You should have opted out of your overdraft protection (you signed for it when you opened the account). Also, you signed for the daily overdraft fees which were also in your disclosures. You should go by the bank (not call, but physically walk in) and sit down with someone and they can help you. Banks can do a lot if you ask them for help first and not get angry after the fact.
As of recently, it's not the branch's decision to discontinue a particular product that is only offered to a select number of overdrawn accounts which they feel they can provide support for. The corporate office discontinued the program - don't blame the bank (the branches and employees received no notice that it was to be discontinued on January 1, 2009). Also, in that program, there are minimums because the company doesn't allow you to enroll in this program unless you are really overdrawn so, consider it a compliment that they wanted to work with you and not let the collections agency call you daily. Also, walking into a bank and saying that you refuse to pay more than a certain amount of money is a GREAT way for them to not help you; banks are not rigid unless you give them a reason to be rigid. I work for a bank and customers that come in with an attitude get no help while those who come in calm and prepared get all the help they need. Both of you should really read the disclosures given to you when you open the account because they outline the fees and when you sign the signature card, whether you've read the disclosures or not, you signed for the fees (SAME AT ANY BANK!).
In a nutshell, you signed for the fees, you agreed to them, then you racked them up. You overdrafted and you should pay for that because YOU SIGNED FOR IT. Carry a check register and balance your checkbook correctly and then a bank might help you IF you don't know what you're doing.
Your account could be too young (less than 30 days) or the checks could be above your minimum daily average balance. Also, checks written to you are a PROMISE to pay, NOT A GUARANTEE! I work for another bank and have to say that if your account was less than 3 months old and you brought me $1900 worth of checks with an average daily balance of ($300) (that's negative btw), I'd put them on hold too! Also, holds are determined by the federal government, NOT THE BANK. Most banks send digital photos of your items to be processed. These items have to go to the Federal Reserve, then to the issuing bank, then BACK to the Federal Reserve, then back to your bank. You should feel blessed that they put your checks on hold because if they didn't and they all charged back, you'd complain about them not closing an overdrafted account. So, you just seem to be unhappy that a bank did you a favor.
So, you're saying that it's immoral to employee a former convict? That's like saying someone simply pushing papers in an office shouldn't be allowed to use the copier because he stole ink 10 years ago. Grow up.
Walmart does not own this bank. That bank is like McDonald's - a private vendor inside a public building. You shouldn't get angry because Walmart won't take their checks. You should also understand that it takes time to send things via mail these days and it can take up to 72 hours to "express mail" a debit card and that doesn't even include the financial hit that that bank took so you could get your debit card that fast.
Are you sure you have the right bank? I've never heard of them doing that...
No agency will stop this. This is a federally regulated institution just like any other bank. Have you talked to the bank? I work for another bank and even though your check is direct deposited, it can still be listed as pending and was more than likely in your available balance. Ask your bank for a refund.
See, that's why nobody will help you. You showed your ###. Yes, it's their fault for not checking the bills first, but of course they're not going to cooperate with someone who's showing their ###. Had you walked in there with a firm attitude but not over the top people would have helped you. The only reason the SS decided to help you is because it's their job. Next time you want to go somewhere to just cash a check, take into consideration that you should check everything out before you leave. Nobody will fault you for asking for the detector pen and asking for different bills before you leave - trust me, at my bank, we urge people to do that. Finally, getting an attitude in general doesn't help you in any form or fashion. When you encounter people and they look at you wrong, do you go off on them? Take consideration before you decide who's at fault here.
I'm constantly amazed at the fact that you went and spent all that money and didn't think, "hmm... maybe it's in my PENDING TRANSACTIONS part of my online banking." or maybe you forgot to ask yourself, "Hmm... maybe they'll put it through tomorrow." But no... you said, "Hey, it's not on there, let me go spend some more money." First, items NEVER immediately post to any bank's accounts unless they're done at the bank; 3rd party merchants never go through immediately - they go into your pending items. Secondly, you do have a spending problem if you've maxed out your card in one day because who goes off and puts a vacation on their card and then forgets about it when they go to spend another thousand dollars or whatever?!? Come on, if you don't have the money, don't spend it. Finally, you can't hold the bank accountable for not giving you every refund you want back. In order for the world's financial system to NOT collapse, banks have to turn a profit - get over that fact now. The bank didn't turn it's back, you did when you decided to go out and blow out an entire credit card.
You should always read your disclosures when you open new accounts. You should also not spend more than you have - it's called debt and that's how America got so screwed up in the first place. Finally, look CLOSER in your online banking - never take it at face value. No, I don't work for BofA but it's the same at any bank.
I've heard this before too. However, when merchants decide to push their pending items to posted (merchants... not the bank), then the bank puts them through. It may have been the merchants and not the bank. Most banks take credits before debits (deposits before withdrawals) and if that's the case, then that might be why your account is all crazy right now. Look a little closer at when the merchant put the item through (usually 48-72 hours with the exception of car rentals which can usually pend for 30 days).
