Friggin bank!

[MuAZD]

So I'm at the bank around 3pm on Thursday (Dec. 11) to deposit a check. The guy tells me that since it is after 2pm, my deposit wouldn't be available until the next day (Dec. 12). They even have this big sign that says "All trans. made after 2pm will be done for the next day" So I have him check my balance to see what I had in my acct. I knew that I had written a $50 check that should have gone through. He tells me that I have 55 bucks in my acct. (I'm pretty much living paycheck to paycheck right now), so the check hadn't gone through yet. So I'm thinking cool, I can go get some gas since I deposited enough to cover the check and gas, and then some. Well Saturday rolls around and I get a letter in the mail informing me that I have overdrafted my acct. with this $50 check. So I call my bank this morning and they inform me that the check and the gas debited my acct. Thursday night. Apparently the "all transactions" meant anything that I deposited after 2pm and not anything else that went through after 2pm. So now my budget is completely screwed. Am I the only one who didn't get this and shouldn't the banks make this a bit more clear to their customers

[ADPiAkron]

What bank is this?

[jharb]

I was always under the impression that if the transactions crossed (went in and out on the same day) then it would be okay. At least that's what my bank told me last year! That's silly that they didn't tell you that! I'd be upset too!

[ZTAngel]

Were you charged an overdraft fee? If so, I would fight with the bank over the technicality that they don't clearly define their policies.

[ADPiAkron]

hahaha I wish overdraft fees and not defining them clearly really worked! I belong to US Bank and just had trouble last month...their policy about next day has been in effect for over a year...if you were not aware of it they really do not care....because they have made the announcement and they do not care if you heard or not!! BTW mine was cleared up eventually with some help from my dad!

[Intense1920]

ARGGGHH. I hate when stuff like that happens cause they really kill you with those dumb overdraft fees.

[aephi alum]

The banks will look for any excuse to charge you a fee.

A few years ago, I wanted to close my old checking account (which had a minimum balance). At the bank, they told me, "Write yourself a check for the amount in your account, deposit it into your new account, and your old account will be automatically closed." So I did. A couple of weeks later, I got what I thought was my final statement from my old account. It read: "Account balance: $0.00. Penalty for being under minimum balance: $20. Overdraft fee: $5. New account balance: -$25.00. Please remit." Took me a while to straighten that one out.

I agree, banks should make things clearer to their customers, but it's so commonplace that deposits made after a certain time are processed the next day, that they just assume you know.

[MuAZD]

This is Waypoint Bank (formerly York Federal Bank) out of York PA, but they have branches all over southcentral PA.

I realized that the check I deposited wouldn't be good until the next day, but I thought that the check I wrote somebody else wouldn't go through until the next day because it hadn't debited my acct. yet. Waypoint covers most checks that bounce, but charge a $29 NSF fee, plus $5 every day that its overdraft, which adds up quickly. I would fight it, but my acct. isn't overdrafted anymore and it just seems like it would take too much time and energy for a $29 problem. Now if it was a huge sum of money, then I'd be all over it. I'll know for next time.

[bafromkc]

I was burned many times by overdrafting from my checking account. I've found the best way around it is always keep a few extra dollars (about $20) in your account so a miscalculation of a few dollars doesn't wind up costing you money and frustration.