Complaint Review: Wellsfargo Bank - minneapolis Minnesota

You apparently are new to banking and debit card usage. The previous posts are correct in stating you need to keep track to prevent overdrafts from occuring in the first place..I agree with that.

Where I feel the bank holds some blame..and perhaps why some policies are changing soon is partially thus...

You see the way the system is "set up" more or less...is from back in the day when banking customers mostly used checks..and the "rules" were different.

When you wrote a check...normally it was for a large purchase..rent, mortgage, car payment etc...so it was very necessary to keep track to the penny. Now banks back then did not allow overdrafting to continue and continue..since with checks the transactions were larger..so typically one or 2 overdrafts would limit the protection...so the rest of the checks after that would be NSF..and returned or re-deposited. As well....the re-sequencing had more of a purpose....since the bank would assume the largest transaction would be the most important..such as a mortgage payment...and this is the reason the bank will often tell you that the re-order the transactions at the end of the day to process the largest first..to smallest..regardess of what order they come in.

Where this practice has hurt many new and younger customers..is in several ways. Number one...they do not have mortgage payments and generally do not use checks. They keep lower balances. They are not aware in many cases that the bank will continue to allow transactions to go on and on and on after the balance is below zero...and they do not realize that the practice (which is actually a "tactic" now) of re-sequencing from highest to lowest...will cause many more overdraft fees then necessary..since many of those smaller transactions did have the funds available at the time of the transaction. If not for the re-sequencing done by the bank....the fees could have been much much less.

You see by the bank processing the largest transaction first...it wipes out the account quickly...and the the re-sequencing will cause all the little purchases...coffee, books, going to the movies...a soda etc...all to cost an extra 35 or so dollars each.

So now that you are fully aware of your responsibility..and what the bank is doing to promote all the additional fees...you can do the right thing.

The banks are changing some policies soon which will limit the amount of fees per day the can charge..and some other changes...no more re-sequencing may also be a change soon..or eventually by most..if not all banks.

Many banks did not allow opting out of "courtesy overdraft protection service"..and I think all the banks used to automatically enroll every customer in this service. Since you do not  need to worry about a mortage payment being covered...you may want to consider opting out of overdraft protection if and when the bank allows this...as an extra safeguard. What will happen if you do this is the card will be declined at any point of sale....or ATM if it will overdraw the account..and can save you a bundle in fees.

Now it is important to keep track...but the reality is people these days use the debit card often for many small purchases and it is very easy to make a mistake and overdraw..which when combined with courtesy overdraft protection..and re-sequencing..is a recipe for financial ruin.

From the OP:

Since debit cards are pending and not shown in your account it will seem like there is money there when there is really not.

This is why you shouldn't use online banking/phone banking/balance inquiries to learn your current account balance. They weren't intended to to be used for this purpose. You would be far better off using your own check register.

they been telling me i have to write down every transactions i make,  i am not that old yet to do that.

Nonsense. There is no minimum age requirement to write down your transactions. High school students do it, you can too. You already know that debits are pending until the transaction is hard posted. Doesn't it make sense to keep track of your transactions so that you will know what your balance is and not pay overdraft fees?

What does it matter what order they put your charges through? If you have $100, you only spend $100 and if you have $1,000, you only spend $1,000. Once it's gone, it's gone. They are not stealing your money. You are choosing to spend money you don't have. If you don't get paid until Friday, don't spend your money until Friday.

You ripped them off when you spent their money. If you choose to spend the banks money, you choose to pay their overdraft fee. A bank is not obligated to let you use their money, free of charge. If you can't play by the banks rules, use cash.

A small bank isn't going to let you use their money free of charge either... Good luck with that logic -