Funny, that's precisely why I LIKE Bank of America. They haven't been unfair at all in those situations.
Wachovia almost had a serious problem with me in that regard. All the balances were wrong. I checked everything, but they assured me things were cool in the account, and the numbers were accurate. No holds, no transactions that were hanging in the air, nothing. I had them check several times.
I was out working on a film, living out of the Disco for a while, and I had set money in this account to use for the time being. I managed to just barely make it under budget.
I come back, and find that they say I'd gone over 4.90. Four dollars and 90 cents. Now, that should have been impossible, as I had receipts to prove it, but screw it, I'll pay the fee anyway, right? I'm pretty easy going, I like the path of least resistance. The fee comes back as 490 dollars. A dollar for every penny that I wasn't actually over my balance. I said I wasn't going to pay them that much, as I didn't owe it in the first place. I'd have paid less just to avoid a hassle, but that was too much.
The lady told me I had to pay the money, or some funny stuff with my accounts would happen, but I don't recall what that was. I told her they weren't getting it, and protested the charges, directing her to look at my past balances and records to clear it up. She pitched a fit, and behaved rudely.
I told her she would never see a dime of that money, and that I was going to another bank. She told me I couldn't leave, and I had to wait for the manager to go over what I owed them and work out a way to pay it before I could exit the building...
Big fucking mistake on her part. Really big fucking mistake.
I left, in my own manner, but they did end up blacklisting me. The only bank that would take me after that was Bank of America. Wachovia left a bad mark on my credit in several places somehow, though. BoA, however, gave me a loan to repair my credit, at a great rate, and without hassle. They also issued me a credit card when nobody else would, for the same purpose, and have been fair with the interest, as well as regular with line increases and upgrades.
In return, I have rewarded them with more accounts than I initially let on that I could provide, and I have been treated incredibly well the entire time. When I walk in, people actually bother to notice and greet me as a person, even if I haven't been there in a while.
I do a lot with BoA, and they have done a lot for me. I've paid overdraft charges, but I earned them by cutting things too close while moving money around. My fault entirely, and the fees were fair.
Bank of America has been nothing but good for me. Their 24 hour numbers actually work, people actually listen, and they really do investigate any problems I might have.
Wachovia, on the other hand, can burn in hell for all I care. I think I made my point with them when I left, however. Besides, they never did get that money, and I got it kicked off my report eventually, so I won.
It was determined eventually, before I transferred my accounts, that the Wachovia overdraft was incurred due to an erroneous hold placed on the account. When they were called on the matter, they were forced to agree, and still asserted that I owed them almost 500 bucks, even though they agreed that I did not.
Cheers,
Kennith
