text:
MIAMI, FLORIDA -- I paid with a check my water service at the building where I live for $67.92 cents in the morning of April 10, 2013. I made a deposit on April 11th at 2:30 AM through ATM Machine for 80.00. I checked my account on April 12th in AM, and there was a charge of $35.00. I said to myself how this happened and when? The image of the check was missing the time when the check was deposited, so there was no way for me to fight the $35.00. They make so much money to support themselves, taking away the money from people that work everyday. Computers were created to make life easier, but the people like the bankers are using it to ruin the life of people.
The American public aren't aware that there are other fairer ways of dealing with overdraft if it should occur. The banks know, but choose to penalize and earn a short term profit than work with a customer to maintain a good relationship and customer retention and good will.
For the record, you should be maintaining a positive balance in your account so that overdraft penalties are not incurred. Here is a comparison between two institutions. I've chosen Bank Of America as an example simply because we have an account with them, and have experienced in proportionate overdraft fees. 1st POS Purchase made, sends account into overdraft by $20. 2nd POS Purchse made for $8 on the same day sends account into overdraft by $28.
Comparison: Bank Of America. 2 transactions causing overdraft = 2x$35 = $70 overdraft fee for $28 of overdraft. Comparison: Commonwealth Bank of Australia. 2 overdraft transactions totaling $28 incurs an overdraft fee of $0. Interest of 15.35% PA is charged on the negative balance. Calculated Daily. For me to correct my overdraft within the day, I would need to pay the overdraft fee : $0, and the interest accrued on $28 for 1 day which is negligible. The bank has allowed me to correct my problem quickly and both customer and bank are both satisfied.
If anyone knows of another US Based institution that DOES NOT work like Bank Of America and has a fairer overdraft policy, please share it here so customers of the banks that do support this policy have another choice. Again, you should keep enough funds in an account to cover with-drawls. However knowing that your bank is a little flexible and fairer means if there ever is a time when you overdraft by a little that you know you're not going to be penalized out of proportion.
3/24/2009. "Bank of America (BAC) recently agreed to pay $35 million to settle a class-action lawsuit related to overdraft fees. The lawsuit alleged that BofA authorized transactions that led to overdraft fees and posted transactions in an order that increased such fees. BofA, in settling the lawsuit, denied the claims and said that its policies fully comply with federal law. The bank declined further comment on the lawsuit." **
Bank Of America's overdraft policy: "What is an Overdraft Item fee? An Overdraft Item Fee is charged when you write a check or make a withdrawal for an amount that is more than the balance in your checking or savings account. If your account is overdrawn by a total amount less than $5 on a day, we reduce the Overdraft Item Fee and charge $10 for each overdraft item that day. (The standard Overdraft Item Fee is $35.) If your account has a negative balance for 5 consecutive business days, you will receive an additional one-time Extended Overdrawn Balance Charge of $35 on the Sixth day.
Although Bank of America is not obligated to pay an item if your account is overdrawn, the bank will pay these items as a courtesy to you. If you are charged an overdraft fee, you can view complete details in your Online Banking transaction record by visiting the link associated with this fee. "
Commonwealth Bank. The interest rate for the Streamline Overdraft is 15.35%* p. a. This may be subject to change. Quarterly loan service fee. Peak Debit During a Quarter Charge. Quarterly Fee. $0 : Up to $100. $9 : $101 to $500. $15 : $501 to $1000. $25 : $1001 to $5000. $35 : $5001 to $10,000. $45 : $10,001 to $20,000. $55 : $20,001 to $50,000.
Here's an interesting read: **. \6\ See, e. g., Overdraft Protection Hearing at 44. In contrast, consumer groups assert that overdraft transactions are a high-cost form of lending that trap low- and moderate-income
consumers into paying high fees. Consumer groups also state that consumers are often enrolled in overdraft services automatically without their request or consent.
In addition, consumer groups believe that by honoring overdrafts, institutions encourage consumer reliance on the service and therefore, consumers incur greater costs in the long run than they would if the transactions were not honored. Consumer groups note, for example, that historically, institutions declined a consumer's request for an ATM withdrawal or debit card transaction if the consumer did not have sufficient funds in his or her account.\7\
Today, however, institutions are more likely to cover those overdrafts and assess a fee on the consumer's account for doing so.\8\ According to consumer groups, this practice can be particularly costly in connection with debit card overdrafts because the dollar amount of the fee is likely to considerably exceed the dollar amount of the overdraft.\9\ In addition, multiple fees may be assessed in a single day for a series of small-dollar transactions. Because of these costs, consumer groups assert that most consumers would prefer that their bank
decline debit card transactions if the transactions would overdraw their account.\10\
VISALIA, CALIFORNIA -- I'm a disabled senior citizen attempting to get by on a $733 a month Social Security disability stipend. I have also been a Bank of America customer since first going on Social Security, with my SS checks going directly to the bank. I have used BofA's free on line bill paying service for a couple of years or more, with no problems until now.
This time when I paid my power bill to the Southern California Edison Company, somewhere between the time I sat down to make my little $55.84 payment and the time the bank's computer delivered the money to SCE it had lost a decimal point and the power company actually received $5584.00. I am absolutely sure I did not leave out the decimal myself and that it was dropped due to a glitch. But even if I am the culprit in that instance, it does not explain why they refused to correct the problem when I notified them about it.
For one thing, why did no flags go up at the bank, which had been handling my little $700 a month payday to payday account which had, for several years, never contained more than $1000 at any given time when I suddenly had a credit against that account for five times that amount? Shouldn't that have told them that something was amiss here?
Instead I get an email this morning (11/7) stating that there was a "problem" with my on line bill pay and to check my internal mail account. I almost ignored it because it looked like another one of the phishing scams where the perpetrators pretend to be BofA that come in my mail from time to time. For some reason, I decided to take this one seriously but by signing into my account normally, not by clicking the link in the email.
On the way through the web site to do this I looked at my bill pay payment record and saw immediately what had happened. I fired off an email reply immediately telling them that someone has dropped a decimal point somewhere and that the actual amount of the payment was $55.84. No answer.
These people had alerted me via email to a problem gave me instructions on what to do to take care of the problem, and I had promptly followed those instructions by explaining the true state of affairs. That should have been the end of it and at the very MOST, I should MAYBE have had a single overdraft fee although I still contend that they could just as easily have flubbed this one as me.
But a couple of hours later I get another email alert with the same information with an acknowledgment of my own message plus the notification that they will try again to extract the money from my account, even though they now cannot claim not to know full well that the money will not be there. I replied once more also with the same info I had provided earlier and asked them please, do not try to debit my account for the spurious amount again.
Realizing I wasn't getting anywhere by email. I then called customer service on the phone and after wading through all the phone bots, I finally got to a human only to be told that there was nothing to be done about it, that they were going to make a total of three attempts to get their money out of my account, even though they knew it was not going to be there, before they canceled the payment request and that I would be charged an insufficient funds fee for every attempt they made. This in spite of the fact that I had already explained to them what had happened three times now.
They knew full well that I was NOT going to put almost $5600 in that account to cover a computer error, just like they knew full well that the payment was not supposed to have BEEN $5584. I told them that since I had notified them of the mistake as soon as I got their first email alert (this morning, the payment was made yesterday) they should not be making the second and third attempts and they said too bad but that was the way their system worked and that they couldn't stop it even if they wanted to, (and they obviously didn't want to) and that I would be charged the three fees for insufficient funds.
This was confirmed by yet another email a few minutes later. ONE overdraft fee would have been a lot easier to swallow if they had simply fixed the problem after being made aware of it but they are continuing to debit the account in order to charge me the maximum possible after they had been informed of the mistake. That dog don't hunt where I'm from.
