US Bank

21st August 2003

posted in Rantings |

I’ve opened up a new channel of discussion on the *insert gnashing of teeth and wailing of children* evils of US Bank. Check it out for more information and co-miseration!

I really, really despise US Bank’s new policy, regarding deposited checks.

This policy cost us about three hundred dollars in the past week. That’s way more than we can afford. Here’s a summation; if you deposit a check into your US Bank account, the first hundred dollars of it is available that evening (after 6pm). Any other monies is held until the next business day. And if you deposit it after the bank closes, it is two days.

So… we deposited $500 into the bank; two checks, one from the US Treasury (one kid) and one from a rebate. And then a mass of checks and other charges hit in the same day (we use our debit cards for everything.) This mass of checks and other charges were more than $100 over what we had in the account (but less than $500 over what we had in the account.) So we got charged $28 for each of five overdrafts. Then, not realizing that we had just lost $140 to US Bank, we continued on our spending, and spent another batch of money- six charges that took us below 0 (we would have been below $140 in our account), so six more (they raised the rate) $30 charges- another $180. That’s practically the US “Child Care” fund check we got from George.

A little peevish does not adequately describe my state of mind. So, naturally I called US Bank, and I was informed that they would not refund any of these charges, for two reasons; firstly, because they had sent us a mailing explaining this new policy. And second, because it happened about three months ago and at that time they reversed the charges on three overdraft fees. We had continued forth from that point, with an imperfect understanding of their policy; this has been rectified.

We’ve been customers of US Bank for twenty-seven years. While I don’t expect “special” treatment (the supervisor I spoke to referred to “grandfathering in older accounts”, and that “this policy applied to all customers”), it’d be nice to have some sense of commitment to customers from the bank that regards our long history of banking with them. But I have to admit that since US Bank was bought out, the service has gone downhill.

One example of this is the annoying voice that repeats every 20 seconds while you’re on hold “all service representatives are still busy. We are committed to good customer relations. Please wait. ” … while you’re sitting on an interminable hold that lasts twice as long as they “expect” (6 minutes becomes 12 minutes). In fact, I was forcibly reminded of the inane policy of making a person wait for an appointment with you to ensure that they understand how much more important you are than them.

Are there any good banks left?

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1 On August 21st, 2003, Rob said:

They stink. Fire them. Hope those fees were worth it.

2 On August 21st, 2003, Shane Ross said:

I had problems with Bank One, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Now we use Washington Mutual and have had no problems whatsoever. Bank of America nickeled and dimed us to death with little fees, and Bank One always pops up with new procedures and huge penalty fees.

3 On August 27th, 2003, Stan said:

I agree with Shane, we too had BofA for over 10 years with one problem after another….we switched to Washington Mutual 2 years ago and guess what? Not one single problem, even of the tiniest sort! Dump US Bank, customer loyalty means nothing anymore!!

4 On August 31st, 2003, pril said:

I’m with Shane on BofA. I’m not sure why my husband and i are still with BofA, actually. I think if it was legal, BofA would happily put tollbooths at the entrances to their banks and charge $5/head to go in, payable on your debit or credit card, of course. I really hate, also, that the lowest you can get out of BofA ATMs is $20. “I hate banks i just can’t stand ‘em, gimme a shovel and man, i’ll plant ‘em.”

5 On October 6th, 2003, lei said:

I went through the exact same scenerio at US bank..in Florence..Or..about holding govt..checks..then bouncing $180 checks..while they had $1400…in acct…now I did fight them..got back..$250 OD fees..if you look in the book they give you…called “your deposit acct”…page 29…2001 book(I opened 8/03)….their policy is a 1 day hold…on govt..and other special checks…not 5-7 days…the mgr…Rebecca Ruede…finally…and reluctantly…credited this back…but this was after…I tangled with a rude and sarcastic sales mgr…well…it’s happened again…$60 OD charge…I disputed again…and Rebecca Ruede said in an email to me…it would be credited back…one month later…she is backpaddling…telling me I have to discuss it…well…maybe we need to start compiling these complaints…into a class action suit…I suggest the person in the previous US Bank email…should get this book…check it out…when you see a bank always empty…look out…Bad service…they forget who pays their salaries…I will tell everyone what a rip-off bank they are…thieves…I’m back with a credit union…not many other choices….

6 On October 20th, 2003, name Rebecca said:

I’m going through the same problem with US Bank right now! The only way to post a deposit immediately to my account is to make sure it’s CASH. So…I can drive through the bank to cash the check, then drive through again to deposit the money. It’s more than ridiculous–it’s assinine.

7 On November 1st, 2003, name Jeff said:

US Bank has recently managed to pick my pocket as well. Over the course of the last 30 days, I have watched in disbelief as several hundreds of dollars of questionable penelty fees have accumulated.

In banking for over 20 years, I’ve never previously experienced an over draft charge. I find it interesting that since establishing a relationship with US Bank, I’ve had over 20. The majority occuring in the last 30 days. That’s $33 per incident in Ohio. Each originated from a practice that my previous banks did not indulge in.

The latest penalty fee to be incorporated is regarding the check cashing card. Not all funds in this balance are available upon using the card. There are deposited funds being held or check card authorizations outstanding against this balance. Yet the funds are not removed until the transaction actually processes (1-3 days) Never the less, if you exceed the adjusted balance, it’s $33 per occurance, even though there may actually be enough funds currently available.

