Consumer complaint received 2016-08-09
Company: ALLY FINANCIAL INC.
State: MO
Product: Bank account or service
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
Deposits made at Ally are stated to be available as first {$200.00} next business day and the rest after. Regularly, I make deposits on the weekends. The availability notification ( email ) is not sent until Tuesday morning. Usually this email says some is available Tuesday ( although this is actually 2 business days ). This case had about {$700.00} ( XXXX checks ) deposited Sunday morning. Assuming they would at least be partially available Tuesday, I scheduled bill payments for Tuesday and Wednesday. I received an email Tuesday morning that multiple overdrafts occurred. Then I got an email that my deposit checks would be held for XXXX5 business days from this Tuesday. I called and they said in fact 5 business days from Tuesday, meaning that I made the deposit on XXXX and it would be available XXXX. The reasoning is " too many overdrafts ''. 

My issue is that 1 ) I was as never notified that I 've had " too many overdrafts '' and fell into this category. It has never been this way. I have never had a bounced check. How many is " too many ''? Why 5 days instead of XXXX, in XXXX? Why 5 days from Tuesday, not the day the deposit as made? If the deposit availability was clearer, I would never have overdrafts but this cycle just continues. 
2 ) the bank should notify me, at the latest, Monday, for a Sunday deposit if there will be a hold l, so that I can not schedule bill payments. This would prevent these overdrafts 3 ) the reason this check is on hold ( overdrafts ) is causing more overdrafts and thus continuing the cycle. 
4 ) with this very long hold, there will likely be an overdraft every single day from now until the money is available. A {$25.00} fee each day for the next XXXX8 days, plus the returned payments from the loans/creditors. It will end up costing me more in fees than the original deposit and in the end I will again be negative and overdrafted from the fees, even after the deposits are made available. 
All of this could have been prevented and been more fair if the bank had notified me that either my account was in this situation where desposits would be held or notified me in the first 24 hours of making the deposit that this would be the situation. Neither was done, and I assume it was in order to capitalize on the massive fees. 
This entire practice is so very unfair. It is my money being held so long and at the bank 's discretion, which they deceptively practice. It continues the cycle of massive overdraft fees and making the bills I try to pay bounce. 

This bank also practices processing all outgoing payments prior to all deposits for each day which maximizes their overdraft potential. This has left me with a positive balance for a day even though I ended up with overdraft fees. Again, very deceptive and maximizing these fees, in addition to putting me into an unnecessary category of " too many overdrafts ''.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief