Beware Bogus Bank Fees
This weekend I received a letter from my bank, TDBanknorth, telling me that I had violated Federal Regulation D and had been charged a $20 fee for each infraction. I logged on to my account to discover that I'd been fined $40.
It turns out that Federal Regulation D limits the number of debit or withdrawal transactions on savings accounts to six per statement cycle. This includes, apparently, transfers of funds from your savings account into your checking account using online banking. However, if one were to drive to one's bank--in my case, the nearest branch or ATM is one town over--and withdraw the funds in person and then deposit them into one's checking account, one would not be charged a fine for doing so. How this makes any kind of sense is beyond me.
In my case, I have direct deposit so my paychecks go directly into my checking account. Then, each month I have three auto-transfers that go into my savings. I had been overenthusiastic in my savings plan in April and so I also transferred another significant sum over to my savings because I didn't want to be tempted to touch it. Plus, it earns a teensy bit of interest while it sits in my savings, so it seemed to make sense to leave it there rather than in my checking account. However, I had some unexpected expenses, medical and otherwise, and wound up transferring some of that money back into my checking account to cover my bills.
I made eight transfers altogether, so by the time I received the letter informing me of the regulation, I had already been charged $40.
Today, I called the bank and talked with two snarky customer service representatives. The first offered to give me $20 back as a one-time courtesy, but told me I really should have paid more attention to my Deposit Account Agreement. Who reads that? I said. She maintained that I should have. Then she reminded me that it's a Federal regulation, not the bank's. But you set the fees, not the federal government, right? It was the bank's decision to charge me $20 for transferring $25 from my saving to my checking?
I also argued that I should have been notified in some way that I was going to be fined if I completed the transaction. I was polite, but adamant that the whole amount should be refunded. Since I couldn't get any farther with the first person I spoke with, I asked to speak with a supervisor. I sat on hold listening to bad music for about four minutes.
When she came back, the first person was cordial and let me know that she had already credited my account for half of the fines ($20), so at least I could rest easy that some progress had been made. The supervisor was unpleasant. She pointed out that on the transactions page there is a hyperlink that is "clearly" labeled "What are my transaction limitations?" I told her that I assumed that had to do with the dollar amount, and that it didn't occur to me to click on it since I was only transferring small amounts.
She gave me a really hard time, but since I wouldn't hang up, she finally cut me off and said, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm going to tell you we will never do this for you again.
That's fine, I said. Now that I know about the regulation, I'll handle my banking differently. Had I known that I would be fined for transferring money from my savings to my checking, I never would have done it.
I thanked her for her help and we hung up.
Two hours later, the credits have not posted to my account. If they haven't shown up in a couple of days, I'll check back, I guess. I wrote down the names of the women I spoke with, but hopefully I won't have to go through all of that again.
I guess the lesson to be learned here is a) apparently in the U.S., one can't withdraw money more than six times per billing cycle from one's savings account, unless one does so in person and b) it's worth it to make a phone call and be polite, but persistent when one is charged a bogus fee.
It turns out that Federal Regulation D limits the number of debit or withdrawal transactions on savings accounts to six per statement cycle. This includes, apparently, transfers of funds from your savings account into your checking account using online banking. However, if one were to drive to one's bank--in my case, the nearest branch or ATM is one town over--and withdraw the funds in person and then deposit them into one's checking account, one would not be charged a fine for doing so. How this makes any kind of sense is beyond me.
In my case, I have direct deposit so my paychecks go directly into my checking account. Then, each month I have three auto-transfers that go into my savings. I had been overenthusiastic in my savings plan in April and so I also transferred another significant sum over to my savings because I didn't want to be tempted to touch it. Plus, it earns a teensy bit of interest while it sits in my savings, so it seemed to make sense to leave it there rather than in my checking account. However, I had some unexpected expenses, medical and otherwise, and wound up transferring some of that money back into my checking account to cover my bills.
I made eight transfers altogether, so by the time I received the letter informing me of the regulation, I had already been charged $40.
Today, I called the bank and talked with two snarky customer service representatives. The first offered to give me $20 back as a one-time courtesy, but told me I really should have paid more attention to my Deposit Account Agreement. Who reads that? I said. She maintained that I should have. Then she reminded me that it's a Federal regulation, not the bank's. But you set the fees, not the federal government, right? It was the bank's decision to charge me $20 for transferring $25 from my saving to my checking?
I also argued that I should have been notified in some way that I was going to be fined if I completed the transaction. I was polite, but adamant that the whole amount should be refunded. Since I couldn't get any farther with the first person I spoke with, I asked to speak with a supervisor. I sat on hold listening to bad music for about four minutes.
When she came back, the first person was cordial and let me know that she had already credited my account for half of the fines ($20), so at least I could rest easy that some progress had been made. The supervisor was unpleasant. She pointed out that on the transactions page there is a hyperlink that is "clearly" labeled "What are my transaction limitations?" I told her that I assumed that had to do with the dollar amount, and that it didn't occur to me to click on it since I was only transferring small amounts.
She gave me a really hard time, but since I wouldn't hang up, she finally cut me off and said, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm going to tell you we will never do this for you again.
That's fine, I said. Now that I know about the regulation, I'll handle my banking differently. Had I known that I would be fined for transferring money from my savings to my checking, I never would have done it.
I thanked her for her help and we hung up.
Two hours later, the credits have not posted to my account. If they haven't shown up in a couple of days, I'll check back, I guess. I wrote down the names of the women I spoke with, but hopefully I won't have to go through all of that again.
I guess the lesson to be learned here is a) apparently in the U.S., one can't withdraw money more than six times per billing cycle from one's savings account, unless one does so in person and b) it's worth it to make a phone call and be polite, but persistent when one is charged a bogus fee.
posted by Naomi at
9:19 AM
3 Comments:
Appalling service, Naomi, and I applaud you for not accepting the answer "No" from someone who didn't have the power to say "Yes" (the first CS rep you talked to). I'd take this all one step further and consider changing banks altogether. I've been *really* delighted with the service I've gotten from Schwab Bank (yes, they have a bank!). Their interest rates are (or at least were, when interest rates were actually somewhat consequential) competitive, and their customer service is impeccable. ATM transactions are completely reimbursed, and there are NO fees for any online payments or transfers. I'm sure they can do a much better job of letting you know the features they offer, but as a VERY happy customer (receiving NO kind of compensation for this endorsement) I wanted to be sure to pass the word along -- you CAN get good service!
I've not had a commercial bank account since 1992. I use credit unions. Their fees are much more reasonable and mine does not have a limit on how many transfers I can make in a month (not sure if that is true for all credit unions).
The other thing I love about the credit union is that I never have to fill out a deposit or withdrawal slip unless I make an after-hours deposit.
As far as I know they have all the same services as a commercial bank, or else I've never needed a service that they didn't have.
Thanks bethanie and kk for the very helpful suggestions! I have been overwhelmed by the idea of switching banks...but it may be time to muster my courage and just make the change, particularly since my bank doesn't even have a branch in the town I live in now...
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