Got hit with a $38 overdraft fee for a $2 coffee purchase

I was at a 7-Eleven in Austin buying just a coffee, and my account dipped below zero by like a dollar. Bank charged me $38 for that tiny slip, and customer service wouldn't budge even after I called them three times. Anyone found a way to get those fees reversed without wasting hours on the phone?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_susan4d ago

My credit union did the same thing to me last winter for a $4 gas station snack. It's like these fees are designed to trap people who are already living paycheck to paycheck. The real pattern I've noticed is how banks count transactions in weird orders to maximize the chance you'll go negative. They process the biggest charges first instead of the order you made them. So that $2 coffee triggers an overdraft even though you deposited cash hours before. Feels less like a mistake and more like a built in profit system.

reese_patel3d ago

@the_susan they actually process the smallest first, not the biggest, which is even sneakier.