To someone trying to exist of less than $800 a month, $100 skimmed right off the top is devastating. And multiply this by Lord knows how many other people who have made this or a similar mistake or worse yet, been caught in a trap of BofA's own making? Quite a number if you surf the Internet's consumer affairs sites.
All BofA cares about is collecting their fees and they'll stoop to outright defiance of court orders (re: Social Security/Disability payments) to do so. Well actually, that and, after getting me to forgo a paper statement every month to save a tree, sending me 5-6 pieces of junk mail every week trying to sell me 15 different kinds of insurance or get me to accept a subprime predatory credit card.
(They also managed to "SELL" me one of those phony insurance policies over the phone through some sleazy telemarketer which I didn't want and didn't agree to and which they have been duly deducting $12 a month from my account for a year or so now. Refuse to cancel the policy and claim they can't stop the deduction without the permission of the insurance company but they can't tell me how to get hold of the insurance company either. Another story).
This is going to cost them a customer of course as I will be closing the account as soon as its all straightened out and I can be sure they won't be coming after me for something else later. I seriously doubt they look at little senior citizen accounts like mine as anything significant but there's no way I'll give these people another dime and will instead be going with a local bank here in town that at least makes the effort to pretend to value my business.
One hundred plus dollars (I'm assuming that the fee will be the same as a standard $35 overdraft fee but it may even be more) is a month's worth of groceries for someone in my position. It's the copays on my cardiac and respiratory system medications. It's gasoline for my car for a month to get my 5 year old grandson the 8 miles to and from Kindergarten on a daily basis. It can even be the difference BETWEEN those groceries and those medications. But to BofA, it's just another $105 in their pockets multiplied by whatever number of senior citizens and whatever number of poor working clods they can do this to.
One single consumer web site, www.consumeraffairs.com, lists literally dozens of complaints similar to mine ** and there are other consumer web sites citing many of the same scams so it is not an isolated case. They appear to have lost one class action a few years back for confiscating people's social security and disability income to satisfy their lust for dubious fees ** yet this is exactly what they're doing to me now so they haven't even been slowed down by it. Their arrogance is simply amazing.
In fact, if anything they've become even MORE creative in figuring out how to scam their customers. They were even cited by members of congress in regard to a number of their predatory practices in this regard and named as one of the "big three" predatory financial institutions several months ago when the government was pretending to take an interest in protecting consumers from predators like this.
These people simply do things like this on a regular basis and they get away with it because their victims are the small and the weak with no resources of their own and nobody else cares. It would be nice if something could be about these vultures stealing their customers blind on the flimsiest of pretexts, especially the elderly with no resources with which to fight back.
It's simply a grown up version of a schoolyard bully, taking lunch money because he can, from someone who can't fight back. They are being allowed to penalize people excessively for either an honest mistake which is then compounded by the bank not allowing for a correction of the alleged mistake immediately upon discovery or, quite frankly, a "mistake" on the part of the bank itself with no chance for any kind of defense by the customer or any effort to determine what happened. It's like being sentenced before your case ever comes to trial.
Either way, Bank of America, the WalMart of the banking industry, is not an institution whose hands the less affluent and the working class in this country need rummaging around in their pockets. I'd like my hundred or so bucks back of course, but what I'm most interested in is the name of an organization or agency where I might be able to get some legal assistance and/or file a legal complaint against this predatory company if for nothing more than their continued confiscation of Social Security and disability benefits and maybe see them stopped from preying on seniors and poor people in this manner once and for all.
I have transcripts of the email exchange and their tacit admission that I contacted them in plenty of time to head off the imposition of three of these overdraft fees on this particular transaction and their outright refusal to do so. These concur with and confirm what I was also told on the phone.
This letter is in regards to the "Bank of America." I have had so many problems during the past several months that I just do not know what to do or were my rights are, or even if I have any rights! Back in April I noted some fraudulent activity in my checking accounts. I called the bank and had both of my checking accounts closed as well as my savings account and my debit card. I made the necessary phone calls to all companies who had automatic withdrawals rights. I then opened up two new checking accounts and one savings account, and received a new debit card.
When my social security check went in for deposit into one of my new accounts, it was bounced back to social security. After at least 5 phone calls, I was told by a representative one of the new accounts I opened (which happened to be the account that my SS check was to be deposited into) was closed for "unknown reasons" and the check bounced back to Social Security. I had to wait two weeks for that check. At the end of the month when my Disability Pension check was deposited, Bank of America also bounced that back. Again, I could not get any reason other than "I'm sorry, I can't figure out why this check was sent back."
Now, last week when my Pension was deposited, the bank deducted over $200 to put into that account that was closed, saying that I had several overdue bank charges because companies continued to try to deduct from it. One company whom I do not recognize tried over 5 times to deduct! I was charged all those $35 fees even though it had been closed for almost 4 months now.
I spoke with the manager of the Bank of America this morning and he told me the same thing that they have been telling me all morning - there was nothing they could do! Even though I closed out these accounts, I am still response for any debit that comes in to this account and any type of bank fee.
From April 4, 2010 to June 27, 2011 this bank charged me twelve (12) overcharge fees each of $35.00 amounting to $420.00 in addition to the $214.00 that was deducted today! As I said this account has been closed since mid April, 2011! This does not sound right to me. I know that some of the laws are unfair but I can't understand why there isn't a law against this! Why would I even close this account??
I hope that you can help me with this situation. I live on my SSDI and pension and I am still losing my home due to high increases in everything that we have been having. I cannot afford to give the bank $214.00 in addition to numerous $35.00 fees due to an account that has been closed since April, 2010. Thank you for your time and consideration in reading this letter. I hope that you can help me.
I heard about this on the TV this morning. Bank of America Limits Overdraft Fees, Offers Customers 'Opt Out'
Bank to Introduce Daily, Annual Limits to Help Customers Better Manage Their Accounts. CHARLOTTE, N. C., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of America today announced several changes to its checking account options and services that will help customers avoid excessive overdraft fees and better manage their finances.
"We want customers to have clarity and simplicity in everything they do with us," said Brian T. Moynihan, president, Bank of America Consumer & Small Business Banking. "We started with the Clarity Commitment(®) in Home Loans. Last week, we announced a simplified credit card offering that includes an easy-to-understand Basic credit card. Today, we are announcing changes to the way customers can manage their day-to-day finances that will help those who need it most right now."
The bank has already increased its specialized efforts to work with those customers who are feeling the impacts of the current economic environment. Additionally, beginning on October 19, the bank will: Not charge Overdraft item fees when a customer's account is overdrawn by a total amount less than $10 for one day. Not charge overdraft fees on more than four items per day. Improve the process for customers to opt out of overdraft capability. Offer customers a Clarity Commitment(® )that spells out in clear, unambiguous terms what customers can expect from their deposit relationship with Bank of America.
Effective June, 2010, the bank will: Introduce an annual limit on the number of times customers can overdraw their accounts at the point-of-sale when they do not have sufficient funds to cover their transactions. Contact customers who are nearing the annual limit to provide education and tools to help them better manage their finances. Limit overdraft capability, and therefore fees, for customers who reach the annual limit. Provide new customers the choice to opt into overdraft capability at account opening.
"Our immediate priority is those customers who excessively overdraw their accounts," said **, Customer Segments & Deposits executive. "With these changes, we have increased customer choice in the area of overdrafts, limited daily overdraft fees, and significantly reduced fees for those customers who need help the most. We will also increase our proactive outreach to customers to help them better manage their finances and limit their overdraft ability, if necessary. Over time, we will build on this strategy to extend additional clarity and choice to services we offer."
