^ You do realize that the last sentence tells how to do it better? Is your attention span long enough to read more than two sentences?

12/28/2009 5:27:53 PM

Of course not

12/28/2009 5:29:20 PM

darkone, the difficulty here is that we're all familiar with the reasoning that banks give for sending the largest charge through first.

And we also all know that it's total bullshit. They don't send the largest thing through first because they're concerned about us making our rent. They send the largest thing through first because it nets them the most fee money.

You admitted as much when you pointed out that banks could easily resolve the issue but choose not to.

12/28/2009 5:33:56 PM

^^ i sometimes wonder if you know anything about the bullshit you post

12/28/2009 5:40:10 PM

Quote :

"Question for people who bank with Wachovia / BoA / megabank: What the fuck?"

I travel a lot and BoA ATMs are EVERYWHERE. I never have to look very hard or long to find one. I also don't have to worry about paying ATM fees 99% of the time when I am out of town.

I don't understand all the bitching over big banks. I have never had an issue with BoA and have been very please with them over the past two years.

It seems to be that most of the complaints you hear about big banks, the problem can be traced back to the customer, not the bank. Just because a bank won't help you out when you fuck up or charge you a big fee when you do, doesn't mean they are a horrible horrible company.

Shit like this is going to happen everywhere and with every banks/credit union.

Banks are kinda like cell phone companies. People are going to swear up and down that one is better than the other, or that one doesn't have the issues/problems that the other one does, when in reality they all have the same problems and issues.

12/28/2009 5:40:26 PM

Quote :

"^^ i sometimes wonder if you know anything about the bullshit you post"

Sometimes I wonder what...no. No, I don't at all care what other people think.

Quote :

"I travel a lot and BoA ATMs are EVERYWHERE. I never have to look very hard or long to find one. I also don't have to worry about paying ATM fees 99% of the time when I am out of town."

Hmm...so are cashpoints (NCSECU). And grocery stores where one can buy a pack of gum and get $$ back. Also known as "planning ahead".

Quote :

"Just because a bank won't help you out when you fuck up or charge you a big fee when you do, doesn't mean they are a horrible horrible company. "

This one thing? No, it doesn't. It certainly doesn't make a case for them, in the face of their other behaviors. But it is, by itself, a good argument to choose the smaller, local, less profit-minded financial institutions.

Quote :

"Shit like this is going to happen everywhere and with every banks/credit union."

Have you ever even banked with a credit union before?

12/28/2009 5:45:40 PM

Quote :

"Sometimes I wonder what...no. No, I don't at all care what other people think."

that's obviously all you care about flametard

12/28/2009 5:47:12 PM

if you're not an idiot, the best way to avoid overdrafting is use a credit card all month instead of a debit card and then when the bill comes pay it.

of course, if you have the financial sense to make this work then you probably wouldn't be overdrafting in the first place

so nevermind

12/28/2009 5:51:05 PM

^This is my plan.

12/28/2009 5:52:37 PM

First Citizens waives them for me pretty regularly (it's always my fault linking paypal cards and different bank accounts to it and not balancing, etc). My average balance is probably still inflated as fuck from when I had about 50 grand sitting there for a couple months though.

I'm going to switch to AARP soon. ING Direct is also ftw.

12/28/2009 5:53:59 PM

^^it's also really good if you get a 1% cash back credit card

12/28/2009 5:56:20 PM

Quote :

"Hmm...so are cashpoints (NCSECU). And grocery stores where one can buy a pack of gum and get $$ back. Also known as "planning ahead". "

Last time I checked you can't deposit money at grocery store checkout lane. Also, there are limits to the amount you can get cash back for. All this is pretty irrelavent to me since like I said, BoA ATMs are all over the country.


NEWSFLASH, some people travel outside of NC. I travel a lot to TN and Florida, NCSECU are going to be pretty much useless to me there. I love BoA and have never had a problem. However, I am very responsible with my money so that probably has a lot to do with it also.

12/28/2009 5:58:52 PM

If banks wanted to, they could make it so checking overdraft takes directly from savings. It wouldn't be hard. It's stupid that if you spend one dollar over how much you have in checking, it can't just take the money from savings. They could easily do it, but they don't because they can get the fee and make a lot of extra money.

