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BBVA review: excessive nsf fee 11

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2:25 pm EDT
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I made the mistake of not maintaining my checkbook register for a week. In that week I charged $366 using my VISA debit card. I do not dispute those charges, but I have a real hard time with the $805 dollars in NSF fees they charged me.

When I discovered my mistake I immediately drove to the bank and sat down with a bank rep to see what can be done, if I could get relief or something. She told me they could give me relief because A bank in Abilene TX had a charge off under my SSN. I've never had a bank account in Abilene, I spoke to my ex-wife and she said she had an account but I wasn't on it, not on the signature card or any other way.

During this week I deposited $513.77 in an attempt to keep my account in the green. Unfortunately because compass charges a $38.00 NSF fee I could not keep my account in the green.

Needless to say I am extremely mad. If I charged 2262% for lending money to a friend I'd be convicted of usury (this is the percentage of NSF fee charged to one debit).

I'm interested in joining a class action lawsuit against Compass for usury like practices. From what I've read NSF fees are not considered usury, but maybe excessive NSF fees can be tied into usury without actually filing for usury. If anything, all members of compass should know how ridiculous banks have gotten on their NSF fees.

I'm in the process of closing this account, I'll send all my money to my credit union (which offers overdraft protection without an NSF) or pay a 1% check cashing fee to cash my check at the money box and stop using banks at all.

Contact me, I'm sure I can draw up some more support, I have a customer database of 300+ individuals, who also know more people. If we can't get this corrected, the bad press might effect Compass' bottom line

Update by David80905
Oct 23, 2009 11:35 pm EDT

fraudfighter13, my issue is that there has got to be a limit to how much a bank can charge in NSF fees. The banks, who got part of that bailout, are predicted to earn $3+ billion due to NSF fees. And we the American taxpayer footed that bill. How the hell can the banks justify that. Like I've said before, if you loaned me $100 and charged me $300 dollars in interest I could take you to court for usury. Why is wrong for you to charge outrageous fees and not the bank?

In terms of personal accountability, I did the accountable thing, I paid all the fees, closed the account and now only use my credit union. Everyone makes mistakes, should everyone pay for there mistake at 2262% interest? Or 10, 000% interest, that's what some experts say the banks charge their customers in NSF fees and other fees.

Update by David80905
Oct 23, 2009 11:47 pm EDT

txmaverick09, what they have done to you is called stacking. The banks claim they don't do this, but my nephews girlfriend just started working for a bank in Killeen. When I was ### about Compass, and how supposedly banks claim not to stack like that, she told me that part of her training was to in fact to stack, putting debits in first and then the deposits so that your account would be charged an NSF fee. She was told not to tell anybody, but to do it anyway.

One day I deposited cash into my account before I had charged anything on my debit card. That night I got online and checked my account. All my debits were listed first and my deposit was listed last. The first chance I got I went right over to compass and sat down with a bank rep and asked what was up. Before she could give me any BS I pulled out my deposit slip to show the date and time I made the deposit. When she tried to say the bank could hold funds for 7 days, I look at her and said "are you serious, even cash!" I can understand holding large checks 7 days to ensure sufficient funds in the account the check is for, but CASH?

Needless to say, after speaking to the branch manager, I got them to correct my account and immediately credit my account with my deposit first and all those debits later. Fortunately I had sufficient funds to cover those debits, but then, what happens when you make a addition error? Bam they got you for $38.

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11 comments
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You are all idiots
, US
Mar 27, 2012 8:20 am EDT

Please grow up and manage your accounts. If you have the time to sit around and complain about fee's then maybe you have time to manage your accounts. Here is a tip, DON"T SPEND MORE MONEY THAN YOU HAVE! Banks are a business they are not there to give you free stuff all the time. Take advantage of the resources they have and grow the heck up!

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briancbeyer
, US
Oct 19, 2011 7:21 pm EDT

I have been having the same issue with BBVA Compass. They just charged me (the latest) $228 in overdraft because of their shady transaction processing. I had the same issue with Bank of America under the same processing "ploicies, " and now look where they're at; a class action suit/settlement. This is ridiculous. They say that they process in that manner to "benefit" the customers, but it really only benefits them, and screws the customers. A class action suit against them for these same illegal practices would be a godsend. We have been told by every agent/teller we have spoken with that the processing order is in charge-time, not largest to smallest, but a supervisor told us that it is largest to smallest, and has always been. That is the first time anyone at Compass has told us that. I'm tired of this. We did expect one NSF fee because of an emergency charge that was unavoidable, but 6 is insane!