Yet make a cash withdrawal that exceeds the adjusted balance, and you are able to so up to your actual balance. US Bank is taking my money prematurely, and making interest for 1 - 3 days until the transaction actually does process. If a check clears in the intrim, exceeding the adjusted balance but not the actual balance…..Bang! $33 bucks! Easy money.

The web site does a poor job of addressing this information and shows balance information to the consumer differently than it does to bank employees.

By immediately removing funds when a check card transaction takes place, the information is suppossedly reflected on the account immediately via the web site. Monies are definitely removed immediately, but the web site doesn’t update immediately. Usually 12-24 hrs.

My wife and I have 1 account, and 2 check cards. I would be at work, check the web site to verify availability of funds, and use my card. Unknown to me, my wife has used it earlier in the day. Monies have been removed, but the account does not reflect that. Bang! $33 bucks. Easy money. What’s next? Debting your checking account for the transaction amount on the day the check was written rather than the day it cleared? It can’t be far behind. It’s the same concept.

I have a 30 day wait for my payroll deduction to US Bank to be stopped.
Once done, US Bank is history.

8 On November 20th, 2003, jesse said:

It is so good but so bad to hear other people going through the same crap with US Bank. Since August 03, I have paid $1400 in overdraft fees. I am still trying to play catch up from the August fees, but it’s hard when they don’t stop. I have $25 a week transferred from my checking into a savings account. Being overdrawn and not realizing it, they still take $25 dollars from my checking and stick me with a $32 fee. I am a single father that watches my money pretty closely and I sure don’t have the extra money to spend on fees, but they could care less. Unless I can prove that there was a “bank error”, besides their crash on 9/2/03 they wont do anything to help. I really don’t know what happened to US Bank, but it seems to me everything got turned upside down around August.

9 On November 25th, 2003, jerrysworstnitemare said:

US Bank SUCKS. You are not alone. Read all the many other US Bank customer complaints, the employee revelations, customer complaint web sites, and a ton of scandal information (lawsuits; regulatory fines, etc) about just how rank this bank really is. It is all located a http://www.usbank-5starscrewed,0catch.com. The mother or all USBank complaint sites, and where the whole truth, the truth US Bancorp wants to squash, is located.

10 On November 25th, 2003, jerrysworstnitemare said:

The mother of all USBank complaint web sites is located at http://www.usbank-5starscrewed.0catch.com (corrected URL: sorry).

11 On December 6th, 2003, Tom Bos said:

I have been banking with US BAank for 4 or 5 years and in Sept. of 2001 i deposited my usual paycheck that i deposit every week $396.34. Well, whoever inputed my check ran it through as $936.34. I blame myself for seeing I had more money than I should and thinking “Oh, there must be a check or some transactions that still have to go through”. I never thought twice about it though, and whan christmas came around i bought christmas presents for my family and girlfriend. It pretty much cleaned me out but the presents were good. Well, about two weeks later US Bank realized their idiot employee’s error and just took out the $500.00(app.) without any kind of notification whatsoever. I did get l letter about 2-3 weeks later from some office in who knows where, but by then I was already over $1000 in the hole because that $500 was for my rent check that was already mailed out in the beginning of the month. And all the “little stuff” i bought in the two days before that daylike gas, sodas stuff like that. What really ticks me off is anytime other than two weeks after christmas i would have had enough in my account to cover it. Is it to much to ask these days for a bank that is willing to pick up a phone when there is a problem rather than just screw you? Im with the credit union guy, even though he can’t use a complete sentance. Goodbye US Bank!

12 On December 24th, 2003, Darren said:

I’m going through the same thing. As far as I’m concerned, US Bank is nothing more than a bunch of thieves. I’m in the process of telling them to get bent. I’ve NEVER EVER had a similar situation with my other bank account at another bank.

13 On December 28th, 2003, Julie said:

I just had over $160 in overdraft fees. I showed a balanced of $22.31 in my account- I have been balancing my account via phone for years, and I thought I had their new policy down- the authorizations included in the adjusted balance, etc. Apparently US bank was showing a different balance, making it extremely difficult, as was mentioned above, to keep a running balance when two spouses are assuming there is a $90 balance in the bank, go to gas up their cars, and end up paying $50 for gas due to overdraft charges. I have had employees call me irresponsible, but I have also experienced employees that don’t have a checking account because they have seen what the banks do! There is another sneaky thing that they do- there is now little separation between the overdraft protection account and the actual funds. This way it’s easy for them to collect interest on this overdraft protection account.

I’m out. I am too busy builing a business (Let’s not even talk about the business accounts) to have to call customer service twice a day and call my husband afterwards to find out if he has made any transactions.

To top it all off, they are too cheap to hire enough tellers during busy times. Around July they took down their sign about customer service and guaranteeing a 10 minute or less wait.

I am glad I found this website, and I will check out the suggested sites. If there is anything I can do as a consumer, including participation in a class action suit, I would be happy to do so. In the meantime, I will tell everyone I know to stay away from US bank.

Does anyone have any idea how much money US bank makes in a DAY off overdraft charges?

