Check Debit NSF Penalty Fee Complaints USBank

After numerous errors on my US Bank checking account, I decided to close out the account with my inaccurate balance of
minus $220.00. As disgruntled as I was, and not wanting this to affect my credit, I went into a Minneapolis Branch and paid
the $220.00. Approximately one year later, I applied for an auto loan and appearing on my credit was an unpaid balance of
$220.00 owed to US Bank. Confused and angered due to the blemish created on my credit, I contacted the bank. After being
redirected numerous times and getting the run around, I was told that there was no record of this payment. I was also told
that no banker at that branch office had left the company in that last year so I described the female banker's cubicle location
to the branch manager and was told that she had no recollection of the exchange. I continued to bring my matter further up
the chain with no satisfaction. In the end, I was told that this will not be removed from my credit until I paid them ! the $220
(again). At the time of payment, I was given a handwritten receipt (because believe it or not, the banker said she didn't know
how exactly to process the payment). I held onto that receipt in case a situation like this ever came up. However, after a year
passing without any indication of a mistake, I threw the receipt away. I will admit that had I kept my record of this transaction,
the outcome could have been more favorable. But the ultimate mistake lies within the banks inabilty to effectively and
accurately record transactions. That was my last time ever doing business with US Bank, and the beginning of my
recommendations to friends and family to stay away from USBANK.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Thought I was the only one who reallllly got a royal screw from Firstar/ US Bank. Wish
I had the courage to pursue them and fight them as you.

I am a former employee. I worked in the Item Processing Center during the US Bank/FBS conversion, and yes we did have
major problems with the "system". But more importantly, we were under great pressure from the Higher Up's to make our
deadlines and get things thru the item processing equipment. A lot of items... meaning hundreds of thousands of items, IE:
checks, deposits, credit card payments, loan payments, utility payments, ATM deposits & withdrawals, etc. Anyways I know,
first hand that there were many, many items that were "forced" thru the sorters (System) to make deadlines, and then left to
be balanced and posted later. Many didn't ever make it thru the system; many didn't ever get posted.

Example: we had to make deadline, by 2:00 am. We still had approx. 36,000 items that needed to be sent thru the sorter,
then thru the reject repair machine, then balanced, and then posted. Well that night, items went thru the sorter and then we
had to force a balance, which means we sent things thru the sorter, got into the computer system to see how much money
we had on the credit side and how much we had on the debit side, and if it didn't match (and oh 9 times out of 10, they don't
due to teller, customer or Proof Encoder errors). And this time they didn't balance, so we put the numbers into the system,
and MADE it balance. That job sat there on my bosses desk for 6 months, pushed aside because we were in the middle of
the merger conversion and each new day brought a new set of problems and deadlines. That job had millions, well 9 million
to be exact, dollars in it. I'm not sure if it ever did get balanced. Not long after that, we were told our department was closing,
due to downsizing. And there were many, many other nights just like that. So sir.... it was definitely a nightmare during that
time... But also just bullshit. Forcing the Jobs off the sorters still continues as of this date. And I am sure many customers are
still having trouble with their accounts, missing deposits, missing payments, etc.

I'm sorry you had to go thru the whole ordeal. I was taught that it is the tellers' job to SELL SERVICES to the customers.
Working in the Operations Center, I quickly learned it isn't their job to make sure any transactions balance. That was
supposedly our job... isn't that just ridiculous... Tellers work with customers one on one, deal with lots of cash, but they don't
have to make sure it is all correct. And The company makes a lot of money on NSF & monthly charges off unsuspecting
customers. It's a big part of the bank's profits. anyways, I'm just going on and on...and probably could be in trouble all over
again for sharing this information. They are really big on not sharing any insider info on how they operate, what systems they
use and all that.

Your being told things would be taken care of, and then the feeling that some employee was like well...we'll show you, is
correct. That's just about how the egos, personalities, and temperaments go with a lot of the department heads as well as
the employees under them. You were not wrong in felling that way. I now work for another bank, and I must say I didn't realize
how bad it was until I got the new job. The bosses here are very professional. They appreciate their employees very much,
and have a fairly good standing in the community and customer service. Thank you for listening.

