Derek had a checking account with Chase a few weeks ago that he decided to close out. He had just $5.59 in the account, and by accident he withdrew $5.60.
For that one cent overdraft, Chase charged him a $25 fee. Jocelyn may argue that this is justified, but you can’t convince me that it costs the bank $25 to process this. I went in and talked to the branch manager about it, but she was adamant and unsympathetic. She told me “Other teenagers have checking accounts without overdrawing them”. Nice attitude.
Maybe Chase should set up a virtual “Take a penny, leave a penny” dish on their website for situations like this. Their current policy surely doesn’t breed good will.
And with an attitude like that I’m sure none of his “wealthy” family or friends will consider establishing or continuing any kind of banking relationship with Chase. That penny could cost them thousands.
Comment by Richard — December 15, 2008 @ 4:20 pm
And the only reason it got so low is because Chase was siphoning money off because I had less than $100 dollars in the account (or maybe it was because it was less than $50) . I remembered my last balance from a couple of months ago and assumed I would easily have 6 dollars in there, so I used the card. Next thing I know, I’m overdrawn by one cent because Chase had been taking out exorbitant amounts of money all this time.
Comment by Derek — December 15, 2008 @ 4:22 pm
I make it a policy to not bank somewhere they do that sort of thing. That’s why FCUs are typically best.
Comment by Don — December 15, 2008 @ 5:53 pm
Write to consumerist.com. They’ll spread the word quickly. That’s ridiculous!
Comment by Donna — December 16, 2008 @ 11:47 am
The man who used to own the place I work got fed up with a bank that did that. He went in personally and withdrew his entire account, both checking and savings. Those 2 equaled roughly 750,ooo dollars. Talk about a statement.
Comment by Eric — December 16, 2008 @ 1:26 pm
If you didn’t have any money in that bank, it might have been more acceptable. Do you want to move everything? Big job. Contact Channel 5, or something of that kind first. It may not do any good, but it will let them know how chintzy they are.
Comment by Mom — December 16, 2008 @ 10:36 pm
I don’t work for banks that do that. I work for a friendly hometown bank. One that would have looked at the situation, looked at his history, and would have reversed the dormancy fees too. My bank treats people like people, not piggy banks. I’m on your side. I hate bank fees. And they pay my paycheck.
Comment by Jocelyn — December 17, 2008 @ 8:28 pm
And how dare she call Derek a “teen ager?” He left that classification in August.
Comment by Mom — December 19, 2008 @ 9:04 am