When I signed up for my student account at BofA in part of my terms of agreement had "$200 in free overdraft protection."
In December of I had my first overdraft accident. It was completely my fault. I got distracted and used my atm card when I actually wanted to use my credit card... They're both blue, and have my picture on them. I should have been more careful. The total of the bill was about $35.00.
This had a huge cascade of problems for me, and I have been charged over $400 in overdraft fees now, but... That $200 in overdraft protection should have covered the amount I was overdrawn and everything should have been okay.
Well... After I discovered that things were actually horribly, terribly not okay... I called the bank and was told that they had changed my account a few years ago, and "didn't you get the letter we sent?"
No. I didn't get any letter.
I asked them if they sent such an important letter by certified mail, and the teller said "No, maam, we don't do that."
"So, how can I be sure that you actually ever sent it in the first place?" was my question.
"Sorry, Maam. We didn't need your consent to change your terms. You would just have been given the option of closing your account."
I'm leaving Bank of America if not this month, then definately next month and so is all of my family and about three of my friends.
My family and friends and I don't make much, but our combined withdrawl is going to take about 1.5 million dollars away from B of A. Probably not the best trade that B of A has done... $400 dollars gained for $1.5 million dollars lost, but I'm sure they'll hardly notice it anyway. We're like a drop in the bucket, and we're cranky, too, now... So they'll actually probably be glad to be rid of us.
Consumers beware! Bank of America can and does make changes to your account without telling you.
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