I too have just recently endured an ordeal with US Bank. It appears (after I had investigated two months worth of bank
printouts from the branch) that US Bank didn't credit one of my ATM deposits. Within three days or so of this deposit, a chain
of NSF fees built up without my knowledge. I continued living as usual (due to my lack of knowledge what was happening
with my money) and it finally came to a head last week (Jan 15th) when my debit card was declined. As it turns out they
cancelled my card that very day! I went to the bank got the printouts of history for two months and found the missing deposits.
Since then, (last Wed) I have been on overload with stress talking to every dept, branch manager, and etc under the sun --
and the only thing that the bank is doing for me is making me wait while they take two weeks to run what they call an
"missing deposit investigation", in hopes they will find the transaction entered into the ATM machine. I found out that US
Bank hires a vendor to do all of their ATM processing to boot!!!

One month passed exactly with a total of $1008.00 in NSF fees already charged to my account before any NSF statements
were issued to me. I received the first one the day my card was cancelled (exactly one month and 3 days after the first
charge). I then made an agreement with the local branch manager to deposit $1200 into my account. I was assured by CSR
dept, and two branch managers (at different locations) that no checks had been rejected to date and that if I deposited this
$1200 into my account that they would lift the current hold on my account (set into action the day before) and my checks that
were pending would not bounce. I did as agreed only to find out two days later that the bank took the money for bounced
fees, which had accrued the very day I was assured that no checks had been rejected, and now I have a whopping $49.00 in
the bank (which of course will be taken when the remaining checks try to go through). I don't even know where to turn next. I
feel no alternative but to hire an attorney at this point. In the end, US Bank will have taken $1600+ in Bank NSF fees + some
and approximately ten checks have or will bounce before the end of the week. I of course will be responsible for the fees to
the merchants as well. My has been money stolen and my credit standing ruined just as I was starting my own business.
Thought you would want to let people know of the practices at US Bank.

AZ 1/03

US bank does suck... It's so true. Why? 1. They let a post dated cheque cash 8 days prior to the date on the cheque. I was
lucky to have enough funds to cover it. Bad business. 2. Ridiculous credit policy. I'm new to the country and have no U.S.
credit. So in order to establish a credit history I must get a secure credit card. I make around 45G/yr and they won't give a
$500 credit card after 'financially existing' past the 6mo. grace period. Bullsh*t. So fine. I play by their rules so I can start
building my credit. Long story short...freakin' Gong show. The head does not know what the ass is saying or doing.
Example: Bank Manager (yes..."Manager") says that they CAN NOT set up a secure credit card from the branch. Phone
18001STARSERVICE. So I call. They say...and I quote, "We CAN NOT set that up over the phone. go to your branch."
Baffled I call my branch. She says, "They are mistaken, we CAN NOT set that up in the branch. Phone them back." I phone
again. "We CAN NOT set that up over the phone, go to ANY US Bank branch to set that up." What can I say...A bank that
doesn't even know it's own policy is scary. 3. Unstable online banking. I'm not a computer/net whiz...but I know enough to
catch the signs of a bad and unsecure website. (losing SSL after I've logged in...). I am from another country where some
banks still suck but at least their websites are rock solid. This also scares me... 4. High turnover at our local branch. Scary
in itself. 5. Unknowledgeable staff. See #2 and tellers that do not know what a foreign draft is...Where do they find these
people??? I could go on but I won't. This week I'm moving my account to a local credit union. So if you are from US Bank
and you're reading this: I'm going to buy a car in May and a house late next year. Kiss tens of thousands of dollars
goodbye. Also, my company banks with US Bank. I've told my VP and our CEO about some of the policy issues. They were
not amused...

