Support the Consumer Checking Account Fairness Act (H.R. 799)

As taken from the Consumer Union "publishers of consumer reports" webpage.

Please support this bill by calling or writing your local Congressmen.

Banks are trampling on American's way of life. This is not the first time they have attempted to do so and it won't be the last.

Here is a copy of the letter.

Support the Consumer Checking Account Fairness Act (H.R. 799) to speed up our bank deposits

Dear [Decision Maker],

I'm writing to urge you to enact the Consumer Checking Account Fairness Act (H.R. 799). This Act will limit how long banks can hold deposited checks before crediting them to customer accounts, so I will get quicker access to my own money.

Check hold times should be reduced. Electronic processing of checks is causing money to leave my checking account more quickly when I write a check, and yet check holds can remain long. Banks routinely pay checks on weekends, but Saturday and Sunday do not count toward the number of days consumers can be made to wait for access to our money. If a bank, thrift, or credit union removes money from my account on Saturday, then Saturday should count as a day that helps to satisfy the check hold period.

The Consumer Checking Account Fairness Act (H.R. 799) will reduce check hold periods in two ways. It will count Saturdays toward the check hold period and it will shorten the check hold time for nonlocal checks from the fifth business day to the second business day. The bill does other sensible things, such as requiring banks to credit deposits before debiting checks.

Under current law, if I deposit my paycheck on Friday, I can't safely write checks on it until Tuesday. If I make my deposit late in the day on Friday, my bank can make me wait until Wednesday to use it to pay my bills. If my paycheck comes from a nonlocal bank, my bank can make me wait a full week - five business days plus one weekend. The bank can even make me wait through two weekends if I make the deposit on a Friday after the bank's cut off time.

We shouldn't have to wait so long to use the money we have deposited in the bank. I urge you to protect me and others by acting as a co-sponsor with Rep. Maloney of the Consumer Checking Account Fairness Act.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]

Wachovia repeatedly overcharges its customers in overdraft fees

I recently had the most unfortunate experience with Wachovia Bank. On 4/13/06 I deposited 2401.39 in the form of a "paper check" from my employer. I ask the teller can I get cash back and she said no because my account was overdrawn. She even ask to me initial the bank deposit slip as you crossed out the $50 I had requested back as cash. I knew my account was overdraft but did not know the bank would refuse my request being that the deposit was more than enough to cover the overdraft fee of $135 (Which mind you was an error on their part as well and maybe an error with banks in general in terms of how the execute debit transactions. But I'll explain that later in the story.) I ask the teller when will my money be available and she said “It will be processed tomorrow" A light bulb should have went on off in my head because this young lady was practicing doublespeak. Common amongst financial institutions. You see processed and funds available are two different things and I'll explain as the story plays out.

Anyway, as I am walking down 6th Avenue in Manhattan. I notice that my deposit slip said my funds won't be available until 4/20/2006. If I would have know that prior to depositing my check I would have said fuck Wachovia and went to my local check cashing place and did the deed of getting my money.

I really don't trust banks anyway and feel they are eroding Americans sovereignty away from us but that for another posts.

I head for the nearest payphone and call customer service to get an explanation. (I am not going to waist valuable minutes paying another bloodsucking industry the cell phone companies calling up Wachovia.) I hear the seductive Welcome to Wachovia prompt as the call connects.

I give the person answering the call a description of what happen at the bank and she tells me that tomorrow I can call up Wachovia and tell them reverse the hold on my account. I also complain as to what is the logic behind placing a hold on an account because overdrafts for 5 business days if when the check clears the overdrafts will be paid. She replies that is bank policy and in the user agreement and terms. She even tells me what page. For those wanting to know. I am pissed off now because I can't get my money and I need to get my money but until tomorrow I can't do squat. Oh well I am in Manhattan and its 70 degrees I might as well enjoy the sites. I'll also email these guys to let them know I am peeve with their decision to whole my money

NEXT DAY AT THE PAYPHONE

I wake up at 10 am and rush to the nearest payphone. I call customer service and ask her to process my request that the hold be removed from my account. She said there is no process for the hold to be removed from my account. I said I just talk to a customer service rep yesterday and she specifically told me all I had to do was call in a request that the hold be removed from my account and it would and it take no longer than 3 business days to be complete. She said "I am sorry to inform you that there is not process to remove a hold from your account until the check clears" I immediately ask her to transfer me to another customer rep who has expertise handling these types on situation to get a similar answer only this time he said it was at the branches discretion where I deposited the check to remove the hold or not.

I have to give credit to Wachovia as a company on their customer service training. Each time I called and talk to a rep if they could not give me a solution I wanted they at least offered more information on the process of why they are screwing me. Not much help when you need the money badly but educational no less. And this is an important part of selling effectively.

This is where this story gets interesting so please pay attention! The other stuff was just to get you to this point and present the bigger picture of why banks can and are allowed to due what they do.


MIC CHECK 12, 21

According to Tom Bradford.

(That's the name of the customer service representative I spoke to
on the phone for the last time about this matter.) Checks get cleared at the banks in a very old fashion way. According to Tom (Hi Tom) When you deposit a check say from your job into your account the bank physically transports that check all the way back to the paying bank for clearing. This process can take 2 days for local banks and 5 days for out of state banks. You would think will all this technology it would be a cinch to clear a check from bank to bank. Especially if it were a local bank. No sir, indeed.


