Bank Irregularity?

cazlee

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Has anyone else seen this before? I bank with Bank of America. I've never had a problem with them before, and I called at 5:00 this morning when I noticed it and the lady in the "lost / stolen" dept (the only dept open at that hour) was very nice about looking at my account with me but she wasn't sure what's going on either. All she could tell me is maybe for some reason they're verifying the deposit, therefore it does reflect in my available balance, but isn't showing in my actual balance yet. I told her I verified that it had posted prior to spending any money, and that it didn't make sense because it posted yesterday overnight, not last night overnight.

My direct depost from my employer usually posts overnight Thursday night/Friday morning. I checked my account at work yesterday, saw that payroll had posted, and went on to pay my rent and some other bills due at the beginning of the month. It wasn't pending, it reflected as posted.

I checked my account this morning, my available balance reflects the proper amount after reconciling against my purchases yesterday. However, now I don't see my direct deposit and my actual balance is in the red! I work in finance for a living and wouldn't have spent money I wasn't reasonably sure was there. I took screenshots of my "available balance" vs. "actual balance" this morning to dispute any over draft fees, but I've never seen anything like this before with my direct deposits?

I guess I'm just freaking out I'm going to be hit with overdraft fees for something that can't possibly be considered my fault, I haven't overdrafted in years
 

fastnoc

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No clue on the whole real deal, but that looks to me like the direct deposit bounced. If you deposit a check, they credit your account. If it later bounces, they deduct the whole deposit automatically

FYI purely conjecture
 
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cazlee

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Well, I just checked, now my actual balance isn't in the red like it was earlier. The payments that I was worried about bouncing now reflect the reconciled account balance/available balance.

So I guess they were verifying the deposit. How bizarre. I have never seen that before, I've been banking with BoA for years now and have always had direct deposit. Whatever, it's corrected. Maybe the reason I never noticed the verification before is because a) I rarely run my account low enough to worry about overdrafting and b) I woke up at a ridiculous hour this morning, possibly while they were doing their verification/maintenance like the rep said... the timeframe still doesn't make sense since it should have been verified yesterday, not today.

By the way the direct deposit bouncing is the first thing I thought of, but I know our payroll account had the proper balance to meet payroll this pay period. I would have raised cain with our comptroller if it bounced! So it must be some kind of verification thing on BoA's side, especially since the purchases now reflect the proper numbers.
 

momofmany

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We also use Bank of America and my husband noticed the same thing this morning. He got paid yesterday and the deposit didn't show up in the line detail for the account, but his balance shows the deposit.

I think it's a computer glitch at BofA. My guess is that they have hundreds of thousands of customers calling in to complain right now.
 

snake_lady

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While not entirely the same, I had a direct deposit every month... The one month the day after it came in, I hadn't paid anything yet so I still had the full amount in.....I went shopping, and spent about $15... went to pay for it on debit and it said NSF.... holy embarassed
and mad because I knew it was in there....(I had to leave my purchases there...no other money)

so I called my bank and asked, apparantly they were having problem and it would be resolved by the morning
I was mad though..... my money, not available to me... thankfully my purchases were non-essential...but what if my baby at the time had need formula or diapers? I would have been screwed.

Point being, banks mess up....
 
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cazlee

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Whew! I thought I was crazy! I'm printing out the screenshots to take to my branch to have them explain to me what happened, because without the screenshots I know they'll tell me they have "no record" of the issue. While it's understandably "my responsibility" to ensure my account doesn't go into the red like that, I would have freaked had it still been in the black and it wasn't reflecting the proper reconciled balance. And not everyone has the luxury of knowing for fact that their co's payroll account has/had the proper balance to ensure all obligations of the company to its staff were met.

And how embarrassing, Snake Lady! At least your bank declines payments NSF through your debit card! Most don't, allowing you to rack up fee after fee. The only problem I've ever had with my card is BoA's fraud alert system. I'll make an online purchase then have to call in and tell them yes, it really was me that made the purchase, and please unfreeze my card. I also have services through the company I work for (they provide residential & commercial burglar & fire alarm monitoring services) and had them decline my card, after running my card thru authorize.net to make payment for the monitoring of the alarm bill for company I work for - as suspected fraud! That was embarrassing.
 

ut0pia

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Yup, also with bank of america here and I noticed it too this morning- direct deposit hasn't shown up yet and it was supposed to. I hope it gets fixed and doesn't cause any headaches.
 
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cazlee

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I went to the branch with the print outs and they weren't able to tell me anything. The branch manager just kind of shrugged and said if it's fixed, why worry, and that she hadn't been advised of any issues. Because I don't appreciate waking up to my available balance being one number and my actual balance being another number after confirming my paycheck posted!! That's why!

Gah. Banks.
 

snake_lady

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Originally Posted by cazlee

And how embarrassing, Snake Lady! At least your bank declines payments NSF through your debit card! Most don't, allowing you to rack up fee after fee.
With most of the banks here, if you don't have overdraft on your account, then your card will NSF. I now have overdraft on the one mentioned above, so no, it wouldn't NSF on me unless I exceed the overdraft.

Is it common in the US, that most banks automatically give you overdraft?

If I'm understand correct, you could use your card even if you had no money and just get a bunch of fees while spending whatever? Or are you speaking about overdraft ( in my case, I can go $100 over...so be -100. I'll get nailed with fees yes, but it doesn't affect credit rating or anything like that. But if I hit -100, it will NSF)
 

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It happens and it usually isn't the banks fault per say but the banking software company. Like the bank I worked for used Fiserv. In your case their software company either had a hiccup or went down for awhile. The companies don't necessarily contact the banks when this happens UNLESS it's going to be down awhile and cause major issues for the banks customers.


ETA:
Originally Posted by cazlee

Has anyone else seen this before? I bank with Bank of America. I've never had a problem with them before, and I called at 5:00 this morning when I noticed it and the lady in the "lost / stolen" dept (the only dept open at that hour) was very nice about looking at my account with me but she wasn't sure what's going on either. All she could tell me is maybe for some reason they're verifying the deposit, therefore it does reflect in my available balance, but isn't showing in my actual balance yet. I told her I verified that it had posted prior to spending any money, and that it didn't make sense because it posted yesterday overnight, not last night overnight.
She might not have the authorization or means to know for sure it was the software company if that's the case. In my office only the managers had that information and knew who to call. All other personal had to ask a manager and if the managers weren't in yet they had to wait for one.

Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

With most of the banks here, if you don't have overdraft on your account, then your card will NSF. I now have overdraft on the one mentioned above, so no, it wouldn't NSF on me unless I exceed the overdraft.

Is it common in the US, that most banks automatically give you overdraft?

If I'm understand correct, you could use your card even if you had no money and just get a bunch of fees while spending whatever? Or are you speaking about overdraft ( in my case, I can go $100 over...so be -100. I'll get nailed with fees yes, but it doesn't affect credit rating or anything like that. But if I hit -100, it will NSF)
I only dealt with two banks in the area and both allow you a negative balance to use. One referred it as something to use in case of an emergency but the customer is fully responsible for OD fees when this occurs. One bank ha a $500 limit. When they first installed this policy people ran with it like it was a loan. Some took the money and left the bank.
 

snake_lady

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Originally Posted by Crazyforinfo

I only dealt with two banks in the area and both allow you a negative balance to use. One referred it as something to use in case of an emergency but the customer is fully responsible for OD fees when this occurs. One bank ha a $500 limit. When they first installed this policy people ran with it like it was a loan. Some took the money and left the bank.
ahhhhhhh, ok..... Here, it is something you have to ask for, and be approved (so you don't run with the money LOL) or at least it is with the banks I've dealt with.
 
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cazlee

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Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

With most of the banks here, if you don't have overdraft on your account, then your card will NSF. I now have overdraft on the one mentioned above, so no, it wouldn't NSF on me unless I exceed the overdraft.

Is it common in the US, that most banks automatically give you overdraft?

If I'm understand correct, you could use your card even if you had no money and just get a bunch of fees while spending whatever? Or are you speaking about overdraft ( in my case, I can go $100 over...so be -100. I'll get nailed with fees yes, but it doesn't affect credit rating or anything like that. But if I hit -100, it will NSF)
You can't "turn it off" here, as far as I know. There's actually legislation that's been thrown around about it for a few years when it comes to "overdraft protection" and the fact that you can't demand that your debit card decline if there's insufficient funds. Maybe some banks allow you to opt for the card to decline, but I don't know of a single bank or credit card issuer that will automatically decline payments if there isn't enough money in the account or enough available credit.