Summer 2002, Davenport, Iowa: USBank allowed a number of completely unauthorized charges to go through to Ms
Smith account, and penalized her (with a slew of huge fees) when this caused an overdraft situation. They failed to
notify her promptly of the negative balance (preferring instead to continue to bounce her checks, and to assess daily
overdraft, NSF, and "negative balance" fees). They didn't post the funds I wired to cover the overdraft for a week after they
received the wire, which allowed them to assess additional daily penalties. They promised to reverse (only!) half of the
overdraft fees resulting from their error, but never made good on their promise. They refused to assist Ms. Smith in
recovering the unauthorized amounts. They promised to not allow any more charges against her account from the
aforementioned offender, but all they did was charge Ms. Smith an extortionate $57 each for two useless "stop payment
orders" against the unauthorized transactions they had already allowed. The only way Ms. Smith could stop these
transactions was to close the account. And, to add insult to injury, they took over a month to send Ms. Smith a copy of
the check she needed to show First Midwest Bank to resolve her fraudulent transaction problem with them --- and they
charged an extortionate amount for this (dis)service too.

G.D.

This bank completely sucks. I just opened a account less than a month ago with these shit heads! I deposited my check on a
friday after three. I tried to take my girlfriend out during the weekend, knowing I have plenty of monies in the bank. I try to use
my debit card, I am, rejected I go to the bank they say I have to wait until Monday for my deposit to be credited to my account.
So I pay my bills for the week my rent etc.. I just check my account online today Thursday. Almost a full week after my deposit.
They have charged me numerous overdraft charges.. I have all the funds available in my account..But the person who opened
my account failed to tell me that all new accounts less than 30 days old..The deposit are held for 5 business days... This is
absurd ..They are ruining my credit..Trying to Charge me tons of overdraft charges..sending my checks back..causing me
extreme stress!!

I was a Home Bank customer since 1979. A small Southern California Bank; very responsive to their customers and there
needs. About 8 years ago, they were bought out by California United, who was purchased by Pacific Century and finally By US
Bank... It all went down hill from there.

My first problem was like many of yours. An unauthorized debit. They took 300+ bucks from my account, and when I immediately
notified them, it took numerous phone calls, letters and a police report to get them to re-deposit my money. That was only done
when I went to the bank and spoke to the manager. He was not pleased with my bedside manner. Shortly there after, I closed
my safe deposit box. Unfortunately, the same manager helped me close the box. Over the next few months, I received nasty-
grams from the bank indicating that I was past due on my safe deposit box rental... and added a late fee. I went back and talked
to the manager and he again "closed" the box. Yesterday, I got the rudest letter from the bank, basically calling me a deadbeat! I
called to talk to the manager and FORTUNATELY, he is no longer with the bank.

The new manager hopefully has addressed the problem. HERE is the kicker, I am currently buying my dream-home in another
state. I'll make this short because it is very lengthy. I went to US Bank for the loan. They told me they had an 80% first and a
20% home equity loan package that would be perfect for the purchase. Well, the loan officer out of state called me once to get
the loan rolling, then would not return my emails, or phone calls. For three weeks, I waited. Then I finally was told that she
forgot---or the appraiser never go the request to complete the appraisal. That put us behind almost two weeks. Then on the day
we were suppose to close escrow, she asked me where I was getting the 20% down. She said they don't sell the 20% home
equity loan on new purchases. Well, I had to go to another bank to get the additional funds.. At this point, I am too far into this
purchase to change lenders. But as soon as it closes, I'm refinancing, and closing all of my accounts with this bank. The only
good thing about all of these problems is that with all of these complaints. They too soon shall be swallowed up by the
competition!

D.P.

I have a complicated case against Firstar , Firstar Investments and Putnam Investments. It started when the dealer for Firstar
botched a transaction and then forged my name to some checks which did not go through and then lying to Putnam to get an
unauthorized distribution. When I tried to find out what was going on , the bank manager threw me out of the bank , lied to
security that I had made a death threat. My account was closed confiscating both private pension funds and social security. This
happened in March of 2001 and I was never able to get the OCC to make a serious inquiry. Firstar did not provide any research
to refute the forgery report. An interesting note is that US Bank was able to debit some competitor bank accounts by sending
photo copies of checks marked FRAUD. I have the original checks back from the clearing house and records where the checks
were paid. These competitor banks are having difficulty explaining why the accounts were debited. The! y obviously thought they
were dealing with NSF or some other uncollectable. Anyway finding this website is gratifying in that I was baffled that a bank this
bad would not have many unsatisfied customers. Thank you;

J.S.

