PNC Bank is a Predator – Outrageous Fees
October 2nd, 2009 | 
Author: You may be aware that PNC Bank (the institution that took over Calvert Bank) was a recipient of taxpayer bail out funds. What you may not know about using your ATM card is that the bank is EAGERLY awaiting the day you use it with insufficient funds. When you do PNC bank WILL, without conscience, charge you $36 per transaction regardless of the amount of the transaction. They won’t refuse to accept your ATM card at the point of sale, NO they want that fee. They will pay the “over draft” they COULD HAVE prevented at the point of sale and charge YOU big bucks for your dastardly deed! You are a lowly, scumbag, fee-worthy over draft customer.
It used to be that banks checked your balance before allowing a sale to go through at the point of sale. Now PNC bank HOPES and PRAYS that you will make those mistakes that every normal person does so they can charge you an obscene penalty. They bank on it.
You are NOT SAFE when you use an ATM card to pay for items at retail. Unless you sign up for outrageous account protection withdrawals from savings you will be charged an OBSCENE FEE for every transaction you make. It doesn’t matter that you thought you had a enough money in your account, that you are a senior citizen, or you are just human. These criminals in bankers clothing at PNC bank are there to steal your funds as charges, fees, and penalties and to pay you as tiny a percentage as they can on savings. PNC bank is doing you no favors.
Use EXTREME caution with your ATM card. Check your balance every day. My account was overdrawn by about $55.00 over a day and a half when I thought I had plenty there before pay day. The number of transactions, one at just seventy-nine cents, racked up TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in penalty charges which took half of this seniors limited income paycheck from his checking account.
PNC bank didn’t give a damn. They are extraordinarily happy you had a momentary lapse of judgment in their favor.
My solution is to look into credit union membership and ask questions up front. PNC bank is a predator with usurious fees. They are not your friend and definitely NOT worth doing business with. You never know when they are going to take advantage of their relationship with you. They have all the cards and your money! There is nothing rational or fair about these fees. The fees only serve to increase the bank’s income at customer expense.
Using an ATM card does not protect you from outrageous insufficient fund charges from predatory banks and definitely NOT from PNC bank
My suggestion is that anytime you can identify a PNC bank employee at your place of business is that you always charge them suggested list, never offer customer service or discounts, and anytime you can stick to the rules in your company’s favor do it. They will do the same to you someday without conscience. You might even consider refusing PNC membership in local organizations. Their charities are a fraud since the money they are giving away probably belonged to other victims.
Oh and all you Calvert County taxpayers. I think we have been had. PNC’s bail out didn’t help us much. It’s cost me plenty. I strongly urge every PNC bank customer that has been victimized by the PNC fee system to complain to Congress. Outrageous over draft fees are a topic of interest to law makers at the moment. Fees are OUT OF PROPORTION with the cause. The rules of the bank are designed to collect a large fee no matter what.
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I so agree that PNC Bank's charges and practices are usury. It's unethical and frustrating.
Despite being a very good customer (multiple accounts) for 5 years, I was told only the branch manager could refund any charges. Despite multiple calls, she never responded.
I am filing a complaint with the OCC. Google "pnc complaints." There are pages and pages of irate customers, so it's time to get noisy.
Submit OCC complaint here: http://www.helpwithmybank.gov/complaints/index.ht…
Horse pucky. I just watched a story on Fox News where a self-righteous banker explained that high over draft fees were designed like speeding tickets so that customers would better manage their accounts. Horse pucky. Watching this SMUG bank employee spin outrageous and usurious fees ANGERED me even more.
Banks like PNC Bank are enjoying stealing our money, because, as I believe, we are being more careful. We all expected, as was the case when ATM cards were first created, that overdrafts would be IMPOSSIBLE!
I had a PNC cheerleader at a Giant store tell me that PNC had a new fee. That fee was to set your account up so that you could not overdraft with an ATM card. That was SUPPOSED TO BE THE DEFAULT as far as I was concerned. It is not and this was designed by PNC strictly for the purpose of STEALING funds from customers.
When I use a debit card at a store I EXPECT to be WARNED that I have insufficient funds and not be allowed to use the card. I DO NOT EXPECT my bank to pay the charge and then HIT ME with a thirty six dollar fee. DAMN THEM!
When is the American public going to wake up and finally say we have had enough.
I SHOULD NOT have to pay an additional FEE to have an ATM card do what it should do in the first place.
Banks like PNC are PREDATORS. They are fee-based revenue engines PRETENDING to be banks. They were not satisfied with thier profits as a bank so they have decided, very consciously, to take from their customers whatever they can.
