Got hit with a $35 overdraft fee for a $3 coffee purchase last month in Portland

I bought a coffee at a shop near my office for $3.50 last Tuesday and forgot I had $2 in my checking account. The bank charged me a $35 overdraft fee (which is wild, honestly) and then another one when the charge settled the next day. I called them up and asked if they could reverse just one of them since it was my first time in like two years. They said no because it was a 'standard policy' and wouldn't budge at all. Has anyone else had luck getting a bank to waive these fees when it's such a tiny amount?

3 comments

3 Comments

murphy.aaron1mo ago

Did the bank give you any reason why they wouldn't reverse just one?

mary_west1mo ago

Did you ask to talk to a supervisor or just the first person who answered? Sometimes you gotta push a little higher up the chain to get those fees reversed, especially when it's a dumb $3 coffee that caused it.

keith9001mo ago

Funny you say that @mary_west, but honestly sometimes pushing higher up just makes things worse. Those supervisors have way more training on how to shut you down politely and make you feel like the jerk for even asking. At least the first person you talk to might feel a little bad for you, you know? Plus if you escalate over a $3 fee, you're now that customer on their internal notes, and good luck getting anything waived next time. Sometimes it's smarter to just take the hit and move on rather than burning bridges over pocket change.