Bree

Jek and I are having some trouble with our bank. We both have direct deposit on our paycheques (Jek gets paid weekly, I get paid monthly). Recently our deposits are taking six days from the date it is initiated from our employer to the time when the money is available for withdrawal. This is causing some serious overdraft issues, and at $27 a cheque, we're overdrawing from the overdrafts.

The bank manager said the only way to keep this from happening is to upgrade our account from "basic" (with no minimum balance) to the next level ("Green Bay Packer" at a $2,500 minimum balance). That is more than we make in two months' time, combined!

I was under the impression that direct deposit was supposed to make bank transactions easier - this six days business is a pile of shit, in my opinion. Is this waiting period standard? If not, can a bank withhold your money like this? The whole upgrade-your-account thing sounds like they're trying to make money to me.

MortalWombat

I would shop around for another bank, and make sure their policy is to process direct deposits in a timely manner regardless of the type of checking account.

Then switch your paycheck deposits and your balance to the other bank, close the original account, and make sure you tell them exactly why they have lost your business forever, and that you will not be recommending them to any of your friends, either.

B34RZ0R

I have never personally had issues with direct deposit. I am assuming by your spelling of checks you are not in the US? Maybe there is something that the bank you are assosiated with is doing wrong ... or they just suck. I use wells fargo and my paychecks are there the morning I get payed -allways-.
I would check to see if other banks in your area are the same way..
thats my two cents
Be Well
-=Bear=-

Godless Dave

I don't know about the legality, but it is definitely not standard. Anecdotally, I've only heard about this happening at small town banks. I would strongly advise you to switch banks. Do you have TCF there? I have banked with them since 1988. My directly deposited funds are available the day they are deposited.

semyaza

Can't say wether it's legal or not, but you may as well switch banks ASAP. I have direct deposit, and my money is available the same day it is deposited. There is no reason to wait six days, unless your employer has some serious credit rating problems (may want to check on that).

Oh, and make sure you tell the bank why you are closing your account...

KoopaFanatic

I don't know anything about the legality of it, but the delay is [b]definitely[/b[ not normal in my experience. The whole time I was in college I had direct deposit straight to the local credit union. Not once did I ever know of the money being deposited later than noon on payday. Heck, lots of times my paycheck would be processed by the previous afternoon!

I'd definitely say find another bank. Personally I've always found credit unions to be the way to go -- they're much more user-friendly than normal banks, and don't seem to go out of their way to screw you over. (Of course, I've only had experience with three, so I could've just gotten lucky.)

Bree

This is F&M Bank in case anyone living in the Midwest is reading .

The employer we're talking about is UPS - you'd think they'd be a big enough company that established credit wouldn't be a problem.

Never

I've had direct deposit for many years and the money is in the account in under 24 hours every time. I've never heard of there being any requirement on the part of the account holder to receive a deposit. The only time I've ever heard of a delay in deposit is if the bank has to wait to see if a check clears. If they have a direct deposit relationship with your employer, that shouldn't take long. IMO.
Shop for a new bank.
(makes you wonder if they're investing your money for a week and keeping the interest before they give it to you....)

Writer@Large

That's definitely not standard. Direct deposit is supposed to be good for the bank--fewer people cashing checks at the windows means fewer man-hours employed (whereas DD usually involves just a lot of computer number-crunching and file transfer). To hold your money hostage like that unless you keep $2,500 dollars in their coffers ... yeesh!

Get a new bank. Explain to the manager, in person and in writing, exactly why you're leaving his bank and how deplorable it is that they withhold your money like that. Forward a copy of the letter to corporate, as well.

--W@L

Undercurrent

I reiterate what everybody else says. Your bank may not be doing anything illegal, but it seems to suck shit in a big way compared to the level of service I get.

My paycheque gets direct-deposited to Wells Fargo, instantly. Even depositing a personal cheque only takes a day to clear. Your bank blows.

In fact, it blows so bad that I think there must be some paperwork screw-up somewhere. I've never heard of any bank with such a horrid policy. If they are doing this to everyone, I can't see how they would stay in business. I would hunt down the manager and see if he apologizes profusely for the oversight and refunds the overdraft fees.

Edited to add: And I never keep more than $1000 in my Wells Fargo account (move anything more to an ING account) and it often gets below $100 in there, so it's not like they're treating me better because I have a lot of money in there or anything.