Sovereign Bank, Media PA
Complaint 53246 Details

During my Christmas shopping, I made many purchases with my debit card. Knowing I was close to emptying the account and that it would be a few days before may paycheck was direct-deposited, I checked my online account t see if I should deposit my Christmas bonus the next day (Saturday, 12/24/2011).
I was startled to see eight separate overdraft fees of $35 dollars each, for a total of $280. I figured there must be some mistake, as I had not received a notice or warning of any kind at any time.
I printed out a copy of the pertinent transactions and on Saturday I went to see the bank manger to explain that I had not agreed to these fees at any time. With me I had my Christmas bonus check to cover the amount I had overdrawn, regardless of the fees. I spoke to the Branch Manager (BM) and requested the fees be removed. The BM said she would remove two of the charges as a courtesy. To me, this is not courteous in any way. A courtesy would have been to make all of the fees except for the original $35 the POS disappear. I would have accepted that, since that was my understanding of how the SAP would “protect” my account.
Instead, the BM came up with the tow truck scenario identical to the one that I heard when setting up the account. I found this disingenuous. This is the standard pitch they give to get people to “opt in” for this “Sovereign Account Protection.” SAP. The acronym is not lost on me.
Further, since I have my pay check direct-deposited, I now had no control over the situation, which the BM knew. I said I would take my account elsewhere, and she responded that other banks would not open an account for someone in this situation.
I went down the street to TD Bank and opened up an account with my Christmas bonus check, because this is how I wanted to be spending my Christmas Eve. My complaint is simple. Sovereign Bank has just stolen my Christmas bonus and then some. It is almost a car payment. At no time would I agree to pay a $35 fee so that I wouldn’t have to put a $20 item on a credit card, of which I have several all well below the limit. I naturally began using a debit card to avoid borrowing unnecessarily.
If these are reasonable fees which they have deducted from my account, what is the service that has been provided?
I made a good faith attempt to rectify things, (Christmas bonus) check in hand, as soon as I discovered the error. I will also point out that while the Branch Manager (BM) in Media offered to forgive two of the fees as a “courtesy,“ she later apparently changed her mind, since that $70 was never credited to my account.
The BM stated that the bank has not made an error. If not, then this is exactly what the bank intended this “Protector” to do: siphon off the money which their customers have deposited with them in good faith. How this practice could be legal is beyond me – it is certainly Bad Business.
Subsequent to this initial attempt to straighten things out, I visited a branch office near my job since I did not have the time to get to the branch near my home. The representative there presented the defense of the tow truck scenario. Where had I heard that before? This was on 12/27/11.
I was not able to prevent the automatic direct deposit of my paycheck into my account, and therefore the entire $280 was removed from my account.
On New Year’s Eve – Saturday – I again visited my local branch but the BM was not in. In her stead was another agent, who responded to my story with the “Tow Truck Scenario.” This was the fourth time I have heard Sovereign Bank agents lay this scenario in front of me. The characteristic of such a scenario is of a one-time emergency. This was the picture I agreed to when I “opted in” for “protection.” At no time have I needed a tow truck, and in no case could it possibly be eight tow trucks in three days.
I then withdrew all but $10 from the account, since I could no longer trust Sovereign to have access to my money. I then asked the agent on duty to “opt me” back into the Sovereign Account Protector. He refused, and when I asked why, he said “Because you obviously have problems managing your money.”

If by that he meant choosing Sovereign to handle my money, I believe he was correct. I do have problems, because my bank has stolen money from me. Of course, he would not opt me back in, because then I might just go purchase a home entertainment system for $5000. So I asked him point blank if my “mistakes” included a large purchase such as that, would the bank have declined at the Point Of Sale if I had still been opted in? At last I had the first (and last) honest response I would get, because he said “I don’t know.”
But why wouldn’t he know? Why is it all right for the bank to charge a $35 fee for a $14 purchase without notifying the “valued customer” if it would not do the same thing for a much larger purchase? Unless, of course, the system is operating exactly as it has been set up to do, which is appropriate the funds of their clients in the guise of fees? Fees for what? What is the service? I opted in for “Protection.” But I haven’t been protected. I have been robbed, and I want my money back – the money I earned.

The entire crux of this dispute is that prior to “opting in” for “account protection,” I could not overdraw my account and if I tried – even by mistake as I did this time – I would know that I had insufficient funds. I at no time agreed to relinquish my right to have this information at the Point Of Sale. I assumed if it ever happened, it could only be a one-time thing, and only in an emergency (“Tow Truck.”)
The Tow Truck is imaginary – it is merely a ruse. But the misappropriation of funds is very real.

It's my mony and I want it returned to me.