Bank shop with overdraft
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buyer beware! I would certainly check and then re-check the company that asks you to do that. just sayin.....
It is a shop that has been around a while. I haven't explored it in depth because it is not available in my market. There have been previous discussions of it where one shopper (who is also associated with a bank) indicated that small overdrafts quickly covered would not be reported to the credit agencies. That to me was certainly a major concern. There is absolutely no reason to mess up your personal credit score for a shop as it could cost you dearly in your real life in terms of credit denied or coming only at a very high interest rate.
I have not done the shop as I do not/cannot do banking shops (as I have a past history of working in banking).
It is true - an overdraft that is covered by overdraft protection (also known as courtesy pay or overdraft pay) cannot be reported to a credit agency, as long as you do not leave the overdraft on the account for more than 30 days. The reason for this is because it is not a loan. Financial institutions can charge such high fees on small overdraft amounts BECAUSE they claim that overdraft payment is not a loan/interest, but a service fee. This allows them to charge ridicously high amounts (like $32 when one overdrafts for $5 accidentially) that would otherwise be considered predatory lending. Because it is not a loan, the mere existance that it happened is not a trade line and cannot show up on your credit report - i.e. they cannot even report that it happened.
However, be aware that if you leave the account in a negative balance for more than 30 days (or sometimes 45 or even 60, depending on the bank), you can be reported to a credit agency, as now you are in default with your checking account.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2011 05:34AM by MickeyB.
It is true - an overdraft that is covered by overdraft protection (also known as courtesy pay or overdraft pay) cannot be reported to a credit agency, as long as you do not leave the overdraft on the account for more than 30 days. The reason for this is because it is not a loan. Financial institutions can charge such high fees on small overdraft amounts BECAUSE they claim that overdraft payment is not a loan/interest, but a service fee. This allows them to charge ridicously high amounts (like $32 when one overdrafts for $5 accidentially) that would otherwise be considered predatory lending. Because it is not a loan, the mere existance that it happened is not a trade line and cannot show up on your credit report - i.e. they cannot even report that it happened.
However, be aware that if you leave the account in a negative balance for more than 30 days (or sometimes 45 or even 60, depending on the bank), you can be reported to a credit agency, as now you are in default with your checking account.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2011 05:34AM by MickeyB.
Thanks MickeyB. Sorry if I mistated the bank relationship as present tense rather than past tense.
Thank you for all your input and information. I have done over 100 bank shops for this company so I know they are legitimate. They assure you that it will not hurt your credit and the overdraft fee/any other charges will be refunded by the bank. After re-reading the instructions, I see the total payment for the shop is $90.00. I am just trying to decide if it is worth the hassel.
Sara
MickeyB, that is interesting and useful information.
Flash Wrote:
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> Thanks MickeyB. Sorry if I mistated the bank
> relationship as present tense rather than past
> tense.
Oh no worries at all
. I have a past history of being a market research director at a bank, and a current "history" of running the marketing research program at a different financial institution - so it is both - past and present. I cannot seem to get away from banks.
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> Thanks MickeyB. Sorry if I mistated the bank
> relationship as present tense rather than past
> tense.
Oh no worries at all
. I have a past history of being a market research director at a bank, and a current "history" of running the marketing research program at a different financial institution - so it is both - past and present. I cannot seem to get away from banks.
I signed up for this shop and am doing it later on this month. I have overdrafted my normal bank accounts a few times in the past 10 years or so and it has never shown up on my credit. Maybe I am naive in believing this bank will not report it especially since they are gleaning valuable information about their customer service from you, but I'm giving it a go.
Just one thing, in the notes after you accept the shop it says you have to get a debit card with the account and that it costs $12 and that amount is included in your shop fee...so this is really a $78 shop, not $90.
Just one thing, in the notes after you accept the shop it says you have to get a debit card with the account and that it costs $12 and that amount is included in your shop fee...so this is really a $78 shop, not $90.
I saw the fee for the debit card. That sure is disapointing. Do you plan on closing the account after the shop is completed?
Sara
I haven't decided if I will keep it yet or not. I do not have a personal bank account right now (just a joint account with the husband), so I guess it might be nice to have my own little spending money. But at the same time it seems like too much work to me...reconciling two accounts and all.
I had a similar (?) shop a few years ago. Open an account, pay $20, compensation another $20 must leave account open for at least 6 months. Those who did the shop were promised more shops to include teller shops to come!
A few years later and the MSC never came through (posting or offering). The most they ever offered were platform shops. Well, how many times can you go to the same bank and open up a new account? It's pretty limited!
No thanks! Closed out the bank account. Disengaged from MSC.
A few years later and the MSC never came through (posting or offering). The most they ever offered were platform shops. Well, how many times can you go to the same bank and open up a new account? It's pretty limited!
No thanks! Closed out the bank account. Disengaged from MSC.
I did the first part of the shop today. I found out today that since I am over 50 yrs old, the debit card is free.
