PM, seven days a
week with automated account information available 24-hours
a day.
Thank you,
Gemmelyne Elid
Internet Service Center "
I then told them I would be closing my accounts if they didn't remove the fee. Here is the reply:
Thank you for contacting Chase.
The changes on Chase's overdraft policies will not be
implemented until the first quarter of 2010. As of this
time, we still follow the one time courtesy refund policy
that Chase is implementing.
We understand that insufficient funds fees are
inconvenient and difficult to deal with; however, our
records show that previous courtesy refunds have already
provided in the last twelve months and we are unable to
absorb anymore at this time. You are eligible for a
courtesy refund once every 12-month rolling period.
In order to avoid negative balances in the future, you
might be interested in setting up an overdraft protection.
For overdraft protection, you can use a savings account,
credit card or a line of credit. Whenever your checking
account will be overdrawn, there will be an automatic
transfer of funds to your checking in an increment of
$50.00 to cover the overdraft. If the balance in the
protection account is less than $50.00, the transfer will
still occur to cover as many transactions as possible.
There is no monthly fee for overdraft protection; however,
there is a transfer fee of $10.00 one time per day each
day an automatic transfer is made.
We also encourage you to take advantage of the solutions
we offer for managing your accounts. We have provided
details below for you:
FREE CHASE MOBILE - Gives you instant access to your
balance. If you are not sure if you have enough money to
make a purchase, just text us and we will text you back
your available balance. Simply text BAL to CHASE (24273).
Enroll right now at Chase.com/Mobile.
FREE ALERTS - If your account dips below your cushion we
automatically call you or send you an e-mail. Enroll in
Chase Alerts at Chase.com/freealerts.
Your relationship means a lot to us, and we hope these
options will be helpful. We promise to keep looking for
ways to make things better and easier for you.
We are sorry you have decided to close your account with
us. Chase offers many account options and we may have one
that will better meet your needs. You can find more
information on the variety of accounts we offer by
visiting our website at www.Chase.com, visiting a Chase
branch, or calling a Telephone Representative.
If you require further assistance, please e-mail us via
the Secure Message Center or contact Chase By Phone at
1-800-935-9935. Chase By Phone representatives are
available to assist you 7:00 AM - 9:00 PM, seven days a
week with automated account information available 24-hours
a day.
Thank you,
Mark Jason O Rivera
Internet Service Center"
I will no longer do business with any banks that take such a stubborn policy on removing overdraft fees. Unfortunately for Chase, I will no longer be their customer by the time they get around to changing their policy.
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