When you’re unemployed, and you know I am, every little cent counts. No purchasing of wine, no Star magazine, no Bluefly sales, no impulse buying at Brooklyn Industries. Makes me cry just thinking about it. So you can also imagine that I’m being all diamond eye on my bank account because nothing says ass rape like a 24.00 overdraft/overdrawn fee. That’s two weeks of groceries from Trader Joes! And you can THEN imagine how freaked out, defeated, and enraged I was when I checked my account online yesterday and saw that I have not one, but THREE overdrawn fees for 24.00 each — and I have money sitting in savings (granted, it’s for rent… but float as float will). I have been with this credit union since before I was in college (so that’s a good million years ago), I have 2 loans with them and a line of credit. I have have even more loans with them that have since been paid off, so they’ve been doing alright with my loyal business. So I had to write them a little note asking for, oh I don’t know, good customer service and business for a loyal customer.
Here’s what I wrote to them:
I have been with your bank for ___ years, and right now I don t feel like I am being treated like a loyal customer. I recently became unemployed so money is extremely tight - especially around rent time. I just looked at my account online yesterday and saw that I have not one, but two overdrawn fees and one privilege pay fee totalling 72.00. This is a massive blow in my reality. Especially when I see that I have over ____ in my savings that could have been drawn from. I understand that you have your “no more than 6 debits a month” (AKA transferring from savings to checking), but don’t you think it s good customer service/good banking to see that the money is there to cover, and to pull from the amount in savings?
I am asking as a loyal customer for some help here - please reverse the fees. $72.00 is at least 2 weeks of groceries, a bill paid, or 3 Metrocards. Please conduct any response via email, as I can not spare any daytime minutes because my cell phone bill is also being monitored very closely by me.
Hopefully they can grasp how truly pathetic I am, and I can praise them fully on this blog for just having a heart and being good people. Yes, I am pathetic, but shit dude, I don’t have any money.
Oh God I so feel your pain. I hope your bank is kinder than mine. I can’t even stand being around people at this point. Everytime they make a purchase all I can think about is what I could have put that money towards (bills, food you get the point) Good luck with the bank and if they do reverse the fee than let me know who they are because if they have a branch local they just found a customer in me ; ) Hope we both get off the unemployment train soon!