Bank of America has a long history of helping customers manage their finances, including account management tools to help prevent fees, such as alerts and mobile banking, both of which are offered at no extra charge. In addition, the bank has helped more than 3 million customers so far this year through Customer Assistance and fee refunds.
The Customer Assistance Program offers customers who lost their jobs or are in hardship immediate fee relief, waiving the monthly account maintenance fee for three months and refunding fees for non-sufficient funds or overdrafts. Mobile banking allows customers to receive e-alerts if their account balance becomes low. Since the launch of mobile banking in the spring of 2007, more than 3 million Bank of America customers have signed in to manage their personal finances "on the go." Online banking is helping more than 29 million online banking customers track and manage their finances.
Bank of America also provides tools and resources to help customers manage their finances through an easy-to-navigate Web site at www.bankofamerica.com/learn. Aside from the changes outlined here, all other terms of Bank of America's Deposit Agreement and Disclosures and the Personal Schedule of Fees still apply.
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA -- After having to bail out banks with my tax dollars from their irresponsible lending practices, I personally hold them responsible for this countries current situation. The banks continue to take money from the hard working people of this country by way of excessive fees. I do not know if you are aware but when you have an accidental overdraft on your account, they pay the highest debit on the account first so that it creates a cascading effect on the account.
This creates huge multiple overdrafts resulting in higher profit to the bank in overdraft fees because it leaves more transactions left uncovered by the remaining balance. In my case it was over $280.00 worth (8) 35.00 overdraft fees were assessed to my account 06/15/2009.
I had $69.05 in total debits including 2 unexpected, one for $20.00 on my daughter's automatic reloading Starbucks card, and the other $15.00 from my gym membership auto debit 2 days earlier than scheduled. It was an honest mistake. The largest debit of $34.00 paid first, followed by the $20.00 debit overdrawing my account. With $48.93 available in my account, the chain reaction began. If they had started with the smallest debit first, I would have had enough money to cover all my debits including the unexpected ones, except for the $34.00 debit resulting in 1 overdraft fee of $35.00 due the bank. That would be fair.
I work very hard for my money and live paycheck to paycheck since moving to Georgia. I currently live with my sister, a disabled Veteran. When I explained that I require a minimum of $210.00 returned to my account so I may meet my obligations for the end of the month, Customer Service refused. I even tried to negotiate and offered to let them have $70.00 to go to 2 of the overdraft fees which I thought was more than fair. Still they refuse.
We have put legislation in place to put the credit card companies in their place to protect the consumer, so what can we do to stop this continued abuse of the American people by way of excessive and abusive bank fees. We help bail them out and we are still getting screwed which could be aptly named "bank customer robbery". The President and CEO of Bank of America will make almost 10 million in total compensation this year as outlined below. Why does his bank need to take my $210.00 which helps me make my obligations as a consumer in a recession? I will not stop until it is refunded.
ANNUAL COMPENSATION* Salary $1,500,000. Total Annual Compensation $1,500,000. STOCK OPTIONS* Restricted Stock Awards $4,255,012. All Other Compensation $275,125. Exercisable Options 900,000. Unexercisable Options 1,158,333. Total Number of Options 2,058,333. TOTAL COMPENSATION* Total Annual Cash Compensation $1,500,000. Total Short Term Compensation $1,500,000. Other Long Term Compensation $4,530,137. Total Calculated Compensation $9,959,076.
Bank of America's code of ethics says "Trust, one of the core values on which our company is built, is also the foundation on which we build strong relationships with our customers, shareholders, communities and one another. Another of our core values is "doing the right thing."
I will leave contact info for the bank below for other customers dealing with the abuse of today's banking system. I would also appreciate any help in spearheading legislation to protect the consumer from this banking practice of maximizing profit by manipulation of debit transactions. This is financially devastating to a consumer living paycheck to paycheck. I encourage you to check on the following link to see more about the practices of Bank of America. Any word on another class action after the May 1st cutoff. **
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS* 100 North Tryon Street. Charlotte, North Carolina 28255. Phone: 704-386-5681. Fax: 704-386-6699. Contact the Board of Directors. Corporate Secretary at Bank of America Corporation
101 South Tryon Street, NC1-002-29-01. Charlotte, NC 28255.
After wading through a mire of politics and faxing my complaint filed with the BBB. I was able to get a refund of the charges but it did take some effort. The old addage still holds true, "the sqeeky wheel gets the grease". I received a call from the Executive Level at Bank of America (Fax: 704-386-6699) on Friday, the woman was very understanding and explained that customer service has policies to follow and escalating beyond that dept was the right thing to do. She was very pleasent and understanding. Good luck to the rest of you and keep escalating. Keep your cool and be nice but firm, and I'm confident they will help you.
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA -- This is the letter I wrote in response to getting involved in a class action lawsuit against Bank of America. It is as follows, it is quite lengthy... and that is not all either... Sent March 3, 2009.
Hi... I am on Social Security Disability as well... BOA has been ripping me off for many years. I am a single parent and live penny to penny. Every time my checks are deposited into my account at BOA, I always end up in the hole for one reason or another. The latest reason was that, now mind you I have had my savings account with them for a few years. I was being charged all this money that was never charged before... unbelievable... I was told that I had a savings account that had to keep a minimum of $300.00 in the account and that I could not withdraw money from my saving more than twice in a month.
I was never told that... I would/could never sign up for an account where I had to keep $300.00 or I would be fined... I am on Disability, as a single parent in California, with no child support. Then I was also charged for taking out money at the ATM more than 2 times in a month... these charges just suddenly appeared. Never happened before... I don't get it... A few years back... I was bouncing checks left and right... albeit that I am disabled. I don't reason, I cannot focus, I get extremely confused at all the charges what they are for, so I am constantly bouncing checks.
So I am on Check Fax and it's all because BOA. I went in to the Springdale/Edinger, Huntington Beach, CA office a few years ago, with my daughter and my mother. I sat down with a gentleman and a lady who was obviously new. I asked for help... he saw that I had been writing checks and they bounced... I was pleading with them for help, the man looked at me and, on a Friday, with the line out of the bank, continued to yell and scream at me that I am a snowballer...
I asked him what that meant, and now my daughter was so embarrassed she went to hide in the corner, they explained to me that I write checks and bounce them all the time on purpose... That was not the case... I can't tell exactly what happened... All I know is I was using online banking at the time, I was working and had automatic deposit... They were taking literally thousands and thousands of dollars from me.
I would write them a letter telling them that they are taking the bread and butter from my daughter dinner... I didn't know what to do... I tried to go to another bank but I am on check fax... so I can't... This is all because of them... O. K. If I make a mistake, which I'm only human, I am the first to admit it. I went to the grocery, and forgot to write it down, so I ended up $130.00 overdrawn... I couldn't pay it... I make $1100.00 a month... but I told them that I would pay it with my next social security check.
In the meantime, I became very ill... I was about to loose my cable... that is all I have... so I called the cable company and they told me that if I gave them a check by phone for $47..00 that it would not go through for 3-4 working days... that would put it at Tuesday. Well, as of Monday morning.
I was now $230.00 overdrawn for a 47.00 check. Now my rent check will bounce. I could loose my home... I have prior paperwork from years and years of abuse from them... I knew it was not me. When I went in to get help and they just laughed at me and called me a snowballer, the new girl, had a sassy attitude...
They were both laughing at me... shaking their heads like they couldn't believe their eyes... well my mother had left and she told me in the car that the same gentlemen did the same thing to her about a different situation, but that he yelled at her in public, my Mom was in her 60's... very organized, had a lot money in the bank, never bounced a check, she had three accounts linked.....
Another time recently I went into the branch on Edinger in the Bella Terra Mall. I asked them for the same help... they just flat out said no... no one here can help you... call the 800 number... I am scared every time I go to the bank... they have really... I'm not kidding, I'm not lying stolen thousands of dollars from me too... they must be stopped... please... we have to do what ever it takes to stop this.
Please... I know I'll never get back anything... but to keep them from doing this to others especially in this day and age of our economic downfalls... and wasn't BOA given a bailout and did I read that the money they received they bought another bank??????? How absurd...
A slap in the face for Americans, especially those who are not wealthy... I must say that the Edinger / Springdale office did get ride of the people who tormented me... Their actions remain the same... Never once have I ever put in the little money I have and went to use it only to have less than I put in... I don't know what to do anymore... I wish I had the paperwork in order... and the letters... I want to sue thm for the money they stole from me and my daughter.
And I want my name off check fax... It doesn't belong there. If it had not been for their hidden charges, and they even charged me overdraft fees for my overdraft fees... The list goes on and on... I am just trying to survive in this horrible, horrible society... Everyday I do what I think of as a spontaneous act of kindness... With my last dollar a lot of the ties... I will never grow cold, but I tell you one thing... We have all these scam artists from the UK trying to get us to deposits millions, etc, etc, etc. I am sure you are aware of them... But if you ask me... BoA is being more fraudulent against our community than anyone...
They hide fees. They charge fees on top of fees... I have so much more... help me to fight them... Tell me what I need to do to try to make some of that money back... One year I could not give my daughter anything but one measly gift from Christmas... Because they took my money... Just like my apartment complex is doing now... Why do I attract people like this? I don't understand... I need help...
As stated above I can go on and on about the misuse of my monies that BoA has tricked me out of. You can e-mail me to **. I am not usually on the e-mail. I am writing from so stage performer would be the better place to contact me... I hope you can help... I hope I can help to save others... thank you for listening. SINCERELY, **.
P.S. my Mom will testify about how they treated her... thanks again for your work... It would be nice to think that someone somewhere is on my side I'm always being ripped off... I can't take it anymore, please being as sick as I am... this is not life the way it was supposed to be... I don't like life anymore.
Bank of America has changed their overdraft policy to receive the most amount of fees from the customer. Under the only policy overdraft fees were not applied to the account until a transaction had posted negatively. Meaning if you purchase something and your account was pending negative, you could transfer money or make a deposit to stop from occurring a $35 fee. That is no more. The second you swipe your card if your account is even a penny negative you will receive a $35 overdraft fee.
Now I can't really be upset with that aspect of the policy, as you shouldn't be spending money you don't have yet. Like most I have "floated" a transaction the day before payday when I need something like gas (why is it that you always run out before you get paid!?) and I've been burned with overdraft fees in the past, but I didn't complain as I knew it was a risk I was taking. However there is a HUGE problem with this policy. On 7/5 I had made 5 purchases, with more than enough money in my account. Then again on 7/6 I made 5 more purchases, still with plenty of money in my account.
On 7/7 I went to the doctors, and this is where the problem begins. The doctor overcharged me, I noticed the charge but not before she had swiped my card. This charge put my negative in my account. The billing office figured out where the mistake was made and refunded my money, but we all know money comes out right away and is very slow to return. So the charge from the eye doctor was a pending transaction, I did some math and borrow some money from my boyfriend to cover the rest of the charge so it wouldn't post negative. Little did I know of their new policy.
Later on that day, my purchases from 7/6 posted to my account. Tuesday morning I woke up to 5 overdraft fees, even though at the time of purchase for those 5 transaction I had money in my account (and still had money at the time they posted as the doctor charge was pending).
On Wednesday I was able to get the bank, where after speaking to someone, she informed me of the new policy and told me all she could do is reverse 3 of them, and then tried to tell me that even if the doctor had charged the correct amount I would have still been in the same situation. I went home and wrote out my transaction in the order that they occurred and found that if the doctor's charge was correct, everything would have cleared just fine.
I wake up Thursday morning with 5 more fees, this time for the 7/6 purchases. Again these purchases would have cleared if it hadn't been for the incorrect from the doctor, and at the time of purchase(which BOA is using to asset the overdraft fees) there was money in the account.
I went back to the bank on Friday morning with my proof that the transactions would of clear had the doctor charged the correct amount. Now the bank told me I had to get proof from the doctor stating that $XXX was being refunded to my account as I was overcharged, and that she didn't have the time to look at it now and would call me back as soon as she figured it out. I had the doctor fax them a letter and hoped it would all work itself out. Later on that, the bank manager called me back to tell me that it was all fine, and all fees have been refunded.
I thought my drama was over, until I got home from work and found that she only refunded the last 5 (which meant I still had 2 that didn't get refunded) and on top of that, the doctor's incorrect charge had FINALLY posted, which gave me 1 more overdraft fee. At this point I had been charged $385 fees and had $280 refunded. I can't get any of it fixed until Monday, meaning I haven't had access to my money for a week. I understand all of this happened as a result of the doctors mistake, however what I find very upsetting is that BOA is essentially penalizing based on 2 different methods for overdrawing the account once resulting in lots of money from them.
If BOA is going to asset fees on how much money is in the account at the time of purchase, then my transactions made prior to the doctors, should have cleared without any problem. Instead they are charging fees based on one pending transaction, and the posted transactions that follow. I appreciated the local branch for working with me on all of this, but BOA policy has left a sour taste in my mouth, and as soon as I can, I will be switching banks. Any Suggestions!?
ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- Hello, I have read so many things about bank of America and I also am a victim of there questionable practices.
Recently I of my own accord made a purchase that place me in an overdraft (negative ) balance. I did understand that I would be charged for this. I tried to transfer funds from one account to the negative one but I was to late so I was still charged. Mind you I was only over by 10 cents or 11 cents at best it was only pennies over.
I called Bank of a America and I spoke to an associate and he felt sorry for me and he credited me the overdraft fee, but he said there would be another fee coming. I said oh really how come. He said well because a transaction that you made a while back has "cleared" (key word understand what this really means) and you was in a negative state and BOA charges for that.
So using his reason that because my account was in a negative state I was right fully charged a fee but because this fee was forgiven then logically I should also not be charged the fee for being in the red being that the being red issue was forgiven. I waited till that posted and I came to find out that no they would not remove that charge because now they tell me that when I made a purchase a while back that purchase cleared when I had no money to pay for it ("when the transaction posted to your account, your account was overdrawn").
So after many days of thinking of this reason for hitting me I was not able make sense of this at all! So I said mmm. Key words are as follows - Pending (meaning on Hold ,set a side). Posted (Show up , reflect Clear). Clear (Merchant was paid Transaction complete). So I said using logic and deductive reasoning. I said to my self how can a transaction "CLEAR" and post to an account if I did not have the funds to pay for it. If I in fact did not have fund to pay I should be hit with a fee of NSF not Overdraft. Follow me folks...
So now I'm like mmm Also if it Cleard Whos money was used in this process... if I'm charged an Overdraft fee... that is a fee charged when you spend more than you have and BOA pays for the amount you did not have in your available balance... this means that they used there money to cover the cleared transaction and they charge you a fee... mmm So OK, what ever happened to the money that was pending when the transaction was made where did this money go and why did they not use this money instead...
Well they would say that money is gone... Not true because if the merchant did not respond after 3 days the money would come back that was pending, follow me? So therefore a choice is made of how to charge you. It works like this when your account is overdrawn and you get hit with the one fee that's correct but then you have a transaction clear. They will say you don't have enough money to cover it but in fact you do have it but because your in this overdrawn state they want to use that as an excuse to charge you a fee.