However, when it comes to you paying for things it which you have wrote a check for. The process to clear that check is much faster because of the legislation passed by Congress in 2003 known as "Check 21"

Here are some disadvantages to the consumer because of Check 21

• Checks you write will clear sooner, increasing the risk that a check will bounce if funds are not in the account when you write the check.
• You may not get access to the funds from checks you deposit any sooner, because the new law does not shorten check hold times. After 30 months, there must be a study on whether banks are making funds available to consumers earlier than the allowable hold periods.
• Banks will save money on processing checks, but banks are not required to share these savings with consumers.

So the question I ask you is whether our elected officials actually passed legislation that would allow your bank account to be drained quicker. But not pass equal legislation allowing funds from a check to be made available in your account sooner.

There is a petition you should sign on the Consumer Union website for a bill in Congress called the Consumer Checking Account Fairness Act that if passed will allow funds from a check to be made available in your bank account sooner and without hold ups.


A new system call Remote Deposit Capture enables a bank to clear checks based upon images of the original items instead of having to transport the original check all the way back to the paying bank for clearing.

Are we entering the corporate state or what?

HOW WACHOVIA WISHES I RESOLVED CHECK HOLDING COMPLIANTS.

This is an excerpt straight from the horse’s mouth:

Dear James Hunter,

Thank you for contacting Wachovia.

This message is in response to your recent communication, which was received on 04/14/2006 and assigned Case ID 9733938.

I have received your inquiry regarding your most recent deposit. Unfortunately the Email Team is not able to make any adjustments to deposit holds. We have no way of viewing transaction prior to the last 90 days to see if any adjustments were made regarding these. Please understand that while I can see that your recent fees have been reversed, there has been no deposit to cover the negative balance in over 30 days and this affects the way your account holds are calculated as well.

Your current hold is four business days. Please remember all deposits made after 2:00 pm will be picked up at the branches on the following business day. So as you state your deposit was made at 5:28 pm then yesterday, as well as Saturdays and Sundays, are not counted in your business days hold.

Here is some further information on deposit holds.

The length of a deposit hold is generally determined by whether a deposited check is local or non-local. Funds from local checks are available on the second business day after the business day of deposit. Funds from non-local checks are available on the fifth business day after the business day of deposit.

In some cases, funds availability may be delayed for a longer period. A number of factors may influence this decision. They include, but are not limited to, the following:

- The deposit was made at a non-Wachovia ATM
- You are a new customer whose account has been open 30 days or less
- Suspicion of fraud
- Checks are deposited totaling more than $5,000.00 on any one day
- Excessive account overdrafts within the last six months
- Resubmitting a previously returned/unpaid check
- There is an emergency such as interruption of communications or computer failure, a suspension of payments by another bank, a war, or an emergency condition beyond the control of the bank


WHO ARE THESE BANKS?

See I think these banks want to get us away from us paper money. It makes our money less personal. Also the conspiracy theorist in me say it’s apart of the New World Order's attempts to push us towards a cashless society. Have notice ads for a Master Cards pay pass in newspapers TV commercials and magazines lately. I also have another question for you the reader. Where is the headquarters for MasterCard and Visa based? Do you know of anyone who works for these companies? It’s amazing how much influence these companies and there partners have on us but yet we know nothing about them at all.



WHY DO BANKS NEED YOUR DEPOSITS DESPERATELY
Because of your money in checking accounts commercial banks can lend out money to the capital markets for things like IPO's or other corporations debt with ease.

Why do you think they were so aggressively advertising FREE CHECKING?

The motivation behind banks like Wachovia and others to enter this arena is because they can
expand into higher-margin businesses and generate 25 percent of their revenue from underwriting and dealing in securities up from the current cap of 10 percent.

The Federal Reserve (Fed) voted to knock down some of the barriers that separate commercial banks from securities affiliates, allowing them greater freedom to market and develop investment products.

The Fed voted to remove restrictions on commercial banks' marketing of brokerage services, and allow loan officers and investment bankers to work together.

Did you know that J.P. Morgan’s role as a provider of both commercial bank and an investment bank services, was blamed as a major contributor to the depression. They said he sold so much watered stock that the market crashed. He got the capital to fund these transactions from depositors of the banks he controlled. So when the investment failed so did the money that was tied up in these transactions.

Congress actually passed legislation banning an investment bank from owning a commercial bank for years after that event.



WHO ARE THESE BANKS?

See I think these banks want to get us away from us paper money. It makes our money less personal. Also the conspiracy theorist in me say it’s apart of the New World Order's attempts to push us towards a cashless society. Have notice ads for a Master Cards pay pass in newspapers TV commercials and magazines lately. I also have another question for you the reader. Where is the headquarters for MasterCard and Visa based? Do you know of anyone who works for these companies? It’s amazing how much influence these companies and their partners have on us but yet we know nothing about them at all.

HOW WE CAN FIGHT BACK USING OUR DOLLARS AS VOTES.

I am not one to complain and not have a solution or resolution to a problem. I propose that we have a Monthly Withdrawal Day where all customers take there money out of the major banks and transfer the funds to smaller community banks. Or even join credit unions instead of banks. Or maybe create a corporate scandal. By setting up an unknowing executive to answer your questions by phone or an interview in person and tape record them in the hopes that he or she slips up and exposes something about there usurious practices, and use that as leverage to get them to change their policies by airing the dirt out in the public. It would be a PR nightmare for banks, and if I know anything about banks its that they like to avoid controversy and keep a low profile. I intend to orchestrate a campaign to do so. So if you work for a major bank and you are reading this blog be warned. Somebody has to be accountable. I'm going to write an e-book in the near future on how to even with banks as well.