14 On January 4th, 2004, BreAnna said:

I have had numerous incidences occur with USBank since I have been with them in the last 3 years. I am a student at the University of Oregon and receive Financial Aid from the State Treasury. Two years ago I received my Fin Aid check for over $1000 and quickly deposited it into my account. I then went and paid my rent for the semester with a check the following day (totaling about $900). Apparently, the check came back as being “bounced” and I didn’t understand why. Luckily I had been getting to know someone who works at a USBank branch, as I continually had been having difficulties with them, and they were quick to help me out. Before going to this person, I called USBank (that “friendly” 800 number that has “friendly” and very unhelpful people working there) and they told me that the check was being held to verify the funds of the check. I was angry and told them that this was a Financial Aid check and that it was from the State, therefore a government check in lieu that it was for the University system. She wasn’t very bright and couldn’t see my point. In the end, things finally worked out and I got my money back for the overdraft fees and they also reimbursed me for the fee that my landlord charged. It was awful though and something that I definitely did not have the time for. Currently, I am having an issue with them again (surprising? Not very). I deposited a small payroll check on 12/18 and they claimed that by 12/29 it hadn’t cleared. My check was only for $108 and she said that $100 was immediately available. This isn’t the point. On December 29, 2003, I made 4 purchases totaling in the amount of $33.38 and in my acount I had $63.82 avaliable before these purchases. US Bank claims that the funds from the check were not avaliable except for $100, which means that those purchases still would have cleared. Instead they charged me four overdraft fees for those four purchases. Also note that after the final purchase was made on the 29th, my balance remaining was $30.44. The next transaction was thier first overdraft charge, which still left my balance in a positive standing. How does this make sense? US Bank will not fix their mistakes, so it appears that a civil suit will be in order. Contact me if you want to take part in suing them. SHNYWTY5@aol.com

15 On January 7th, 2004, nameGary said:

Wish I found this website before making the mistake of opening a business account with US Bank. In my 30+ years of banking I have never dealt with such incompetent people! (1) It took me over 2 hours in my local branch office with a bumbling branch manager to open a small business checking account. (2) Even though I spent 2 hours with this idiot, he still fouled up my account by entering the name of my business incorrectly AND entering my billing address incorrectly. (2) After spending another HOUR in the branch office and hearing no response in over a month from US BANK after applying for a line of credit I was enticed to open a business crdit card account instead- Again they got the name of my business wrong on the credit card and billing address wrong. After listening to the branch manager brag about US BANKs “Award Winning Website” I though I would try it to access my accounts on-line. After ONE MONTH of calling every 800 number and Customer Service number I could find, I still can’t bring up my business credit card account on-line. I’ve wasted at least one work week dealing with these boneheads and still have not received any answers to my problems. I will definitely not risk making any more business deposits with this bank and get out while I can still get my hands on my money.

16 On January 8th, 2004, name Slyvia said:

I work for USbank. Anytime you feel that a policy was not explained to you accurately, ask for five dollars. We have an account that allows customers to receive $5 for failures in customer service. The bank did recently change policies, but any time you request an “next day availability ticket” we are REQUIRED to give it to you. Do not hesitate, the banks are here to serve you, not to charge you OD fees. However, if you can not handle using your check cards on a joint account, just use cash. There are no OD fees for cash. Also, try signing up for OVerdraft protection. Every responsible customer has it, its just a precaution. You can get a credit card, a reserve line, connect it to a savings account, etc. I know most of you don’t have a lot of money, otherwise this wouldn’t be happening to you, but just remember that if you keep a check book register current and write every transaction down, you will not have a problem.
Good luck, and remember not everyone that works here is evil, we just have to keep our jobs so we can pay the bills too.

17 On January 25th, 2004, Amy said:

USBank has us set up on a payment plan for credit card bills to get caught up from when my husband was out of work. It comes directly from my bank account which is NOT with USBank thank God! Anyway, its a 6 month plan but from out of the blue the past 2 months they have taken the payment out twice in 1 month 2 months in a row. It happened first in Dec. Now it has happened again. They promised in Dec. way before X-mas they would issue me a check for a refund in 7 days. Well it never happened and now in Jan. they took out the payment twice again. One is coming out from USBank and the other Elan which is also another name for USBank. They act like I am a big pain in the butt when I call like this is my fault. We are trying to get caught up and they have embezzeled money out of my account the past 2 frickin months and I have to deal with some jerk named Rick Suarez or something and he is nothing but a liar. He also told me in Decemeber he would take 100 dollars off in fees for my inconvienence. We got our last bill in the mail yesterday on 1-24-04 and it was never taken off. Another lie from this jerk. He also said he is the top person to talk to and nobody else can talk to me - which I highly believe is BS. Anyway, now that they have automatically taken double the payments out of my account 2 months in a row which I did not account for, we have now bounced my husbands truck payment from another financing company. Its not our driving vehicle. He is a self employed truck driver and it was for his work truck. Im furious. I had to get an 80 dollar prescription for my son yesterday and I could not pay for it because USBank has STOLEN money from my account and doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to give it back. What rights do I have. Please email me if I do have any because Im furious. They have screwed my account. I could write this with many 4 letter words because I AM SO FURIOUS! Also I called this jerk twice to tell they have caused my account to bounce a check and they don’t call back. Worthless. I have convinced 2 people to stop business with this bank and come on over to the credit union I use. I despise US Bank.

