Having too little money in the bank can result in checks or charges from your debit card going unpaid. This is referred to as having insufficient funds, and the situation can be made worse by the lending institution’s charge of a fee for having an item presented to them without enough funds to cover the amount. All of the sudden you not only owe the original charge, but also a fee to your bank. If there are more than one items sent back for insufficient funds, the fees quickly add up and pretty soon your account balance can reach drastically negative levels.
A question that frequently arises in cases like this is whether the bank is entitled to collect the overdraft fee? Well, in some instances what has happened is that after consumer simply stop using the account, a debt buyer comes along and buys the debt for pennies on the dollar. Thereafter, collection efforts ensue. In order to avoid this happening to you, there are options at your bank, when setting up your account. These include:
- Opting out of the ability your bank has to accept an item when funds are too low to cover the amount. This would mean your bank refuses to honor the charge, and the only entity seeking payment is the vendor.
- Overdraft protection, which works to have funds automatically transferred from another account to your checking account when an item is presented and funds are too low.
It is important to set up a checking account in a way that works for you. If you do run into trouble, it matters who is doing the collecting when it comes to terms of what law is followed. In the debt buyer situation, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act must be followed, because the debt buyer is not the original creditor. However, if the bank is seeking repayment, the FDCPA does not apply because the bank is the original creditor. This distinction is important because certain protections are given to consumers by the FDCPA which are not present when the collector is the original lender. For more information on what to do about overdraft charges, call our office.
If you facing collection of NSF fees, call a knowledgeable attorney to discuss your options. We can help you understand your choices and make a decision that works for you. Call a Plantation, Florida debt relief attorney today for more information.
