Fifth Third Bank rips off their customers by default. "De" fault was mine for opening an account with them. I am not the only person who has had their share of trouble with 5/3 Bank. Just take a look at that number - duh? They get five thirds and you get "blanked" I was going out of town to a christian ministry event only 2 1/2 hours from home. I needed to make a cash deposit but it was after regular banking hours and I knew if I put the deposit into the ATM it would not post until the next night after midnight and I would not have access to my funds.
I decided to go the city where the meeting was and use my debit card for the hotel and to go to the bank the first thing in the am to make my deposit.
On the way to the meeting, I stopped in between and made a purchase for approx. $30.00 at one of the outlet malls at about 7 pm using my debit card. I checked into the hotel and put three nights lodging on my debit card. Knowing that I would make my deposit first thing in the morning my account after this last transaction was approx. 20.00 overdrawn.
Give me a break, why would I overdraw my account on purpose when I had over a 100.00 cash deposit to make with me? Equally as notable, I am not the first person or the last to have the access to their accounts knowing that their deposit was going to be made for the sake of convenience.
How many times has the president of the bank wrote a check at lunch when his paycheck didn't automatically post until that night? OOPS. Needless to say, the next morning, I got up early to go to the bank and make my (cash) deposit and found that there was not a Fifth Third Bank in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
I went back to the hotel and in an effort to intercept my transaction, checked out of the hotel and received a two-day credit on my debit card, I then went back to the outlet store and did same.By the time I did all this it was after 2:00 pm so I just went to the next nearest town from the outlet store and made my original CASH deposit. All the time thinking WHEW! I'm glad I got that in the bank before this days business was over.
By now it is late in the day and I would have to drive back to E-town for the meeting another hour and 1/2, so I just went back home, slept in my own bed and went back the next night for the final evening meeting. At this point I had over $180.00 in my account (including the credits from the hotel and the outlet store and my cash deposit) On my way back to the evening meeting I stopped in Elizabethtown, Kentucky and bought a. 52 cent cup of coffee again using my debit card. I made five other various transactions usint my debit card even taking money from the ATM -NO PROBLEM.
Well, needless to say on Monday, I went to the bank to make yet another deposit and found out my account was overdrawn $150.00! How is this? I talked to Liz, the customer service rep at that branch and explained exactly what happened. For a. 52 cent cup of coffee I was charged an overdraft fee of $30.00 and for Friday, Saturday and Sunday $18.00 ($6.00 each day in overdraft). She reversed the charges and refunded my fees, right there in front of my eyes, yet I knew that the reversal would not post until after midnight Monday.
On Tuesday, 5 more transactions were in overdraft and it just kept going and going and going. I kept attempting to speak with her but her response was that she could not refund any more of the fees, I would need to talk to the branch manager. After repeated phone calls to her and none were returned, I called Liz back. She then let me know that the branch manager would call me back.By Friday that same week, I hadn't talked with her and my account was just snowballing. When I didn't hear back from her by nearly closing time on Friday, I called again and left a message. She was going on vacation the following week and had already left for the day. When I called Liz back on Monday (now the second week), she told me there was nothing she could do. I went to the library and emailed fifth third about my account, I was frantic and besides that could not use my account debit card or even cash my paycheck because they would have kept it to cover the fees.
By the following week (week 3), I got an appointment with the branch manager. She was not very receptive or pleasant. I sat there rambling on and showing her my account register, etc., etc. And she looked at me and said. No matter what you say, I will not refund any more fees. It was not a bank error or a computer error, you are really lucky the credits posted as soon as they did, most take up to 14 days to post, but you can keep talking if you like. I said, well it may not be a bank error, but it is not a human error either and why on earth would you refund 150.00 in fees to start out with and now will not refund the rest? Her response was that the refund should not have been made in the first place.
This is exactly what happened.
MY account by the end of the week on Friday had a positive balance of $55. Xx (including the credits) but the credits did not post until Monday. They certainly took the money for OD fees out over the weekend but they did not post the credit until Monday, therefore overdrawing my account and by the time the refund for the fees posted, then there were more overdraft fees for the five transactions that came through on Monday. Never ending insanity. I told her at that point it could run its course, because I would not pay overdraft fees for something that was not overdraft.
Consequently, the account remained open for 30 days and each day new $6.00 charges were accumulating for a whopping total of $636.00.
Another small detail, if I had intentionally tried to rip off the bank, why did they pay for the transactions? Not one of the items were returned, and why not? Isn't that the way you get charged for overdraft? The vendors got their money, because the money was in the account to pay for the purchases I made. PERIOD! Now the account was turned over to a collection agency and my credit is fouled up. I can't even get another checking account with my credit union because it shows up in CHEX SYSTEMS (which is another story altogether).
Is there an attorney and anyone out there willing to file a class action lawsuit against Fifth Third Bank to stop their illegal practice of charging these ridiculous fees. This is much like the pawn shops and the check advance places that charge illegal finance charges and interest and it is illegal. It just seems like everyone I have talked to that has an account there has had some type of similar problem - even the loan officer at my credit union has really negative things to say about the way they do business.
Please respond asap if you have substantial documentable proof against this RIPOFF. Consumer complaints staff is willing to post that info on this Report.
Kathy
Evansville, Indiana
U.S.A.
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