18 On January 27th, 2004, Rachel said:

U.S Bank has just cot me over three hundred dollars and on top of this I have been talking with people in the community (eugene OR)who have been ripped off by them also at least ten people I have talked to..A class action lawsuit needs to be filed here ..I’ll head it up ..if anyone is willing to jump on board!

19 On January 29th, 2004, Jeff Carpunky said:

Hello

I am tired of US Bank overdraft charges and plan on putting up a web site. I currently have 10 websites ranked 1st on google and see no problem knocking usbank.com out of 1st place. I am going to start this project neext week sometime

Thanks

Jeff

20 On January 29th, 2004, Rebecca said:

Just this week I have had 9 NSF charges despite the fact that my account never went below $200. They have changed the way they are handling debit card purchases by holding the money for these purchases despite the fact that they have not been presented with request from the funds. If you have money in your account at the time the bank has to distrubute the funds to cover items presented, there should be no overdraft charge. All they’re doing is manipulating available balance amounts in order to collect overdraft charges.
What’s so funny about it is we had gone for almost a year without bouncing a check and in the past 6 weeks since they made this change we’ve had about 20 OD charges. My husband who works in finance called and pointed out that their policy was not in line with federal regulations regarding payment of items presented and got the first 11 charges reversed. I try calling today to get them to fix the 9 that came through over the past couple of days and they refuse. When I point out that they did it last month they tell me that it must have been a mistake. I pointed out that it was 4 different people who reversed those charges so it’s unlikely they all “made a mistake” but they refuse to consider that. My husband doesn’t want to switch accounts because he thinks customer loyalty still means something, but I think I’m going to insist. This is ridiculous.

21 On January 29th, 2004, Janet said:

Dear Rebecca,
I just tried to email you but it bounced back. Today, as well, I encountered the SAME problem. Luckily, my local branch had the 4 overdraft charges reversed. I have a copy of their diclaimer - did you know that on certain charges on the check card - like those from a restaurant or hotel, that they are actually holding MORE than the amount of the notification on the chance that the amount MIGHT be different? Visa does this so supposedly, US Bank feels they have the right to do it too. This (and the whole practice of holding funds that have ALREADY CLEARED on charges that have not been presented) seem
completely illegal to me. You mentioned that your husband works in finance and says that their policy is out of line with federal regulations. Could you ar your husband please find a copy of those regulations for me? I am seriously considering a class action lawsuit against US Bank. They are STEALING from people in my opinion and I want them to be forced to stop. Any information your husband can furnish would be
most appreciated. My email is jstorm94@yahoo.com. Thank you So much!

22 On February 5th, 2004, TBDBITL said:

It is not USBanks policy to hold more on the check cards, nor is it VISA’s policy… That is actually the business’ policy. We clear funds and hold funds based on the amount that the business sends us. Say for instance, you go to get gas in your car, and you swipe your card… You are saying right then that you have that money in your account and you are good for it, so the gas station automatically holds X amount of dollars on that card. If you don’t have the money to cover that purchase right then and there, then there could be more serious consequences than just overdraft fees from a bank. Spending money before you have it in your account is called kiting, and it is illegal. In another instance, you go out to dinner, and you hand the server your card…. the server in turn slides your card. Most people leave the server’s tip on their card, so most restaurants will hold more just to factor in a tip…. if you don’t leave that much it will clear your account for the right amount. If you have outstanding checks… and you want to use your debit card, make sure that you always have at least a 20 dollar buffer in your account. Also apply for overdraft protection, it is a lot cheaper and a lot more convienient. Keeping accurate records and making sure you understand the banks policies will help tremendously. If you could not tell, I work for US Bank… and I do not want everyone to assume from bad experiences that all US Banks are bad… I like to think I work at one of the best branches. If any of our customers ever have a question, we are more than willing to work them out with them so that they understand the banks policies… Am I saying we waive fees all the time? No, but I am saying that if you come to us and be patient… not get offensive…. and let us explain things…. Things sometimes work out… Please don’t judge the bank as a whole…. I am a good person, and I work things out for my customers…. and I am out there trying to make a living and pay bills just like everyone else… please don’t judge based on a whole…. US Bank does not suck… nor do the people you have dealt with… just the experience sucked…

23 On February 11th, 2004, David said:

I open a new account at US BANK. I sure wish I would have checked this web site out first. Did you all know that they hold deposits for five days on new accounts? They sure didn’t tell me anything about that when I opened the account! Yea but, it sorta says so on page 32 of a 41 page brochure small type legalise. Even then it says ” deposits will generally be available on the fifth business day”. What the hell does “generally” mean? I’m such a fool. I deposited my money…checked my balance via the internet then wrote checks. They bounced! And I was charged $27.00 overdraft charge for each. WELCOME TO USBANK!

I’m closing the account tomorrow. Of course I have found others who appear to be screwed more then me. Just sharing.

David,

Opened Account in South Topeka Blvd, Topeka KS 1/29/04

24 On February 17th, 2004, name Bonnie Z said:

Well currently I am having a great time with US Bank. I am a college student and I dont work. Well I get a stafford loan check the beginning of feb and gee i paid some bills and bought some things i needed and gee they held my check for 4 days and now i have been charged 400 dollars in overdraft charges and they are now charging me 7 dollars a day for negative balance fees but here is the topper this was a student loan check from US BANK. So needless to say they told me sorry nothing they could do for me. so my husband put in a call to the branch manager today and our attorney so if no resolution they are going to be sued. Gotta love corporate america its a good thing i cannot feed my kids or pay my bills so someone of US bank can get their bonus or their vacation.

