Money Drain: $1,555 Fees for a Closed Checking Account, Fortunately Waived

The Consumerist posts a story about a man who thought he closed a checking account, and when a $10 charge was made, it resulted in overdraft after overdraft for several years. This ended up in a $1,555 balance, which Wells Fargo eventually waived.

Five years after a NJ man thought he’d closed his former business’s two lines of at Wachovia, he was hit with one heck of a surprise by the bank’s new owner Wells Fargo: He had somehow racked up more than $1,500 on one of those accounts, without ever having received a statement.

Lesson Learned:
I agree with the comment about always making sure you have documentation on closed accounts. I know companies regularly do not close accounts after the initial request, so checking up to make sure it is actually closed is ALWAYS a good idea. Keeping records for a few years is also a good idea in case you need to back-trace information.