Oct. 12, 2005 Dear Annie,
I help with my parents' finances, writing checks to pay their bills and doing the balance on their accounts. My mother likes to shop from catalogs, so she writes checks, and I've shown her how to call the bank and hear the balance in their account, using the automated phone system. If it's ever getting low, I transfer funds from their savings to their checking account. Thus, we were all quite surprised when Mom and Dad's checking account was billed for overdrawn checks, which has never happened in all their married life. Come to find out, their bank has gone to this new "courtesy over draft protection" system of adding an amount to their "available" balance, so what Mom was hearing as a total included that extra $300! In the bank's defense, there is a big disclaimer on their recorded message explaining this new system. I don't think Mom understood it, until I explained it to her. I hope by writing to you others will beware and not fall into the same trap as my folks. Thank God we didn't try to write a check on their account until after this was all cleared up. If they'd accidentally bounced one in town, I don't think they'd ever go out to do business again! They're still shook up about it.
M.M.M, Morton, WA
Dear MMM,
My bank went to the same system, but sent out a flyer explaining it. We are so bombarded with junk mail, tucked in every bill and bank statement, that if your parents got the same flyer it may have easily been discarded. All's well that ends well, but still, you might explain the situation to the bank and see if they'll refund those overdraft charges. It couldn't hurt to ask! And thanks for the warning.
Annie
Please write to:
Annie, P.O. Box 1084, Eatonville,WA 98328
E-mail: letters_annie@hotmail.com
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