FOLLOW-UP: US Bank sent photo copies of checks to three different banks in which the checks had been deposited. Each bank
debited the customers account and the transaction was treated as an NSF. One customer was my Electric Co. < Salt River
Electric. They sent a letter saying� I should send $300 plus $10 NSF charge to retrieve the NSF check. When I showed up at their
office with the actual cancelled , cleared check, there was pandemonium. No one had noticed that they did not have an actual
check. They tried without success to get an explanation but Peoples Bank of Bullitt County would not talk. US Bank hit the Orlando
Wachovia some eight months after the original check had cleared. Wachovia sent the same kind of NSF notice along with the
photo copy. I have a ongoing e-mail match with Wachovia and their responses would be funny if the whole situation were not so
pathetic. Same deal at 5/3 after they recovered from the initial shock they clammed up.

You asked why fraud was on the photo copy. US Bank has not responded to that issue but I suppose it was for effect. I don't have
a clue as to the reason for the debits being demanded from these banks. One thing is for sure they have their pants down and
there just ain't no case to be made for doing business with a photo copy of a check after the check has cleared the bank. I think
the significant issue is the ease with which banks and investment firms can break the law , and violate their sworn oaths and
ethical codes with impunity. There is a far as I can tell no resource for conflict resolution, not even the courts. For that reason I
believe banking needs to be placed under Homeland Security oversight.

Putnam Investments absolutely breached the security codes at US Banks demand. On the request of a US Bank dealer Putnam
forked over $42,000, and sent the checks directly to US Bank. They were cashed without endorsement. And absolutely no person
or agency within the financial structure i.e. OCC , SEC , NASD or any of the political officeholders , Northrup, McConnell, Bunnell,
have any concern that US Bank abuses the law in this manner.

US Bank is more dangerous than Iraq and I will continue to treat them as an enemy of America� with the hope that my fellow
Americans someday banish the Grundhofer Regime from our shores.

Please publish my story as far and wide as possible. I am sticking it in the face of US Bank employees as often as possible and
continuing to remind the BBB , OCC, NASD, FBI, and SEC of just bad this lawlessness of US Bank is affecting their chances of
survival.

Thanks again taking this initiative. Surely there will be many supporters. I know in the small town of Glasgow KY ,just from talk,
there must have been hundreds of people screwed over when US Bank bought out Great Financial. I'm still amazed that they
have the business they do. I think much of it in Louisville is on the commercial loan side. They are going� out, and we're going to
help them!

Hi there. This is horrible and I wanted to tell you that I am going through something very similar. US BANK has taken over
$435 out of checking account for NSF, in the last week, but all the times that they charged us, we had enough money to cover
anything that would have cleared. When questioned about it we have been told, that IF everything would have cleared there
would not have been enough money in the account (what?). Then I was told that they have at their discretion to take money
from our account and I knew that when we signed up for a checking account with them (again what?). We were basically told
TOO BAD and so what when asked for an explanation and a refund of the money that was stolen from us. We were able to
obtain a home equity loan from our credit union and are paying off our credit card and line of credit and getting rid of US
BANK. They are evil and I too will do everything I can to let as many people as possible know about the way the do business.
Good for you for sticking up for yourself!

Read with interest and a great deal of personal enthusiasm your piece on USBank gripes/suppressions. I'd like to add that
I too have been screwed by this monumental hallmark of illegitimacy. I run a rental business. Sometimes folks don't pay.
Sometimes a lot of folks don't pay. This can and has caused overdrafts. USB has a program which helps those in need of
OD protection. They have for no particular reason disapproved this for me. So, we pay their $32.00 PER INSTRUMENT NSF
fees when events overtake us. I emailed the CEO and got a net marketing scum bag who so much as told me that's tough,
bubba. So go somewhere else. There are dozens of folks in this area of Idaho that have the same kind of beef with them.
Cheers to you for taking them on.

