An open letter to U.S. Bank
I have been a satisfied customer of yours for approximately three years now. During that time, I have been extremely satisfied with your service, even recommending you to some of my friends. However, recent events have caused me to reconsider my choice in banks, and I will be closing my account as soon as I can find a replacement.
The problem comes in the policy changes you enacted in August of 2003. These policies are simply unacceptable to me, and I will not continue to use your services as long as they exist.
The changes you have made were brought to my attention in the middle of December 2003. I was keeping track of my transactions, because I have had issues before with overdrawing my account (which were due to my own misjudgements). According to my own records, I had not gone below $0.00. However, when I went online to check my balance (and I very much enjoy being able to do that), I found that there were two overdraft charges on my account. I assumed I had made an error in my recording, and resigned myself to paying the fees. Then there were two more overdraft charges tacked onto my account. Now I started being curious, and looked into the matter. According to my records, I did not overdraw my account, at all. I went down to $0.43, but I never overdrew it. Upon further examination, I found one charge that had disappeared from the online record at the time, and was an overdraft. So, I had overdrawn once. But not four times. And I had the paper trail to prove it.
So, I took it to my local branch. They looked at my paperwork, but according to their computers, my available balance had gone negative, and so I was being charged overdrafts. But, I said, I have paperwork here, with all my receipts, showing that I did not overdraft. Tough luck, you're out a hundred dollars. It's not a bank error, our systems clearly show that you overdrew here, so you're screwed.
Now, through a large amount of research on my part (note the my part: heaven forbid any of your employees should try and figure out why there's a problem), I located the issue. One of the merchants I had used my card at, the Food Court at Greyhound Bus Lines, had "held" the wrong amount. Now, according to your policies, certain merchants are allowed to "hold", at the time of the transaction, a higher amount than the actual transaction. Usually restaurants do this to account for a tip, or gas stations do this to authorize "pay-at-the-pump." Then, when the transaction actually posts on my account, it takes off the exact amount it should. Of course, I had no way of knowing that Greyhound would do this, nor would I, if I did, have any way of knowing how much they would decide to "hold". The problem was simply a discrepancy between my "account balance" and my "available balance."
Now here is where all of my problems lie. I must admit, I like the idea of a listed "available balance." It is a nice way for me to be able to quickly check and see approximately how much money I have in my account, which covers all the transactions that haven't yet been posted. But, the key word there is approximately. The "available balance" is NOT an exact record of how much I do or don't have, primarily because of the merchant's actions shown above. It does not take into account the fact that merchants often withhold the incorrect amounts.
Now, I don't necessarily mind the fact that the merchants will withhold a slightly higher amount than the actual transaction. They have to make sure that they get their money. If my dinner comes to $10, and I only have $11 in my account, they need to know then that my $5 tip won't clear. That isn't so much of a problem, to me. I believe that I should be informed if this is going to happen, so I can take it into account, but I don't really have a problem with them doing it.
What I have a problem with, and what is causing me to leave U.S.Bank, is your policy to charge overdrafts based on the "available balance." That holds me responsible for the amounts that the merchants withhold. Say, for example, I charge $10 at Merchant X. They decide to run the transaction as $100, for whatever reason, to make sure they get their money. Now, I only have $50 in my account. That's more than enough to cover the $10 charge I made, but now I will be $50 in the hole, and be charged overdrafts for that transaction and every transaction between then and the time when it posts as $10. That is, quite simply, unacceptable. When my records clearly show, using exact numbers, that I have a positive balance, and I am being charge overdrafts because a merchant holds the wrong amount, we have a problem.
The solution that was given to me: "Well, you should make sure you have enough in your account to cover it." Well, I did. According to my exact records, I had just enough to cover the money that I spent. And were my transactions past that point denied because my "available balance" was less than zero? Of course not, since my "account balance" was still positive. So I'm racking up overdraft charges, having no idea that there is any problem, since I am keeping a close eye on my actual balance, and making sure it doesn't go negative. Am I now responsible for checking my account every time I make a transaction, to make sure that my approximate balance didn't suddenly go negative because a merchant decided to hold too much money? Well, I won't have to worry about it anymore. I have learned my lesson. Since you no longer charge me based on what I actually spend, but on what I might approximately spend, I will no longer be using your banking services.