They will say when this transaction posted to your account you was overdrawn as if they was looking for to available balance to cover it... as if the pending on hold money just went away... So using that logic that I'm overdrawn and when this transaction posted I had no money to cover it. What if I was not overdrawn but had 5 bucks left in my account? Would I be charged with a NSF fee? No, the transaction would just clear... and if it clears who paid it? Well the answer is you did, they used the money that was on hold PENDING to cover the transaction! SO wow I did have the money after all!
So if I'm overdraft they used the pending cash to pay for the transaction but charge you a fee and tell you that you did not have enough money as if you needed enough in your balance but if you had only 5 bucks that still would not be enough to cover but you would not be charged any fee not even a NSF because you did have the funds so there is no logical reason why this fee is charged other than when your in the red the on hold money disappears.
The pending cash just simply goes away poof and now you have nothing and because of that they look to your balance and your in the red so they can use this as an excuse to charge you the additional fee as if you did not have enough to cover it and they don't mean enough to cover a portion they mean you don't enough to cover all of it. So if you have just a small amount in your balance that's still not enough to cover they will simply use what was on hold!
Now all of a sudden this money is used and they cannot say when this transaction cleared you did not have enough. and they cannot hit you with NSF because you could argue and ask where is my pending on hold money. So this process is wrong. I called them and we spoke on the phone for an hour and they hit a brickwall and could not say anything. And said I have a valid claim... I'm sure all other have suffered this and I pray that using logic and wisdom all wickedness can be dealt with!
CALIFORNIA -- A new policy. A manipulation of your funds. Bank of America apparently developed a new policy that will basically steal your money whenever they are short of funds. Complete bogus. I've had other banking institutions and have friends who are Manager's of banks and have never heard of charging you overdrafts on funds that are pending. Only when it is posted. Here's what was explained to me and my situation. They are still able to charge you overdraft charges when you swipe your card and you were short of xx amount before anything was posted.
As to my understanding, when making a deposit $100.00 is available to you right away even if it was going to take the next day to post. What was I supposed to understand, this was the system that I was used to. Never had an issue with it till now. March 7th - I made a deposit through the ATM at 6:30 pm. Yes, I missed the cut off time but at least I knew I had $100 available to me through my debit card. I believe that those funds are available because it did show on my online banking that I had xx amount plus the $100.00 that was available to me through my deposit. I understand that my deposit won't post till the following Monday night.
Around 9:30 pm, I checked to see if my funds are available and my online postings says that I had available funds. I made a purchase through PayPal. Small funds but a fund nonetheless. At 10:30 pm, I went to buy food which costs $4.00 at McDonald's. At 11:45 pm, I made a transaction for a drink for $13.00. March 10th - MEGA OVERCHARGE. Although those 3 charges above are at "pending" status, at the time of purchase I had the money available. Even on my online postings, there were no such negatives that had ever posted. But in the middle of the charges I was charged $35.00 for 3 transactions.
They've explained that the $100 was only available for cash and not debit card transactions. Because when I had made the transactions, the funds were still pending. However, the charges that I made initially shows that it was in "pending" status and not a posted status. I was being charge for the "pending" amounts yet they were available to hold MY FUNDS AND DEPOSIT during pending BUT COULD STILL CHARGE OVERDRAFTS FOR THEIR PENDING TRANSACTIONS.
So if you go to a restaurant and you were charged $34 on your debit card and it was pending for $40.00 that have caused you for overdraft. Even though that is not the actual amount that you authorized, you were overdrawn by 3 dollars for the pending. You WILL STILL BE CHARGED even if you did your calculations correct. SORRY NEW POLICY. But when it posted, you were actually not overdraft. Oops, bank's mistake but you'll be charged anyway because during the "pending" not "posting" amount was overdrawn. YOU WILL STILL BE CHARGED BECAUSE OF THE "PENDING" was over the amount.
Usually, in all banking institutions, you are not being charged until the amount is posted to your account without the available funds. However, this was not the case. Pending amounts are at times different when it is being posted. For instances, when buying gas or at a restaurant, it will always show as pending because the correct amount will post when they do their nightly postings. Reason for it being under "pending". However during the March 10th postings: They posted my deposit and then POSTED my transaction on the same day even if my posted deposit went through BEFORE the posted charges.
Therefore I had my funds there before any of my charges were being posted. Apparently the new policy is that they calculate the time that you made the transactions and then charge you. For instance, we are used to seeing everything the next morning all together added the deposits and the charges. Now this is how they calculated. Charges made at 5:24 pm and you are negative of $3.00. You made a deposit at 5:54 pm of $600.00.
That is normally ok because everything gets processed at the same time and usually your deposit is the first to be credited. This is not the case however. Usually on normal circumstances and normal banking, all of those we would see it as follows: Current amount $1.25. Deposit credit: $ 600.00 = total: $601.25. Credit debit amount: $3.00 = total: $ 598.25. Above is normally what I see every night. Now the new system you'll see the above on the same statement plus an overdraft charge of $35 because you made a transaction 20 minutes prior to your deposit. How ridiculous is that???
Also my situation. Why even bother to let me see my $100.00 credit when that isn't the case. When in my 5 years of banking with them I had $100.00 available immediately AFTER WHATEVER TIME I MADE THE DEPOSIT. Why are they charging me for money I had in my account? Does this makes sense to anyone? Now I would understand that when it was "actually" posted to the account and my account was in negative status, I would understand my overdraft charges. But because I was actually NEVER overdrawn how are you going to charge me the XX amounts?
A lot of people are going to close their accounts with them and probably open up with their competitors. I am one of them. I would rather invest on something that has the same system as all other banking. Good going bank of America! Oh and by the way, they did tell everyone. Just try to find your magnifying glass and look for that fine print. Yeah, we pay so much attention to those.


text:
Chiptune music is all well and good, but I like to give my ear something to hold onto along with all the bleeps and bloops. So I very much enjoy Aivi & Surasshu's new album "The Black Box," which mixes the keyboard chops of pianist Aivi Tran and the chiptune stylings of Surasshu.
It helps, of course, that the original compositions are lush, melodic, and well put-together, and the covers—including Yoshihito Yano's "Lonely Rolling Star" from Katamari Damacy, are approached with faithful enthusiasm.
As a neat touch, the album-download comes bundled with a cool 14-page comic from Diana Jakobsson, who also did the cover art above. It's nice; here's the first page:
Apple MacBook Air Laptop
Powerful performance
The M1 chip delivers 3.5x faster performance than the previous generation all while using way less power. Get up to 18 hours of battery life.
The whole album captures a jazzy, melody-obsessed video-game pastiche, and I've been really enjoying it. Head on over to Bandcamp and give it a listen.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
As Stanley Fish discovered more than a year ago, it's hard to call a trend based simply on the number of sessions listed in the program of an academic conference. That's why I'm hesitant to call what I observed at NEMLA 2013 a trend just yet. It is worth noting, however, that a shift seems to be occurring among a sizable number of literary scholars and that shift could prove comforting to the technophobes among us who shudder every time they hear the phrase "digital humanities."
What I observed in panels such as "Teaching the History of the Book to Undergraduates" and "Teaching How We Read Now" was the already well-documented movement away from post-structuralism and identity-based theories in favor of textual analysis. Yet this is far from the old-fashioned textual analysis practiced by literary scholars since the days when Greek and Latin authors constituted literary study on United States college campuses.
QR codes are now embedded in Medieval manuscripts that reveal how Old English in Chaucer should sound. Hyperlinks allow multiple editions of a text to be read simultaneously and compared. Computer algorithms allow for the analysis of an author's use of language to determine who wrote an anonymous work of fiction. Data mining techniques help scholars to create word clouds and thought maps to dramatically visualize the zeitgeist of an era or show the evolution of language in graphic terms.