Another thing that's total bullshit, which I've noticed recently, is that you can only do 6 transfers per month, or they charge you a fee, at least with Wachovia. Now, I understand why they might charge a fee if you're moving money from a non-interest bearing account into an interest bearing account. But limiting how many times you can move money from savings to checking? That's retarded. If you're the bank, you want people moving money from the interest bearing account to the non-interest bearing account as often as possible, as to avoid having to pay out as much interest. It's a rip off. Of course, in today's society, banks don't really have to compete in terms of security or customer service, since everything is guaranteed by the government, anyway. It's just a matter of who can provide the cheapest loans.

12/28/2009 5:59:55 PM

TBH, I wasn't thinking about deposits at all. I either handle that shit ahead of time, or wait til I get home.

Quote :

" NEWSFLASH, some people travel outside of NC"

Yeah. I know. I'm in Chicago (well, a suburb) right now. (btw, there's an ATM I can use fee-free about 1.5 miles from where I am now.)

Quote :

"I travel a lot to TN and Florida, NCSECU are going to be pretty much useless to me there. "

Why's that? Does your bank-issued Visa stop working when you go more than X miles from your nearest bank branchs?

Quote :

"But limiting how many times you can move money from savings to checking? "

That's a federal thing.

[Edited on December 28, 2009 at 6:05 PM. Reason : dfg]

12/28/2009 6:04:00 PM

You can link BoA checking to your credit card which is basically the same thing. Also, if your overdraft is under $10, and you pay it within a few days the overdraft is only $10.

I did read somewhere in the same email that they now charge you an extra $35 if your account is overdrawn for over 5 days. I do agree that that one is bullshit, but once again, don't overdraft and its not an issue.

Quote :

"Why's that? Does your bank-issued Visa stop working when you go more than X miles from your nearest bank branchs?"

No, but if I want to use say...an NCSECU card at an ATM in Florida, I am going to have to pay a fucking fee.

[Edited on December 28, 2009 at 6:06 PM. Reason : l]

12/28/2009 6:05:49 PM

Quote :

"an NCSECU card at an ATM in Florida, I am going to have to pay a fucking fee. "

Much like you can use a SECU card in Durham and have to pay a fee. Durham, Florida, Illinois, or ...hell, Vegas. You can either choose an ATM that'll incur a fee (btw, the bulk of these fees you mention are not from SECU, but the ATM's owner. SECU only charges $0.75 for the PLUS network ATM fee), or not.

[Edited on December 28, 2009 at 6:15 PM. Reason : PLUS = visa-branded ATM; cashpoints = NCSECU network]

12/28/2009 6:11:59 PM

I had money stolen from my account in upwards of $1200... which was pretty much all I had... I then spent $300 the same day money was stolen from my account... they tried to charge me $250ish AFTER they knew money had been stolen and they'd put it back in... that was a very wtf moment...

12/28/2009 6:15:45 PM

^that's what tips@consumerist.com is for
And the attorney general's office. NC has an AWESOME AG.

12/28/2009 6:16:52 PM

How do I get a SECU account?

12/28/2009 6:17:49 PM

Quote :

"That's a federal thing."

Why am I not surprised?

12/28/2009 6:18:14 PM

^^By going to their website and looking at eligibility

^Because you pay attention?

12/28/2009 6:18:52 PM

what i hate is the algorithm they use

when you go over a little, they take all your recent transactions and arrange them in decending order to maximize your OD fees

thats the part that doesn't seem right

12/28/2009 6:21:03 PM

Quote :

"Much like you can use a SECU card in Durham and have to pay a fee. Durham, Florida, Illinois, or ...hell, Vegas. You can either choose an ATM that'll incur a fee (btw, the bulk of these fees you mention are not from SECU, but the ATM's owner. SECU only charges $0.75 for the PLUS network ATM fee), or not."

No fees at the tens of thousands of BoA ATMs when I use my BoA check card. Thats my point.

12/28/2009 6:24:03 PM