25 On February 19th, 2004, lyn said:

I have been charged $192 in OD and Returned checked charges ($32 six times) just today with a balance starting out of $442. I was told that the payroll check was not available and only $70 was available. I still have about $200 in checks that haven’t cleared. I am in a bind. All are going to be returned with $32 charges attached - I have about 8 checks so these charges will eat up my next payroll check. I was given 1800usbank@usbanks.com as a site to complain by a rude customer service agent who stated that the fact that a payroll check was clearly available on line was “Your Opinion” when I asked who could I make a complaint to and dispute the charges she replied, “No One, I’m not reversing them. And there is no one to complain to” Well I can complain to the FDIC and I can complain to the US Attorney General and other federal agencies. Plus I never got a policy notification on only $100 being only available, that’s is illegal and unethical. I’m sure it’s against the law. In the mean time. I got to eat, buy gas, pay bills, feed my children.

26 On February 25th, 2004, name Nora said:

Same here. If anyone starts a class action, count me in. Is what they are doing anything short of robbery?
Here is another twist. My son needed money today. I wrote him a check on my US Bank account and told him to go to the US Bank and cash it. They wouldn’t cash it because he didn’t have an account there. Any excuse at all to hold onto my money.
I am out of there as soon as I can get all my direct deposit and ACH stuff moved to another bank.
I also have a business account there on which they have pulled the unavailable funds trick and have returned checks that I had paid to customers. How bad is that?
Their policies are nothing less than theft and besides that are morally and ethically abhorrent.

27 On March 11th, 2004, prettyvacant said:

Looks like we all have the same problem with US Bank! What a coincidence.
Has anyone ever had their transactions run through twice??

28 On March 17th, 2004, Mike Q said:

I had these same experiences. I have deposited checks into my account with us bank and proceeded to assume the money was in there and was charged OD charges. At least the people at the branch in Newton Iowa were willing to recitfy the situation. If I did not have my home loan with us bank, I’d switch banks.

29 On April 9th, 2004, vanillasno said:

over $2000 in overdrafts, plus overdraft charges because, by the time my check went through, it was already spent in overdraft charges. 5 times in the last two months. washington mutual is a way better deal. usbank should be driven out of business for their blatant attempts to steal our money. it’s wrong.

30 On April 12th, 2004, the enemy said:

real simple people….learn to balance your damn checkbooks…most of you expect us (yes I am employed by the bank) to reverse fees like it wasn’t at all your fault…I know we offered you overdraft protection when you opened the account…and what do most of you say…”no, I NEVER overdraft”…or “I don’t want a credit card”…Why should we reverse anything on your account if you’re not willing to protect it yourself. I will make a bet most of you who complain don’t keep a ledger..so don’t know what your available balance is anyways…I’m tired of you people blaming the bank for your own laziness and ignorance…If the bank messes up it will reverse fees…simple as that. You expect us to bear the burden of covering all your transactions when you’re already negative…and yet you bad mouth us for helping you…do you not realize that you are negative…NEGATIVE and we are paying your checks! You think that is free? I challenge anyone to name me a bank that doesn’t charge for a loan…cause that’s what it is…a loan. Then you have the fools with an already bad history asking us to stick out our necks for you…going around the policy. For what? to get ourselves fired for you losers…no thanks. Maybe you never picked up newspaper or simply logically guessed that theives try their best to steal from banks. These stupid rules and regulations aren’t to get more money from you…it’s to discourage con artists and criminals from taking advantage of the bank and stealing money…from your accounts. Banks are not non profit…we have responsibilities to employees, and shareholders alike. How would you like it if you had to give your services for free? Do you work for free? Are you mad when people get you to do something for free at work…well so are we. I have no sympathy for those of you who have tons of overdrafts…try going to another bank. The bad habits you have here will carry over and you’ll end up writing another sad BS story on another link like this. I’m glad that most of you left my bank anyway….because i hate having to deal with people who can not buy a clue for themselves…for those of you whose accounts are truly messed up due to bank error…give us a chance to work the issue.

31 On April 12th, 2004, yet another enemy said:

amen to that! You people need to grow up and learn to to take responsibility. Keeping a checkbook is a part of adulthood…try and be an adult, people.

32 On April 12th, 2004, Russ said:

those last two “the enemy” people - had the same IP address. Possibly the same person, or in the same house, or in the same business.