The techniques are new and in some cases require more advanced technical knowledge than the average humanities scholar might possess. But the newness of the techniques with all their bells and whistles hide the reality that philologists (in the guise of DH gurus) are cool again.
Where this turn in literary scholarship will eventually lead is anyone's guess. I for one am glad to read something for a change that isn't Foucault.


text:
651 members745 Comments 82 Likes
1080 members2301 Comments 37 Likes
458 members869 Comments 16 Likes
1705 members6317 Comments 103 Likes
1071 members2934 Comments 31 Likes
Ladies, Please join me on the road to my small business dreams, I need all the company. support, and always a little laughter and fun I can gather. Hollywood Chic provides professional product and service reviews; helping both business and product increase profitability while sharing the best of the best with my viewers/friends. All reviews are fair, balanced, detailed, and will never be made to hinder the product/service in any way.
My exclusive viewers will receive my honest opinions on the best products to a beautifying and lavish life on a frugal budget. Girls, we forget about ourselves and live in our Superhero roles, it's our self confidence that matters; we can have lavish on our faces, on our bodies, in our homes, and lavish can make the children smile perfectly.
If you create products, for example on Etsy, and wish for me to review them I will be glad to (free of charge) just using the exclusive MBC coupon code (okay just email me and tell me your from Mommy Blogger Club). I would love to spotlight you, your products, and your website, Giveaways are optional.
Contact: hollywood.geek.chic(at)gmail.com for more information
Website Hollywood Chic: Lavish on a Frugal Budget
Your business is my pleasure-
Posted on June 26, 2010 at 7:35pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
My name is Missy and I am also a member of the Mom Bloggers Club. I have a blog,www.luxurybeautyproducts.blogspot.com and I also run the blog hop network.
I wanted to let you know that I am following you, and hoping when you get a chance you can follow me back. I also want to invite you to join my groups, The Blog Hop Network, Beauty Bloggers, and Children's businesses. Also, I would love to place a link to your site on my blog if you want to do the same with my blog on yours. Please let me know by sending me an email regarding this and it has been nice meeting you via the web.


text:
The Euphrat Museum of Art has again teamed with Silicon Valley Reads to bring this year's literary themes to life through art.
Through March 20, the museum at De Anza College is presenting "Deep Reading," a new exhibition exploring the intersection of humanity and technology and traditional practices in the digital age.
This year's Silicon Valley Reads features two books that look at our society's new and complex relationship between books and technology: Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Book Store by Robin Sloan and The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr. The annual program works to bring residents and communities together by reading the same book or series of books to promote discussion.
In recent years the Euphrat Museum has teamed with the program to showcase art installations that touch on the themes of the books. "Deep Reading" artwork explores issues like banned books, the book as an experience, and the global life of a cell phone or tablet, according to the Euphrat Museum. New technology is used along with ancient art practices such as computer-woven tapestries and text-based augmented reality to showcase art.
Artists include Milton Bowens, Julie Chen and Flying Fish Press, Antonio Cortez, Wayne Jiang, Pantea Karimi, John Kurtyka, Marlene Larson, Magnolia Editions with Enrique Chagoya, Guy Diehl, and Hung Liu with Michael McClure, Kent Manske, Moonbot Studios, Jamila Rufaro, Vita Wells, Nanette Wylde and Xiaoze Xie. Special projects include "Toxic Networks" with Chesa Caparas' Stanford Human Rights Education Initiative project and "Uncoding," an artists' book installation with De Anza College art and design students, according to the museum.
The 2013 show, "War and Healing," focused on the invisible wounds of war in tandem with The Long Walk by Brian Castner and Minefields of the Heart by Sue Diaz. The 2012 show titled "Invoking Peace," interwove themes of being Muslim in America, tradition, innovation, faith and activism, in combination with the books The Muslim Next Door by Sumbul Ali-Karamali and The Butterfly Mosque by G. Willow Wilson.
The museum is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and to tour groups by appointment. The museum will be closed Feb. 17 for the Presidents Day holiday.
A reception is scheduled for Feb. 19 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. with artists and author Robin Sloan. The Euphrat will also be open for special events, including a books workshop on March 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visiting artist Milton Bowens will be on hand March 20 from 10:30 a.m. to noon in the Euphrat's conference room B.
Silicon Valley Reads is presented by the Santa Clara County Office of Education, Santa Clara County Library District and the San Jose Public Library Foundation.
For more information, visit deanza.edu/euphrat/inthemuseum and silicon valleyreads.org.


text:
It is said, that "Desperate times call for desperate measures". When there is a water shortage, water prices are high and you have no garden fence or wall, it is time for desperate measures to protect your garden tap from being the target of those who would steal your water.
Covers like this one are fairly common in South Africa where home owners have their garden taps used by those passing by, who sometimes leave them dripping or even running, wasting water and costing the owner money.


text:
City of Strays: Detroit's Epidemic of 50,000 Abandoned Dogs
Not long after moving back to Detroit, I stumbled across my first stray dog. This one was dead – a female pit bull, white, curled on its back. I'd been taking a walk in a depopulated industrial zone. The pit didn't appear to have been torn up in a dogfight. In fact, she looked so unharmed, I initially stopped cold, worried she might be sick and ready to spring up. Just beyond the dog, the rusted skeleton of a car, presumably stolen and abandoned, felt heavy-handed. Oliver Stone, making a movie about Detroit, would have probably said, "Eh. Let's lose the car. It's just too much." That's Detroit, though. Everything has become overly heavy symbolism, the initial purpose of things having, for the most part, faded long ago.
After that encounter, I began to notice the dogs everywhere – a stray husky at an outdoor public-school rally, a pit bull running the wrong way down a freeway exit ramp onto I-94. A friend casually mentioned that her mother now carried pepper spray on her daily walks – not for protection from potential muggers, but from the packs of wild dogs she'd been seeing in the neighborhood. My friend Brian was chased by another pack while bicycling. Last April, Detroit postmaster Lloyd Wesley filed a letter of complaint with the mayor and police chief regarding the "perilous hazards" met by his employees in the form of pit bulls. Fifty-nine Detroit postal workers, Wesley wrote, had been attacked by stray dogs in 2010. That same year, New York – a city with 11 times the population of Detroit – had 10 such attacks.
Around the time of Wesley's complaint, a man named Dan Carlisle posted a disturbing video on YouTube. Previously, he'd used the website to upload cute home movies of his son, along with his own rap videos – Carlisle is a Detroit-area hip-hop artist who records under the name Hush – but this new footage stood out. In it, Carlisle drives through ravaged Detroit neighborhoods, rolling past gutted homes and empty lots where homes once stood. None of this counted as breaking news, the grim statistics coming out of Detroit (90,000 abandoned houses, enough vacant land to fit the entire city of San Francisco) having long become a cliché of recession-era reporting. But that wasn't the point of the video. Its focus was the stray-dog epidemic.
Editor's picks
Estimates vary, but groups place the number of strays in the city at anywhere between 20,000 and 50,000. The latter number, which would mean 350 strays per square mile, seems quite inflated; still, there's no question the dogs are a serious problem. Detroit remains the poorest major city in the United States, and some residents who can no longer afford to take care of their dogs turn them loose, or else leave them behind when fleeing the city themselves. (Local shelters have a euthanization rate of 70 percent, so abandoning the dogs to fend for themselves might not even be, in some instances, the least humane of options.)
In Carlisle's video, collarless dogs pad down the middle of icy streets and roam with impunity through decrepit buildings. In the most disturbing scene, a white pit bull tugs long, rubbery strands from a bloody mass in the snow, like a magician pulling handkerchiefs from a bottomless palm – the entrails, Carlisle reveals in a voice-over, of a frozen puppy.
