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Key Bank USA Overdraft Fees Consumer Reviews

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Overdraft Charges
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

VENETA, OREGON -- I wrote a check for $500 on my Key account 9/23/15 and deposited it in Oregon Community CU to cover auto deductions there without first checking to make sure my paycheck was deposited. I then found my employee decided to change the payroll date to 9/25/15. On 9/25/15 I checked my Key Bank account and found the payroll was deposited at 12:01 a.m.. and there was a hold for the $500 check. I was relieved as it appeared I would not get a bounced check fee.

The next day I received a returned check charge of $37 from Key. Not wanting to receive bounced check charged at OCCU I took the $500 out of Key and deposited them in OCCU. I left enough funds in the account to pay the return check charge and decided to close my Key account because they hit me with fees from the left & right. Today I received a message for a service fee for overdraft because they then accepted the check they originally returned and I am now overdrawn $500.

Why did they return the check for what they say are NSF on 9/25/15 even though they had a hold on the funds in my account and then accept it and charge me overdraft fees on 9/29/15, the date I closed the acct? Now they refuse to close the account because I owe them funds and refuse to waive the fees. They said they can decide to return or accept the deposit up to three times. I believe everyone is screwed because they pull the strings.

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Overdraft Fees
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

MIDDLETOWN NY -- I've paid nearly $4,000 in overdraft fees to Keybank. My life is my organization, to build concrete homes in the Congo for those in need. My business checking account has constantly been attacked by this bank, when I make deposits it seems as if they hold my money to cause overdraft fees.

Every time I call customer service I am told my fees cannot be reimbursed because they have already reimbursed some, but what they do is give back the smallest fee amounts possible. I explain the amount of pain I'm in because they continue to do this, I need to have 2 teeth pulled but they show no remorse, already have gone through 5 tubes of Orajel. The greed they display is pure. I'm considering switching to a credit union.

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Terrible Bank
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

BUFFALO, NEW YORK -- This entire bank is a joke. I had been charged an overdraft fee and when called they spoke down to me as if I was just some jerk who always ran out of money. I had funds in there by the way. The very next day. I then had the overdraft fee refunded back, after being spoken to like a child and told that I need to set up overdraft protection to make sure this didn't happen in the future. I said, "NO, I don't need to do anything, I don't overdraft my account like a teenager regularly."

Then I get charged AGAIN when funds were directly deposited and there was no transactions posted until this morning along with the direct deposit. I called and spoke to someone else named Sherri who was just as condescending and then told I was not getting a refund of that money. On top of all that they charge you fees for everything else. You go shop in Canada? You're getting charged whatever they feel like charging you because it's never the same. This is the worst bank I've ever been with. Don't bother wasting your time or money!

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Consumers Take Action Against Key Bank
By -

CLEVELAND, OHIO -- For all of us who have been wrongly charged an overdraft fee by those Key Bank thieves along with their incompetent customer services reps, there may be justice coming for all of Key Bank customers. There is a class action lawsuit against Key Bank regarding their manipulation of charges to make more profit through overdraft fees. As some may not be aware, Wells Fargo had a similar lawsuit that just got settled in which the Judge ordered Wells Fargo to pay $230 million back to customers. I sincerely hope that the Wells Fargo settlement case sets a precedent for current and future litigation against banks such as the class action lawsuit against Key Bank.

My personal story with Key Bank regarding overdraft fees is similar to everyone's else experience it seems. But I'll go ahead and share: On July 28, 2010 my bank account was charged an overdraft fee of $37 even though my account balance was still POSITIVE $9.27. In June of 2010 I elected to NOT participate in Key Bank's overdraft protection services due to the $602.00 that I have paid year to date in overdraft fees.

I contest the overdraft fees on the basis that the criteria for an overdraft charge was not met (ie: the account balance was not negative after the transaction cleared) and as such it violated my rights as a consumer due to the new consumer protections laws passed earlier this year prohibiting such business practices exhibited by Key Bank in this matter. On July 29, 2010 when I became aware of the bogus overdraft fee, I contacted Key Bank Customer Service not only once, but three times.

