Beware the "Auto debiting" of accounts

[Wanderer]

Ouch, nearly got nailed for an "Overdraft"

Had the repairs done on the van, great, the account set Good, auto debit "Why not?"

Then Saturday I noticed that my account had had a THIRD payment done to it...

"Wait, I PAID the account on the 10th, they said "If you have already paid, don't worry"

omgomgomgomgomgomgomg.......Dial quickly, chat with rep and find out that

"If you have set up auto pay it will ALWAYS TAKE IT OUT OF THE ACCOUNT NO MATTER IF YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY PAID!"

A quick dash (Internet wise) to the bank and after some clicks, moved the payment to the checking account from the credit card (Thank goodness
I had paid on it) and so it absorbed the hit with no issues.

Lesson learned!

 

[ccbreder]

I have my 4 credit cards set for auto payment, minimum due, on the due date. Then if I fail to make my payment I don't get a past due. When I make my desired payment on my payment day, the minimum becomes zero, and no debit that month.

 

[Queen]

I owe very few payments so won't do "auto" anything, feels like giving up control over my accounts and I'm paranoid about that. I just have reminders on my phone and paper calendar so I don't miss anything.

 

[Almost There]

I have a couple of auto debits - my auto insurance monthly premium and my long distance telephone bill which has never gone over $5.00 a month. Other than that, I'm like Queen, I want control of my own money.

What I do is jot a note on a piece of paper in my check book each month with the date and the amount of payment due as each of my cell/credit card companies email me that my statement is ready.

The one thing I do have set up with my bank is an auto transfer. I will never have an overdraft charge because if something tries to clear without enough money in the account, the bank automatically transfers money from my savings account to cover the debit. Some banks charge a small fee for this service but it sure beats an overdraft charge!!

 

[DannyB1954]

I have auto payments set up for a number of things. What is dangerous and what I will not do again is to let a business have access to my bank account. I had Dish network. I cancelled due to faulty equipment and poor customer service, (no contract as it had already expired). I sent them their equipment back. They then took out $300 from my checking account for equipment fees.
My Bank at the time, (Wells Fargo) said if I didn't owe them the money they wouldn't have taken it. If I felt I was wronged I could sue them. I said if they felt that I had wronged them they could sue me. Bank refused to help. I let the bank eat all the bounced checks that they already paid on.

 

[Queen]

One of the biggest reasons I didn't join LA Fitness, they only do auto debit and are notorious for continuing to charge your account after you cancel. I REALLY wanted to use their pool, but just not worth the risk and subsequent hassle.

 

[ccbreder]

I agree here. Monthly fees on auto debit are hard to stop if from a bank account. I have some on a credit card. I have reported a card lost to end a auto payment.

 

[Almost There]

I agree here. Monthly fees on auto debit are hard to stop if from a bank account. I have some on a credit card. I have reported a card lost to end a auto payment.

I actually didn't find it that hard to stop a couple of auto debits from my bank account.

My bank (actually credit union) charged me $15.00 to put a 'stop all payments of any denomination from this company'. I did it when I was moving out of the S&B and didn't really trust my internet provider and the electric company to get it all right. I also did it when I was trying to deal with the insurance nightmare that I went through. Good thing it didn't include crediting my account since the insurance company got it so wrong that they voluntarily gave me money back....

It was well worth the fees to have the peace of mind!

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

My bank is great, they let me stop any automatic payments for places like gyms that require you to do it, with a simple phone call. They also reimburse me for all ATM fees and don't charge overdraft fees.

 

[Wanderer]

I have auto payments set up for a number of things. What is dangerous and what I will not do again is to let a business have access to my bank account.  I had Dish network. I cancelled due to faulty equipment and poor customer service, (no contract as it had already expired). I sent them their equipment back. They then took out $300 from my checking account for equipment fees.
My Bank at the time, (Wells Fargo) said if I didn't owe them the money they wouldn't have taken it. If I felt I was wronged I could sue them. I said if they felt that I had wronged them they could sue me. Bank refused to help. I let the bank eat all the bounced checks that they already paid on.

Ahhh...Wells Fargo...I recall I had a loan though another lender and my account went $350 neg due to "Issues"

So I went there and offered $300 cash and close the account.

They demanded I pay them $400 (Account went higher by that time) 

I then said "$300 now beats zero later"

They refused and so the account went neg, deeper and deeper...Finally they closed it at $2,917

Note: NONE of the above amount was ACTUAL money, it was all those FEES topped one on another ..

Account fund negative balance fee, Overdraw account fee, (Yes there's a difference to them) and maintenance fee  (Which I never agreed to)

So, it took 9 months for the account to top out...Was fun going to various ATM's and asking for reports which were adding to the debit.

The fun thing was to run to my work, beg them to give me a check for wages for 2 pay periods till I got new bank...Luckily I did them
favors and so I saved 2 paychecks and went with another bank and laughed monthly when the letters  demanding payments came in....

Never declared a BK, went to MO for 2.5 years (2006, so now any debt back then is now void) , came back...a few of the collections have gone away...some still contact me after all this time...

 

[gcal]

Ouch, nearly got nailed for an "Overdraft"

Had the repairs done on the van, great, the account set Good, auto debit "Why not?"

Then Saturday I noticed that my account had had a THIRD payment done to it...

"Wait, I PAID the account on the 10th, they said "If you have already paid, don't worry"

omgomgomgomgomgomgomg.......Dial quickly, chat with rep and find out that

"If you have set up auto pay it will ALWAYS TAKE IT OUT OF THE ACCOUNT NO MATTER IF YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY PAID!"

A quick dash (Internet wise) to the bank and after some clicks, moved the payment to the checking account from the credit card (Thank goodness
I had paid on it) and so it absorbed the hit with no issues.

Lesson learned!

We have pension going into one account with auto bill paying and ss going into another that we spend out of. Works well. No overdraft surprises.