Carlisle and a Los Angeles television producer named Monica Martino had been trying to put together a reality series for the Discovery Channel about Detroit's stray dogs. But the city's film office, unhappy at the prospect of another negative portrayal of Detroit and also claiming queasiness about the potential exploitation of animals, refused to grant a permit, so the show was scrapped. When word came down from City Hall, Carlisle and Martino were so frustrated that they spent a day shooting the YouTube footage. At the end of the video, viewers were asked to donate to Detroit Dog Rescue, a nonprofit rescue group the pair, in their disappointment, had decided to start on a whim.
To Carlisle and Martino's surprise, the video went viral, attracting donations over the course of the year. Then, in December – in a plot twist so high-concept you could build an old-fashioned, pre-reality-era sitcom around it – an anonymous philanthropist gave the budding organization $1.5 million. Suddenly, the Hollywood producer and the obscure Midwestern rapper found themselves thrust into the position of seriously running their own dog-rescue operation in the most dangerous large city in the United States. "Be careful what you wish for," Carlisle, 39, says ruefully.
The image of wild dogs overrunning neighborhoods of a major American city is more than just a disturbing metaphor for our national decline – as with much of what's happened in Detroit, it's also a warning from the future for the rest of the country. President Obama has been rightfully lambasting the GOP for its opposition to the auto bailout, yet for all his bragging about "saving" Detroit, Michigan's unemployment rate remains near 10 percent, and its biggest city hovers on the brink of bankruptcy. All of Detroit's city services – police, fire, trash collection – are stretched to the limit, and so there are few resources to spare for "luxuries" like animal control; according to city policy, any stray pit bull is automatically euthanized if not claimed after four days.
Part of the reason the dogs have such free rein is that so many humans have left. In the last census count, Detroit's population had plummeted to just over 700,000, down from nearly a million a decade earlier. People are leaving because there are no jobs, and the school system is a mess, and police take a half-hour to show up when your house is shot up with an AK-47. The solution from Michigan's Republican governor has been to threaten a state takeover of Detroit if the city's leaders fail to enact more budget-balancing austerity measures, leaving a void that DDR has been scrambling to fill.
Carlisle is six feet three, "beige-complected" (his choice of shading descriptors – he's Lebanese and Italian), fit and broad-shouldered, with a goatee and dark eyebrows that flare right to the edge of bushy. When we meet one morning in February to go on a dog run, Carlisle shows up in an all-black Carhartt uniform bedecked with the Detroit Dog Rescue logo.
Carlisle has surrounded himself with a comfortably familiar entourage. Shance Carlisle (no relation) plays bass in Hush's live band. He also happens to be fearless and uncannily empathetic when it comes to dogs, to the degree that the rest of the crew calls him the Dog Whisperer. Dante Dasaro (who used to be terrified of dogs) was a photographer who shot much of the Hush-era press art; now he works as DDR's webmaster and has also been tasked with documenting the group's fieldwork. To that end, he has a miniature video camera attached, via a retractable arm, to his forehead – which, combined with the one-piece work suit he's wearing, makes him look like a Ghostbuster.
Finally, there's an intimidating presence in the massive form of Calvin Cash, Carlisle's bodyguard from back in the Hush days. Cash rarely deals with the dogs; he keeps away any troublesome people, and, to that end, carries a Smith & Wesson. When he's not riding with DDR, he's a pastor.
DDR receives about 250 calls every week – citizens reporting spotted strays, or dogs in yards that appear maltreated, along with people simply asking for help. This morning's first call comes from a woman who says a mother pit bull and bunch of puppies are living in the garage of the abandoned home across the street.
The woman lives in a blighted neighborhood on Detroit's east side, described by Carlisle as "the gangster part of the city." En route, he points out a dead dog on the shoulder of the freeway. We turn onto the woman's street, where the abandoned homes and empty lots far outnumber any signs of habitation. Several houses, their windows and doors covered with particleboard, have been unartfully tagged (MOVE OUT HOES, BLOOD GAME DIG); another brick home is so gutted, you can see the backyard from the front sidewalk, simply by gazing through the gaping holes where the front doors and windows used to be. As we look for the address, a dog – a tawny shepherd mix, trailing a long leash – dashes across several yards. There's no owner in sight, so Shance and Dasaro jump out of DDR's red Econoline van and try to trap it. Amusingly, real-life dogcatchers actually employ the sort of giant nets used by dogcatchers in old Warner Bros. cartoons. Dante is carrying the net; Shance, a catchpole – a six-foot pole with a wire lasso on the end – and a cool-looking net gun, which has the heft of an oversize flashlight but can shoot weblike netting. Unfortunately, the net gun has been acting hinky, and it misfires. The dog bolts past them, tearing off to the next block before they can get into position.
As we proceed to our original goal, someone asks Carlisle how often the dogs come at him. "They don't!" he says. "That's the myth. If the dogs are feral, they don't want nothing to do with humans. They won't attack you unless you get in their space. But 80 to 90 percent of the dogs out here on the street came from homes. The economic plight of Detroit is what made people choose: 'I can't feed this dog anymore, it's too much of a burden, see you later.'"
The pit-bull house has not only been stripped out by copper thieves, but its driveway and yard have been used as a makeshift dumping ground, another depressingly common occurrence in Detroit, where excess trash from the entire metropolitan area (mattresses, old tires, busted furniture) ends up illegally discarded. We push our way through a thicket of tree branches and then step over a mound of garbage, primarily old sofa cushions molded by the elements into a colorful desert rock formation and a splayed set of Venetian blinds that look like bleached bones. "The mother may come flying out when we get close to the door," whispers Shance, who is taking the lead with the catchpole.
But the mother has apparently wandered off. Inside the garage, we find seven five-week-old puppies, a shepherd-pit mix, burrowed into a nest of old clothes arranged by their mother around an upended couch frame. Even in such squalid surroundings, the puppies are ridiculously cute. Carlisle grabs an old RCA box, pads it with clothes and piles the dogs inside.
After dropping the box of puppies in the van, Carlisle and I cut back through the yard to get to his Ford Journey, which is parked on the next block. I'm jotting something in my notebook when Carlisle begins shouting, "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" At the same time, I hear a sharp burst of barking. When I look up, I see an adult pit bull, teeth bared, charging at us from across the yard. The mother has returned. Carlisle, furiously backpedaling, extends his left arm and, in a reverse-clothesline, shoves me behind him, into the tangle of branches. He's yelling at the dog, kicking dirt and debris in her direction. The dog is only a few feet away. Her fur is tan. A pit bull, charging, with bared teeth, seems to float. At least this one did. I could swear, as she flew at us, all four of her feet left the ground, like a racehorse's.
Dead tree branches stab the back of my coat and snap against my neck. And then we're on the other side of the thicket and Carlisle yells, "Run!" and we both turn and sprint out of the yard. One thing Carlisle said had been correct: As soon as we leave the dog's territory, she gives up the chase.
Back at the van, Shance, startled, grabs one of the big green nets and charges back into the yard, but the mother has already disappeared. He says he'll return later in the week and catch her.
Carlisle, breathless, flashes a grin, in the slightly dazed manner of a guy who's not sure he should believe his luck. "That's never happened before," he gasps. "I was getting ready to kick her in the head."
