Money; Overdraft; Estate of ...; Paying the Gas Bill; Outside

Back when I estimated monthly expenses for bankruptcy purposes, I really had not thought about how prices would increase.

One of the larger increases has been insurance for the car and the house. I'm sure part of this has to do with the fact that all insurance companies were really hit hard by Katrina. And within the last four or five years, the companies have had to make similar payments due to a number of other very damaging storms.

So they have to figure out some way to recoup losses.

Last month, I called about the house insurance and said I didn't have the funds to pay it. They did backtrack to see if I was entitled to any discounts by having both car and house insured by the same company. The result was negligible. However I was able to transfer the payments from semi-annual to monthly. Which helps considerably.

This month the semi-annual car insurance came due. I had no choice but to pay it. I was able to replenish some of the money with the sale of the rings. And I'm still waiting for the neighbor to receive her funds so she can buy the car. She says she is waiting on a check and that she's called about it and has been assured that it's in the mail. BUT it does seem to be taking a loooong time.

So my solution for conjuring up funds for the rest of the month was to go into overdraft. I hate doing this.

My bank has what I thought was an atypical policy on dealing with overdrafts. One that I'm sure brings in tons of money. All debit transactions are held for several days in a "pending" status.

For example if you have $100 in the bank, and you write a check for $10, then one for $20, then one for $75, all on the same day, you would think that the overdraft fees would apply only to the last transaction. B U T because all three are in the "pending" status, the bank will apply overdraft fees against all three transactions. That's certainly a snarky way to do business, but it must be legal under state law. I'd also be willing to bet that they make millions from the process.

Earlier I said I thought the policy was atypical. But doing a little Google searching reveals that it's a standard practice for many banks. In fact, it's called the "biggest check first" policy. And because of the "pending" status, the smaller checks might come in first, with the largest check last. But the "biggest check first" policy still applies.

There are also a lot of references to all kinds of class action law suits. But I could not fine anything definitive.

Apparently, AmSouth engages in a host of shady practices. Something else I've noticed is that if I make a purchase with my debit card, it registers immediately. But if return an item so bought, it may take a week for the credit to show up.

Also if you deposit a check, it may take several days to appear. When I got the check for the rings, I went to one branch and cashed the check, then went to a second branch and deposited the cash.

By the way, when I used my debit card via the overdraft, I was certain there were no pending items.

What is Dylan says, "Now, a very great man once said That some people rob you with a fountain pen."

After mother's death I received one check made out to the "estate of." This was the one when the chubby bank clerk said I'd have to open an estate account. This was at my bank.

So I solved the problem by going to the bank where mother and I had a joint account. I signed it and handed over the deposit slip, and no questions were asked. But later I closed that account.

A couple of weeks ago, I got an insurance refund check for $35 made out the "estate of." I tried a different branch of my bank and was told that an "estate of" account would have to be created. And even then I might not be able to access it. What???????

There must be some very specific laws in the state dealing with such matters. I guess the assumption is that any such account will first have to undergo probate before funds can be expended.

I was directed to the bank on which the check was written. But the story was the same, except worse. The manager said the minimum amount needed for the account was more than the check. And that some additional legal documents would be needed; the cost of which would be more than the value of the check.

When I got back in the car, I called the issuer of the check. I explained the situation, and the person I spoke with seem surprised that I couldn't cash the check. But she had a simple solution: they would void the current check and issue a new one to me by name. I really should have thought to call them first.

When I went into overdraft last week, I knew I could not write any additional checks on the account. But I had one outstanding bill: one for natural gas.

I looked at the address on the bill but had no idea where the street was. I started to dig out a paper map, then thought, WAIT, I can do this on the web.

Which I did and realized I'd used that street many times without paying attention to the name. Friday afternoon, I stopped by, and noticed several signs on the door indicating they no longer accepted payment at that location and gave a number of locations you could use. I was fairly certain I knew where the nearest one was. When I got there, I was told they didn't deal with payments. At least I had enough sense to ask if there was another store of the same name on the same street. Good idea. Because there was. Both stores were discount tobacco outlets. According to a list on the wall, the second store accepts payments for about a dozen companies. (A $1 processing fee is charged for each payment.)

The second store also offers tanning beds in the back. Odd!?

No story would be complete without some obligatory comments on the outside world.

I'm now trying to clean up the southwest property line. What a mess. Rotten limbs. Poison ivy. Hedge plants with trunks the size of pine limbs. Large over grown plants. A real jungle.

But I've gotten through about a ten-foot span. I've filled seven garbage containers. So today as I chopped and cut, all I could do was to toss the cuttings aside. So they will have to be chopped to fit into the containers.

PAX!