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Home >> Accounts >> Checking Accounts
Change in Bank Policy on Overdrafts
I am currently having an issue with my bank. I have a checking account with them, which has an ATM/Debit card with it. When I opened my account the policy was that if you used the card as credit, it then places the item into the pending items. If the account fell below the negative you would be able to make a deposit into the account to correct the issue before the pending items were posted. I am having an issue because my account was in the negative and I deposited money into my account to make it positive. Then the items started to clear and I start seeing an overdraft fee for all items that had brought the account into the negative. So I contacted the bank and they informed me that their policy had changed. I was not aware of any change in policy. They now charge overdraft fees on pending items that have not cleared. They have authorized these items, but the correct amount has not been posted to my account. How can they charge such fees? Is this policy even ethical? Is this legal?
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 We can't tell you whether this practice is legal, because that will depend on laws in your state or the state in which the bank is located.
When banks change their policies on imposing overdraft fees, they are required to notify their consumer customers. If your bank gave this notice, it may have been included on or with a bank statement. It may have been in a separate mailing. Obviously, we don't know whether or how the notice was given, but it's possible you missed it.
We suggest you talk to your bank's branch manager and explain that you weren't aware of the change, and ask for a refund of some of those overdraft fees. Now that you are aware of the policy, however, you'll have to adhere more closely to very old wisdom when it comes to managing a checking account -- don't spend money that you don't already have on deposit.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 4/13/07
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