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Whinerfighter
Glendal, US
Dec 09, 2010 2:38 am EST

Honestly? Learn to manage your accounts! Bank are not nonprofit organizations in case you had not noticed. I agree the fees are high but when you open accounts at a bank, no matter what bank, they give you disclosures on fees. Maybe you should have taken time to read them?! Having an account is your our resposibility as consumers. They give us check registers, telephone banking, online banking, mobile banking and the ability to get off our butts and walk into an actual banking center. I have been banking for years and have never once overdrawn my account because I know its my job to manage my money.
Its your own fault you were charged all of those fees because if you actually took the time to read your disclosures you would know you are charged nsf fees per transaction. So essentially each time you used you debit card and didnt have enough funds you were borrowing money you did not have! Its the cost of doing business and you chose to neglect the fact that you really didnt have the $200+!

In my opinion people like you probably dont take responsibility for alot of other things in life too! I would suggest you read all disclosures for everything you do because you cant sue the world for your mistakes!
Good luck!

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chefref22904
Waco, US
Nov 22, 2010 2:24 am EST

i have had the same prob. with BBVA so i payed what according to time was owed and told them they could suck it on the rest. I refuse to pay for things that i know i didn't bounce just cause there lame excuse of taking the big out first and the the little amounts. I will never pay them any more than i have, i should sue them because it wasn't the only time they did this to me. The worst part is i didn't join BBVA i was a Guraenty coustomer and got bought out by them!

Wendy C. Waco TX

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ShadowPatriot
Houston, US
Mar 11, 2010 4:48 am EST

I agree with the lawsuit, but from what I've heard the bank won. These corrupt courts are going to be the death of us all, and the banks are going to make money off of it. It's absolutely ridiculous. Me and my wife have a checking and savings account with Compass, and we've been struggling for too long. Up until 3 months ago I wasn't working because I couldn't find a job. My wife was the only one working. We'd been having to borrow money from her parents month to month to barely make ends meet. Even then we kept finding ourselves in holes on occasion for the very same reason: stacking. The most recent example was when my paycheck (which is direct deposited at midnight on Thursday every two weeks) and our rent check went through on the same day. I remember anxiously waiting, hoping that our Leasing manager wouldn't take the checks to the bank until we had gotten my paycheck. And then I checked our bank balance on the day my paycheck was to be in the bank, and my paycheck had posted in the pending transactions, and our rent check had posted in the pending transactions...IN THAT ORDER. So, I say a hallelujah, thank God, and think that all is fine. And me and my wife went to the grocery store that day...since we hadn't been able to go for almost a month. I come back today and check my balance, and we have almost $80 less than I had counted that we should have. I go down the transaction list, and viola: the rent check was posted BEFORE my paycheck...even though when I checked the day of the posting, my paycheck had posted first. So, I look and the rent check put us into the negatives, $38, and then the groceries we got put us more in the negatives, for a total of $76. The banks need to be stopped before they turn the middle class into the poor. Once that happens, a large chunk of our nations economy will go down the drain. I hope it doesn't come to that.

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cpmorales20
, US
Dec 29, 2009 9:58 pm EST

i fully agree with the person above me. i have my home mortgage with compass and have always made my payments on time, but recently they have taken it upon themselves to harrass me because I made my december payment during the grace period that i have. they decided to send me a letter stating that i had broken my promise to them and not paid on time. i mean give me a break. i am a teacher on a VERY fixed income, drive a beat up car and live in a double wide mobile home. if i was making millions, like their ceo's i would understand, but GEE WHIZ! happy holidays to these jerks.

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Viciouz
Austin, US
Dec 10, 2009 7:32 am EST

I have only read fraudfigther13's comment and it still makes me furious that banks go after people who are living by limited means. I make barely enough to survive with. I am not living beyond my means, I havent gone out and purchased a car I cant afford, I haven't gone out and brought a big flat screen tv although I would love one, and in order to keep my debit card in case I need it, I put some money in a bank account one week and used the card that week to pay for lunch and other items to keep my card active.

