This is just a heads up to any one who has been thinking of switching to or opening an account with bank of america. Although many of you may not notice, around 70 percent of americans live off of their pay checks and nothing more. Bank of America has put in place their own version of debit processing. Now you see it now you dont circumstances.
Case study: I have lost thousands of dollars, over the few years I have been with the bank of have lost over 8,000 in over draft fees. I am a traveling technician and checking my account status can be difficult. Bank of america has set up what they call convience processing.
All processes doomed to shake hands with bank of americas technology are processed by largest amount to smallest amount NOT by date of transaction. I.E. If you had 700 dollars in your account and on day 1 you spent 50 dollars of that 700 on small debits here and there i.E. Coffee, dinner for the hot date you went on that night, a movie at your local store. On day 2 a check for 699 dollars is posted to your account. Even though that 699 hits after all of the smaller debits, bank of america processes largest to smallest and therefore you've just been taken for 105 dollars of your hard earned money rather than one simple 35 dollar over draft. Month after month whether it be for a nickle or a benjamin bank of america finds a way of making there "totaly free checking" worth something to their bottom line.
You will have untill 4PM to correct any problems on your account, to bad for most of us work ends after 5 or the next flight home isn't in an airport with a bank of america residing.
The customer service is outsourced and believe me when I say outsourced. They have joe schmoe of some contact center somewhere making 6 bucks an hour to tell you they totally back bank of americas principals and they can not do any thing for you. This is more than 1 call center people, you may be bounced from florida to califorina and back again just so this place can spend less funds on their staff. BE CAREFULL WHEN CHOOSING THIS BANK TO HANDLE YOUR FUNDS.
Lack of accountability is the problem, no one in the institution wants to acknowledge a fault in their infrastructure, they are making far too much money from it.
All though this may seem like a whine festivity on my part, it truly is my own fault for not ensuring I had proper funds, and, I would be willing to take responsibility for a bad judgment, not a well thought out CRM application that was built to rip off the hard working and very busy consumers.
Here is a snippet of what you may have to deal with when working with a bank reprisentative on one of these matters,
Welcome to Bank of America chat! An Online Banking Specialist will be with you momentarily.
Hello, this is Tammy, a Bank of America Online Banking Specialist. How may I help you today?
Tammy: Thank you for being a valued customer of Bank of America. My name is Tammy and I look forward to providing you with outstanding service. May I have your full name please?
You: daniel xxxx
Tammy: Hello Daniel!
Tammy: How may I provide you with assistance today?
You: I am a little more than concerned with my account history specifically over the last few days
you: I have been charged 5 35 dollar over draft fees because of the way bank of america processes requests. I would like four of these fees reveresed
Tammy: I will be happy to help!
Tammy: One moment please while I access your information.
You: is there something you need from me?
Tammy: Daniel, I see multiple transaction in with funds were not available for on 7/30/07.
You: my point exactly, yesterday I checked my balance at the ba atm and I had over one hundred dollars available, this morning a check for 555 was put through giving me a negative balance. There is no way that bank of americas debit system would have allowed for so many transactions to have taken place if the check had been truly posted after those transactions, its not the consumers fault that your billing system processes funds from the greatest amount to the least and not by date of transaction
Tammy: One moment please.
Tammy: Sorry for the delay!
Tammy: Unfortunately, we will not be able to review any overdraft charges until they have posted to your account. Please contact us via Text Chat once these overdraft charges have posted to your account. If you would like to contact us via phone please call our Customer Service department at 800.432.1000.
Tammy: Once the charges post then we can review these fees.
You: im sorry I am not happy with your canned response, you can view my history now or I will be forced to take my future mortgage, credit, and banking needs to one of your competitors
you: if i can see my history than you can too, don't blow me off
Tammy: Our research indicates the fees were applied correctly and no bank error occurred.
You: and what was the research that you conducted to come to such a conclusion, by stating that there was no bank error than you are also stating that your institution would allow this many transactions to occur even with a negative balance? That is obsurd...
Tammy: If you would like us to review these fees please contact us via Text Chat once these overdraft charges have posted to your account.
Tammy: Balances provided over the phone, ATMs, and on the Internet are up to the minute, but do not account for any outstanding items that may be charged or credited to your account overnight.
Tammy: Please refer to your personal check register to determine items that are outstanding and how they may affect your balance. We want to work with you to keep your account balanced and in good standing.
Tammy: We try to assist by providing 24-hour automated phone assistance, 24-hour Online Banking, and printed monthly statements. You can also check your available balance at ATMs.
Tammy: Our research indicates that no error occurred. Although we are not obligated to pay an item presented if your account does not have sufficient funds, we may pay it as a courtesy. This occurrence may warrant an insufficient funds or overdraft fee to be assessed to your account whether or not it is paid.
Tammy: I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.
Tammy: Is there anything else that I can assist you with today?
You: one moment
Tammy: Sure.
Daniel ward
Altamonte Springs, Florida
U.S.A.
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