Hit $5,000 in overdraft fees before I realized what was happening

I checked my account last month and saw I paid over $5,000 in overdraft fees over the last two years without even noticing. My bank was processing transactions from largest to smallest, so every coffee and gas purchase triggered a new fee. Has anyone else found a way to catch this sooner or switch to a bank that doesn't pull this trick?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_miles16d ago

Banks structure their fees to hide in plain sight, just like how grocery stores put the most expensive items at eye level and the cheap stuff on the bottom shelf. The largest-to-smallest transaction trick is basically designed to maximize fees on everyday purchases that you forget about instantly. I had a similar wake up call when I switched to a credit union and realized my old bank was processing three separate overdraft fees for one big purchase that cleared after a small coffee. It's wild how something so simple as the order of transactions can cost you thousands before you even blink.

the_william16d ago

A buddy of mine had that exact same thing happen with a national bank. He bought a used couch for 300 bucks, then got groceries and gas the same day, and the bank ran the couch first and knocked him into overdraft for every other purchase. Ended up paying almost 100 bucks in fees on stuff that would have been fine if they just ran it in the order it happened.