Banking and Finance

Waive Your Bank of America Overdraft Fee - A Easy Guide

Tracy
July 27, 2021

How Much is Bank of America Overdraft Fee?

The overdraft fee for Bank of America is currently $35. Although It said that BoA will reduce its overdraft fee from to $10 starting from May 2022, however, it doesn’t seem to happen so far. Since different banks have different policies on overdraft situations. At BoA, overdraft fees include overdraft item fees and non-sufficient funds (or NSF: Returned item) fees.

What is An Overdraft Item Fee?

At BoA, an overdraft item fee is charged when the amount of a check or a withdrawal exceeds the balance in the eligible checking or savings account, and Bank of America pays the overdraft item anyway. When it is determined that your account is overdrawn after finishing processing for the day, and the transaction or transactions are paid by BoA, an overdraft item fee of $10 per item over $1 will be charged.

Certainly, there is a limit upon the BoA overdraft item fees. Personal/Consumer accounts can be charged a maximum of 2 overdraft item fees and returned item fees in a single day. Small business accounts can be charged no more than 4 overdraft items and returned item fees per day.

What is an Overdraft Protection Fee?

An overdraft protection transfer fee may be charged when a transaction overdraws your eligible checking or savings account and, as a result, the available funds are transferred from your eligible linked overdraft protection account to cover the amount. We won’t charge this fee for any item that is $1 or less. 

What is a Non-sufficient Fund (NSF: Returned item) Fee?

When you do not have enough available funds in your account to cover an item, and BoA declines to pay or return the item unpaid (a returned item), you will be charged an NSF: Returned item fee for each returned item over $1.)    

A quick look at how much do other banks charge for overdraft fees:

Can I Get my Bank of America Overdraft Fees Waived?

$35 is not a small amount. According to CFPB, American pay over $15 billion annually in overdraft fees. If we can get refunded or waive draft fees, it will save us a lot of money for sure. However, if you don’t ask, the answer will never be yes.

1.Call Customer Service

Calling customer service is encouraged to illustrate your situation and potentially ask for a refund. You can always dispute Bank of America charges and overdraft fees. In order to speak to a live person in Bank of America customer service about the overdraft fee, you need to dial 1-800-432-1000.

What should you say on the phone?

  • State your purpose for the call. “There was an overdraft fee charge of ($000.00) on my account dated (date/month) that I would like to get a refund.”
  • Give out the reasons why you should get a refund, RATIONALLY. Don’t blame on their overdraft system. Instead, be nice and admit that you have some personal reasons that caused an overdraft. Perhaps you lose track of your account balance because you are outside of the United States, or a check issued a long time ago recently got cashed.
  • Admit that it was your mistake, and politely ask whether there is any chance that you can waive it. Maybe it was your first-time overdraft, or you have been with Bank of America for a while. Bank of American does refund overdraft fees case by case, so describe your circumstance with honesty and sincerity, and it is highly possible that you may get your money back.

Notice that Call Center hours on Monday to Friday are from 7 am to 10 pm, Saturday and Sunday start from 8 am to 5 pm EST. Otherwise, Live chat with Erica in the BoA app, the 24/7 virtual financial assistant, may also work in the same way.

If the call can’t get you a refund, don’t give it up.

2. If a phone call doesn't help, try the following ways

  • Schedule an appointment with BoA Specialist at your nearest Bank of America branch to talk in detail about your situation will be effective.
  • Call Bank of America Executive Customer Relations: 704-386-5687
  • Mail a general correspondence to Bank of America's Tampa, FL location. Address your envelope to Bank of America, PO Box 25118, Tempa, FL 33622–5118.
  • E-mail a Bank of America Customer Advocate:

Ways to Avoid Overdraft Fees from Bank of America

Despite $35 overdraft fee, Bank of America offers overdraft services too.

  1. The Overdraft Setting: you can view and change how the bank handles your transactions when you don't have enough money in either your eligible checking account or your linked eligible Bank of America Overdraft Protection account at the time of the transaction.

You can change your BoA overdraft settings by scheduling an appointment at a financial center or call 800.432.1000 (Mon-Fri 8 a.m.-11 p.m. or Sat-Sun 8 a.m.-8 p.m., all times ET). Outside the U.S. call 1.315.724.4022 (international collect; cell phone roaming charges may apply).

  1. Bank of America Overdraft Protection: it’s an optional service you can sign up for that links your eligible Bank of America checking account to another Bank of America account, automatically transfers available funds from your linked savings or eligible second checking account, or credit card to your eligible checking account if you overdraw it.

          How to set up BoA Overdraft Protection

1. On website

  • Sign in to Online Banking
  • Click the Help & Support tab, and then click More topics
  • Select Checking, savings and debit card 
  • Next select View/Edit Overdraft Protection

2. Contact BoA

  • Online Banking and Mobile Banking also help you avoid overdraft fees. It allows you to access your account information 24/7 and helps you keep track of your account balance. You can always check your balance on the Bank of America mobile app. It also has alerts and notifications that allow you to receive email or texts when there's important activity on your account, such as a low balance. 

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About Bank of America

Bank of America is the second-largest banking institution in the United States,  serves approximately 10.73% of all American bank deposits. It was acquired by the Charlotte-based NationsBank for $62 billion in 1998. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, it built upon its commercial banking business by establishing Merrill Lynch for wealth management and Bank of America Merrill Lynch for investment banking in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Competing with Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America primarily focuses on financial services of commercial banking, wealth management, and investment banking.

Website:

https://www.bankofamerica.com/

Hours:

Mon - Fri  9 AM - 6 PM

Sat   9 AM - 2 PM

Sun Closed