You get hit with over draft fees or over draft protection fees either way through the banks that I've banked with down here. And you get hit with over credit limit fees if there isn't enough available credit, but they still let you run your card. The definition of "overdraft protection" here, for my bank, is a 15$ charge each time your account goes into the red for them to transfer money from your savings to your checking.

When I was younger and less financially responsible, I found out that they start declining only when you're over a specific amount in the red (they were still letting me make purchases and I was $700 in the red once... which didn't really matter to me because I was making a big deposit the next day, but I stopped letting my bank make money on my laziness), or if you try to get cash out of the ATM when you're in the red, the ATM will eat your card.
I was only 17 at the time (Bear in mind I graduated when I was 16 so I could work whatever hours I wanted and I was a restaurant manager, frequently working double shifts waiting tables also, so I was banking major moolah for my age at that point) and it blew my mind that any bank would accept such a risk. What would some people care if the account was closed and sent to collections, then the bank is out 700$! I never found out at what point they start NSFing debit cards, that's the furthest I was ever in the red.
 

snake_lady

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Yer US banks are weird eh LOL...

sorry, had to say it...trying to throw the Canadian Redneck attitude in with the comment.

Seriously tho....without getting into a different discussion, I can see how people can end up in debt very very easily, if there's no set overdraft limit and I think that's why I don't understand it.
 

GoldyCat

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The last time I opened a new account I had to request the overdraft protection. It was offered, but not automatic for every account. There is a limit on it, but I don't remember the amount. I've never had to use it--so far.
 

katachtig

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Banks in the US decided that their customers liked the idea of overdraft protection and found it was quite profitable because of the fees the banks could charge. They didn't bother to ask the customer about it.

Congress addressed this by passing the THE CREDIT CARDHOLDERS' BILL OF RIGHTS ACT which included "-- Prohibits over-the-limit fees unless a cardholder elects to be allowed to go over a limit."

As to the funny business regarding your balance, I would hold on to your screen prints for a couple of months to make sure that they don't charge you any overdraft fees.
 
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cazlee

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Originally Posted by katachtig

Banks in the US decided that their customers liked the idea of overdraft protection and found it was quite profitable because of the fees the banks could charge. They didn't bother to ask the customer about it.

Congress addressed this by passing the THE CREDIT CARDHOLDERS' BILL OF RIGHTS ACT which included "-- Prohibits over-the-limit fees unless a cardholder elects to be allowed to go over a limit."

As to the funny business regarding your balance, I would hold on to your screen prints for a couple of months to make sure that they don't charge you any overdraft fees.
I thought that act only protected actual credit cards, not debit cards? And I wasn't aware it actually made it through congress, wow.
Step in the right direction.

And I do plan to hold on to the print screens just in case... I've learned hold on to any type of proof you have for a minimum of a year when it comes to financial funny business. They're getting filed with my bank statements and reconciliations.
 

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I haven't done my 'banking' with a bank in years. The credit union I use has an automatic overdraft protection service, as long as you have money in your savings account. They will make up to 6 transfers a month, from savings to checking, to cover an overdraft, as long as there's enough money, (and without a fee.) I've accidently had my balance close enough to need it on a rare occassion.

I also think it would be a good idea to keep those screen prints for a while. That way you have proof of the incident, in case BoA decides at statement time, there was a problem.
 

valanhb

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We had a rare issue happen with our bank one time when we were out to dinner. Thankfully we decided on an early (REAL early) dinner because both of us had missed lunch. Went to pay with our Debit card (no other cards with us, and no place takes checks anymore) and it was declined. WHAT? I had just gotten paid that day and since I bank with the same bank as my company, I did a cash-transfer for my paycheck so I had access to it all immediately. Thankfully too, our bank was only a few blocks from the restaurant, and still open. My husband rushed over to the bank and withdrew the cash to cover dinner. He was the last customer. Apparently their computer system went down corporate wide, so there all of their customers across the US had no access to debit card transactions or ATM's. Bad situation. Thankfully the stars were aligned in our favor that night or we would have been washing a lot of dishes!
 
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