Citizens Bank 5

First & foremost I enjoy the saying, " instead of pointing a critical finger, try a helping hand". I am a high school drop out & by my own choice never acquired my G.E.D. That being said I would like to share some profound quotes with you all:
The quality of strength lined with tenderness is an unbeatable combination, as are intelligence and necessity when unblunted by formal education. – Maya Angelou
I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. – Mark Twain
Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance. – Will Durant
Learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence. – Abigail Adams
Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification. – Martin Luther King, Jr.
To learn, you must want to be taught. – Proverbs 12:1
To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step to knowledge. – Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881)
An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't. – Anatole France
The education of a person is never completed until they die. – Robert E. Lee
Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation. – John F. Kennedy
And as Albert Einstein said long before, We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.
How wonderful to live in an age where there's an "Idiots Guide" for almost every situation one may encounter in life. e.g. The Complete Idiots Guide To A Healthy Relationship, Dating, Living Together, Buying or Selling a Home, The Perfect Marriage, Amazing Sex, To Pregnancy & Childbirth, To Baby Brain Games, Parenting a Preschooler & Toddler Too, Parenting a Teenager, Surviving Divorce. Okay, so if you've read this far you're most likely asking yourself "what's my point?".... It's like this....
I have been a patron of Citizens Bank for almost two years. Recently I had the unfortunate misfortune of over-drafting my checking account. Truth be told, when I opened my accounts savings/checking I was given the banks Terms & Agreements (which by the way... I did not read) Had I done so I would have been clearly informed of the banks policies regarding insufficient funds. Yes, it is in "fine print", but it "is" there. I've written this post with the hope that others may benefit from my experience. I've heard it said before, that "a smart person learns from their mistakes, but a wise person learns from the mistakes of others". Was I at fault?...yes....was I happy that I was being charged $233.00 for my error?...no. Ultimately, I came to accept my wrong. But just because I accepted it, didn't mean I had to like it....Right?..."NO SIR!!!". Originally I was enticed to enter into a relationship with Citizens Bank because I liked the idea of being able to do my grocery shopping at STOP & SHOP, have my medical prescriptions filled at the "in store" pharmacy (yes, I'm medicated for your protection!!!), grab a cup of java from the Starbucks that is also located in the store and if I wanted to, I could even save some money by renting a movie from the REDBOX DVD Machine at $1.08 rather than spending the $5.00 they charge at Blockbuster. What I didn't expect or enjoy were the enormous fees I incurred, as a result of "MY" ignorance. Here's the breakdown....I checked my balance at the ATM, performed an instant transfer from my savings to my checking and off I went. Ironically the logo on my ATM card is a Mastercard logo, I think we've all heard or seen the commercials for Mastercard... right?...$30.00 gas for my truck...$25.00 fee...$26.97 Walmart....$25.00 fee (got all the way to my truck, realized I forgot to buy a hair brush for my daughter,ran back to get it... $5.30 Walmart again....$37.00, fee...$15.97 PizzaHut...$37.00 fee... Sears, $49.97....$37.00 fee...$28.11, STOP & SHOP $37.00 fee and last but not least, rented a DVD from (yes you guess it) the REDBOX machine $1.08...$37.00 fee... The look on my face when I finally realized that I was being charged all those fees for having insufficient funds...."PRICELESS!!!!". So here's where we separate the people who see the proverbial glass half full, from those who see the glass half empty. I called the 800 number for the bank, spoke with a representative from Citizens Bank to verify what had happened and to rule out bank error. I decided that I would have a better chance to resolve my dilemma in a face to face meeting. I called my local Citizens Bank ankd spoke with the branch manager, set up an appointment. I went to bank asked for help to see if I could recoupe "some" not all of the fees (after all, it was my own doing)... I was informed that a branch manager was not authorized to reverse any fees... Branch manager referred my request to a District manager.... District manager credited my account $37.00 and filed my case with the banks Customer Relations Dept..... Within three days I received a call from the bank, I spoke with an intelligent, articulate woman who expressed sincere concern that I was unhappy with the amount of charges I sustained. She then proceeded to explain how the bank offers overdraft protection provided that you have a savings account with them & the only fee is $15.00 per transfer that the bank charges you in the event that an amount presents itself for payment and you don't have the funds to cover a particular purchase. Also, I was told that as an account holder the bank has a three tier system or levels if you will regarding over-drafts. The first tier charges the customer $25.00 for the first & second over-drafts, then the amount increases to $37.00..(second tier) finally the third tier results in a $2.00 addition.... for a total of $39.00 per over-draft. Then there is a fee for having your account in a negative balance...$35.00. So, in the end the banks representative refunded me an additional $150.00. Here it is ladies & gentlemen, $235.00 in fees - $37.00 (District Manager credit) = $198.00 .... -$150.00 (Customer Relations Dept. credit) = $48.00... A total of $187.00 of fees that I caused as a result of mismanaging my finances were returned to me because instead of pointing my finger & yelling, blaming everybody at the bank for this great injustice, I accepted full responsibility for my actions. Then, I set out humbly ( a key state of mind to be in "Humble") to see if there was any recourse available for me. My account had been in good standing, I am not in the habit of having insufficient funds in my accounts. I ask that the bank let my past actions and record speak for itself. Honestly, I was not aware of how purchases made with my ATM card post to my account, e.g. the time it takes for a pending purchase to present itself, the various cause and affect that dictates how many merchants hold onto funds. Largest amount to smallest or vice a versa. Where did I learn all this???? I drove to Barnes & Nobles and bought "The Complete Idiots Guide To Managing Your Money".... By the way I paid in cash.... "Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise...Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development.”Peace & Blessings To All!!!!!