33 On April 12th, 2004, the enemy said:

okay about holds……if you don’t have enough in the account or enough of a history to merit us lending you the money until we collect on the check…expect a hold. Think of it this way…some guy you just met wants to borrow $1000. You know he still owes another person…and is dodging him..you know he doesn’t keep his promises. You’ve never lent him money before…do you lend him the money? Only a fool would say yes. Well that’s a hold policy not just for US Bank…it’s for EVERY BANK…If you think you can go to another bank that has NO hold policy…well then you’re a fool for banking with an institution that isn’t protecting your money better! Just because you gave us a check to deposit into your account does NOT mean that check is going to clear…and here’s another revelation for you. If it clears our bank…the bank that paid on the check can still call that check back up to a month…yes a MONTH!!! after the transaction. Why should we open ourselves up for losses on your account that has NO money or NO history for us to merit NO PROTECTION for the bank. The hold policy is to protect the bank from con artist who know they can deposit a check pull the funds out a week later and take off when the checks come back fraudulent. Why don’t you look at things from the other side for a change…narrow minded…stupid people suck!…

34 On April 12th, 2004, the enemy said:

FEES. yes fees suck! I had charging them…and I know you hate paying for them…If you don’t want fees then don’t bounce checks…simple…oh yeah, and protect your account with some form of responsible overdraft protection (a savings account with $300 is not adequate overdraft protection). If anyone can please tell me what bank doesn’t charge overdraft or returned check fees? I don’t get it! Our fees are even LOWER then our competitor banks OD fees…The fact of the matter is…again this is a loan…If you don’t have money in your account and we pay any check, REGADLESS of amount, that is a loan. We loaned you the money to pay for your check! If we didn’t do this then we are returning your check. That is more harsh and destructive to your credit than overdrafting the account. You tell me how to run the bank…if you have suggestions that work…I’ll try and pass them through. As it stands most customer requests, suggestions leave the bank open for all kinds of losses or reduces the bank to charity. If you don’t like what you hear then go join a credit union…and hey guess what…they’ve got fees and policies too!!!

35 On April 12th, 2004, Russ said:

Enemy;
Are you having fun venting? I hope you feel better :).
Your damn bank charges us for overdrafts when we put a GOOD check in our account and then turn around the next day and write checks on it. That’s not right, man. And you know what? Oftentimes the fees are in excess of the checks! How many of these people are complaining that they wrote a check for $3000 and got a $30 overdraft? None. And look at the one person who lost over $2000 in “fees.”

36 On April 13th, 2004, the enemy said:

Okay russ,
Is it a good check because you said so? a check is good when it is presented for payment from the other institution. Unfortunately, too many…and when i say to many I mean thousands of people deposit “good” checks that return after we’ve credited the customer and the customer takes off. If you can come up with a suggestion that protects the bank from people like that maybe we would have something there. Furthermore, the bank is charged also for overdrafts. We too are penalized…the biggest incentive not to bounce checks is to fine you to do so. Do you really think the bank makes all its money from fees….far from it! My branch only makes roughly $500 in fee income. It’s the worst way we make money! It pisses people off, it makes us feel bad, and it forces us to get on the defensive with people…but that doesn’t still justify us reversing them. We always provide protective measures for accounts, but if the public doesn’t avail of them…what else can we do? Just descriminately reverse fees..so we can be sued for reversing someones fees and not another? Like I said, I’m open to any and all suggestions…if someone has one that works, let me know..I will pass it up the chain of command…the truth is I hate working so hard to try and give you people the best customer service..and I’ve worked for other big and small institutions…and they’re all the same…and I hate having to be the bad guy all the time. Especially when it’s not even our fault.

37 On April 21st, 2004, namePEDRO QUINTANA said:

MORLES

38 On May 6th, 2004, Chris said:

My wife wrote me a check. The next day I paid rent. US bank paid the check then charged me a nsf while my balance never went into the negative. Every new policy they have changed is causing more and more overdraft fees when the money is IN my account. I am just a tad peeved, and am moving to Washington Mutual per this forums advice.

39 On June 23rd, 2004, Tony said:

Yeah enemy, what about that situation?? My account never goes into the negative, yet I constantly get overdraft fees….and when i try to get help from YOUR bank, they wont reverse the fees, however, they also cant/wont explain why that is?

40 On June 23rd, 2004, Lynn said:

I just became a bofa customer a month ago and it is the most usless bank I have ever seen. I checked my account sat. and had 44.00. I used the atm twice over the weekend AT THE BANK to remove a total of 40 dollars for gas, groceries. On Monday I knew I had a check hitting for 88 dollars so I put 90 in. An auto pay set up on my phone bill went through also (a week early in error). The bank cleared the 88 dollar check , bounced the 60 dollar phone bill (30 dollar fee) and NOW-Two days later charges 30 dollars each on the atm withdrawls. They say they clear largest to smallest but after the first one hits they clear NOTHING. They hold all the funds claiming the first check is being reviewed for payment and charge check fees on everything. They say this was the way the customers wanted it done but in surfing the web tonight I found lawsuits with MILLIONS of customers that filed suit against these fees. They stole my money today. They have an antique system that doesn’t even debit your account an atm withdrawal AT THE BANK for days. I opened a business account at the same time there having a product we are releasing in September nationwide, and I am leaving before it releases. How can you have a business account in a bank that doesn’t credit a transaction on the 30th until the next month. And by the way, they are as rude on the phone as they are on this website. I hope some of these guys get a feel of what it is like living paycheck to paycheck.

41 On June 24th, 2004, Marilyn said:

Did you make these charges and write these checks before making the deposit? It seems as if you must have because they cleared on that day. That is kiting, illigal, and you are certainly not due a refund. More and more banks are using software to detect kiting (checks written before the $$ is deposited to cover it) and are closing accounts, even if it didn’t result in an overdraft.

