thecableguy
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maine
I'm wondering if I have a valid claim here.
On 11/14 I made $2930 in deposits into my Bank of America Business Checking Account.
On 11/14 I also made $2665 in purchases using my Bank of America Debit Card
At the end of the day on 11/14 my Available balance showed as $267.
I was expecting 2 ACH debits to occur overnight totalling $265 ($200 + $65).
I expected to start the morning of 11/15 with approximately $2 available balance.
Instead, on 11/15 when I checked, both ACH transaction cleared, however the available balance showed $384.
What happened was that several of the debit card transactions from the day before, which has been previously authorized and deducted from my balance mysteriously disappeared.
Without knowing this, I assumed a different deposit had cleared, or perhaps expired authorizations have cleared, meaning that $384 is available to spend
On 11/15 I made further payments using my debit card totalling $313.
On 11/15 the available balance at the end of the day showed $71.
When I checked on 11/16, the Balance showed negative, -$180 with several overdraft fees. The $200 ACH transaction which had previously showed as processing, now showed NSF and was not paid.
I made no further transactions on 11/16.
On 11/17 The balance changed to -$394
Finally on 11/18 the balance changed to -$429
In total, I was assessed with 9 overdraft fees of $35 and 1 NSF fee of $35 totalling $350 in fees.
I contacted the bank via telephone on Wednesday 11/16, but was on hold for over 30 minutes and so I decided to call back the next day.
On 11/17 I called back and was on the phone for over an hour with a "banking specialist" who ultimately could do nothing except put blame on the Merchants. They said the merchant may not post the transaction on the same day as the authorization. I contended that the authorization deducts funds from my available balance, and those funds are set aside for the merchant so therefore it should not matter on which day the merchant takes funds from the account.
It's also worth noting that in the 2 years I've been with bank of america, similar situations have occurred at least 5 or 6 times where misleading available balance information leads to overdraft fees.
It's worth noting that I do not write checks, ever, In fact I don't even have any. I use debit card only and I have asked that my card be set to decline all transactions for which there are insufficient funds. BofA confirms that my card is set that way, which should prevent Overdraft from being possible with the debit card, yet I have still somehow incurred overdraft fees. In past occurrences, BofA has refunded those fees.
In this case, BofA refused to refund the fees and correct the situation.
I have several other accounts with other banks and debit cards and I have never had this issue with any other bank. They always display accurate Available Balance information.
In speaking with a BofA representative over the phone, they admitted that they do not keep a record of what is displayed to me as my available balance. The "Account Balance History" they have in no way matches what I observed in real time using their online banking or their mobile application.
I have read about several folks bringing a small claims case against Bank of America. In one case, it was over $58 in overdraft fees. The claim was brought for $2,058 to include wasted time, and punitive. It was reported that the plaintiff received a settlement in the full amount $2,058 the day before the court date. Other sources seem to indicate the BofA will prefer to settle than to send representatives to defend the case.
I am considering filing a claim. Is there any reason I should not seek the maximum amount of punitive damages? I think Maine small claims court limit is $5,000.
Any other advice or tips for getting this resolved is greatly appreciated! Thank You
I'm wondering if I have a valid claim here.
On 11/14 I made $2930 in deposits into my Bank of America Business Checking Account.
On 11/14 I also made $2665 in purchases using my Bank of America Debit Card
At the end of the day on 11/14 my Available balance showed as $267.
I was expecting 2 ACH debits to occur overnight totalling $265 ($200 + $65).
I expected to start the morning of 11/15 with approximately $2 available balance.
Instead, on 11/15 when I checked, both ACH transaction cleared, however the available balance showed $384.
What happened was that several of the debit card transactions from the day before, which has been previously authorized and deducted from my balance mysteriously disappeared.
Without knowing this, I assumed a different deposit had cleared, or perhaps expired authorizations have cleared, meaning that $384 is available to spend
On 11/15 I made further payments using my debit card totalling $313.
On 11/15 the available balance at the end of the day showed $71.
When I checked on 11/16, the Balance showed negative, -$180 with several overdraft fees. The $200 ACH transaction which had previously showed as processing, now showed NSF and was not paid.
I made no further transactions on 11/16.
On 11/17 The balance changed to -$394
Finally on 11/18 the balance changed to -$429
In total, I was assessed with 9 overdraft fees of $35 and 1 NSF fee of $35 totalling $350 in fees.
I contacted the bank via telephone on Wednesday 11/16, but was on hold for over 30 minutes and so I decided to call back the next day.
On 11/17 I called back and was on the phone for over an hour with a "banking specialist" who ultimately could do nothing except put blame on the Merchants. They said the merchant may not post the transaction on the same day as the authorization. I contended that the authorization deducts funds from my available balance, and those funds are set aside for the merchant so therefore it should not matter on which day the merchant takes funds from the account.
It's also worth noting that in the 2 years I've been with bank of america, similar situations have occurred at least 5 or 6 times where misleading available balance information leads to overdraft fees.
It's worth noting that I do not write checks, ever, In fact I don't even have any. I use debit card only and I have asked that my card be set to decline all transactions for which there are insufficient funds. BofA confirms that my card is set that way, which should prevent Overdraft from being possible with the debit card, yet I have still somehow incurred overdraft fees. In past occurrences, BofA has refunded those fees.
In this case, BofA refused to refund the fees and correct the situation.
I have several other accounts with other banks and debit cards and I have never had this issue with any other bank. They always display accurate Available Balance information.
In speaking with a BofA representative over the phone, they admitted that they do not keep a record of what is displayed to me as my available balance. The "Account Balance History" they have in no way matches what I observed in real time using their online banking or their mobile application.
I have read about several folks bringing a small claims case against Bank of America. In one case, it was over $58 in overdraft fees. The claim was brought for $2,058 to include wasted time, and punitive. It was reported that the plaintiff received a settlement in the full amount $2,058 the day before the court date. Other sources seem to indicate the BofA will prefer to settle than to send representatives to defend the case.
I am considering filing a claim. Is there any reason I should not seek the maximum amount of punitive damages? I think Maine small claims court limit is $5,000.
Any other advice or tips for getting this resolved is greatly appreciated! Thank You