When being good is bad

I was just talking to one of my neighbors; she is a manager at a branch of one of the local banks.

I asked her about these fees and ACH payments and all the problems I've been having with Bank of America.

Much to my surprise, she told me it was legal for the bank to "let" you go into overdraft and then turn around and charge you fees.

Apparently it's something they do for people with a good credit history (said she) ... or it's a legal scam (says me).

Somehow, this is not a comfort to me.

I was making a deposit the other day and the teller told me my checks from [insert name of payee] should go in as CASH since they are drawn on BOA.

Thus, she continued, I should not be having any issues with checks clearing/subsequent payments putting me in the red.

So why did it happen?

I think because they can get away with pretending otherwise.

I still long for the days when, if you didn't have the money, the bank did not pay the bill. All this courtesy because I've been a good customer is killing me.

That being said, I am cancelling all automatic payments I have set up because it encourages me to be lazy about paying my bills myself. Obviously, all the convenience and courtesy is not a good thing when you're dealing with the likes of me ...