Jazz

I had just opened an account with USBank, not knowing that they were a worthless bank. So I had deposited some money,
then about a week later I took out two hundred dollars for my rent. I got the statement after taking out the $200.00 and it said
that I had $9.46 available balance and $22.47 total. So whatever I go like the rest of the week, and i get a letter in the mail
saying that I am $38.75 in the hole. I'm thinking what the hell, I know I have some money in there. That was on Saturday. So I
get paid and I had plans to deposit the rest of my check into my account on Wed, but Tues. night I get another letter from the
bank saying I am $151.88 in the hole. Now I am super pissed, I tried to call the bank's toll free thing and they tell me the
computer is down call in one hour. So, I was like screw it I will go in on Wed and straighten things out. I go in there and they tell
me that they charged my account for checks, which I never ordered, and then a late fee of $38.75 for each overdraft charge.
Then I was like no, I had $22.47 in my account that should have covered the checks and other things. Well the bank teller told
me that he was going to go talk to his manager and give me a call back. He calls me and say "sorry my manager is not willing
to refund you any of your money." I am so pissed off. I don't know what I could have said or done, but I just paid most of the
amount. Do you think I should pull my account and if I do will they mess up my credit?

I hate the fact that I have to go today and try and figure with USBank offices that I have enough to cover my car insurance
payment. I have never had an overdraft charge problem in 20 years. I have no transactions for these $32.00, $30.00 and $5.00
charges listed on my statement. No explanation, just overdraft charges. I have already contacted the Attorney General's office
and the Ramsey County Attorney about this. So I don't think it is an Internet fraud thing but I have to make sure or try and get my
money put elsewhere so I don't lose it. They don't even have the correct account # on my bank statements. What a pain to have to
go talk with them but I will know not to argue with them because we all know that gets institutions like these even worse. I don't
know what to do but it appears I am not alone. A worker from US Bank told me that USBank will have to pay back all charges
made illegally but I just need my car insurance payment covered (American Family-Honda Passport) for $175.00 I just deposited
$400.00 so that should cover it. I don't know what else to say or do. I live on a fixed income of disability and can't afford bank
fraud or them holding my government check for more than one day or holding payroll checks as long as they want ! Thank You
for listening,

US Bank has stolen over $1000 dollars in NSF fees from me. They began by charging me $198 for checks they paid when my
account had more than enough funds to cover, but they would not give me credit for a payroll deposit that had been made prior
to receiving the checks. A cash deposit was made the next day, and they paid more checks but because of the $198 they
charged me another $132 for checks totaling $25. This kept compounding until over $1000 had been stolen from me. I have
been with this bank 35 years and when questioning them regarding this matter and telling them I could not continue banking
with them, they replied, "oh, well. You shouldn't write checks on funds not available". I had enough funds to pay the checks
without the deposit, so please explain that to me???? I was also told they pay the largest amount of checks first and then
return or charge you for all the smaller checks. I was never informed of this policy in any manner. This policy was made to
favor them because they can pay the big check and then return all the smaller ones. One returned check charge for the large
check would be $33 for the bank; instead, pay the big check and return 10 small ones for $330. You don't have to be a rocket
scientist to understand this logic. Its called HIGHWAY ROBBERY. 35 years of history with a bank means zilch when they can
screw the customer this way.

K.M.

USBank charged me overdraft charges (three!) even though their records acknowledge that I made a deposit which was WAY
more than enough to cover all the transactions. And I made the deposit three days before! They failed to inform me that the
certain ATM I use is different than most and gets picked up early in the day. This bank is ridiculous! They charge you a dollar to
get your BALANCE from an ATM, PLUS on student accounts, you are allowed only one teller visit, and then they CHARGE you!
For going to the bank! Doesn't matter what you do, you get a three dollar charge if you go talk to a teller. I'm closing my account
tomorrow, and I only hope there is no damage to my credit report! I'm a student! They took almost all of my food money for the
month in overdraft charges on purchases that were under 10 dollars each! As you may have noticed, I'm really angry. And I
forgot to mention that the "Customer Service" rep was absolutely mean and unhelpful, and basically mad! e fun of me. US
BANK IS THE SPAWN OF SATAN. Is there anything I can do other than close my account?

L.P.

