Consumer complaint received 2024-10-24
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low — Overdrafts and overdraft fees
Company: REGIONS FINANCIAL CORPORATION (IN)

I have been having trouble paying my bills because my credit card payments are high and everything in life is so expensive. My checking account went in the negative and I was charged XXXX overdraft fees ( XXXX {$36.00} fee and a second {$72.00} fee ). I messaged Regions to see if they would waive the fees and this was their response below. I told them that I valued my relationship with them but I would be reaching out to the CFPB because it sounds like they don't care about their consumers and their financial situations. They then explained my situation back to me as if I don't know what is happening with my account and expected me to be okay with their fees PER item overdrafted. I consider all of this unacceptable and will be switching my banking. I want a full refund of the overdraft fees. 

" I'm sorry to hear about the overdraft! I definitely understand that can be stressful! Please allow me a moment to review the account. 

Thank you for your patience! Upon review of the account, I see that the account is Opted In for ATM/Everyday CheckCard Transactions in Standard Overdraft XXXX XXXX By Opting In, Regions XXXX authorize your ATM and everyday ( non-recurring ) CheckCard transactions up to your account 's available XXXX XXXX XXXX limit. Your account will be assessed a paid overdraft item fee of {$36.00} for each item paid into overdraft. The overdraft fee of {$72.00} is currently pending on your account. We are not able to take any action against a pending transaction. You may contact Regions back once the overdraft fees have posted to your account to see if a refund can be issued. We generally allow XXXX fee refund for the life of an account. As standard overdraft coverage is a courtesy and customers must choose their personal coverage, any additional fees are typically non-refundable. However, we value helping our customers understand how fees have happened and how to avoid them in the future. 

To avoid these fees in the future, I would recommend opting out of XXXX XXXX XXXX for XXXX XXXX transactions. That way, if there are not enough funds in the account to cover a transaction, it would be declined and you would not receive a fee. ACH, Checks, and recurring card transactions may still be approved so that you do not experience service interruptions with your billers. We also have an XXXX XXXX XXXX option for XXXX XXXX XXXX. That way, if there are not enough funds in the account to cover everyday non-recurring checkcard transactions, XXXX, or checks, the transactions would be declined or returned and you would not receive a fee. Your account may still be assessed a paid overdraft item fee for recurring checkcard transactions that overdraw your account. While you can not change your Standard Overdraft Coverage election to Opt Out All through Regions Online Banking, you may visit a local branch to request this type of coverage election. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We also offer many solutions to monitor your account balance, including but not limited to : XXXX and XXXX banking, text alerts, the automated system at XXXX, any Regions branches, or Regions ATMs. As an added benefit, Regions offers a variety of ways to make deposits to your account on your time, including access to over XXXX XXXX ATMs with a valid XXXX or Now card. You can use our XXXX to locate a XXXX ATM near you at : XXXX. '' " Regions Overdraft Grace is a no-cost service that gives you more time to cover overdrafts and avoid XXXX XXXX XXXX fees. If you overdraft your accounts, you will have until XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX the following business day to cover the shortfall, plus the amount of any new items that may be presented. Once those deposits are made, as long as your checking account 's available balance is positive or isn't overdrawn by more than {$5.00} after that night 's processing, you won't be charged a fee. On the night of XX/XX/year>, the following transaction posted into the overdraft : ACH XXXX XXXX XXXX - {$240.00} Since the account was not funded with {$200.00} by XXXXXXXX XXXX  on XX/XX/year>, this transaction received a paid overdraft item fee on XX/XX/year>. On the night of XX/XX/year>, the following transactions posted into the overdraft : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX - {$39.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX {$39.00} Since the account was not funded with {$220.00} by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXX/XX/year>, these transactions received a paid overdraft item fee each on XX/XX/year>. ''