Rescuing dogs is only the latest in a series of unlikely twists Carlisle's life has taken. Though his father, now retired, was a Detroit homicide detective, Carlisle embarked on an ambitious career of juvenile delinquency. Then one day, a cop happened to be riding in the same elevator as Detective Carlisle and, spotting his badge, asked him if he was any relation to the kid wanted in connection with a series of car robberies. Carlisle was given a choice: Leave the house or join the Navy. He went with the latter option, but, while stationed in Guam, wound up busted again, this time for robbing tourists. He served two years in prison. Back home in Detroit, he fell into the rap scene, befriending a young Eminem. Carlisle still calls him "Marshall." They've since had a falling-out, though not before Eminem made a guest appearance on Hush's 2005 album Bulletproof, which came out on Geffen. Rolling Stone gave it one star, Carlisle informs me. "You guys said I set white rappers back by 20 years," he notes good-naturedly.
Carlisle did manage to place some tracks on a short-lived boxing-world reality show called The Contender, where he met Martino, who wanted to develop her own show. One afternoon, while visiting Carlisle in Detroit, she noticed a stray dog rooting around in some garbage. When the dog raised its head, a cigarette hung from its mouth. Martino made a joke about times in Detroit being so tough even the dogs smoke. Then she asked Carlisle if he saw lots of strays. "All the time," he told her.
That became the genesis of their ill-fated show. There's something pleasingly postmodern about a failed reality-show pitch becoming actual real-life reality for those who did the pitching. Aside from the obvious dog-related dramas, the story arc of Detroit Dog Rescue's first season has included a number of more procedural complications, including being hassled by the Department of Agriculture. Technically, it's illegal for rescue groups to pick up strays unless they are licensed, officially trained animal-control officers. DDR has been scouting possible shelter locations in a warehouse district and its members are undergoing training; in the meantime, the group adopts out the dogs through its website. Everyone at DDR has also ended up taking in rescued dogs themselves: Carlisle a white Dalmatian mix named Petey, who'd been living off cheeseburgers shared by some guys at a construction site; Shance a bull mastiff named Porkchop, who'd run away after a crazy neighbor split his head open with a samurai sword.
DDR estimates it has rescued 200 dogs. Sometimes they're too late: They've found litters of dead puppies in attics of abandoned homes. One woman, a hoarder, had nearly 30 strays. Some of the dogs they rescue have bite marks on their faces, telltale signs of dogfighting. Shance shows me a drug house where the dealers kept a shivering pit bull chained outside. There's no dog there now. Shance says they're not allowed to just take dogs – that would be stealing – but this one's chain might have somehow come undone while Shance was standing there. Once, some Detroit cops called DDR because they saw a deer running around in the projects.
Carlisle says other rescue groups have been hostile to their mission, and thinks someone must have snitched to the Department of Agriculture. Tom McPhee, the director of a nonprofit organization attempting to track the number of strays in Detroit, works closely with the Michigan Humane Society. He says Detroit's ineffective animal control should "absolutely be privatized," but contends DDR has grossly inflated the number of strays, and that the group "came into this with zero understanding of any animal rescue."
"They're geniuses at street-team marketing," McPhee says. "Going from a start-up to a multimillion-dollar operation in less than a year is absolutely unheard of. It's stunning. And they've really upped the ante in terms of getting the word out. But their attitude has been 'fake it until you make it.' And they're running roughshod over established organizations."
Carlisle insists those established organizations simply don't like the way DDR has highlighted the high euthanasia rates. Last summer, two high-ranking officials at the Michigan Humane Society resigned in protest over the group's euthanasia policy. Carlisle notes that DDR has only had to put down a single rescued dog, which killed a house cat and tried to bite a child.
A couple of days later, I accompany Shance on another run. He was up late the night before, having received a call from a police officer who'd just raided a drug house, where the cops discovered an abused pit bull; to the annoyance of his girlfriend, Shance raced to the crime scene and brought the dog home. (Dog-loving cops occasionally violate procedure and call DDR instead of animal control, knowing the creatures will otherwise be euthanized.)
Before signing on with DDR, Shance spent 10 years working as a mechanic at a Cadillac dealership. He still plays regular gigs with rock cover bands for extra money, and looks the part: silver hoop earrings, luck-themed tattoos (poker suits, pairs of red dice) covering his hands and fingers. At DDR, Shance feels like he's found his calling. There's just something about the way he relates to dogs. "I don't know shit about people," he mutters. "My track record with girls speaks for itself."
He pulls the van up to a house where a giant bull mastiff is chained to a tree, next to a couple of filthy mattresses. This is Beast. Shance says he's left outside day and night. After spotting the dog one afternoon, Shance knocked on the door of the house. The owner said Beast had been chained to the tree when he'd bought the place. Shance offered to find a new home for the dog, but the owner refused, figuring he'd keep the dog around for protection. Shance brought over a doghouse and occasionally stops by with food.
We could be in the countryside somewhere, there are so many barren fields, though this used to be a dense residential neighborhood. Beast has a jowly, sad-monster face. Rubbing his head, Shance says, "People go batshit on us. 'Why don't you just take these dogs?' First of all, short of stealing them, you can't make people love their dogs, or bring them in the house. And even if we could, where would we put them? It's an epidemic! You'll see 10 dogs like this every day. We try to make sure they have food, water and shelter. But honestly, if the owner is trying at all, that dog is not going to be a priority. The dog on the street eating a fucking couch cushion is the priority. You have to make these kinds of decisions every day, and it sucks."
We drive over to an abandoned house, closer to the river. This one has been taken over by an entire pack of dogs. Shance drops by regularly to check on them. It's a two-story wood-frame house, with no front door or windows. As we mount the steps, the barking begins. Through the gaping space that once held a picture window, I see the leader of the pack, a pregnant black Lab, glaring at us from behind a cushionless couch. "Don't get near her," Shance warns. "She'll bite."
From the second-floor landing, two more members of the pack peer down at us, one eventually padding downstairs to eat a strip of jerky out of Shance's hand. Dogs taking over a house – it's like a children's book, a Disney cartoon. Only, in this case, a very disturbing one. Shance can't pick these dogs up until DDR has a permanent shelter, so in the meantime, he tries to make sure they have food.
In a city as poor as Detroit, it's not unreasonable to hear about DDR's windfall and wonder why anyone would give so much money to animals in a place where the human suffering is impossible to miss. Carlisle says it's not a zero-sum game, that DDR focuses on one specific area where they can make a difference. Not that he doesn't understand money problems, having seen the value of his home drop by $50,000 since the start of the recession. After we leave the pack-dog Grey Gardens, Shance gets a call from his girlfriend: The power at their apartment has been turned off. He gets quiet. Suddenly, he looks exhausted. "So it goes for the Dog Whisperer," he mutters. "Until I get my own TV show."
A few weeks later, more tragic news broke: Calvin Cash passed away suddenly, due to complications from diabetes. On DDR's Facebook page, Carlisle described Cash as his "brother" and "best friend," adding, "You were truly a messenger. I miss you already, you always had our back out there." Cash, a quiet man, hadn't said much during our time together, though he'd joked about looking for dogs in the dead of winter. "I was the beacon in the middle of the snow," he teased Carlisle. "Wasn't for me, you'd have got lost."
Carlisle will press on. A member of Detroit's City Council has expressed interest in outsourcing the city's animal control to DDR. Should the deal go through, Carlisle envisions making Detroit the first major no-kill U.S. city. "The police already call us at two in the morning," Carlisle says. " 'We found a pit bull in a house these drug dealers were squatting in. Can you come get it?' Our families wonder about it. 'Shit, what are you doing? You're making this your life?'" He shrugs. "I wasn't really prepared to be doing this. But it is my life now."
This story is from the March 29th, 2012 issue of Rolling Stone.
More News
Tennessee Moves to Permanently Expel Police Officers Who Beat Tyre Nichols
- Police Accountability
- By