The bank called me the other day when a large check cleared. Funds were in the account and they paid it. I wrote the check. The bank made a frantic telephone call to my answering machine DEMANDING that I call them back about an unexplained issue and ONLY provided a NUMBER to reference the call.
When I finally called the back they claimed they had no signature card on file for my recently started account. I ASSURED the incompetent PNC bank that they have had a signature card on file since 2001 when I started the account and that I thought the call was just one designed to protect the bank and NOT me. I still believe that.
You see the double standard and the hypocrisy right? They call you when you write bad checks, they DO NOT call you when you write teeny-tiny small ones or use your ATM card on empty (which they can prevent) because they have FEE REVENUES to collect. This isn't about teaching depositors a lesson in fiscal responsibility! This is about the kind of corporate shenanigans and GREED that caused our economic melt down. It's business as usual.
PNC bank is a fee-based bank. Every bank that charges HUGE fees is a fee based bank. Our fiscal behaviors made it difficult for them to make money so the banks, in order to survive, had to event methods to make money in fees instead if savings accounts. Banks like PNC are no longer there just to provide a service, banks like PNC MUST collect additional fees to justify themselves. Their financial model is based on this premise. It's obvious.
Are you a PNC bank share holder? Shame on you. DOes your non-profit accept donations from PNC? Double shame on you.
This is really no different than all of the big banks today. BOA Wachovia are the same and it is a money grab and designed to screw the consumer!
We ranted on BOA, and to be honest, I was recently considering a PNC account (they are in the local Giant) but now….hmmmm
It was in my local Giant that a PNC cheerleader tried to get me to use an ATM to deposit a check that I gave her. That also yannked my chain since ATM deposits do not go in your account as quickly as a deposit made in person. I told her if she wasn't going to take my money I would go to my branch. She did it reluctantly. She was the one who happily proclaimed fro YET ANOTHER FEE PNC would be happy to prevent over dafts with my ATM card!!!!!
Banks have become evil marketing and sales outlets with no regard whatsoever for their customers. I am skeptical that Senator Dodd's bill will have any positive effect. There's a well paid bank executive (paid with our overdraft payments) right now scheming ways to make the legislation ineffective. I have no respect for these banks. None.
Again today I heard fascinating audio of a so-called banking association professional admitting before a Senate committee that yes most of his customers over-drafting a Starbucks coffee over the weekend are not the customers that have trouble managing their money.
But again the Senat committee has MISSED THE POINT. The technology WAS THERE ORIGINALLY PROTECTING CUSTOMERS from the over draft. It was REMOVED so that banks could CHARGE OVERDRAFT FEES.
It is absolutely naive not to believe that number crunchers use statistics of ALL OF THE BANKS CUSTOMERS to plan fee structures, amounts, and the fee amounts they EXPECT to collect based on customer behavior. The banking industry is corrupt.
Many of these same banks were GIVEN taxpayer money to LOAN to small business. Based on what we are hearing in the news it is painfully evident that these same banks have held on to the money probably investing it in more conservative ways. Not only are we paying predators outrageous fees, our government gave them free money they are not using as we intended. Whose in the wrong here?
Why is taking Congress so long to ask the hard questions? My first question WOULD HAVE BEEN, "Tell me why a check card used as as credit card wouldn't have the no-funds available warning at the retailer just like an over limit credit does.? Explain it to me?"
Banks charge 1,6 percent plus or minus to very retailer accepting an ATM VISA card. They also charge you $36 if the card goes over the amount in your account. The bank is NEVER THE LOSER.
The industry is greed based. They no longer provide a service as one might expect. They charge fees for whatever sill concocted service they can dream up. Now we're hearing that banks might be able to prevent over draft charges on ATM cards for a fee! Congress, wake up. The industry is a dishonest fee-mongering giant.
Well the greedy 5643ards's did it again. Another family member $72. SO now Predator's National Criminal Bank has stolen $327 from my family in one month. That's one BGE bill.
This is a crime.
It is time the rest of PNC's victims went public and complained about the service and the radical over draft charges.
It is time businesses stopped borrowing from these vermin.
It is time charities stopped accepting their contributions.
It is time current and former PNC customers complained to GIANT that they won't do business with a grocery store that allows a bank in their stores that treats customers like deadbeats and steals their paychecks
Do not be naive. This behavior is PLANNED in boardrooms. They know how many mistakes people are making to make each year and this revenue stream is planned for and probably needed stay in business.
It is also time for an honest bank to start doing business in Calvert County, St,. Mary's County and Charles County. PNC bank is a fee engine and they are planning to take advantage of you.