heathb commented:

I have been keeping up with banks practices for years and I think few people realize just how tricky bank fees are. No where is this more evident than in the bogus overdraft fees that banks use to extort money from consumers.

I own a small business and we deposit around $200,000 annually into our Wachovia Business Checking Account, and yet no matter how hard my wife and I try, no matter how diligent and detailed we are with our accounts, we still go negative from time to time.

We also have a "personal" checking account with Wachovia, and again, it goes negative from time to time. In the last few years I have spent $37.00 for a Starbucks coffee more than one time if you know what I mean. I want to share some second hand, but very reliable information that I got from both a Wachovia employee and a former employee for the FDIC.

Reading this should help people realize the way the bank thinks. First, Wachovia, and banks in general, look upon their customers as an expense. I mean, when you stop to think about it, they (banks) have to store and keep data on you, not mention the fact that they have to turn that information over to the US government for oversight into possible terrorist funds. Then they have to mail you your statement, talk to you on the phone, and have a real, human being who gets paid, called a "teller", to actually take you money.

In some cases they have to keep and maintain ATM machines around each region. All in all, you, the customer, are only worth to a bank what you put in your account. But, it doesn't stop there. Not only are you worth only what you have deposited into your account, but you are worth even less to them if you do not leave the money in the account long enough. In other words, if you keep a relatively low balance and you milk out all of your money as soon as you put it in, then the way the figure it, they never get to keep you money long enough. Banks figured out a long time ago that a $35.00 return on a $2.00 cup of coffee was greater and faster than an annual percentage rate for some house that it might take the average Joe six pack 30 years to pay off. If you are a bank, the real money is in fees, mostly overdraft fees.

Thus, banks began to realize that the modern consumer lifestyle keeps us busy and on the road making numerous small purchases. In order to meet the demands of the modern life-style they offered us the "Visa check Card". Its fast, its safe, its simple, and oh yea, its really expensive if you are not careful.

As gas prices and food surge, more and more people will have less and less to keep in their accounts, and guess who wins when that happens? In reality, a bank will win if you maintain a high-balance because they will have more of your money to invest. Likewise, they will win by hitting you with negative charges when your account goes low, or if you simply maintain a low balance. Either way they will not lose. You see, really overdraft fees and other bogus
fees in general are just what a bank charges you for the privilege of allowing you to use their services.

In fact, overdraft fees ensure to a bank that they will at least get some money back out of you. Unlike the days when our grandparents put money in the bank, and money deposited was enough in itself to constitute a relationship between you and the bank, today's financial institutions have cashed in on our spending habits and they are making billions. Most people don't realize it, but the whole objective of banking is to make you negative.

If you don't believe me, then why do banks run software that greatly increases chances of an overdraft? Why do banks "stack" your purchases from high to low? Why don't banks just simply cut you off once you have spent more than you have in your account? Why don't they charge you a simple percentage instead of a whopping $35.00 per transaction? Why do they hold some charges, post others, and all the while they show an available balance that's not really available at all. This is all designed to extort more and more money from each and every customer.

By the way, I am sure that millions of people never go negative, but guess what, millions of others do, and despite what Wachovia, and other banks tell those customers, they ( the customers) are not irresponsible people who failed to monitor their activities. In fact, most people with a bank account watch it very closely, they just fail to realize that the statistics and the system are stacked against them. With each purchase you are gambling with you money. All an overdraft fee is, is just punishment for not leaving enough in your account to make it worthwhile for them to provide you with service.

Finally, I have found one definite, sure-fire way to avoid the rip-off................just start using cash. That's right. When you want something, pay cash. Start doing that and the bank will have less of your money from the start. Stop giving them your whole paycheck to play around with. Keep as much of your money as possible in your hands and they will feel the pain, I can assure you they will feel it. Oh by the way, by keeping more cash in your pocket, you will be frowned upon for having a low balance, but you won't have to endure the pain of 100's of dollars in negative charges.