Bank Bounces This Woman's Check, So She Sends Them An Angry Letter. What She Says Is Perfect.

I imagine this never happened, but it's quite funny.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Direct deposit can go on a refillable credit card which you can either withdrawl the total balance or keep a small token amount for bills paid online.

Anyone buying a brand new car is over paying by the new car price and interest on a loan. A good used car can still be purchased for a reasonable price. You may have to spend money on minor repairs earlier than a new car such as brake pads or tires, but you will save money by only paying liability insurance versus full coverage as required by the banks on any car loan.

Home ownership is the interesting point. With the cost of rent, a very modest apartment is still $400/mo minimum. You will have paid $48,000 after renting the same place in ten years (assuming the rent stayed $400). $650 is a more realistic rent and that would be $78,000 in ten years. Which is getting into the entry level house price range. Can a house be purchased without a mortgage? Yes, but it takes a little help.

Here is how you can do this for your child if you choose to do so: At 18/graduation from high school make the deal that you will allow them to live at home rent free provided they work 40hrs at a job and save 100% of their pay. If this is done correctly, in seven years (age 25) they will have saved over $81,000 (7.25/hr, 40 week 23% income tax). That can either be a house or a college education completely loan free.

As for an individual without such a seven year deal: Four roommates renting a house for $1000/mo. Living expenses should be around $500 (share or rent, bills, etc.). You could save up $84,000 in fifteen years again assuming $7.25/hr, 40 hrs and 23‰ income tax.

In both cases those were federal minimum wage with no raises. So there is no playing around money there for iPhone and other crap. The roommates may want to grow a vegetable garden and can produce to lower food costs. There are ways but it takes strict planning. Adding a part time job on weekends can adjust the time scale. Better pay and raises will as well. But it all depends on what you want and what you will do to meet that goal. And what kind of help you get along the way.

I seriously don't know how can people live with 7.25/hr salary. And on top of that, save too with that kind of salary? The worst part is that we're talking about sacrificing 7 of the most beautiful years in a man's life. And for what? To feel like a slave and save even a drop of blood so we can have it easier later on? Personally from 18-25 I had the best years of my life which I'll remember forever. But let's get back to the numbers. I don't know how cheap is the living in the states but in Canada with that kind of salary one can barely survive (if it shares rent), let a lone saving. Here the cost of life has gone up so much that even with a 30.00/hr salary you still don't have much left (and I'm talking about a normal living, no luxuries). It has come to a point when you don't hear anymore people say that they enjoy life. All you hear now is: This life sucks. So sad...

a reply to: Telos

Oh I had my fun then as well. A lot of fun. Too much in fact. But the point is that things are possible. The hard part would be convincing that youth that the earlier responsibility has a bigger return on investment for carefree fun. But the 30 and 40 mortgage is still an option provided you have at least 20% down and are borrowing more than $50,000. Otherwise the banks are not interested because they don't make out like fat rats on the interest.

originally posted by: theMediator
This is not fair, it's not justice, it's not even HUMAN.

I disagree. It is entirely human. Unfortunately.

originally posted by: theMediator
Banks are the worst...

When the banks charge NSF fees, shouldn't they at least COMPLETE THE DAMN PAYMENT? The bank didn't lose anything from not being able to send the payment, NOTHING AT ALL. They just create a fee "poof" out of nowhere yet they didn't give ANY service in exchange.

It would be like going to the movies, but then the theatre would notice you are missing a nickle...so they keep the money you already payed, you can't see the money and you can't get a refund. This is not fair, it's not justice, it's not even HUMAN.

Any NSF with under 50$ missing should be covered by the banks, hell they make billions of dollars. I wouldn't mind the fee if they actually DID SOMETHING instead of just being CROOKS.

My bank does have a service like that. They'll cover any check I write for up to $700.00. They would still charge me $35.00, but they'd cover the check.

Yeah I'm sure this is 100% real and was actually written by an old lady. Sheesh.

