bank fees from no where

What is the name of your state? VA

my sweet, hometown bank of 12 years was recently absorbed by a bigger bank (bb&t). i was assured by staffers that remained on with bb&t that my account would not change. after 3 months i began receiving bogus bank fees. around $25.00 a month -- for activity. so i went in, and received a credit to my checking account for these fees (they admitted that these fees were wrong for me). -- and assurances that i would have them no more.

6 months later my account overdraws like $3 on debit/check card purchases -- and the hit me $180 is overdraft fees( 6 visa check card purchases). my old bank's policy was they would not charge for debit overdraft.

i checked through the online statements and saw they had charged me $130 in fees that i was told they were not charging.

i gave them funds to cover the overdraft (not including their overdraft 'fees'), and written notice to close the account immediately.

they said they wouldn't and now the balance is around -$480.
2 of the charges were for the same thing, $64 overdraft fee for a $.01 (1cent) debit from an online escrow co. they are threating credit reporting and court.

i never agreeed to these fees, never would have overdrawn if not for the fees, and they refused to close the account -- thereby forcing me to incurr more of their bogus charges.
what do i do?

[Ladynred]

What was their reason for not closing the account at your request ?? Never heard of that one before, and you did it in writing too , and that's how they always want it !

Did you get any terms in the mail when biggo bank took over ? Was there anything in them about agreeing to their terms by keeping the account open or other such language ?

It sure sounds bogus to me and you may have to plough thru your state's banking laws to find an answer.

the claim they can not close an account with a negative balance. it's only negative because of their charges. i made a deposit of the over draft minus their nsf fees. but then found out about the other monthly charges they had been assessing me ($25/month)

oh yeah, i never got any consumer disclosure in the mail or otherwise ... only verbal assurances that my account would remain the same conditions as before.

[Ladynred]

I could be all wet here, but I believe the new bank HAS to inform customers of its terms. Have to check banking laws on that. I'd call the state AG's office and ask them.. tell them what's happened, then maybe your state's banking commission.

i guess that would be the richmond based federal reserve ?

i wonder what actions / avenues the ag could pursue. the weird thing is, the vp at the bank has had a personable relationship with me for like 6 years -- and now she wont even return my calls?

[Ladynred]

Well, you need to start with the VA banking commission, or whatever they call it in VA.

They all it the State Corporation Commission and it covers Banking and Savings institutions. Here's a link to the VA code TOC where I found this:

[url]http://leg1.state.va.us/000/reg/TOC10005.HTM[/url]

Gives you a place to start for calls at least.

The AG may at least be able to point you in the right direction, and they may even investigate, but its more likely to be all bound by that Commission than anything else.

thanks for the info! ill follow up mon , and post disposition here.

cheers,
eric

[nailtech]

if that link wont get you want you want, try this one,... its Federal...

[url]http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/rules/Index.html[/url]

also:...

§ 227.2 Consumer complaint procedure.

(a) Submission of complaints. (1) Any consumer having a complaint regarding a state member bank is invited to submit it to the Federal Reserve System. The complaint should be submitted in writing, if possible, and should include the following information:
(i) A description of the act or practice that is thought to be unfair or deceptive, or in violation of existing law or regulation, including all relevant facts;
(ii) The name and address of the bank that is the subject of the complaint; and
(iii) The name and address of the complainant.
(2) Consumer complaints should be made to:
(i) The Director, Division of Consumer Affairs, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, D.C. 20551; or
(ii) The Federal Reserve Bank of the district in which the bank is located. The addresses of the Federal Reserve Banks are as follows:
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 30 Pearl Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02106.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 33 Liberty Street, New York, New York 10045.
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, 100 North 6th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19105.
{{4-28-00 p.7410}}
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, 1455 East Sixth Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44101.
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, 100 North Ninth Street, Richmond, Virginia 23261.
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 230 South La Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60690.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 411 Locust Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63166.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, 250 Marquette Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55480.
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, 925 Grand Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri 64198.
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, 400 South Akard Street, Dallas, Texas 75222.
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, 104 Marietta Street NW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 400 Sansome Street, San Francisco, California 94120.
(b) Response to complaints. Within 15 business days of receipt of a written complaint by the Board or a Federal Reserve Bank, a substantive response or an acknowledgment setting a reasonable time for a substantive response will be sent to the individual making the complaint.
(c) Referrals to other agencies. Complaints received by the Board or a Federal Reserve Bank regarding an act or practice of an institution other than a State member bank will be forwarded to the Federal agency having jurisdiction over that institution.

[Codified to 12 C.F.R. § 227.2]

[Section 227.2 amended at 42 Fed. Reg. 2950, January 14, 1977]

i spoke to the branch vp, she's offering to pay $249 -- i pay $200. what do you guys think? should i pay it and move on? or fight it? as i have never had any disclosure of fees, and nothing is provided in the branch?

[Ladynred]

Guess it all depends on how fast you want it over with.

I'd still be willing to bet that you could win on this since I'd also be willing to bet that they HAD to disclose their fees etc. when they took over and now. However, it could be a long drawn out process. You could take the vp's option, and still file your complaint or whatever with the State or the Fed, sue them for it later in small claims.

One thing to get IN WRITING from this VP.. the 'settlement' deal and find out if they send you to Chexsystems. If they did, its going to make it hell to get another bank account. You need to ask about this (they may not use Chexsystems) and find out if they will also retract or have any entries with CS removed, but get it in writing before you pay them a dime.

in their puerile attempts to threaten me, i received a letter saying they would [COLOR=crimson]REPORT[/COLOR] me to "chex systems". i spoke with my attourney today, he is pessimistic on attempts to recoup in court. i go to court often and for less money than this, but i have never taken on a [color=blue][SIZE=4]MEGA[/SIZE][COLOR=/COLOR]bank before either. being the pocket attourney i am, i've learned the best way to handle problems like these is to threaten back, with more terrifying threats, and avoid court at all costs. but this is not that bad of a deal.

i like your advice -- pay now, (without prejudice ) sue later .
i'm calling state corp comm tomorrow.

cheers

[nailtech]

thats the most I have ever seen a bank take blame for,.... I would just take thier offer and be done with it.... but thats me... you do what you feel is right or wrong**************..