I am a college student with a checking account at Flushing Savings Bank, a local branch near my home. I use my Debit card for making purchases. Normally the card declines the transaction if there is not enough sufficient funds to cover the purchase as it is not a credit card. I was out of town for a month or so and during this time, Flushing Savings Bank had sent a notice to my residence demanding $301.47 in fines or they will report me to higher authorities. Upon my arrival, i visited the bank and inquired about the situation. The details as per the statement from the bank are as follows:

Amount involved in 7 occasions for purchase of gas in gas stations: $91.72
NSF charged for the 7 occasions: $210.00

They stated that i over drew money from my account 7 times and charged me a fee of $30 each time. The bank never bothered to inform me till i racked up about $300 in fines. Had the bank denied the first transaction when there was no money in my account or at least alerted me about it, this would not have happened.

Like a lot of other college students, I am not financially stable in any way. I go to school full time and currently unemployed. I feel as if the bank has wrongly cheated me out of my money in order to generate income for themselves rather than acting in the best interest of its customers. They gave me no warning about the negative balance in my account till it was too late. While i was trying to resolve the situation with the bank, they moved my dispute to the collection agency without any regard to my concern. I feel as if the bank has acted against the fundamental of banking principle faithful and without any negligence.

This i feel is an injustice and I am in no position to be able to pay over $300 in fines. I have enough trouble covering my tuition costs and books. I tried my best to talk to the Bank manager to resolve the situation somehow but they flatly told me there wasnt anything they could do for me. Due to the fines, I can no longer open an account with any other bank and my credit is damaged at such a young age. This is a complete injustice and i just hope that by bringing this to the attention of others, Banks will stop hustling innocent people out of their hard earned money.