I should have looked deeper.

I went to the bank Saturday morning to talk to someone about this. They looked at my account history and found that, thanks to a bank error, a deposit that I brought to the bank and handed to the teller well before 3 p.m. on Wednesday did not get “made” until Thursday. All of the bills that we paid on Thursday (mostly direct withdrawal), therefore, put us into the negative, since only $100 is available the day the deposit is made. By Friday, though, everything was “available” and we were well into the black.

On Saturday, the bank people assured me that everything was fine, and they didn’t understand why the card hadn’t worked, but that it should be in good shape for sure now. The bank also began the process of refunding all my fees.

But, unbeknownst to me and to the bank teller, a hold had been placed on my debit card Thursday, at the national level, when the account went “negative” and the fees started adding up. Through another bank error, the hold was not removed after the account went positive. I found this out last night after a rather embarrassing incident in which I tried to buy some computer software and had my debit card rejected again. The nice man at the bank looked into the adminstration stuff and found that the hold had not been removed — and he did this for me.

Today, though, everything appears to be (finally) working correctly.

What I have learned from this rather painful experience

My “bill paying” account needs to be better stocked with extra padding (or maybe overdraft protection…hmmm…) for just these types of problems. That way if my account isn’t properly credited when it should be, I don’t run into this hassle.

Another thing I learned: Try to remember to get down to the bank and make deposits at least two days before the money needs to be in there.

image credit: sxc.hu

Post from: EveryJoe

Keeping Tabs on the Bank: A Debit Card Horror Story

Bank fees and credit card fees are on the rise

• see “too many” transactions
• don’t meet “minimum” transaction rules
• fall below a certain balance.

You can always switch banks if you do not like the fees. After all, there are plenty of banks out there that do not charge fees for accounts. (Of course, the issue of automatic withdrawals and billing can make switching accounts a headache.)

But what about credit card fees? These go up regularly, with some card issuers charging $43 or more if you are late with a payment. If you are a customer in good standing, you can probably get some of your credit card fees waived.

Getting your credit card fees waived

While the best way to avoid credit card fees is to make payments on time and keep your balance well below the limit on your card, sometimes things get hectic and you slip up. I missed a payment once (having not hit the “approve transaction” button in my browser), and called up about the fee. Here is what I did to get the missed payment fee waived:

• In a calm voice, explained that I was sorry I missed the payment.
• Asked to speak with someone who could help me resolve the problem.
• Politely asked if my fee could be waived, since I am a good customer with a good payment record.

My account was credited the amount of the fee. Which is nice, since once your fees are added to your balance, you start paying interest on that as well, further compounding the cost of your momentary lapse. For the most part, remaining calm and polite can go a long way toward getting your fees waived. This can work with late payments and even over the limit fees (provided you make a payment that puts you back under the limit).

However, it is essential that you are a good customer. Credit card companies (and banks) are not sympathetic to someone who repeatedly incurs fees and then tries to wiggle out of them.

Do you have any tips for avoiding bank and credit card fees?

image credit: sxc.hu

Post from: EveryJoe

Practical Tips for Getting Credit Card Fees Waived