Why Am I Overdrawn?!
photo credit: Hello Turkey Toe
One of the best parts of my job is dealing with people who overdraw their checking accounts. Well, not really. The truth is, I really don’t mind helping people figure out why they are overdrawn. Sometimes it’s blatantly obvious why they’re in the red; other times I have to actually add and subtract and figure out what the heck has actually happened to their account. Nevertheless, I can’t just send people on their way without giving them a good explanation. I am sure I’d get in big trouble for that.
The amount of creative excuses as to why a person is overdrawn never ceases to amaze me. Every day I hear different stories. Some of them I couldn’t make up if I tried. Here are a few of my favorites:
-”But I came in yesterday and you told me my balance was $1.06! I had money in my account! How is it now $-37.02?!” Um, your charge from McDonald’s posted last night. You forgot to account for it, it seems.
-“There is no way I am overdrawn. I always check my account online ten times a day. And look, it shows on my online banking that I never went negative!” True, but you spent that money before you made a deposit. You can’t do that.
-”It’s never happened before! I’ve NEVER been overdrawn and you WILL refund these fees!” Oh, okay. I do have this nifty little screen that shows that you overdrew 34 times last year. And about that refund… I’ll be right on it.
-”Now that you’ve charged me these fees I won’t be able to buy __. But I can make a deposit for the amount I was short in the first place.“ Let me check on that…
-”But I had checks left… what do you mean I didn’t have money in the account?” Yes, seriously.
I don’t want y’all to think that I am a heartless woman; I thought it would be humorous to share some of the stories I’ve heard. Please, people, for the love of all things chocolate, don’t make up crazy excuses when you go overdrawn. I know crap happens. If you are going to ask for refunds, do it politely. Allow the banker to explain why you are overdrawn and ask for suggestions to not let it happen again. We’re more likely to help you out that way. 
Have you ever asked for overdraft refunds? What was the outcome?
That last one is sad, but hilarious. And the once that I have overdrawn (when I was in my teens) I was WAY too mortified to ask for my money back.
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Mrs Money Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 7:52 pm
Zella- I know. That’s my favorite.
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Hilarious! But I guess there is an excuse for everything!
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Mrs Money Reply:
January 30th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Mr Credit Card- I know. People crack me up.
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To be fair sometimes the fees compounding are ridiculous. If I use my debit card (not a paper check) that transaction should be DENIED…not, we’ll let it go through but your McDonalds dollar burger just cost you $41.09 because of the $40 fee.
I think ING has it right, when you overdraft, no fees, no problems they just start charging you 7 or 8% like a CC.
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Mrs Money Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Evan- Oh I totally agree that the fees can be outrageous! I do think that the banks should charge less on the amount and also limit the number of charges a day. I think it’s ridiculous that you get charged $36 when you are overdrawn $1.
I didn’t know ING does that. I think that is a fantabulous way of dealing with overdrafts!
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I was recently speaking to one lady who keeps getting overdrafts every month. Her husband has the debit card and she writes checks but they never communicate. He also forgets to deposit money when he gets it and she keeps saying it is his fault because he is the one withdrawing money.
I guess she thinks the checks she writes do not count as withdrawals from her account.
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Mrs Money Reply:
January 30th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
Lulu- Oh man
It is crazy how many people have checking accounts and truly don’t understand how they work. When I open accounts, I make sure they know exactly how things post! Crazy. 
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Yes, one time I mistakenly paid my mortgage twice and it caused my account to go negative. I had just submitted some other bills online too so they all hit at the same time and I quickly racked up over $300 in overdraft charges. I explained what happened and it really was my first overdraft experience so they refunded the fees right away.
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Mrs Money Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
Mike- We do see instances like this. I’m a softie when it comes to some people (mainly the ones that actually had an error and are sad and not angry!) so I do refund fees. I probably refund more than I should, but I’m human too.
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The old-fashioned checkbook in your photo isn’t the way to go. I like using online statements. That way I can see exactly how much I’ve spent and exactly how much I have remaining. It’s wonderful.
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Mrs Money Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
Robert- Sometimes things don’t show up on online banking with my bank. For instance, if I have $20 in my account and go to a restaurant and spend that $20, the authorization for that may not go on the account until a few days later. It can be tricky! I guess I’m old school and still keep a check register.
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Attitude can make a big difference in getting a good outcome, even if you as the customer are wrong and should be overdrawn. When I worked at the Big Bank, customers with bad attitudes sometimes ended up in pointless arguments with the customer service rep – and didn’t get any relief or help. Customers who were open, polite, informed and asked really nicely sometimes got a break (e.g., a fee waived).
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Mrs Money Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
ami- AMEN! I’m usually pretty lenient when people ask for refunds if it’s their first time and they are nice about it. I think that if they can come in and conduct themselves in that manner, then I can help them out.
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Hahahah!
Once, I overdrew my account, but it honestly was the bank’s fault. We had set up an automatic draft for our car payment. The bank set it up for our secondary checking account even though we wanted it to be the primary.
They fixed it and refunded the money!
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Mrs Money Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
Kacie- That happens every once in awhile! Banks do make mistakes. I love when it’s a bank error and I can refund all the fees without feeling guilty.
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I haven’t overdrawn in a while, and the last time my account was overdrawn it really wasn’t my fault. I can say this with a serious face. Someone had written a fraudulent check for $950 and it made a few other items I had pending overdrawn. Luckily, my bank refunded me the check amount since I caught it right away, and the overdraft fees. Thank goodness!
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Mrs Money Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
Little House- WOW! That is crazy! We see fraud happen a lot more than we’d like it to
I hate when that happens.
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Wow, it actually never occurred to me to argue with an overdraft fee–mine in the past have come from online banking errors, whereby I move an incorrect amount of money from one account to another. What I need is a bank that uses my savings as an ‘overdraft’ but I just need to change banks–end of story. The next time I’m stateside, it’s what I intend to do.
But some of the excuses are kind of entertaining. I think you take it well.
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Mrs Money Reply:
January 31st, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Simple in France- I think that the longer you deal with it, the better it gets.
I love when people come in and demand that I refund their fees. Our bank will link savings accounts as overdraft protection and then they charge $15 if it advances but no overdraft fees. It’s good to shop around!
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Christie Reply:
February 9th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Be careful when linking accounts. I know of a friend of mine who had her debit card stolen and didn’t catch if for a few days, by then the person had managed to empty her checking and savings because they were linked….just a thought.
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Mrs Money Reply:
February 9th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
Christie- Yes! Good point. At the bank I work at, when fraud happens, you get ALL the money back if it was fraud. I would just hate to lose more money that I could have prevented from leaving!