Bounce Protection/Overdraft Fees

Overdraft protection...bounce protection...bank fees...

Banks make money off every customer they have nowadays. But one particular fee is immoral. Take a look at the following example. Bank are using a system that debits your account from highest transaction to lowest, not in order in which they were spent as most people think. This gives the bank more reasons to charge overdraft fees. If they take out the highest transactions first, all of those little transactions that your cash would have covered are each charge about $30 in overdraft fees. Take a look...

Day 1:
You have a balance in your checkbook of $100.
Stop at store, use Debit card, spend $60.
Stop for gas, use Debit card, spend $10
Have lunch use Debit, spend $15
Stopped at ATM for cash for the kids tomorrow and get $10
Quiz: what is balance? $5
That evening husband tells you he had to stop for gas and used Debit card and fill up his SUV on his way home from work that evening and it cost $45!

Balance? $-40.

Well dangit, you have overdrawn the account. But are somewhat perplexed because for some reason it let husband get $45 dollars in gas and didn't decline the card and you were home hours before he was.

During the night the bank charges your account $6 for overdrawing.

Day 2
You think your balance should be -$76 because you know they are going to charge you $30 for the gas debit and $6 for overdrawing. Your write all this down in your register.
You go to bank make a deposit of $200 and note it in checkbook. Balance should be $124.00. Is it??? Well before you go crazy trying to figure it out, the answer is NO.

Because the bank takes the largest to the smallest out of your account while you are sleeping all snug in your bed. So you didn't have one overdrafting transaction you had 3. The 2 $10 ones and the $15. The bank took out the $60 and $45 out first.

So that means even before the bank opened and you got your $200 deposit in there they bank already had claims to $90 for 3 transactions on day 1, $6 for overdrawing on Day 1, and another $6 for starting out Day 2 in the red. So they are going to take $102 of that $200 dollars you are going to deposit. So in your little check register that you are correctly adding and subtracting in you have your balance as $124 it's really $58!

200
-40 cause husband spent 45 for gas and you only had 5 in there
-90 in overdraft fees b/c only the two largest transactions cleared.
-6 for overdrawing on Day 1
-6 for starting overdrawn on Day 2 (strange)
That leaves a balance of $58.00

You think you have $124 because no one from the bank has called or emailed me to tell me my balance, and I didn't have time to call or check online this morning, soccer practice and all. We are still on Day 2 in case you have forgotten. The check register is all nice and neat and not addition or subtraction mistakes.

Husband asked how much is in the bank and you tell him $124. He says "good" because he's got to get some stuff done to his truck today. Oil changed, tires rotated etc. Probably about 4 different stops. Doesn't want to take the checkbook, he hates using that thing and he always brings home ATM and Debit receipts for me to record in that nice neat register.

Still on Day 2: Husband leave and does the following:
Stops at ATM for cash $60
Oil Change Debit $20
Tires rotated Debit $10

Brings receipts home and you record them in check register all nice and neat and make sure the subtraction is right on target. Your balance is: $34. But the bank has different ideas about your money. They feel that you have $-32. Now since the bank decided to set you up with the new concept called bounce protect, not to be confused with overdraft protection, where your checking account is linked to another account for a monthly fee. Husband didn't have Debit card declined all day.

The first cash withdrawal right at the local branch should have been rejected. Which at that point he would have called and said, Hey I thought you said we had $124 in the bank. You would be in shock, get online to see what had happened.

Day 3:
Saturday and you don't go anywhere and spend any money, husband had gotten cash yesterday if we needed anything.

Day 4: Sunday, just church and playing with kids at home.

Day 5: You think you have $34 in the bank. But in reality you start the day off -$146. Last night, while you were sleeping the bank moles were at work.

Those little boogers put their claim on $90 for all 3 transactions on Day 2 when husband was doing his thing, and then another $24 for overdrawing on Day 2, and being overdrawn on Saturday (Day 3) and Sunday (Day 4) and starting Day 5 (Monday) overdrawn.

Day 6: No activity except the $6 they charged you for being overdrawn.

Day 7: Another $6 charge and the mail man delivers you a letter that tells you that your account was charged $90 for three transactions that were presented for payment, and none of them were returned. How sweet, but that information is so old it's nothing because even if you jotted that $90 in your checkbook, it too far gone to get it right EVER again!

Heck, I'm lost just giving this example for 7 wonderful days of banking with Fifth Third Bank.

Now do you see how quickly and how extreme this problem is? I didn't have any idea they would let me get cash, use my ATM or even clear a check if the money wasn't there.

From my research I have found that banks last year made 14 BILLION dollars with these fees last year. (how much was that tax cut Bush gave to help stimulate the economy)? Talk about the Fleecing of America, I would say this rates way up on the list.

This is not just hurting a few people, it's hurting our entire nation! Less money to spend, loss of jobs, loss of income taxes, Federal, State and local. Not counting the unemployment from our government for those out of a job.

The Undersigned wish for banks to give us our money back!! These fees need to be reevaluated because it's getting way out of hand! What is wrong with taking out transactions from the lowest-to-highest? This practice is not disclosed to consumers in any way, nor do we want it to be. We want this practice terminated.