All three times the customer service representatives declined to refund me my money and continued to argue that it was not a bank error (anyone with half a brain can look at the account statement and see that it is Key Bank's fault). That left me with no choice, so I filed a complaint with the Oregon Department of Justice, the BBB, and the OCC. Its been almost a month and I've yet to get my money back or contacted by Key Bank. However, due to Key Bank's blatant disregard for US financial consumer protection laws and failure to honor my request to opt out of their overdraft protection services, they need to be brought to justice.

Whether that be by US government regulators or the US Justice Department. I am sure that I am not the only one out there who has been a victim of Key Bank's business practices that take advantage of uneducated customers (Key Bank really shot themselves in the foot this time though). I sincerely hope that this class action lawsuit forces Key Bank to re-evaluate their overdraft protection (dis)service and adhere to all current and future laws. Sincerely, A Pissed Off Customer of Key Bank.

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Abusive Overdraft Policies
By -

REDMOND, WASHINGTON -- I found the My3cents.com Website while searching for information about overdraft policies employed by Key Bank. As I read many of the posted reviews I found that what I have encountered as a bank customer was strikingly similar to many other depositor's experience. That realization was at once both troubling and encouraging. It was troubling because I did not realize how widespread abusive funds availability policies were; it was encouraging because I understood that I was not alone on this issue.

That realization was also infuriating when one considers bank customers are currently being charged by banks on two fronts: first as customer who are charged egregious fees and second as taxpayers to bail out the very banks who are charging them as depositors.

When reviewing the issues I also concluded that characterizing those who have experienced the negative and often expensive effects of abusive funds availability and overdraft policy as irresponsible miscreants who cannot balance their check book is patently false. If fact, many who have had negative experiences with abusive overdraft fees are victims of overdraft policies crafted to allow banks to ignore deposit credits while first running all check and debit card charges in order of greatest to least. This maximizes overdraft events and related overdraft fees.

The processing order practices appear to be allowed by exceptions in Federal Reserve Board Regulation CC. Once a customer has a history of overdrafts, that regulation apparently allows banks to ignore required funds availability requirements, which often creates future cascades of unanticipated and unwarranted overdraft events. It also appears that customers are not informed by the bank that their accounts are being processed under different rules that create increasing opportunity for the bank to maximize fees charged. I believe that this practice creates a separate class of bank customers who do not enjoy the benefits of deposit recognition other depositors enjoy.

Having been a financial analyst for the past thirty years and a consumer advocate for fifteen, I began additional research. The results were quite encouraging. A few of the positive facts that I discovered are as follows:

  1. In November 2008 the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) published an extensive report concerning automated bank overdraft programs. The report describes many of the problems that customers have reported in My3cents.com reviews. The report also makes it clear that such bank practices are widespread and potentially effect up to 74 percent of all bank accounts. Finally, the FDIC report also discloses that under current bank policies overdraft fees charged to customers can amount to thousands of percent APR on the amount paid by the bank.

  2. In December 2008 a policy analyst group published a report that disclosed total overdraft fees charged by banks were $37 billion per year but net profit of the banks during a recent year was only $19 billion. This raises an important political issue: How can we as taxpayers be bailing financial institutions with hundreds of billions of our money, when those same apparently institutions cannot operate as a profitable going concern without gouging customers through abusive fees?

  3. In March 2009 House Bill 1456 was sponsored during the 111th Congress. That bill would specifically prohibit order of processing debits and manipulating recognition of deposits to maximize overdraft events and fees. If found that congressional bill to be encouraging for two reasons: first, it recognizes that complaints registered by customers about overdraft charges are entirely legitimate; and second, if passed into law the bill would prohibit many of the current bank practices that result in unwarranted and abusive overdraft charges.

I still feel the sting of hundreds of dollars at a time being taken from my account by abusive bank practices. At the same time, however, I am also hopeful that oversight reports by FDIC and proposed legislative reform by Congress can change those practices in the future. To that end I encourage folks to continue sharing their experiences in public forums.

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Key Bank Theft
By -

CLEVELAND, OHIO -- Before you read all the replies note that several of these individuals seem to post to many of the KeyBank complaints and they all seem to have star ratings on them and follow the Key Bank indoctrination of saying the same thing over and over. Hmmmm Paid employees perhaps????