Sara
I've just completed my first of these. I've also completed over 100 shops for the same company, but never for this client. they also offer a special that if you complete an on-line banking course, you get $25. so that offsets the $12 for the debit card.
I am going to contact my scheduler about the Sweep account. I thought the instructions stated I was to only open a checking account. I was also interested in getting the extra $25.00.
Sara
fantazyland who offers the extra $25, the bank or the MSC?
skylit...I did the first part of the shop yesterday. The bank offers the $25.00 if you do the online banking course and open a savings account. The $25.00 is deposited into the savings account. The savings account requires a minimum balance if I remember correctly. I emailed my scheduler to see if signing up for the savings account would cause the shop to be invalid.
Sara
sarajofrench Wrote:
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> I did the first part of the shop today. I found
> out today that since I am over 50 yrs old, the
> debit card is free.
Any tips as to the MSC? I work well with clues only.
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> I did the first part of the shop today. I found
> out today that since I am over 50 yrs old, the
> debit card is free.
Any tips as to the MSC? I work well with clues only.
A new round of these just opened and I am thinking of applying. How detailed/time-consuming was the report? Any unforeseen issues with the overdraft or anything else one would want to know before applying? Thanks!
The report took me about 45 minutes to complete. I used a digital recorder which made it easy to recall & answer the questions on the report. I do not see any issues with the overdraft requirement of the shop. The bank will offer you $25.00 to complete an online financial course within 30 days of opening the Checking Account. The money will be deposited in a Savings Account. This would cause the overdraft requirement to be more difficult. My scheduler instructed me not to take advantage of the Savings Account offer. If you enjoy banking shops, this is one I would apply for the assignment.
Sara
The only other "problem" I've run in to is that there is a $5.95 fee if you don't keep a $100 minimum daily balance in the account. Since I can't complete my overdraft portion of the shop until after a month has gone by this will force me to put $100 "on hold" and not use it for the month to avoid that fee.
skylit19 You must be a young puppy. I am over 50 yrs old so my checking account has no minimum balance or service fees. One of few benefits of old age.
Sara
Yes, I won't be eligible for those benefits for another 19 years or so...
I hate banks and their fees lately. I am seriously considering going to all cash system but would miss the convenience of online bill-pay.
I hate banks and their fees lately. I am seriously considering going to all cash system but would miss the convenience of online bill-pay.
skylit19, check out the credit unions in your area. While the name of the credit union might imply you aren't eligible because you don't work in the named business, many of them say that anyone who, "Lives, works or worships in ____" is eligible for membership. While you may need to pay a small registration fee to join and may be required to keep a small amount in a savings account to stay an active member, the worst I have seen of that was $10 registration and $25 in savings and mine was $0 registration and $5 in savings. They offer the online bill-pay and virtually every other service that banks offer with little or no fees at all.
sarajofrench Wrote:
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> 3offthecharts.....Now I try to not let so many
> shops pin me down.
I got a reach out for those and since they post often on here, found them and signed up. The debit card is not mentioned on that shop here. The $90 fee is attractive but signing up for the accounts would be hard to explain since there are no conveniently located branches.
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> 3offthecharts.....Now I try to not let so many
> shops pin me down.
I got a reach out for those and since they post often on here, found them and signed up. The debit card is not mentioned on that shop here. The $90 fee is attractive but signing up for the accounts would be hard to explain since there are no conveniently located branches.
I signed up since the bank has branches in a megamart's Super Centers. The location where I had to open the account is not near me, but I just said I am in that area a lot and thought I'd stop since I had shopping to do and it reminded me. The overdraft portion of the shop I can do by phone. Having an account affords me quick teller shops, so I may just keep it open. As long as I do some sort of direct deposit there every month, the account is free. I figure I'll deposit a little from Paypal each month; the banker checked and said that would count.
New look out for them- you are promised all shops for that branch IF you open an account. New glitch- all shops means one per 365 days! So you end up holding the account open for one shop a year.
Yeah, not a lot of frequency! I don't go to the branch where I opened the account, anyway. It's rare I get out that way. I'm okay with the rotation.
I'm glad someone mentioned the Sweeps promotion and the scheduler's answer. That answered that for me. I wondered how that overdraft thing would work if I had a $25 cushion. I didn't want to have to overdraft a lot.
CANADAMOMMY Wrote:
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> New look out for them- you are promised all shops
> for that branch IF you open an account. New
> glitch- all shops means one per 365 days! So you
> end up holding the account open for one shop a
> year.
I'm glad someone mentioned the Sweeps promotion and the scheduler's answer. That answered that for me. I wondered how that overdraft thing would work if I had a $25 cushion. I didn't want to have to overdraft a lot.
CANADAMOMMY Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> New look out for them- you are promised all shops
> for that branch IF you open an account. New
> glitch- all shops means one per 365 days! So you
> end up holding the account open for one shop a
> year.
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