<p>I have a big gripe and am wondering if anyone else has experienced this same thing. I have a D who has money spending issues, opened a credit card which we agreed she shouldn’t and is now in big debt. On top of that, she opened a new “savings” account at our local bank so she could deposit checks from her PT job and start paying down the credit card. It seems the bank will generously allow you to use your bank card, up to $1000, even when you do not have the money to cover since they believe you may be anticipating a deposit. Of course they will do this because they are charging you an additional $32 or more depending on your bank, on top of the money you need to pay back, for the money you withdrew which you did not have. So if you use your card several times for $20, $30 or $40 items when the money is not there, you could actually wind up owing double or triple what you used depending on how often it is done. Since my D is over 18 and my name is not on her account, there is nothing I can do about it. At the rate she is going, she will be just as bad off as she is with her credit card on a bank account. I don’t know what else to do. She sees a therapist for other problems which this is a result of and it obviously isn’t helping. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>I’m sorry for your issues. Credit Cards issued to college students have been one of my pet peeves for years. Banks issue them, and have representatives on many campuses, because they have statistics that show parents will almost always pay the debt rather than let their child incur bad credit.</p>
<p>I have seen this happen to my D and others on CC. You should be able to have the bank set up your aco**** not to allow overdraft. My D had a new local account vs her online bank to allow quicker processing of her little paychecks, one time a transfer was slow to be applied to her account and she made 3-4 $5 debits and accumulated some bizarre amount of charges by the bank ($65-$95 in fees)</p>
<p>It is a real rip off, if you do not know to expect it, and one would expect a debit not to go through if the money is not there.</p>
<p>She ought to be able change the settings at the bank so she does not dig a big hole.</p>
<p>I understand your frustration, and it’s easier to lash out at the banks. But we know and you know that the problem lies with your daughter. Banks are businesses and in business to make money. If you know the fees from the get-go, and don’t want to pay them, then you don’t overdraw your account.</p>
<p>It’s time to sit down with your d and have a long, long talk - about credit, fees, balancing a checkbook, etc. Then, as the kids on these boards love to remind us, she’s an adult. She’s making adult choices, even if bad ones. Let her suffer the natural consequences of those choices (i.e., don’t bail her out). It is a tough lesson to learn, but better she should learn it earlier than later. She’ll have more time to correct the problems when she’s really an adult.</p>
<p>Years ago, after hearing about muggings at ATM machines I had my bank limit the amount of money my bank card could remove in one day. At the time I seem to recall them asking if I ever wanted it to go below a zero balance. I then questioned how that’d be possible since it meant I wouldn’t have any money. Answer: Basically what you described. So, I told them never to go below zero.</p>
<p>My advice is to rent the movie “Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders” and watch it with your D. The day after watching that movie I suggest going to the bank with her and putting both of those limits on that bank card for her savings account that I described in the first paragraph.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>You need to have the bank change settings on her account so that if there is no balance, her card gives her no money. Period. Some folks appreciate the ability to have an override. Some young folks don’t realize the charges this entails, or that it puts them into negative numbers. If you/she didn’t ask when you opened the account, they probably thought they were doing you/her a favor buy leaving the settings the way they are, and yeah, they profit by it. Once you/she realized the problem, it just takes a phone call. Time for someone to call.</p>
<p>Sorry I had a different account open and made posts with the wrong account. I didn’t want this to link back to my daughter. But basically we have had discussions and she says she has it under control but does not. I understand what everyone is saying but her mind does not work the way it should. My name is not on the account so I do not believe they will allow me to make any changes to the account.</p>