First I will explain I have several accounts this info reflects most about my Business. This is the letter I have emailed to the local media, OCC and Key Bank. I want everyone to know they are rip-offs. I have forwarded this page link to these agencies also. Maybe someone will listen.

It has become a never ending battle to keep an accurate record of my bank accounts. I feel that putting my money in my account is no better than putting it in a slot machine. The odds are against me. What ticks me off the most is when I make the slightest mistake it cost me dearly. When I follow the bank policy I still don't have a leg to stand on. When the bank makes a mistake that I can prove then I have to fight tooth and nail to just get back my money and they pay no penalties. I will list a few issues I have had in the past year and yes I will provide a detailed report to the OCC but I believe they are not consumer friendly and are probably bought and paid for by the financial industry.

Back in March or April of last year I received a decent size check from an insurance company. I deposited this check on a Wednesday and it appeared in my account as being available Thursday and Friday. On Saturday it was taken back out. “I am glad I didn't write anything on it”. When I called the bank to explain they told me they put a hold on the money. “They had to make sure the check was good and they would get their money”. The ironic thing about this is that they could tell me during that same phone call the exact date and time it would be available in my account “Friday at midnight 5 days later.”

Several weeks ago “and I have had this happen before” I deposited a check “from a client I always do business with” on a Saturday. The check cleared on Monday and showed it to be available. Several items were taken out against this on that same day. “I travel a lot and the bank loves to hold my transactions to catch my account low.” As you can see below the next day I was hit with 10 overdraft charges.

I have sent emails requesting this be corrected and I received one correspondence in the mail which if you read it carefully you will see I am in no wrong and it is a book to say the least I would like to title it “How to rip off your clients”. They lied about the date I deposited the check and I verified with my client when their bank withdrew the funds from their account. To date I got a pathetic “as a good will gesture we will refund 5 of these overdraft but we are not in the wrong.”

09/18/2007 Serv Chg TIER 2 OVERDRAFT ITEM CHARGE
38.00 839.53
09/18/2007 Serv Chg TIER 2 OVERDRAFT ITEM CHARGE
38.00 877.53
09/18/2007 Serv Chg TIER 2 OVERDRAFT ITEM CHARGE
38.00 915.53
09/18/2007 Serv Chg TIER 2 OVERDRAFT ITEM CHARGE
38.00 953.53
09/18/2007 Serv Chg TIER 2 OVERDRAFT ITEM CHARGE
38.00 991.53
09/18/2007 Serv Chg TIER 2 OVERDRAFT ITEM CHARGE
38.00 1,029.53
09/18/2007 Serv Chg TIER 2 OVERDRAFT ITEM CHARGE
38.00 1,067.53
09/18/2007 Serv Chg TIER 2 OVERDRAFT ITEM CHARGE
38.00 1,105.53
09/18/2007 Serv Chg TIER 2 OVERDRAFT ITEM CHARGE
38.00 1,143.53
09/18/2007 Serv Chg TIER 2 OVERDRAFT ITEM CHARGE
38.00 1,181.53
09/18/2007 Reversal EASY SAVINGS AVIS REBATE NY 29.91 1,219.53
09/17/2007 Debit Card POS MAC USPS 5.94 1,189.62
09/17/2007 Debit Card PARADIES-RENO RENO NV 7.35 1,195.56
09/17/2007 Debit Card HMSHOST-PHX-AIR Q63 PHOENIX AZ 9.06 1,202.91
09/17/2007 Debit Card CONTINEN AUSTIN TX 15.00 1,211.97
09/17/2007 Debit Card APCOA CLEVELAND HOPKIN CLEVELAND OH 60.00 1,226.97
09/17/2007 Debit Card CIRCLE K 71.04 1,286.97
09/17/2007 ATM ATM KEY 100.00 1,358.01
09/17/2007 Debit Card BEST WESTERN AIRPORT P RENO NV 116.63 1,458.01
09/17/2007 Debit Card OMNI HOTELS AUSTIN S. AUSTIN TX 182.85 1,574.64
09/17/2007 Debit Card CONTINEN 00521534855446 AUSTIN TX 416.40 1,757.49
09/17/2007 Debit Card AVIS RENT-A-CAR 1 PHOENIX AZ 598.15 2,173.89
09/17/2007 Check CHECK # 600.01 2,772.04
09/17/2007 Deposit ATM 2,000.00 3,372.05

Today I open my account and see they have double charged me for several items see below email I sent earlier to the same person I have been trying to get to correct my other issue.

I want you to take a very close look at the information I have copied and pasted from my account this AM. As you can see there is a reason I do not trust or believe anything you try and shovel at me. I call this a “Tiear2 Over Drawing charge” and for each occurrence it is a $380 charge. Please redeposit all the money you have, once again stole from my account and $1900 for the charges I have imposed.

Cleared Activity
10/03/2007 Debit Card MCDONALD'S F14723 Q17 AMHERST VA 4.79 90.86
10/03/2007 Debit Card MCDONALD'S F14723 Q17 AMHERST VA 4.79 95.65
10/03/2007 Debit Card EXXONMOBIL 42038240 BEAVER WV 53.18 100.44
10/03/2007 Debit Card EXXONMOBIL 42038240 BEAVER WV 53.18 153.62
10/03/2007 Debit Card MARATHON OIL 156018Q96 ATWATER OH 63.48 206.80
10/03/2007 Debit Card CHEVRON 0173012 WHITE SULPHURWV 70.58 270.28
10/03/2007 Debit Card CHEVRON 0173012 WHITE SULPHURWV 70.58 340.86
10/03/2007 Bill Pay BILL PAY: 643.85 411.44
10/03/2007 Debit Card xxxxx 7.25 1,055.29
10/03/2007 Debit Card xxxxx 7.25 1,062.54
10/03/2007 Debit Card SHONEY'S OF LE14711Q68 LEWISBURG WV 11.11 1,069.79
10/03/2007 Debit Card SHONEY'S OF LE14711Q68 LEWISBURG WV 11.11 1,080.90

P.S One more piece of evidence to provide the OCC with. They did finally correct the double charges but that is all and I have received no word from them.

I also received a call from them a little while back for a late payment on a loan I have with them “personal account.” They called me then demanded I give them my full SSN before they would tell me anything. I had no clue at the time why they were calling and therefore told them I do not give my full SSN or Account number over the phone if I didn't call them and didn't know who I was speaking with. I filed a complaint with the Ohio AG and it was referred to the OCC by their office “AG Complaint **” .

I also believe “I don't have all the information yet” that they are sitting on a refund that I received from a car rental company “it might prevent them from catching my account low again”

I know it would be easy to say just changes banks “I have started this process”. The problem is I am one of thousands of their customers. So my question is how much money are they stealing on a daily basis and why isn't there any oversight. Someone should be facing criminal charges for this because I believe it is intentional. If you do a search on the net like “Keybank sucks or Keybank Rippoff” you will see there are a number of people who are complaining. Some justice needs to be done. If it requires me to show my account I will.

In all fairness I have CC the bank on this I want them to know I mean business and will not stop until I see some action not only for myself but for all the consumers out there…….

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Puyallup (WA) KeyBank overdrafts are costly and their service sucks
By -

PUYALLUP, WASHINGTON -- UPDATE: SAT. 8/22. My original review follows and I thank those who responded to my review. Here is an update based on the feedback that has been received thus far: Some of you said that the overdraft charges were my wife's fault. And perhaps she does bear some responsibility for not checking the paperwork more closely in the drive through lane (she asked to transfer money from savings to checking; the opposite occurred). But.....

1) The bank has systems in place that tell them when overdrafts occur. She had been a good customer for over a dozen years with nary an overdraft. Why did someone at the bank not give her a call and tell her something was going on? Instead, they let overdraft after overdraft pile up, each time collecting, I think, a $39 overdraft fee. If a call had been made, the problem could have been resolved over the phone or she would have been happy to go in and fix it. Instead she continued to write checks and use her debit card not knowing that she was being dinged for each use.

2) Even when she used one of her bank's ATM machines to withdraw cash, it gave it to her. My bank's machine are programmed to tell me that I don't have enough in my account and will not let me have the money. Her bank's ATM gave her the money (an unasked for loan I guess) and then charged her an overdraft fee.

3) When we went in and talked to the operations supervisor who didn't have the power to help resolve the problem (was there no one in the bank that could?), she said flat out that when we came back later to talk to the manager we would be able to have our story straight. Tacky and unprofessional.

4) When we did go back and talk to the manager, he said he would check it out give her a call no later than the following Monday p.m. We never heard from him. No phone call, no message, no letter..... nothing. And this was the individual that supposedly had responsibility for the entire bank.

To those of you who think it was my wife's responsibility in total, fine; we can agree to disagree. But as someone who has about 20 years experience in retail including seven as an owner/operator of my own store, this is not how I treated my customers. By the way, I just read about that bounced check fees made banks some $32 BILLION for banks last year. That can only lead one to conclude that banks, including obviously Key Bank, see this as a revenue source and the concept of customer satisfaction becomes secondary to that of greed.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:
At last we are free of Key Bank, Puyallup, Washington. My wife had been a loyal customer for many years with a checking account, savings account and certificates of deposits (CDs). She went to another branch and asked (she thought) to have money transferred from savings to checking. The clerk did the opposite and my wife did not check the receipts as she probably should have. She was in a drive through with people behind and felt she should move on.

That's when when the trouble began. Checks began bouncing and she began being charged for overdrafts. She used her ATM card several times including once for an approximate $5.00 meal and even used a Key Bank ATM for a cash withdrawal. Rather than alert her through the transaction machines that she was overdrawn, the bank allowed the transactions to be completed and then hit her with an overdraft charge.

When the ding letters started arriving by mail, we went to her branch where we talked to the operations supervisor. We told her the story, that it was an honest misunderstanding and expected the bank to reverse the overdraft charges especially considering the long and uncomplicated history she had with this bank. But the operations supervisor said she would have to check it out with her higher power (the bank manager). We told her we would come back in a day or two to talk personally to the manager. "Good," she responded, "that will give you a chance to get your story straight." Her attitude really ticked off my wife.

We went back a couple of days later and did talk to the manager. A couple of the fees had been waived but not all of them. We again explained how it had happened and asked that all the fees be reversed. He said that he would have to check with his higher power and that he would call us no later than the following Monday P.M. (I think we went in on a Thursday or Friday afternoon). We never heard from him.

I personally cannot figure out how a bank that stresses service can treat long term solid customers this way. Why, for example, would their own ATM allow my wife to withdraw money that she did not have in her account? Why did not someone at the bank call her when the checks started bouncing to tell her she had a problem?

My conclusion is that Key Bank (and probably other banks too) see these overdraft charges as a lucrative revenue source. And why did the manager say he would call us and then choose not to call. Service and good will to the customer be damned. No matter. We have closed the account and moved to another bank. And, if and when the subject of Key Bank comes up, we will do our best to let others know exactly how we feel about this company (in fact, we already have).

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Keybank Is Stealing Money From You...
By -

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON -- OK here is the scenario: You have 15.30 in your account. You pay for parking at a meter using your credit card. It costs $1.50 and clears. The previous day, you get a fee charged from your school for $15.00 for setting up a tuition payment plan that you thought was paid when you signed up. This goes in as a pending transaction. When you log in the next day you see that this has happened. The "balance for processing items" is 13.80 after the 1.50 is paid, but that pending transaction knocks down your available balance to -$1.20. OK you made a mistake so you are going to get an overdraft, right? Nope. Two.

$15.30 - pending [$15.00] = available [$0.30]. $0.30 - $1.50 = available [-$1.20]. KeyBank then overdraws you because the $1.50 was paid and overdrew your account. OK fine, it's a little shady considering that the 15.00 was still pending but whatever, you made an error and you don't mind owning up to it and paying the fee. So the next day early afternoon, you go into the bank and deposit $700. The day after that you receive ANOTHER overdraft WHAT?? So here is how they STEAL YOUR MONEY:

The next morning your "beginning balance for processing transactions" is: $13.80. $13.80 - overdraft [$36.50] = -$22.70. Obviously they can't charge you an overdraft for an overdraft fee but then that pending transaction for $15.00 that caused that first overdraft clears... -$22.70 - $15.00 = -$37.70. That's right, you are now charged another overdraft because the $15.00 item was paid and overdrew your account. The $700 that you deposited the same day is accounted for afterward and your balance at the end of the day is $662.30. You get another 36.50 overdraft charge posted the next day which brings your balance to $625.80.

Here is the bottom line: If you have 15.30 in your bank account and two purchases are made in the amount of 1.50 and 15.00, only one item is being paid that is overdrawing your account. If either item is paid alone with a balance of 15.30, the account will not be overdrawn.

You can't charge someone an overdraft for an item being paid based on a pending transaction unless you are going to consider that pending transaction as being paid. If you do that and then charge them another overdraft merely because that pending transaction posts to the account, you are stealing. KEYBANK, YOU ARE STEALING MONEY FROM PEOPLE.

If anyone disagrees, I would consider taking a refresher course in arrhythmic.
15.30 - 1.50 = 13.80(OK) - 15.00 = -1.20 (OD)
15.30 - 15.00 = 0.30(OK) - 1.50 = -1.20 (OD)

Only 1 overdraft possible
keyBank charged 2 [$73.00]
total balance overdrawn: [$1.20]
KEYBANK IS STEALING YOUR MONEY

I would like to hear your horror stories with this bank and/or any bank. I am building a website that will include all these horror stories and be talking with some lawyers and senators. We have the right as Americans to be protected from theft and reimbursed. This happens to Americans all the time and has happened to me twice. Please email me at ** with any stories, questions, comments, etc. and let's try and get some power back to the people.

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Overdraft Fees
By -

FINDLAY, OHIO -- BEWARE OF KEYBANK! I have been a customer with this bank for almost four years now. I have accumulated overdraft fees here and there and have probably deserved them. So I quietly paid them and moved on with my life. Recently I had a schooling in Key's positively predatory fee policy. Due to a lack of communication, we overdrew our account by approximately $70.

Fortunately I noticed it that morning and got money out of another account to cover the difference. Well, I discussed the issue with the teller and asked if I put in $200 cash deposit on that same day whether I would avoid the fees. I was told yes. Apparently she was not aware that Key's policy is to apply transactions as they come in. Consequently, I examine my account the following morning and see that I have accrued several fees that I was told that my prompt action had avoided. Again I was in the negative.

Well, I was mad and I went to see the bank manager (you pay $40 for a candy bar). He was trying to be nice but obviously felt that it was my fault for being an idiot. Well, after discussing the matter with him he informed me that the teller should have never have told me that I would be okay. As he explained it, nobody really knows what transactions may be in the pipeline or how they would be processed and could cause further fees. Well, I told him that I knew what was coming in (another 5 transactions) and that if I had been given the proper information on day one, there would have been enough money to cover the incoming transactions plus the fees.

He eventually relented and credited the fees for the misinformation I had received from the teller and told me that it would prevent any further fees from occurring (unless I had any outstanding that I didn't tell him about). I also tried to open a savings account linked to the checking account for overdraft protection. They don't have one. All they have is the credit based version that still is expensive to use and which they refuse to give me. Great, I went home, mission accomplished.

I check the account the next day and he did as he said and had credited the account but not before they added more fees to negate the positive credit! And the incoming transactions generated even more fees. Another call to the online reps and the bank manager proved fruitless. Frustrated, I have given up trying to work with them. So I was stuck with just under $800 in fees.

What I have learned is that Key's policies (and probably quite a few other banks) are very skewed to making lots of money through these punitive fees off those middle and lower middle income class folks who live paycheck to paycheck or suffer from credit deficiencies. Instead of creating policies and products that make money in a positive way and create corporate goodwill like other industries, Key has decided to take advantage of those least able to defend themselves, and, in my eyes, with no regard for their corporate image.

I also found out that their employees do not have enough knowledge about the very core of their business to give proper information that their customers can depend on to make informed decisions. Matter of fact, if you ask them, they will give some noncommittal ** that does not give any real direction to resolve the issue, and leaves you guessing how bad they are going to hit you! As for myself will be more vigilant about my finances but I will be more vigilant about them at a new bank. And I tell you what, I WILL support reform measures in the Banking Industry.

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Key Bank Limbo!
By -

COLONIE, NEW YORK -- My husband an I have a very successful automotive shop in Colonie, New York. Four years ago keybank cold call our business (in-person). Promising the world, showing all that they were capable of doing for us, proving that our current bank wasn't doing anything for us! So.. Keybank soon had it all.

We had the following with them: 3 business checking accounts, 2 insurance policies (1-500k 1-350k), line of credit 25k, leasing (key equipment financing) which is the only good part of key, key merchant services. On the personal side: personal checking w/ overdraft protection, investments, IRA's money market accounts, mutual funds, insurance policies, mortgage, savings accounts.

Limbo
Let's talk excessive overdraft charges. Our business incurred 14k worth of overdraft charges just in 2007 with KeyBank. That's not mentioning the expense of the bounced checks to all our wholesalers. Which trust me after doing business with them since 1987 proves to be quite the embarrassment. All charges 2 tier $38.00 a pop. And after 4 a reoccurring overdraft charge appears of $28.50. KeyBank has us just about broke. Just how they like it.

So far this branch manager has cashed in my personal investments - I had to use all of the line of credit linked to this account. Went weeks/months without paying ourselves. Took cash out of my savings and personal checking to cover business overdrafts. And I was also at the time trying to keep up on personal overdrafts too. So, Key's answer to all of this is.... Their excuses.

I have to be careful what I give back. I don't want to get my hand slapped. They are watching me very carefully, I could lose my job. This is what happens when you count on funds available. No one knows how long pending is?Our available funds are different than your screen available funds. Just because it says available doesn't necessarily mean it's available. Your online screen is different than mine. You made this mess, not Key. You are spending more than you are making (no you are taking more than I am making), fees-fees-and more fees. The harder & longer we work the more money they took. They have left us unable to pay our leases.

I paid over 7k to be exact in 2007. All went to interest and penalties just on this Key lease. The end of February 08 the equipment lease on our Ford pick up is in default. We can barely pay our bills. Or our taxes, mortgage and creditors. This is breaking my heart! and has caused more stress than you can possibly imagine. Many sleepless nights. I have worked this business since 1987 and the thought of losing it is killing me. I have a customer base of nearly 4000 loyal people, all neighborhood people. They will all soon know what KeyBank has done.

This has snowballed into me enduring countless phone calls day in day out from creditors, explaining why I'm behind in payments? Why i'm bouncing checks to them after so many years? I hear add $25 -$35 and with payroll taxes $75 to the debt owed. How is this fair? Why is key doing this? I just met with our lawyer. His answer was because they can. "Because to someone as small as yourself their corporate lawyers would bury us alive in red tape and court fees. You will end up broke in the long run". So his advise, "let dead dogs lie". My way is fight with all I have left in me.

So now the last and final straw was when, after several attempts to save all, I decided to take matters into my own hands and work out of an account that is possible to balance! My idea by the way. Not key's. I started to take my money out of my operating account and transfer it to my equipment account. All went crazy. I noticed that my account activity stopped dead.

I called Key. They froze my accounts, business & personal, yes both. And after many unkind words passed between the two of us, and one very loud hang up by her, do you know they never even notified me, no letter, no phone call, nothing? Just the malicious act of taking without permission. Reason, my account was in the black way too long for them. They needed to get me back into the red. Why else would they have done this? They called what I did illegal transaction of the transfer of funds.

Now mind you my 2 accounts are linked solely for this purpose. I was then asked if I knew what kiting was? No? What's kiting? "I can't tell you that!" "Then why would you mention it", was my question! Her answer, "just never mind! Just stop doing what you are doing" she said. "Just stop, just stop", is all she kept saying. We need to move forward now.

What does this person think I have been trying to do for one whole year? Let me get this straight - it's my money and I don't even have the freedom to move it around as I please. Just so I may stop Key from taking it? I have been leaving a very small amount in that account. Just to keep from further overdrafting the end result. I am suffering both business-wise and personally now! Just as they wanted it to be. They build their Key branches off of the blood and sweat of small hard-working business owners like myself. And so many that I have had the privilege of reading about on this site.

Our credit is in the toilet. Almost all of my wholesalers have us on cash! We work until 8-9-10:00 at night 6-7 days a week to try to come ahead. I am in KeyBank limbo. We have a very tough road ahead of us. Please all businesses, big and small alike, get out while there is still time. Save yourselves. I plan on it.

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Key Bank USA
Corporate Office - Cleveland District
127 Public Square, 7th Floor
Cleveland, OH 44114
1-800-539-2968 (ph)
www.key.com
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