42 On July 11th, 2004, Jody Wilber said:

I found a little knowne federal statue posted on another website that says in short that the bank has 3 days to deny or accept your deposited check. This means that if your check posts within 3-days they cannot charge you overdraft charges. I am ready to start a class action law suit. I saw an advertisement for a group of lawyers that was looking for people who had been charged excessive overdraft fees because the bank put through the most expensive transactions first which if you looked back through your statements is probably what happened. It is unethical at best and illegal at worst and needs to be stopped.

43 On July 29th, 2004, Lee said:

I am with you guys within 3 months they have gotten $250 out of me when I always have enough to cover my checks and withdraws. I always keep more then enough in there and somehow I always have overdraft charges. I sure cant afford to be paying them too. I have enough bills to pay already. I am also was with US bank, but no more.

44 On July 31st, 2004, Frank said:

Same with me! They stold $240 in overdraft fee! I am going to sue them and more! I am sick and tired of this rogue business! Whatch out US bank! I am going to hit you and hit you HARD!

45 On August 9th, 2004, Mike said:

I got it mixed up- I thought it was deposit by 3:00 pm for ATM transactions and 6:00 pm for Teller transactions. It was a mistake that cost me $120. All for a tank of gas, a couple groceries, and a couple meals at fast food. Clearly, this is a loophole that works in their favor.

46 On August 25th, 2004, jane said:

i opened a savings act and checking act 3 months ago.i am on ssd.they set me up with online bill paying. i payed 3 bills. i week later my saving act was gone and my checking.someone put the amount of one bill on another bill already paid.the bank denied it and blocked my act to prove i only made 3 payments-not 4. i lost everything.the bill that had a double payment paid a second month and will give me less than halfin 2 weeks. i raised 2 kids alone and it took me 25 years to get a saving act- i will never trust a bank ever again. i understand why people put their money under a mattress! i have become ill over this and in the end the bank officials were yelling at me saying it was impossible for them to make a mistake-yea right I DIDN’T DO IT>

47 On August 25th, 2004, sm said:

Well…Bank of Ameica sucks!!! I had about $500 in my checking account on friday. On Friday I wrote a check(postdated for a week out) for $400. Over the weekend I used my debit card for about $300 in purchases. When I went to the bank Tuesday morning to make a deposit I was informed that my acct was overdrawn. After questioning the teller I learned the check in which I had postdated was cashed. That was not BOA’s fault however they cashed the $400 check first causing 10 smaller debits to bounce. They say they post items largest to smallest within priority levels and those levels are ATM and check card purchases first and checks last(this is in the agreement). So if they would have processed the debits first then I would have only had 1 overdraft fee(for the check…they did not adhere to their policy)..To top it all off I imediately made a cash deposit for $260 that day at 11:30am then went back at about 3:30 p.m that evening and make another $150 to cover the overdrawn amount. BoA posted the $150 that night and the $260(which was made first) the next day causing more fees for the remaining of the debits that hadn’t come thru. Had they posted the deposits correctly I wouldn’tve been overdrawn again. Seems like an attempt to get money from fees to me..If both were cash deposits why wasn’t the $260 posted the same day as the $150 especially since that was made first and before 2PM!!! I have sent them an email lettng them know if they do not waive all the fees I will file a regulatory complaint…All in all I got 13 od fees totalling almost $400 in 24 hrs!!!! And due to their error! BOA damn sure SUCKS!!! And get this I am supposed to have an account that does not charge fees because my employer has an agreement with them. I get a $14.00 charge on my sttmnt, after calling in I find out they charge me fees for calling the AUTOMATED SYSTEM!! Most banks I know want you to call the automated system because its cheaper than speaking to a representative….I never heard of a bank that charges you for checking your balance and transactions thru the voice response unit…I HATE BOA!!!

48 On August 29th, 2004, Jason said:

The same thing just happened to me. I deposited a $400 check and the following day used my debit card to buy some small items. The bank authorized all the debit card transactions without telling me that for ever $5 or $10 charge they were hitting me with a 34$ overdraft charge.

I ended up getting charged a $34 fee 7 times for a total of for a total of $238 taken from my account and even though I’d been with US bank for 4 years and had an average daily balance of almost $1500 in that account they refused to reverse any of the fee’s. Then I got additional overdraft charges because they stole the $238 and didn’t make any effort to inform me in a timely manner, so I’d keep charging not realizing that the money was gone.

US Bank sucks. In my 32 years I’ve never been this upset or cheated by a bank before. I closed my account and went to a better bank. I hope there is a class action suit soon because those people are shameless thieves.

49 On August 29th, 2004, Jason said:

I also just found out that US Bank did the same thing to my mother a few months ago. She’s on a fixed income and they hit her for over $300 in “overdraft” fee’s.

Exact same situation… She deposited her check and the following day tried to use her debit card. They said the funds weren’t cleared yet and took $30-35 for every transaction which added up to a lot more than the check she deposited was worth.

She called them to straighten it out and out of 10 “overdraft” charges they agreed to reverse 1 of them. Only 1!!!

What a complete crock that they hold deposits for 3 days, yet “check card” transactions come out instantly. If it’s really a check card then it should take 3 days for the transaction to clear the bank. If it’s an ATM card then they should just decline the transaction at the terminal if the funds are not available. Instead they found a nice little loophole to pilfer the accounts of poor people.

