<p>Probably my fault for not reading whatever it is they are sending me on the mail, but I was really shocked to find out that they are charging me $12 because for ONE DAY, my savings account fell below $2,500. That day I gave almost $3,000 to my mother to help her out. So, in that day, my savings was only around $2,300. If only I have known that I need to keep it above $2,500, I would have transferred some money from the checking account. I honestly thought that I should just have a direct deposit every month of minimum $500. The guy said he could convert my account to a regular savings and I’ll be charge only $5 if I fell below $250 or something like that. I said “I’ll think about it”. Who knows what kind of surprise I’ll get with the regular savings account. </p>
<p>This is my only bank, and I feel so disappointed. This is really an awful week for me.</p>
<p>If I were you I would go up the chain of command until you get someone to reverse the charge. Keep asking to speak to the person’s supervisor. If that doesn’t work find another bank - either a small community bank or a credit union (which would be my choice.) I left my bank of 30 years about 5 years ago when they started putting 5 day holds on checks from my DH’s local credit union account. I switched over to his CU and couldn’t be happier. It wasn’t even that much of a hassle to switch - basically I just had to change the account info on my online bills and contact the few auto withdrawals I had set up.</p>
<p>Do you have any other accounts with BofA like a CD or an IRA account?
You can ask the bank to tie them all together so you won’t fall below $2500.
They may return the $12 as a first time offense.</p>
<p>I had a $25 charge because I did not meet the minimum balance requirement. We went into the branch, sat down, discussed options and changed our account to one with a lower minimum requirement. Without us even asking, the manager said she would reverse the charge on our account.</p>
<p>Your post makes me wonder - I thought those minimum balances were AVERAGE monthly balances. I am going to check to see if a one day drop below the minimum level triggers a fee.</p>
<p>OP, I went into B of A and told the manager that if they didn’t eliminate my monthly service charge, I would leave, and my parents would go with me. They agreed to waive it. </p>
<p>Hint: The words “credit union” seem to light a fire under these people. In fact, if you DO go to a credit union, you won’t have to wonder about the next fee that B of A is going to sneak in on you. Because rest assured, they will.</p>
<p>razorsharp…I have had two mortgages with BOA and a home equity loan. If they want to impose any fees on my account I will walk away and bring my business elsewhere. The same goes with with my kids accounts…they impose fees on their accounts and I am gone and I told this to the manager and his manager. These fees should not apply to people who have a working history with the bank…thats just ridiculous.</p>
<p>I agree momma-three. You are one of the customers from whom BOA makes a profit. My point is that free checking to customers isn’t free to banks. If you are not generating profits for a bank by some other means such as paying interest, no bank should take your account - it just increases the cost for other customers. Banks who take small accounts are hoping that the customer will someday become a profitable customer. </p>
<p>People forget that for all the talk if “big bank this, and big bank that” most bank employees are poorly paid and banks are not making much money. Credit unions have to pay their employees and accounts with them are not free to the credit union even if the customer pays no fee.</p>
<p>My credit union is horrible with fees. They literally will nickle and dime you to death. That’s why I pretty much left them. I keep 10 dollars in a savings account to keep my account active in case I ever need a car loan or something. I’ve heard horror stories of BoA.</p>
<p>If you want to pretend that overhead should not apply to the cost of providing a checking account, I guess you can. Unfortunately, the bank still has to pay the overhead in order to maintain a checking account.</p>
<p>Vote with your feet and stop complaining. Shop around and go elsewhere. Banks can only do this because the market will bear it. If customers get sensitive to fees, and react, they can’t pull it off anymore. You are not beholden to a particular bank. The amount of time you are wasting to get back $12 you could spend finding a new place to park your money. </p>
<p>My credit union doesn’t charge me for having a checking account of any balance.</p>
<p>Go to a credit union or even a local bank. I have a checking account that earns interest if kept over $1500 at a small local bank. When I got close to that $1500, they called and asked if I wanted to convert to a free checking account to avoid fees (even though it would stop earning interest). </p>
<p>I do have a national bank account that I use for free checking for convenience purposes, the majority of my money and savings goes to a credit union or the small bank. I like it so much better and the rates and terms are competitive and often better.</p>
<p>I called BOA again, and talked to a woman. I told her that I was a customer since 2006 and I was not aware of the policy. This is my first offense. She said it will be refunded right away. Hope so.</p>
<p>I also asked her if I can open a regular savings account, and she said she cannot do that which is surprising because it is not consistent with what the first CSR told me about him being able to convert my account to regular savings. She said I need to go to my banking center and open a new account.</p>
<p>Just go into the B of A local and change your savings account. I had to do this for DD (who is out of the country) and put sufficient money into her savings to avoid the fees (I believe the balance had to be over $300). Keep in mind…my kid is NOT using her B of A account AT ALL. She has no access to her ATM card (it’s here) and no access to anything having to do with B of A. She is simply keeping the account open for when she returns.</p>
<p>Razorsharp…yes…it costs money to run banks. BUT they supposedly make a goodly chunk of that money by hanging onto your money. At this point, B of A has a fee to use a TELLER if your account doesn’t have sufficient funds in your savings/you have direct deposit in excess of a certain amount/have a mortgage with them. They really want everyone to use B of A ATM machines for ALL transactions. God forbid you want to talk to a human. If you look in your local phone book for the local B of A number, you will NOT find it…they only list their 800 numbers in the phone books.</p>
<p>Sorry…but B of A wins my personal award for the WORST customer service on the planet.</p>