Tips for Getting a Bank Fee Reversed

It happens to almost everyone at some point. You are distracted with life and something comes out of the blue and BAM, you have a $30 bank fee. Not the little $10 fees that they once were, overdraft fees now really hurt. So as you are contemplating what you could have done with that $30, here are some things to consider if you are not ready to give them your money.

Most banks claim that fees are only reversible if they are bank error. Not true, banks tell customers that because fees are important revenue generators. However, the manner in which you request a fee reversal is extremely important. These tricks may only work once a year depending on your bank and how strict they are about fee reversals. First, find someone who is allowed to make the decision; sometimes only a manager can reverse fees. Next, briefly explain the situation if you think it will help your case. If the background situation is not helpful, simply say that you made an error and are requesting a “one time courtesy reversal”. Don’t try to pretend that the fee is the bank’s fault if it is not, that will only make the person defensive. However, if you have fees that are legitimately the bank’s fault, they should reverse them no matter what.

If your first request does not work, here are a few other things you can try:

• If you have never had a deficiency on your account, point it out.
• If your account has been open for more than a year, mention it.
• If you have more than one account/account type with the institution, bring it up.
• If you have a large amount of money in either loans or account balances, it adds leverage to your request.
• You might even be able to negotiate a fee reversal with a promise of adding future business to the bank such as opening a credit account, signing up for online bill pay, setting up overdraft protection, or referring friends/family.
• If all else fails, request just a portion of the fee to be reversed.

Threatening to close your account may or may not work. If you are polite about it, and your account actually means something to the bank, they will probably try to work with you. Often though, managers and employees are only too-happy to see an easily enraged customer leave their bank and go to another.

Fees that are commonly reversed and why:

Overdraft fee--first time offense

Insufficient funds fee—first time offense

Late payment fee—first time offense

Finance charge—you normally pay off your balance monthly and it’s your first fee reversal on that credit card.

Cashier’s check—you ask for a large amount of cash (think over $5,000) first and then the teller offers you the check free of charge to make things easier.

Other situations that affect whether your fee is reversed:

How tired/cranky/hungry the person in front of you is

How big the fee is (the smaller, the better)

How big the bank is (usually the smaller, the better)

Lastly, make sure that you actually ask for the fee to be reversed. When I worked in banking there were all kinds of people who would come to me and tell me that they didn’t like the fees, that they were unfair, that they had extenuating circumstances that caused the fees, but because I wasn’t allowed to reverse too many fees, if they did not specifically ask for the fee to be reversed, I would not reverse it.