On that thursday, I went to a fast food restaurant and they charged me more than I thought I ordered and it went into my account, credited, not debited. Explain why after overdrafting 1.65 on this account and even after I went the very next morning to cover that amount, I am now in the hole for 173.65? I have never seen a bank that charges you an overdraft the very next day on a credit transaction. I know maybe people like you make enough money to have extra money in the bank when you need it, but I am digging myself out of a hole right now. By the way, I lost everything in a fire a few years back and no I didnt have any insurance at the time because I couldnt afford it.

So before anyone starts to say that I'm lazy or I should learn how to balance a checkbook, understand a persons situation and how banks find ways to keep people who are in bad situations from getting into a better situation. I know its no secret that people who cant stay in the green are a banks favorite customer. Why do you think they make such great offers most of the time to those people if they sign up for direct deposit? I would never sign up for a direct deposit, in fact, if i need to process a transaction in the future that requires the use of a credit card, I would rather go buy a temporary and use that than give these greedy institutions another penny of my hard earned money.

I came to the state I live in with 100 dollars in my pocket and I have made it a long way in the last few years since the fire. I now live in a rented house, fully furnished with all I need to be comfortable for me and my three boys. I drive a crappy car, but it gets me to the place that provides me with the paycheck I need to keep furthering myself, this all by hard work and saving. These institutions with their disgusting practices are the reason people end up without having the money they need to go out and spend on things to help stimulate the economy. Maybe the banking industry is benefiting, but I don't know, you saw what happened with the bailouts, who the hell is gonna bail me out? I get paid in two days and a third of my 2 week check will go to the bank. Otherwise, its 7 dollars a day which is what they are charging me now with an occasional 21 dollar od they have been adding every couple of days and there isn't a thing I can do about it except watch the tally go up helplessly until I have the money to cover it.

I had to pawn some of my stuff for the first time in my life and I felt like crap doing it and even, it did not get me enough to cover the overdraft. I will be dammed if I get rid of my furniture and my necessities to satisfy these unjust charges. Screw not only compass but all banks. They are Loan Sharks hiding behind pin striped suits. Middle men that are good at making something out of nothing off the backs of hard working individuals. The bad thing is, if they fail, we get screwed, the whole world fails. They have made us dependent upon them and it wont end.

I'm not even that mad right now, I am laughing inside to keep from crying cause I wont be able to give my kids Christmas presents this year, or my son a birthday present on the 28th. Luckily my kids understand the hardships and never once have complained when there wasn't any money for special occasions like that. I guess I can say the banks have assisted in building my boys characters over the years. Maybe one day they will work to better their own. I won't hold my breath though.

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txmaverick09
Houston, US
Oct 15, 2009 9:38 am EDT

i am willing to join your suit. There is a restaraunteur here in Houston that is filing a class action lawsuit against BBVA Compass. I just checked my records and everytime i had overdraft charges, they post the larger debits first, then the smaller ones, thereby causing overdrafts of the smaller and larger debits. And this was done EVERY time. It is time we stood up to these banks because lord knows, that no one is watching them.

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kjwfoundation
Austin, US
Oct 12, 2009 11:21 pm EDT

I don't see why you have not started your own group, who will present these cases under seal and to congress to change the policy, if you do I the first, I have done five years managing union contracts for arbitration, where can I help?

Working on a website kathleenjwashponfoundation.org its been edited numerous times, but I think it's getting there, I am also looking to establish an organizetion to monitor services and programs to present cases in civil courts nationwide!

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craig12
Round Rock, US
Sep 30, 2009 3:33 pm EDT

I know what you mean. They just got me for $266 dollars in NSF funds even though I deposited money and they told me it was available immediately, then I used it three times that night for which they charged 3 $38 fees. Then three days later while I had plenty of balance still, they charged me another 4 $38 fees. No legible explanation from them other then they aren't refunding the fees.

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fraudfighter13
Carrollton, US
Sep 30, 2009 3:07 pm EDT

I'm not sure I understand your issue. Most people by now know that banks charge outrageous fees for overdrawing accounts. I am sure you are aware of this as well. In effect, your neglect led to the levying of these fees against your account. I am the first to state I believe these fees are outrageous, however, personal accountability must come into play here. Good Luck with finding an attorney to litigate a class action law suit for consumers' inability to keep accounts in the black.