Banks are a necessary evil and are notorious for making mistakes (either by accident or on-purpose?) You really have to check their math against yours and be ever vigilant for mistakes.
I think the moral of Shawmutt's story should be:
1) Always balance your bank accounts at least once a month.
2) Always make sure the account numbers listed on your debits match your account.
The absurd fees that banks charge tick me off too - take returned check fees for example. Banks are under no obligation to honor checks in the order in which they are writtenand they always do things to their advantage.
Lets say you have $1000 in your checking account and your bank charges a $35 returned check fee for every overdrawn check.
You write a check for $100 on Monday, $200 on Tuesday, $300 on Wednesday, $400 on Thursday, and $500 on Friday.
All five checks are presented to the bank for payment on the following Monday.
Obviously you are overdrawn by $500.
Does the bank
a) clear the first four checks ($1000) and charge you $35 for the bounced $500 check
b) clear the $500 and $400 checks first and charge you $105 for the remaining three checks which will now be overdrawn?
Think about it - that's why I like to strike a balance every time I write a check.
