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Originally Posted by emilyann  This is confusing me, what do you mean by "holding" amounts larger than your gas purchase? Sorry, I'm a little loopy in the brain! |
When you use your debit card the merchant can place a hold for a larger amount until their debit has time to clear. Gas stations are notorius for doing this. When another item trys to pay it could cause you problems because the money may be in your account balance, but unavailable for you to spend due to the hold. If you have online banking notice that you have a current balance and then you may have items that are
processing (usually these are things you have purchase since the previous days cutoff time or over a weekend). I worked for Wachovia for 39 years and I agree, banks can be sneaky when they pay a large item and send back several small items and charge NSF fees. Usually we would refund all or part of the charges if it was the a first occurrence. The bank takes the position that the customer should keep their check register balance current and not depend on the "current balance" from calling or from the atm, since its impossible for them to know what's out there waiting to be paid. One other thing, when the bank looks at possibly giving refunds, the first thing they look at is how many NSFs and overdrafts a customer has had and how old the account is. In that respect, changing banks may not always be in your best interest. Most all banks have the same guidelines that they follow. Often if helps to become acquainted with a service rep at your bank who will work with you to understand "THE RULES!!. Hope this helps a little by way of explanation......P.S. I'm glad I retired !!!!