50 On September 2nd, 2004, Marcus said:

I Transferred 5 Accounts (3 business and 2 personal) to the Mid-City San Diego Branch of US Bank about 2 Months ago, in that time I have paid over $1,300 in fees. I call the branch and talk to Cristina the oh well its your fault teller, says Mary, the branch manager is busy helping someone. I went down there within 10 min. and all of a sudden Mary is at lunch like always!!! She eats allot. I called her supervisor twice- FOUR DAYS AGO. No response. Went to the branch another time with the online banking printout and asked Jeanie the “ass”istant manager to explain the overdraft. It took her, the 1-800 number and another girl 2 hours to figure it out. If they don’t understand what’s going on how can I. The website puts pending items in blue but doesn’t tell you to click on the blue to see it. You have to guess. Now after we complained about one of the hundreds of dollars in one-day charges, its now says “Click here” and out of the $450.00 in misc. fees I received a credit of $65.00 Any Business thinking of doing banking at US Bank, DON’T. And if there is anyone who is thinking of starting a class action lawsuite, I am in!!

51 On September 2nd, 2004, Marcus said:

ATTENTION!!
I Have submitted a request for a Lawyer service for class action Lawsuites reguarding US Bank - fees - internet service - overdraft charges. please log your complaint so they take us seriously the site is at http://www.bigclassaction.com hopfully we can get some of our money back.

52 On September 15th, 2004, Dee Dee said:

CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT against US Bank…This is a start to make them pay for all the money they have stolen from us. I submitted a request to: http://www.bigclassaction.com If we can get all of you all to submit a complaint, we will be heard and hopefully get paid out of this, other then that we wont be taken seriously. But we all need to stop complaining and do something about it.

53 On September 20th, 2004, heather said:

If you think that is bad you haven’t heard anything. Try haveing a fraud commited on your savings account and not even haveing US Bank tell you about it. Yes you read right some how someone managed to make a false deposit into our savings account in March and then withdraw almost $1000.00 dollars in less then 48 hours. You would think the bank would call you about something like this right? Wrong they didn’t. The only thing they did was to take the money out of our checking to cover it. We found out in mid April when your morgage company called to inform us that both our March and April checks have been returned. And not only returned but returned saying ACCOUNT CLOSED. Needless to say they where pissed and we where confused. So we go to the bank to find out what and the hell was going on. Only then to be told of the fraud. And to have the bank tell us that we now also owed them money on top of everything else. And them investigating a fraud is a joke. Because their 20-90 day investigation took over 120 days. And that was after 100 days finding out that they never even started one yet and since it was now over the 60 days your allowed to make the complaint they didn’t have to do one at all. Well after a whole lot of yelling on our part they finally agreed to go ahead with the investigation. And 10 days later they where nice enough to give us back less then $400.00 dollars of what was taken. When we asked about the rest they told us that they never took that money from us which was a load of bull because we sure never got it. And did I forget to tell you the bank continued to charge us $33.00 for every check thay sent back plus the $7.00 a day for now being overdrafted. An overdraft caused by them. And these charges started in March and didn’t end until August. Needless to say it added up to over the $3000.00 dollar mark. And when we asked way those charges where not reversed because mind you the fraud was not our doing and the banks should never have allowed more then $100.00 to be taken out before everything was verifid. We where told that those fees where not subject to be returned. And yes we wanted to get as far away from this bank as possible but guess what we couldn’t. You see when they never bothered to tell us about this fraud in March they also desided to report us to the Veri-check system and anyone whos banked with US Bank I’m sure is aware of them. And once your in there system you can forget opening an account anywhere. So we once again where complaining to the bank demanding that we be removed from this system. Only to have them tell us that would take another month. But like your probly thinking whats a month right. I mean what could go wrong. Just about everything because at the begining of September they got us again! We had gotten a call on a check that we had writen only a fews days earlier because they said the bank would not cash it. Now I knew there where more then enough funds in the account. And this is also after the person we wrote the check calledto verify that the funds where there before she went do there: and was told they where. So yet again we where on our way to the bank. Only to discover that a company we had never heard of and that had never heard of us had taken out $540.00 from our checking acccount. Now you’d think the bank would see the mistake after talking to this company and return our money to us. Will wrong again they say that they have to yet again do a fraud investigation. Which will take another 20-90 days. And now on top of all this my husband has now been charged with check fraud from the checks that the bank has sent back and I’m talking in the amount of $3000.00 dollars in the past 7 months. And incase you haven’t noticed the fees they charged us and the amount of the checks are in truth about the same. convenient yes. And before little Miss Enemy says a thing. YES WE HAD OVERDRAFT PROTECTION FROM DAY ONE AND YES I DO BALANCE MY CHECK BOOK. But apparently your beloved bank does not honor their agreements and was taught a total different mathamatics then I was in school. Not to mention the fact it would help if you didn’t complete the same transaction twice after you paid a check and if you bothered to send someone a damn statement once in awhile. Since we haven’t recieved one EVER from you.

54 On September 24th, 2004, Pamela Lakey said:

I HATE US BANK! Today I am closing my account with them and going to a small bank I encourage anyone who doesn’t want thier money STOLEN by an unethical institution to do the same. You can not trust them so lets remove our money from thier clutches!

55 On September 24th, 2004, Frenzied Daddy » Don’t Even Go There said:

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56 On April 11th, 2007, Retarded Wizard dot Com » Blog Archives » U.S. Bank Has Fucked Me Hard. said: