my experience is with wellsfargo but i imagine that most major banks may operate similarly:
if you have an overdraft fee, call the bank, you will get a machine. go through the autentification process with it but do not mention your issue when it asks you to (specially not the word overdraft – this is a conspiracy theory i cannot prove but i swear to god they rewire you to more aggressive phone people if you tipoff the machine) instead say “i’d like to speak to a representative” the machine will be like “lol didn’t get that” so you may need to repeat it a couple more times before it wires you to a real person
wait! i’d recomend calling as early in the morning as possible to avoid elevator music.
be nice to the customer service person who picks up (i make a point of thanking them for their help and calling them by their name, if i don’t catch it the first time i ask them again for it)
my script is something along the lines of: “hi, i noticed there’s an overdraft fee in my account that posted on [date]. i am calling to see if we (WE – you and the representative are a team against the problem) could do something about it” (<- you may decide to be more direct, i just put my innocent hat on)
most if not all of what they say to you is a script. they will be like “i will check that for you with the automated process that takes into account you previous refund activity” BLAH BLAH BLAH. more waiting. if you have had any refunds in the past 12 months, they will be like “sorry the system says no (:” THOUGH, VERY RECENTLY, they have tacked on this question: do you have any thoughts on that / how do you feel about that / etc. though even if they do not prompt you, here’s the next step:
say: thank you! i appreciate the automated review, however i do not agree/approve/consent to being charged a fee. is there any way you could check again / anyone else i could talk to / would it be possible to refund it regardless? etc.
they will check again, possibly more waiting, and then you will get an immediate refund! in the rare case they refuse to, here is the link to the FDIC website that you can refer to (note, this is for overdraft fees only):
8. i cannot emphasize this enough – be nice !!!!!!!!!!! BE NICE! be cheerful, say “thank you” and “no worries” and “take your time!”. it is NOT a confrontation, it is NOT their fault, and most of the time the customer service representative wants this to be as frictionless as possible. they are helping you, use the opportunity to make a moment of their day a lot less stressful than they expect it to be.
that is ALL – i have been using wellsfargo for over eight years, and have lost hundreds of dollars to predatory overdraft fees charged as a punishment for having no money.
during the beginning covid, when they were momentarily suspended (you had to mention covid on the phone to get them back lol), i came to the realization that all of this time they could have been giving me my money back. there was no reason not to, except corporate greed.
do not let phone social anxiety let them take your money from you, now that it is easier than EVER to get it back. and if you need motivation to pick up the phone, remember this headline from a couple of years back lol:
