First National Bank
FNB's punitive bank charges

I was retrenched just over a year ago. Times are tough, but I've managed to pick up work here and there, feed my family, and stay afloat.

Unfortunately the same cannot be said for my FNB cheque account, which was in good standing before I was retrenched. Somehow I've managed to keep it going since then - even with monthly debit orders for telephone, insurance, etc.

But recently a debit order was returned, and I quickly got slapped with a R60 penalty. It was a particularly lean month for me financially, and four more debit orders were returned. The penalty for the last two was R138 each. (Up from R60).

So my bank charges for the past month were: R100 (std account fee) R57 (incidental credit) R180 (first 3 debit orders that bounced) R276 (next 2 debit orders) = R613!!!

How does a bank justify two different charges for the same thing? Can anyone at FNB break down the R138 for me? It clearly wasn't enough to just return the debit orders unpaid, they had to punish me for my mistake.

At a time when I needed help the most, my bank turns on me and kicks me when I'm down!

Thanks, FNB. Your slogan should read:

"HOW CAN WE HELP YOU [TO PART WITH YOUR MONEY]? "