Back when this incident occured, I would have been quite content for someone to simply say, "Oh. I see the problem. I'm sorry we overdrafted you, here's your $99 back." But your representatives steadfastly refused this, claiming that it was "not a bank error" and thus they were not responsible. I'm sorry, U.S.Bank, but charging money based on inaccurate figures is your fault, and you are responsible. And until this policy changes, I will find another bank that is more fair in their services.
Although it doesn't really have any relevance, I thought I might point out the timing of my situation. It was the week of December 12-19. Thank you very much, U.S.Bank, for a happy and pleasant holiday season.
I would also like to take this time to point out my frustrations with your (also new, as of August) policy on cashing checks, like the payroll check that I cash every week. If I go to the bank, and deposit the check into my account, I only have $100 of it immediately available to me (as in, my "available balance"). What this amounts to, is that if I were to cash a $500 paycheck into my account, and then go spend $300 of it the next day, my account would be overdrawn by $200. This makes no sense to me whatsoever, and is another issue I have with your policies. I could understand it if I were a new customer, or if the check was from an unfamiliar source. In that case, you would need to take the time for the check to clear. However, neither of these is the case. The bank representative I discussed this with said that it was some kind of a federal policy, and couldn't be helped. I don't know if that is the case or not, but if you are going to be charging people overdrafts when they assume that their money is safely into their account, it becomes your problem as well. For some reason, I am allowed to cash my paycheck, take the cash, and then deposit that amount into my account. This serves the same purpose, and then my account has the money available immediately. This is an extra hassle for both myself and your teller, however, and I really don't see the point behind it.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. If you decide to change your unjust policy of charging overdrafts on inaccurate figures, please let me know. Other than that, thank you for all of your excellent service pre-August.
Paul Kushnir
The problem comes in the policy changes you enacted in August of 2003. These policies are simply unacceptable to me, and I will not continue to use your services as long as they exist.
The changes you have made were brought to my attention in the middle of December 2003. I was keeping track of my transactions, because I have had issues before with overdrawing my account (which were due to my own misjudgements). According to my own records, I had not gone below $0.00. However, when I went online to check my balance (and I very much enjoy being able to do that), I found that there were two overdraft charges on my account. I assumed I had made an error in my recording, and resigned myself to paying the fees. Then there were two more overdraft charges tacked onto my account. Now I started being curious, and looked into the matter. According to my records, I did not overdraw my account, at all. I went down to $0.43, but I never overdrew it. Upon further examination, I found one charge that had disappeared from the online record at the time, and was an overdraft. So, I had overdrawn once. But not four times. And I had the paper trail to prove it.
So, I took it to my local branch. They looked at my paperwork, but according to their computers, my available balance had gone negative, and so I was being charged overdrafts. But, I said, I have paperwork here, with all my receipts, showing that I did not overdraft. Tough luck, you're out a hundred dollars. It's not a bank error, our systems clearly show that you overdrew here, so you're screwed.
Now, through a large amount of research on my part (note the my part: heaven forbid any of your employees should try and figure out why there's a problem), I located the issue. One of the merchants I had used my card at, the Food Court at Greyhound Bus Lines, had "held" the wrong amount. Now, according to your policies, certain merchants are allowed to "hold", at the time of the transaction, a higher amount than the actual transaction. Usually restaurants do this to account for a tip, or gas stations do this to authorize "pay-at-the-pump." Then, when the transaction actually posts on my account, it takes off the exact amount it should. Of course, I had no way of knowing that Greyhound would do this, nor would I, if I did, have any way of knowing how much they would decide to "hold". The problem was simply a discrepancy between my "account balance" and my "available balance."