I don't see how it can be legal for this bank to "hold" your money on an authorization! My husband didn't understand the
machine at the gas station and inadvertently put through 3 authorizations for $10 each. Only one was actually submitted, but for
3 days the bank basically took away $20 that was mine! Another example: Suppose I want to reserve a hotel room for a
vacation next month. All good hotels, Embassy Suites for example, do an authorization on your card for 1 night, and then let it
drop off. Last time I did this the authorization was for $230! They can basically take $230 from me for 3 days??? This is no
where near being right and looks to me like a class action suit waiting to happen. In fact, I'm fairly sure B of A had a similar
situation about 4-5 yrs ago. If anyone runs into any info on this, please post!

PRL

I believe I am the latest to get a 5-star screwing from USBank without benefit of lubrication. I have a checking account there. I
requested NO checks, only a check card. Now I'm getting notices for charges I did not make plus NSF fees. So far I have a -
$79.49 balance. I do not even know who or what is making these charges to my account. I doubt they know either. I haven't
used my card in weeks and I have not made any withdrawals. It was my understanding that a VISA check card would go
through only if you had the funds to cover the charges being made. If they think I'm going to hand over $80 to them for
something I didn't even do, they are out of their minds! Thank You for letting me vent. I wish I had known about this most
valuable website before I ever stepped inside a USBank.

Just wondering how to fight these frauds!!! They have repeatedly screwed us and when I actually talked to a bank manager he
admitted that the bank makes things appear one way when they are actually doing something else. He said they set things up
so that they can confuse the customer and that way the bank makes more money. Now tell me it isn't so!!!!!

I just got screwed again for another $132, unlike last month that was close to $400. At this point, there were two items
pending totaling $37 with $2 dollars left over in our available balance(meaning after those two items were paid we still had a
positive balance). That evening, another check came through for about $13 and the bank took it upon it's self to transfer $25 of
the UNAVAILABLE balance to our savings account. This caused what I like to call the 5 STAR SCREW domino effect!!! Now,
not only are we going to get charged for the $13 we overdrew the account, the bank is also going to charge us an overdraft for
the $25 and the two items that were pending. I called the banks 'customer service' line and was told that we were being
charged one overdraft fee for the $13 check and one fee for the $25. After about another twenty minutes of me trying to
understand why I was being charged for the $25 that they transfered I was told there would also be two more overdrafts for the
items that were pending. WHAT?! So basically they are charging us overdrafts that they created?

B.R.

First, of all I am thankful for this site. I am overwhelmed with the upset that US bank caused in my life. I am a victim of their
rolling NSF changes after holding my deposits. I called into the bank to try and handle this mess. All I could get out of them
was to refund 1/2 of what was taken .... like they were doing me a favor. I would like to be informed on case action info for NSF
procedures at US Bank. I feel there is a good case against US Bank. I am moving to another bank ASAP ! And I will tell others
of the horrors of dealing with this bank as we all must to do our part to put them out of business. I am also contacting my local
Better Business Bureau to file a complainant. So, you may post my story ....just keep my name out . But, you can put in there
Cleveland , Oh . Also, send me info on media / regulatory / and enforcement info. Thanks,

TLC

Here's the newest scam. US Bank has changed the way they handle debit payments. They now put a hold on the money as
soon as the transaction takes place. This way they can manipulate your "available balance" to make money off accounts whose
balance never goes below zero. So you go to the store and charge $10. The store isn't going to actually present this charge to
the bank for a couple of days. However, when the bank authorizes the payment, they make it unavailable. So if a check comes
through that night it can bounce even though the bank has sufficient funds in their possession to cover it. If you then go to the
bank and make a cash deposit to make sure they have enough funds to cover everything, it's too late. Just this week I had 9
charges at $33 a pop even though my account balance never went below $200. The bank needs the money when the items are
presented for payment, but they're effectively taking it prior to the time they are legally allowed to a! nd reaping the benefits. I went
for ages without any bounced check fees until they started this and now I've had like 20 in the past 6 weeks. My husband works
in finance and swears the practice is illegal. He actually got them to reverse the first 11 overdraft charges we were issued
because it's illegal, but now that I called trying to get it fixed they claim it's perfectly legal and refuse to do anything for me.

T.R.