So, I’ve had Principal Bank for quite a while now. I think it’s been over 4 years, ever since I got pissed off at Wells Fargo a while back (The last thing I can find was from 2002 when I complained about WF!).
Anyways, I have 4 accounts with them, three checking and 1 savings. The three checking accounts all have over draft protection by using the savings account. I keep a very limited amount of money in the one checking account that I carry the debit card for ($250 every two weeks) which is typically exactly how much I spend. Anyways, this last period I went over by $5 because of a gas purchase. Usually not a big deal because it’s automatically covered by my savings account. PLUS I had an automatic deposit which should cover it the same day.
Anyways, So I don’t really worry about it and I stop using that card. So on Monday I come in and there’s an overdraft fee on that account. So I’m like. WTF! This morning I called them and they said that my savings account has gone dormant because I haven’t used it in 12 months.
Sooooo.
1) Why was I not notified that it was going dormant? How am I supposed to know this shit?
2) I made a $50 deposit to it in July! She claimed she couldn’t find that in my records.
Very annoying.
THEN. I have two automatic transfers from account A. One for $695 into account B and then one for $250 into account C. These two transfers were supposed to have happened yesterday. But they still have not gone through!
UGH!
Very annoying.
I’d just like everyone to know that I still hate banks!
Support H.R. 946, the Consumer Overdraft Fair Practices Act.http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-946
Overdraft fees ARE theft.
Banks are just ripping off the customers. We need a revolution in customer service. Everything is just going to shit and customers are treated like CRAP any more.
I’d like to make an update about this post.
Principal bank found out that because I changed the amounts of my automatic transfers that their new system (which they just changed to) couldn’t handle it. Apparently no one else has ever had this problem before. The resolution was to delete the automatic transfers and then recreate them.
As for the overdraft fee. I was able to convince them that I DID infact make a deposit in July and they unfroze my account without having to go through all the hopes of mailing in a request, blah blah blah. They then refunded my overdraft fee.
I have setup a $0.50 automatic transfer to my savings account every 3 months just to be sure this doesn’t happen again.
But in the long run, I am working on switching banks away from Principal. The “new and improved” system is slower and more stupid then the old one… Are you serious that I have to go to a separate system to enter bill pay? WTF!