Comments on: Overdraft Fee Legislation Gaining Momentum

By: Leonard

Leonard — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 21:09:02 +0000

I’ve read all of the comments and I agree with those who have had to deal with the stress of overdraft fees, when you don’t see it comming. But heres another problem that no has mentioned, lets say you are made aware of the overdraft after 10:00a.m. and you go to the bank to pay the fees, if it is after 10:00a.m. you may be hit with another overdraft fee because the banks computer will not show you have paid the overdraft fee, so now you have to go back to the bank when they first open. I would love to have a peice of that action, think about it.

By: JDG

JDG — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:31:52 +0000

This legislation is a FANTASTIC idea. I fully support it. I was just screwed by my bank this week. I accidentally went over my balance by $21 and some change, and ended up with $96 in overdraft fees. Then, the manager at the bank had the nerve to tell me that paying the overdraft fees was better than suffering the embarrassment of having my card declined at the store!!! Where is the logic in that?! I would rather not have the items at all than have to pay over 400% more for them! These practices by these banks need to STOP. And I am all for more regulation to achieve it. Most of the people who fall victim to these overdraft charges can’t even afford them on top of all of their other bills in the first place. Like me. This is just one more example of how the middle class and the poor are “under assault,” just like President Obama said. God bless President Obama, and I hope all the fat cat bankers, big businesses, predatory lenders, and crooked Republicans all find themselves in Hell where they belong for ripping off the American people so shamelessly.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:15:09 +0000

I completely relate to “M.”
Yes, Andrew, you’re clearly a fool if you side with the banking system’s attitude of hiding behind consumer responsibility to create various schemes in order to increase their profit margins.
Andrew, I hope that one day you have to struggle just like the rest of us, the majority of America. Clearly youve never experienced the helpless feeling when youre able to do nothing about 400 dollars in charges because of transaction sorting and you have nothing to live on for 2 weeks and no family to fall back on. Then your paycheck comes and half of it is just spent paying off these absurd fees.
I mean, really. Banking is not as simple as pasta. Sorry to say.. and mind you, if i go to a restaurant and spend 15 dollars on pasta, i probably set that money aside for a couple of days or weeks as part of a plan, and im not paying 15 dollars for the 75 cents of raw ingredients, but for the services of a professional cook and being waited on in a nice atmosphere.
We all know this is pure GREED, why is it they can still get away with this to this day?? When will this bill finally pass?? More importantly, what can we as individuals do to contribute? I recently heard of this motion to reform overdraft policy, and will do anything in my power to support Senator Dodd on this measure. Hopefully individual citizens can still have a voice in the matter. If theres two things that can drive me up a wall, those things are stupid drivers, and overdraft fees.

By: M.

M. — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:29:34 +0000

The first time I ever had an overdraft fee, I’d had the same account for many years and never had any problems. I usually had a cushion in my account, just in case I miscalculated tax or change or something, and so the first time it happened (after I’d been laid off for 3 months), I overdrew by a penny. ONE CENT. My bank took out $31 for the overdraft. I called the bank and the customer service rep couldn’t help. I went into the bank and the bank manager informed me that basically, it sucks to be me. I was pissed. When I was employed again, I switched banks, thinking it was just that bank. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The next job I had paid half of what I had been making previously, and my new bank had a $39 overdraft fee! I quickly switched out of that bank. The next bank practiced transition sorting, which I also informed them was a despicable practice (they INSISTED my car payment went through before my Big Mac, even though I bought my fast food lunch 3 days before I paid the car payment), and switched banks again.

I’ve been at the bank I am currently with for a number of years. We never had an overdraft issue until lately. We very closely monitor our account but sometimes we make mistakes, and the worst part? A company I sent a payment to made a mistake. They took out too much money from my account. They admitted the mistake but since I had paid a LOT of bills that same day, my bank ended up taking out ELEVEN overdraft fees (NONE of which would have occurred if not for the company that screwed up). ELEVEN $31 overdraft fees, let me tell you, is $341. Being poor sucks. Being poor and then seeing your account that should have just enough money to put gas in your car to make it to work for the week and it’s instead nearly $1000 in the negative- 3 days before Christmas, no less- now, that’s just cruel. So, Andrew, and others who tell the rest of us not to blame the banks, you can sit high and mighty, judging and blaming the rest of us. I was once like you, and had never overdrafted. It was nice. However, I make mistakes, I have been laid off from my job, unemployed for several months, I’ve had miscommunication (or lack of communication) issues with my spouse about who spent what, and all the other problems people have had that cause overdrafts. I’ll take the blame when it’s my fault, but no matter what, $341 in overdraft fees is ABUSIVE and RIDICULOUS. There is absolultely NO reason for this.