Quittintime: Your opinion, is this crap ?

Hey PITA !! How are you ?? Good to see you here. Welcome !!

Yup, not too long after this, I figured out the numbers did jive. Then, not long after that, (after MUCH frantic searching...), I found a rustypete for 40.80

Since it became clear that it obviously was my fault, I didn't even call or go into the bank. They have the right to charge anything they want, (within reason), as overdraft charge. So I can't contest that either.

And I was too embarrassed to just come in here straightaway and admit it. LOL

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As I understand it, a few years ago, some banks in this area were called on the legal carpet for the way they handled the whole overdraft thing. They did it to maximize the possibility of overdraft charges.

Seems they would hold all charges to the account for as long as possible, instead of applying the transaction to the account as soon as it was recieved by them. (This point alone, got the atty gnl involved. Then they found the rest of the stuff they found.)

Then, they would selectively apply the charges. Applying the largest ones first. At the point where a charge would overdraw the account, they would, as you say, apply the overdraft charge first, before applying the transaction amount. This would, in turn, possibly cause other overdrafts, since the account was now effectively empty and already overdrawn. Leaving the smallest ones for last, meant a better possibility of several more overdraft charges for several more small transactions, rather than just one more charge for just one more, large transaction.

Also, at the point where the account was getting low... If they had other, (sundry), charges to apply, (not an overdraft charge), they would apply them.

...At the point where they would then overdraft the account.

Then they would start charging overdraft charges for everything else after that. (Even though the transactions could have been submitted days before the sundry charges were made.) Anything at all, to juggle the numbers and intentionaly cause as many overdraft charges as possible.

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Maybe they are trying to re-implement this sort of business ?

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I don't have credit on my account. Only debit.

I do understand that this is the way it works...

But my contention now is that it SHOULD work differently. It should immediately charge the account, not wait days. And/or it should, on any subsequent transaction, do as you pointed out... say, balance 100 dollars... available balance, 18 dollars...

It DOES query the account at the bank, to see if you have the money. If it is not going to immediately charge the account, it should at least keep track of what has gone before, and give a statement of the second sort.

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The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good. ~Samuel Johnson