Can banks legally change the date of a transaction?
By vokey9472
@vokey9472 (1486)
United States
January 21, 2008 10:12am CST
Here is what has happened:
My husband got paid and it was direct deposited into our bank account. I knew we had one transaction that had overdrawn our account by $1.85. I was expecting one overdraft fee. We got FOUR!! Of course I wanted to know what had happened since my records showed we should only get one.
Well, in reviewing my online statement, I discovered that all my check card transactions were back dated by one day, making me have FOUR overdrafts instead of one. Is this legal?
I went over my check book with a fine tooth comb and discovered that my bank has been back dating my transactions by a day since July. I have paid overdraft fees many times for transactions that shouldn't have caused overdraft fees. I never bothered to check because it would be one here, one there. Never a lot. I just assumed my hubby was getting cash and causing us to get overdrawn once in a while. Turns out it was the bank!!
Is this legal? I cannot see how banks would legally be allowed to do this, but when I brough it up to my bank, they said that unless I had receipts to prove it, the error was on my part. Foolish banking people, I deal with medicaid, I save EVERYTHING. I have reciepts going back to 2002 when I had my son. Medicaid loses everything and always demands proof of things. I learned to save everything that proves where our money goes.
Anyway, on Tuesday I am going to the bank with my boxes (2007 and 2008) of reciepts. I cannot wait to hear what excuse they give for why this is happening. Who know how many other people are being raped like this by the bank.
Any advice would be welcome.
4 people like this
8 responses
@cynicalandoutspoken (4725)
• United States
21 Jan 08
I used to work at a bank and here is what they told us about check card transactions. It is the retailer that decides when the transaction gets posted. A retailer actually has I think some crazy limit like 10 days to post a transaction to your bank for payment. So for example if you go and spend $50 at Walmart on Friday that transaction could be posted to your bank account for payment that day up to 10 days from that day.
Unless you are saying you went to the store on Friday yet the charge is showing up on your account statement on Thursday, the bank is just going to blame it on the retailer.
@vokey9472 (1486)
• United States
21 Jan 08
They are back dating the transactions. I have a reciept of a purchase made on 1/15 at the Mrs. Baird's bread store. It appears on my bank statement for 1/14 and since there was no money on the 14th the bank charged me $30 for an overdraft fee. My deposit reciept shows I made a deposit at 9am on the 15th. My reciept shows the purchase at 12:30pm on the 15th. I can even prove that I was not even in town on the 14th, I was enroute on a plane from Florida on the 14th, when I supposedly made this purchase.
The second transaction on my current statement is for the 99c store. The purchase was made on the 15th, I have the reciept to prove it. The bank statment says it was made on the 14th and I got hit with another overdraft free. The reciept shows the purchase was made after 2pm on the 15th. The bank is back dating my transactions and collecting overdraft fees from transactions that should not have overdrafted.
@Little_Stormy (6883)
• United States
22 Jan 08
you really need to go to your bank with all of your receipts and show them! that isn't right at all! it seems that they are doing nothing but ripping you off.. if I'm not mistaking, that is illegal! but you could ask a lawyer too! (most will answer a question over the phone, for no charge) I wish you the best of luck! I hope they fix it for you! I hate seeing people get ripped off!
@tarheelnancy (1317)
• United States
22 Jan 08
There's no way what they are doing could be legal! My advice, do exactly what you plan on doing, get those receipts and take them to the bank. Get your money out of that bank and move it to one without overdraft fees. Also, I would contact the BBB as well. I'm sure there is someone you can get in touch with to get an investigation going because I seriously doubt if you are the only one this is happening to. Good luck to you!
@kaspyv (1011)
• United States
22 Jan 08
I've had a similar problem with my bank(BoA)...am still trying to get it straight. they never post things when they should. when I make a pos purchase it shows as pending on my account but they don't post it till days later and that causes me to have overdraft charges...this has happened for the last 3-4 months. I'm seriously looking into changing banks!
@chertsy (3798)
• United States
22 Jan 08
Glad you have everything you need. Make sure you have the areas high lighted on your bank statments that will match up with your receipts. So it's easier for you to point out. Good luck, we had a bank doing something similar to us, and said we owed them 600 dollars. They had excuses for everything, so we gave them the 600 and told them to close our account. We have went back to our original bank and can't be any happier with them.
Keep everyone updated, I think once you do get your money back for all the over drafts. You should set up a new account with a new bank, and once your husband's checks goes into that one, close that one. Again good luck.
@dreamr802 (985)
• United States
22 Jan 08
I have had the same thing happen to me once! I brought the bank my receipt and they fixed it for me. But I was so mad that I actually took all of my money from my bank and moved to another bank because of all the trouble that they gave me.
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
22 Jan 08
Something like this has happened to me and my husband before also. We had direct deposit but the banks let my checks come though first instead of the deposit which made me be overdrawn.
It isn't fair.
I think the bank should only charge fees if there are no depeosits readily available at the time checks or debits come through.
Banks are a rip off.
@LittleMel (8742)
• Canada
22 Jan 08
I will be looking at our bank statement more carefully now that you mention this. I do check it when it comes in the mail, for bills etc, but there is this fee for how many checks withdrawn and I never actually pay attention to that. They do say they charge it if we issue more than certain amount of checks every month, so if we don't issue over that amount I shouldn't be charged. I'm going to look at those statements for last year.
