It's The WHOLE Banking Industry!!!

I've had some similar problems with CitiBank and have discovered some of the tactics that they are employing in order to maximize their profits. I have been signed up for email alerts on both my checking and savings accounts... which have both had balances below the alert amount that I had designated. I receive daily alerts on my savings account... but have yet to receive a single alert on my checking account! Alerting customers on their savings balance and not on their checking balance allows them to charge a fee each and every time that something is presented that would drop the checking balance below zero... including holds that are placed on the account.

For anyone who is doing any routine checking transactions... It is also impossible to determine the actual balance by accessing the information online or by automated phone because of the delay in processing funds when they use their bank card with a credit card logo. Although someone may think they are closely monitoring their account and getting valid information by going online or checking their email for alerts... their reported balance does not necessarily reflect their actual balance. The fees are then charged based on the actual balance which is not consistent with the online or automated phone balance if the bank card is regularly used. They encourage the use of their bank card in this way in order for their customers to receive promotional points... and then cash in on the policies that allow them to immediately deduct funds from an account while delaying money that is credited to the account.

They also manipulate the manner in which deductions are made to an account so that they can assess the greatest number of fees on any given day. Rather than debiting an account based on the time it was presented... they go by the amount of the transaction. They justify this by stating that this results in the highest deduction getting paid... but they are then able to assess an NSF fee for each individual deduction that is subsequently presented. For example if a checking account has a balance of $100... and transactions are presented for $10., $25., $50, and $90.01... if the transactions were deducted in the order they were received... only the last one would be NSF resulting in a $30. fee. However... by debiting the account based on the highest dollar amount of transactions for that day... only the first one would clear and the remaining deductions would result in $90. of NSF fees.

Within the past six months... I have also amassed over $300 in NSF fees that were solely due to the delay in crediting deposits to my account. Granted... my current financial situation is not the norm for the majority of adult Americans. However... as more people are experiencing layoffs and other impacts of the economy there will be a growing number of people facing a similar predicament. I will add that I was able to get all of these charges reversed... although it took multiple phone calls, several hours on the phone and insisting to speak with management. If you can spare the time and tolerate the aggregation... your persistence may pay off!