Consumer Ripoff Alert: M&T Bank wants me to pay them $545.20 for being overdraft $81.49

Recently, I started using my debit card more than usual. My wife and I are trying to get our credit cards paid off. I knew I was close to my zero balance in one of my personal checking accounts so I decided to check today.

I was shocked to see a balance in the negative 500s. I thought my card must've been stolen. It turns out that although I was overdrawn, the card was continually accepted. Therefore I had no hint that I was overdrawn.

To add insult to injury, the bank was charging me a "convenience fee" of $37 per transaction. So for example when I purchased two limes at Bloom for 90 cents, it costs me $37.90. That's $18.95 per lime. And when I rented a DVD from RedBox for $1.05, that actually cost me $38.05.

So I called M&T customer service and they asked me if I used a check register to record my transactions. I told her that I wasn't denying I went over but asked if I deserved such a huge penalty for doing so. She advised me to go to the local branch and see what they could do about it.

So I went into the local branch and spoke to Jim Montfort in Sterling VA. He gave me a lot of information about the history of banking and told me he only uses credit cards for purchases and not debit cards and what about the case where someone is buying groceries and they want to go over their limit. I asked if it wasn't for the fact that the bank made a lot of money from this, why wouldn't they send an email alert about being overdrawn. He said his mother doesn't have email. He ended by saying he couldn't do anything for me because the branch at which I opened the account in Leesburg, VA was the only one who could do anything about it. I called him (Michael Michael) and got the "he's in a meeting" response.

I spoke to a friend of mine who said there was a recent TV expose on these charges and how astonished people were about them and what a huge ripoff they were. That since they are called "convenience fees", they are exempt from regulation.

I don't know about the history. All I know is I'm getting screwed. And this isn't just some random bank. I've been using this bank for years and have my primary business account there as well.

It's no wonder the public is frustrated with the behavior of the banks. Thanks for bailing them out, President Obama. Maybe Jim Montfort and Michael Michael can get a big bonus from all the money they collect from this blatant ripoff.