I have had several banks in my life, and have been fairly satisfied. I switched to Chase a few years ago because my mortgage was with them. I have come to realize that Chase is the most unethical and corrupt bank out there. They are thieves and preying on people especially in this difficult economy.
Last week I was out of town and used my debit card at a cafe at the hotel we were staying at. The account I was using was low but I was getting paid in a couple days and have direct deposit. I had more than enough to cover the two small debits at the cafe. I knew this for sure because the cafe had a computer for customers to use so I checked my balance.
There were no other pending transactions other than the two small transactions at the cafe I had put through. When I got home that evening, I checked my online banking again and noticed that there was another transaction pending from later in the day from the toll authority. Apparently my transponder on my car was low on tolls so the toll authority put through an automatic debit without any warning. My account did not have enough in it that day to cover the toll authority debit so I knew I would be charged one fee. The toll authority charge was listed after the two small cafe debits so the toll charge was the last debit of the day and the only one that would have caused an overdraft.
I accepted the one fee and had no problem paying it. But after my payroll check was direct deposited, I noticed Chase had charged me 3 overdraft fees for a total of $105.00. I looked again at my online banking account and noticed that Chase had rearranged the order of the debits and put the toll authority debit before the two small cafe debits. This switch in order gave Chase the opportunity to hit me with 3 fees instead of the one. I was furious and I called their customer service department. I told them that I knew they had rearranged the sequence of the debits which maximized their fees against me and they ADMITTED TO IT.
They said they can arrange them however they choose without regard for the order the debits actually came through. I could not believe what I was hearing. I asked to speak to her supervisor and was told the same thing, that basically they can do this, it is not illegal and to bad so sad. I am closing my account and moving to another bank next weekend when I get my next paycheck. The new bank I called, which is actually a bank I used a few years ago, asked me what bank I was leaving. I told them Chase and she laughed and said they have tons of exChase customers coming over. Do not use Chase, they are thieves. I am also writing my state government to find out if what Chase is doing is legal and if so why! The greed of this bank is unbelievable.