I don't get it either....bank cards

[Nomad]

difficult child got a bank card a few months ago. Who here doesn't know the rest? (sarcasm...my apologies)

Since it was tied to an acct. with husband's name on it...he was obligated to pay. It was an emergency accout when we go out of town. Average balance 50 cents. Still, they in their infinite wisdom issued her a card. She overdrafted immediately. Card privleges were stopped. husband paid the balance and took his name off of this account...I think account is closed now. husband talks with- the president of the bank. Tells her do NOT issue another card to difficult child.

A month or two later....THEY ISSUE ANOTHER CARD TO difficult child

Same story...repeat.

Bank calls today 'WHERE IS OUR MONEY?" difficult child overdrafted. They also want to talk with- husband. I tell them "I do NOT think so." I said to double check. husband's name is NOT on the acct. and difficult child is over 21. I am soooo sorry. But, you will have to figure out how to get the money from difficult child (good luck with- that).

husband called to verify. They said he is NOT liable since his name is not on the account. If you have a joint account with- your difficult child, they CAN open up a debit card, possibly a credit card and YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR ANY DEBT.

But, we were protected this time, when husband took his name off the account.


Seems banls are in the business of LOSING MONEY and it is sad sad sad sad.

Hey, what do you call it when someone doesn't understand cause and effect? Or when someone doesn't learn from their mistakes? Hmmmmmmmm

Our nation's banking industry....difficult child in disguise...pitiful.

(#$@!)

 

[DammitJanet]

This is why I refuse to open a bank account for Cory. He and baby momma opened one years ago and it was a fiasco. I assume she got the notices to pay because they eventually stopped coming here and she was on the account too.

Now he has the debit card from SSDI but it only lets you get out the amount they put on it and no more. You cant even put more money on it.

 

[CrazyinVA]

Oldest just finally opened a bank account after not having one for 3-4 years. She still owed money from multiple overdrafts way back when. Previously when she tried to open an account, she was "blacklisted" ... seems her name was in the system at all banks, until she paid the one bank off. But, that seems to have been lifted ... and the bank let her open an account. I pray she does better this time, hopefully the years have made her wiser.

Banks love charging fees.. I think that's why they're not afraid of letting people have debit cards. They figure they'll just charge people out the wazoo for overdrafts ... and they've come under a lot of fire for this, regulations are underway to change it.

For all the difficult children to which they give debit cards and don't ever see their money, I guarantee you there are 10 'regular" consumers who are paying beaucoup fees to make up for it. No skin off their back.

Glad your husband's name is off the account.

\

 

[Nomad]

Crazy...your story is familiar to me. A neighbor told me of his semi difficult child son who did not pay, but DID at least have a job. Yep, all the banks were connected and later he could not get another card. Even had trouble opening an acct. The over draft fees were horribly bad. It seems like a bit of a scam.

 

[emotionallybankrupt]

I don't know anything about prepaid credit cards in general, but what I did with my difficult child was to get her a Current by Discover Card. It's marketed as a "teen" card, but I don't see why it couldn't be used for someone older. Money can be deposited and withdrawn just like a bank account. Still not the same as a bank account, but I can see that it might be a solution for a difficult child who needs SOMETHING as an alternative to cash, while the parent needs to stay out of harm's way. The account is linked to a parent bank account or credit card, and the parent can make deposits scheduled in advance or by immediate transfer of funds. What I used to do is to get difficult child to cash her paycheck and give me the money to deposit to my account. Then I would transfer the funds to her Current Card (accepted wherever Discover is accepted). It worked beautifully. Impossible to overdraw it; the charge would be denied. For teens who still need a parent to put boundaries on their spending, there are many parental controls that can be used to do this.

 

[Fran]

My name is Not on anything. difficult child has a debit card for emergencies only. He has to call to ask permission to use it.
He is unable to handle money.

 

[Nomad]

Fran...isn't it possible for your difficult child to overdraft? We were not able to set up any specialized system with- reference to a card and its use with- the bank. If difficult child has an account, she can get a card. Even with- husband's name off the account, she got the card on her own. She got one both ways. And both ways she overdrafted. It's great that you can do this account this way. Is the account empty until your difficult child calls and then you put money in the account? We were not able to do this. We tried, but that's when she got the cards. The bank didn't care that she had 0 balance, etc. And if it were just in DHs name (bank account), if there is a way she could manage trouble, I think she would find it and (worse) do it.
EBs teen credit card...might be more do-able for us (not sure).
Totally agree..we do NOT put our names on anything difficult child related.

 

[DammitJanet]

I dont understand your daughter being able to overdraft a debit card. A credit card yes.

I have had a debit card linked to my checking account for years and I have never been able to spend more than what is in the account. Especially now that funds are so readily accounted for electronically. Years ago, I might have been able to write a check at say a grocery store and then go take out funds at the ATM and overdraft on the check, but now the checks are instantly sent through too.

 

[emotionallybankrupt]

I used it for about a year with no trouble and could find no "holes" that could put me in a vulnerable position. With this, you don't even have to trust difficult child to ask for permission to do anything, because you can program any restrictions you believe are necessary and change the restrictions with a click of the mouse. You can also view the activity. Even if you fail to anticipate the need for a certain restriction, still the card can never be overdrawn.

Like so many of you, I kept my name off anything of hers, and I also password protected everything to try to keep down the risk that she would try to access something of mine. The loophole on that, though, is that if anybody calls/clicks and says "forgot password," accounts can often be accessed by giving information difficult child would know. I never found a way to fix that problem, although I'd talk to customer service and they would make "notes" on their computer. When I'd test it out by calling in and claiming a lost password, though, the results were disturbing in most cases. She knows our address, my mother's maiden name, etc. Having the account numbers is not a problem if bills are mailed to the house. I switched everything I possibly could to electronic delivery. I'm also finding that more and more entities are enabling that feature, so you have to keep checking back on their websites. Personally, I think this is a good idea even without a difficult child around, because I think mail is more vulnerable to identity theft issues than electronic deliveries. Nowadays, most of our personal info is "out there" in electronic form anyway. Just my opinion.

 

[CrazyinVA]

I dont understand your daughter being able to overdraft a debit card. A credit card yes.

This is a known money maker for the Banks, so much so that there are new regulations going into effect this summer. Right, many of the large banks (mine included) act like they're doing consumers a "favor" bby providing "automatic overdraft protection" and honoring all debit card transactions when they overdraw your account. You have to actually opt OUT of this service, because it's automatic ... they will NOT reject any charge for insufficient funds,they simply overdraft you and charge you a fee. The result is that even a $2.00 cup of coffee at 7-11 could cost you $37.00 if it overdraws your account. One article I read said Banks pulled in $40 billion in fees in 2009 from this practice. If that's not bad enough, they routinely re-order the debits as they come in .. paying the largest one first, so that they get as many fees as possible. That's happened to me personally. Yes it was my mistake that I overdrew my account, but because they paid the largest check first, I ended up with 5-$35.00 fees, instead of just 1 if they'd paid the smaller debits, then overdrew me only on the large check.

This summer, the regulations go into effect and consumers will have to opt-in to this feature if they want it. About time.

 

[DammitJanet]

Oh another reason why I love my credit union! This service is one you have to opt in to except that in the last two months they sent out a letter telling us that we would be allowed to "free" overdrafts a year. Basically saying they could understand a whoopsie once in a while. Our overdraft charges are only $12 per check so its not a whole lot but it can add up.

I have never had my bank go over my limit with my bank card. Never.