Wachovia

L

Lisa L

New member
Before I start, I just want to make it perfectly clear that I know this was because of my mistake. I am not saying that Wachovia made an error. My point is that in this situation, Wachovia should have went beyond their policies and practices to help a customer from overwhelming circumstances because of misleading information.

Here's something you can do for me if you don't mind. This may be ridiculous to say, but it's important to me. If you bank with Wachovia, close your account. Here's why I'm saying this...

First of all, I tried to get a job with Wachovia. Now they expected me to come downtown for 3 fucking interviews just to be a teller. That's fine I guess, I needed a job. I went to one interview and after that, I was done. I'm pretty sure it was because I had credit issues.

So wait, you're not going to hire me because I have bad credit? Could you have told me that in the first place so I didn't have to waste my time, money, and gas to try and work with your shitty company in the first place? Guess not, that would make too much sense. I shouldn't have tried anyway, they laid off my aunt.

Now that's not why I'm gung-ho "down with Wachovia" though. Here's the main problem: overdraft fees.

I understand that it's my responsibility to maintain and manage my account. I'll admit that I made some stupid financial mistakes. But c'mon, you won't give me back not one fucking cent of the bullshit fees you charged me?

Last month, I got charged $770 dollars in overdraft fees. I'll admit I don't keep a checkbook and I should have. But it's a little misleading when your online banking clearly shows you have money, when in actuality you don't. "Technically", there were holds and other bullshit transactions that didn't post to my account. And "technically", even though online banking shows that I have $300 dollars to spend, I don't.

I didn't even know I was getting charged overdraft fees until all $770 worth of them went through. Then they tell me I can't even get a fee revoked until I bring my account to balance. THEN they put me in collections. It's not like I'm being unreasonable and sketchy. After that, even though I call and tell them I'm waiting for a check, the money should be back in 2 weeks, they call my house EVERY FUCKING DAY asking what the fuck is up. What the fuck, was I speaking Polish when I told you?

Ok, fine, here's your $800 fucking dollars. Help me out. It's the holidays. This was kind of a slimy deal with your fine print bullshit. I kind of got screwed for not having a degree in Wachovia Bullshitonomics. I would be happy if you could at least give me back 1 fee. But no, policy is that overdraft fees are only refunded if it's a bank error. They try to tell me this is what all banks do. Well get this, I've had probably 3 or so fees refunded from PNC and Commerce for the same stupid mistakes. I guess I must be going senile. Maybe I wasn't on hold for an hour waiting for incompetent workers to do their job.

I really hope Wachovia enjoys the $700 plus dollar donation I've given them over time. They probably needed it. They really know what the holidays are all about now: taking.

So I'm closing my account as soon as I feel like it. I know this is out of spite, but if you would do the same, it would at least make me feel better. If you don't have an account, let people know about shit like this. If one more person took this story and was inspired to leave Wachovia, it would make me happy. And I mean, I really don't expect to drive Wachovia out of business, and I really don't even expect even one person to leave Wachovia because of this, but I just can't believe that I even have this story to tell.

Again, yes it's my fault. But misleading information? Yes. Bad customer service? Definitely. Greedy business? I think so.
 
I completely understand how you feel right now. Banks can seem harsh, greedy, rude, awful. However, you've got to understand that the money that got taken out when you went over, was the bank's money. It wasn't yours, it was theirs. That's why they started charging you.

I'm not saying I'm an angel with this. I've gone over a few times, myself. And it's gotten pretty pricey. But put yourself in their shoes for a moment. You're helping someone out, who has signed a contract most likely, stating that if they dip into your money, you can charge them a fee for each day (or week, or so on) that they do not return that money. The rules were clearly laid out, and it was that person's fault that they did not read them, regardless of them having signed on the line.

I'm no banker or anything, but if someone took my money a couple times in a row, and I gave them the fee money back, then they ended up dipping into the pot again, I sure as hell wouldn't feel like paying up. But that's just me.

Regardless, yes, it IS your fault. You can't rely on online banking alone to see how much money you have. I'm not sure about Wachovia, but on my WAMU and BoA online banking pages, they clearly state that not all transactions may be up to date. You should be checking your balance every day, online, or in person at an ATM or whatnot, if you are not keeping track in your check book. You only have yourself to blame for that loss of money.
 
They never gave me back anything.

I understand all that. It just seems a little ridiculous that out of $770 dollars, they couldn't give me back even $35. Especially considering it's the holidays. That's really shallow.

Business-wise, that's cool I guess. I mean, good businesses know how to lie, cheat, and steal. That's what business is all about, who cares who gets fucked over. Why should my business do anything to help anyone but my business?

But I don't really give a shit about their business. It's principal. It's compassion and charity. And I guess that's not how the world is, but in that case, fuck the world. I guess I'm just fucked. That's fine, I'll be humane. The rest of the world can be fucked up. There's nothing I can do about that. In the end though, they'll only have their money. I'll have much more than that.
 