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: Telos

Awesome...

Commerce Bank got caught pulling that stunt and had to pay out to its customers. Apparently they were deducting the highest check amount and then working their way down. This allowed the bank to issue overcharge fees for any transaction that "bounced".

After the lawsuit they are now required to process checks smallest to largest to prevent the, as I call it, snowball effect.

Nothing like a $35.00 charge for 75 cents over the limit.

One thing that a certain bank did to me, was process all the checks first and then
process all the deposits.

I needed to write a check to pay a bill, which I knew would be presented
to my bank the following morning, so before writing the check, I deposited
enough cash into the ATM (for the bank was closed) to make sure the check
cleared.

When I discovered the check bounced and the fees ate up my entire deposit,
I went to the bank and asked them what the problem was. I had a receipt, from
the previous evening indicating I had sufficient funds to cover the check.

The Manager told me that the reason the check bounced is they didn't credit my
account with the cash deposit until after they processed the check, and they processed
the check twice and charged me for 2 NSF fees, and then another fee for being
in a negative balance before they credited my account the cash I deposited to cover
the check.

I think banks in addition to be required to process checks from smallest to largest,
should also be required to process all deposits before any check processes.

Just my two cents.

Rebel 5

At first people had money that was made of precious metal and this was taken away from them and they were given pieces of paper which they said was worth the same, then they will remove all cash and give people only numbers on computers which they will say is worth the same, and if they charge people for the having the numbers on a computer screen or any financial mismanagement happens then people will not even have that. From precious metal to nothing at all not even a hand full of toilet paper.

a reply to: Sublimecraft

Remind me again, why you don't mess with old ladies...?

Holy cow...

Priceless. Just priceless.

Great story and what a likeable old lady.....banks are the biggest scurge on the planet,friggin scumbags ripping people off for gross profits....
Anyhow good on her and very pleasant to see such a well written "stick it to the bank" letter....

originally posted by: okrian
Yeah, cute and all, and I'd love for the banks to get a taste of what we go through. But not buying that this is real, and not from an 86 year old woman. Sources prove no authenticity whatsoever.

There's so many of these things on the internet. I wish they would just be presented as, "this is a letter I wish someone would write if this were to happen." Not as cutesey, but at least it would be true and not just an eye-roller.

For me, the biggest rip off of banks is when they charge an NSF fee that is bigger than the cheque, due to not having enough funds.

They're perfectly happy to put your account FURTHER into arrears than it would have been had they just allowed the cheque to go through in the first place.

originally posted by: babybunnies
For me, the biggest rip off of banks is when they charge an NSF fee that is bigger than the cheque, due to not having enough funds.

They're perfectly happy to put your account FURTHER into arrears than it would have been had they just allowed the cheque to go through in the first place.

Agreed. It should be limited to the highest legal interest rate. If I go negative by $0.50 and the highest legal rate is 1000% APR, and I pay the money back in 1 day, then charge me $5.00/365.

A $30 fee for $0.50 that's paid back in 1 day is an annual interest rate of around 2.25 Million Percent. That's not hyperbole, that's a literal calculation. I think a trillionaire wets his white rhino eyelid panties every time that happens.

originally posted by: Ahabstar
a reply to: Elementalist

The solution is to not use banks. If enough people decline to feed the beast, then it will starve and die.

Nice idea, except that most employers do EFT to your bank account. Very very few will pay you your wages/salary in the form of hard currency in your hand.

And with the way technology is taking things, within a decade we will be handling money less and less.
Debit/Paywave cards are used often. But that is in decline.
The new technology that will soon go mainstream and common place is using your mobile phone as a payment system.
The technology is already here, it's just got to be implemented.
And in some places you will also start to see bio-metric systems like finger print and eye scanners in order to 'pay'.
In fact I think it was posted already in another thread that the Netherlands(I think) was already headed down that way, and there was at least one supermarket where cash was not used at all..all payments were electronic.