Now here is where all of my problems lie. I must admit, I like the idea of a listed "available balance." It is a nice way for me to be able to quickly check and see approximately how much money I have in my account, which covers all the transactions that haven't yet been posted. But, the key word there is approximately. The "available balance" is NOT an exact record of how much I do or don't have, primarily because of the merchant's actions shown above. It does not take into account the fact that merchants often withhold the incorrect amounts.
Now, I don't necessarily mind the fact that the merchants will withhold a slightly higher amount than the actual transaction. They have to make sure that they get their money. If my dinner comes to $10, and I only have $11 in my account, they need to know then that my $5 tip won't clear. That isn't so much of a problem, to me. I believe that I should be informed if this is going to happen, so I can take it into account, but I don't really have a problem with them doing it.
What I have a problem with, and what is causing me to leave U.S.Bank, is your policy to charge overdrafts based on the "available balance." That holds me responsible for the amounts that the merchants withhold. Say, for example, I charge $10 at Merchant X. They decide to run the transaction as $100, for whatever reason, to make sure they get their money. Now, I only have $50 in my account. That's more than enough to cover the $10 charge I made, but now I will be $50 in the hole, and be charged overdrafts for that transaction and every transaction between then and the time when it posts as $10. That is, quite simply, unacceptable. When my records clearly show, using exact numbers, that I have a positive balance, and I am being charge overdrafts because a merchant holds the wrong amount, we have a problem.
The solution that was given to me: "Well, you should make sure you have enough in your account to cover it." Well, I did. According to my exact records, I had just enough to cover the money that I spent. And were my transactions past that point denied because my "available balance" was less than zero? Of course not, since my "account balance" was still positive. So I'm racking up overdraft charges, having no idea that there is any problem, since I am keeping a close eye on my actual balance, and making sure it doesn't go negative. Am I now responsible for checking my account every time I make a transaction, to make sure that my approximate balance didn't suddenly go negative because a merchant decided to hold too much money? Well, I won't have to worry about it anymore. I have learned my lesson. Since you no longer charge me based on what I actually spend, but on what I might approximately spend, I will no longer be using your banking services.
Back when this incident occured, I would have been quite content for someone to simply say, "Oh. I see the problem. I'm sorry we overdrafted you, here's your $99 back." But your representatives steadfastly refused this, claiming that it was "not a bank error" and thus they were not responsible. I'm sorry, U.S.Bank, but charging money based on inaccurate figures is your fault, and you are responsible. And until this policy changes, I will find another bank that is more fair in their services.
Although it doesn't really have any relevance, I thought I might point out the timing of my situation. It was the week of December 12-19. Thank you very much, U.S.Bank, for a happy and pleasant holiday season.
I would also like to take this time to point out my frustrations with your (also new, as of August) policy on cashing checks, like the payroll check that I cash every week. If I go to the bank, and deposit the check into my account, I only have $100 of it immediately available to me (as in, my "available balance"). What this amounts to, is that if I were to cash a $500 paycheck into my account, and then go spend $300 of it the next day, my account would be overdrawn by $200. This makes no sense to me whatsoever, and is another issue I have with your policies. I could understand it if I were a new customer, or if the check was from an unfamiliar source. In that case, you would need to take the time for the check to clear. However, neither of these is the case. The bank representative I discussed this with said that it was some kind of a federal policy, and couldn't be helped. I don't know if that is the case or not, but if you are going to be charging people overdrafts when they assume that their money is safely into their account, it becomes your problem as well. For some reason, I am allowed to cash my paycheck, take the cash, and then deposit that amount into my account. This serves the same purpose, and then my account has the money available immediately. This is an extra hassle for both myself and your teller, however, and I really don't see the point behind it.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. If you decide to change your unjust policy of charging overdrafts on inaccurate figures, please let me know. Other than that, thank you for all of your excellent service pre-August.
Paul Kushnir