$770 in overdraft fees is awesome. But let me get this straight... instead of keeping a balance sheet, you're going to switch banks... AWESOME! :thumbsup:

Also, CHARITY? ARE YOU SERIOUS?

:rotflmao:

Perhaps if it was the first time you ever overdrew your account, instead of as you admit it has happened a few times before.

What I could never figure out, if you know the bank is going to charge your ass off for overdraft fees, how can you AFFORD to even get dangerously close to overdrafting your account? Wouldn't it be cheaper to NOT spend money than even RISK it? Whatever. After I ended up paying $30 for a 20oz bottle of coke, I'll live in my truck before I overdraft my account.
 
I'm switching banks because this one treated me like like a piece of shit. And you know what? Maybe that's how I should be treated, but I'm not taking any shit from this bank anymore.

And I will be keeping a balance sheet. Just not with Wachovia.



EDIT: I meant charity as in being charitable. Maybe I used the wrong term. I just mean if I make a mistake and it fucks me over for the holidays, it would be nice if they at least tried to help. Like if I accidentally burnt my house down, I'm sure the Red Cross would find me a place to stay for a while, even though it was my fault. They wouldn't say "fuck you, you lit a candle you dumb ass".

EDIT 2: They wouldn't even refund a fee when I first overdrafted my account. I didn't think I was anywhere near close to overdrafting my account. As far as getting close to overdrafting, the fact that I can't afford much pretty much answers that question. It's much easier to overdraft when you have no money.
 
I've said this to others and I'll say this to you as well.

Two words: OVERDRAFT PROTECTION.

More words: Don't write checks to others you can't clear immediately as if it was an ATM withdraw.

Even more words: Checks will always take 3 days to clear. Unless you have over $5K in your account, balance your account with every transaction. Also, unless you're a private banking / investment client, typically over $100K in deposits, they will never ever refund or waive any fees.
 
My bank takes $100 dollars out of my checking every month and stashes it into my savings, a few month ago I was running low on money in my checking. I had about $150 and they took that months money out. Well I bought some goods that night thinking thats what I had, but in reality only $50. I bought about $75 dollars worth of stuff, and everything went through fine. And I come home to find $64 dollars in fee's and me in the neg. What I don't get is why they don't stop my debti card from purchasing anything any more than what I have in my acc? Because from my past experiences with purchasing with my debit it, it immediately takes the money outta the bank and there is no transaction time.

Maybe I'm confused or am missing something..

But anyways, I totally know how you feel. I've ran atleast 500 dollars in overdraft fee's in my time. I switched to an atm card and I don't use checks so I know how much I have in my bank at the time.

Edit: I use wamu btw.
 
The best bet if you're more worried about niceness of your tellers than security of your money, is to go with a credit union.
 
In the old days, we used to use these little things that were like tiny books with blank spaces and in one you could write (with a real pen! in INK!) the date and then in the next column the check number and then in the next column the amount of money you spent or deposited and then you could total them up. It was called balancing a checkbook.
 
I was so anxiously waiting for your post in this thread, because I just knew it would be uplifting and in no way demeaning. Thank you Mama DG, now I can finally move on from my anger and frustration.
 
OK I just have to put my two cents in here. Personally, I bank with RBC, or the Royal Bank of Canada. I had an account with the local credit union, but they kinda fucked me over a bit, and I'd heard stories of them screwing over long time members, so I closed that account.

Anyways: With my RBC account, I cannot go past my current balance when attempting to access money with my debit card. If I'm at the store or the insurance office, and I go to make my payment of $50, and there's only $49 in the account, it will not go through.

Also, any and all debit transactions are available for viewing online almost instantly. I can at least say that any time I've been shopping, I can go right home and log in to check my account, and see each and every purchase that I just made. Credit card transactions take longer to show up, but they're seperate. Checks also take longer to go through, but that of course goes according to how long the payee takes to deposit/cash the check. (At the same time, I haven't had checks in a long time. Cash or debit for me.)

So really, I can kinda see where "Is" is pissed off. I agree with changing banks. Find one that links your online account pretty much directly to your actual account.

Then you won't need one of those goddamn easily lost account balancing books. Just log in.










Oh, and I'd say don't pay them their B.S. fees. Then again, I'm the guy who just got a call from a collection agency tonight.
 
Pretty much ALL banks have that feature, so IS_I likely already has this functionality and ignored it. There's no excuse for the lazy who ignore their actual account balance.
 
Um, no.

As I said before, online banking misled me about my actual balance. And as I said before, yes, it's my fault for not reading every word of fine print Wachovia may have supplied to me regarding how online banking works.

I'm not making excuses. I was just asking for some help. They refused to do anything for me. In my experience, other banks have accommodated me with at least a little help for my mistakes.

After going through this little equation, I've found that taking my business elsewhere is my best bet. At least 2 other banks have done something for me that this one won't. So obviously, Wachovia isn't meeting the customer service standards of at least 2 other competitors, despite their "#1" rank in service.
 
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