this post was submitted on 12 Nov 2024
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[–] [email protected] 61 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Wait so he has to pull his money out if the game comes out, before he actually gets charged for it? If he waits too late then he has to buy it and gamestop gets a cut if he returns it.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'm pretty sure the purchase only goes through if you go instore to buy it at release time

Otherwise they'll release the stock held for you and refund your deposit

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

So OP is actually a genius. Except if you put money in a bank, it grows some money. Also it's insured, I wonder how stringent the protections are if GameStop was to go bankrupt and take the money with them.

[–] ricecake 8 points 1 week ago

There's none. They would owe him money, so he'd have to get in line with all the other creditors to request that the court prioritize his debt over someone else's.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago

No, he's stupid. Gamestop could change their policies at any time making deposit refunds store credit only. Gamestop could go under and he wouldn't be FDIC covered. Can't emphasize enough the store credit policy switch which they'd do just in response to him.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 week ago (5 children)

"I kept overdrafting my account even though I opted out"

Is this some SovCit shit where they think "opting out" of the terms of service for their bank account is an option?

[–] [email protected] 103 points 1 week ago

I was able to opt out of overdrafting here in Germany, so instead of going negative it just declines.

[–] [email protected] 67 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

No, there's a US law now where they have to allow you to opt out of overdraft "protection". They just decline the transaction but don't charge you any fees.

[–] Ookami38 25 points 1 week ago (5 children)

If only they didn't charge fees. My bank charges an insufficient funds fee that's conveniently the same amount as the overdraft protection fee. So my options are eat the fee and get my stuff, or eat the fee and not get my stuff.

I'm not entirely sure this is legal, but I was told directly by a representative that these were my options. It's quite literally a poor tax.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Just curious. Why not just get a different bank or credit union?

[–] Ookami38 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Mentioned in another post, but I don't qualify for many credit unions beyond my local one that I currently use. I've used a few different bank options, but none of them have really been any better, and usually worse.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Your current one as in, your credit union is the one charging you these "insufficient fund" fees?

I'm admittedly not educated in the law of banks and credit unions, but I have a feeling they aren't meant to be doing that.. not that the little man like you or I could do much about it 🤷🏾‍♂️

[–] Ookami38 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, like I said, not entirely sure it's legal, but that's the boat I'm in. The other banks did the same shit, charged me more, and offered me worse rates on loans. At least this one spits on it before going in.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago

That's rough buddy. Time to get a fake identity and open an account in a different state with stricter banking laws

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I use a credit union and they don’t penalize for either one. There’s a small “get gud with money” fee for the transfer if you use overdraft protection, something like $1.50 or whatever, but I don’t think there’s an insufficient funds fee at all. They just decline the transaction. I mean it’s not like it actually costs them anything to compare the incoming charge to your account balance, so a fee for not being on the ball is silly.

So your options might actually be “eat the fee, or switch banking institutions”, but they won’t tell you that, ofc.

[–] Ookami38 6 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Well, yeah, switching institutions is always an option, unfortunately it's not a great one here. I've used a few, and unfortunately this one seems to be the best in my area.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Sorry to hear. Have you considered looking for one that does app-based banking and isn’t local?

I mean some 15 years ago I had a credit union that was very very regional, and I moved. But they had good online options (keep in mind this was like.. 2009-2011 or so and things have moved so far since) so I kept using them for several years until I found a better local credit union.

Maybe that would be an option for you as well, assuming you don’t need to go in in person for stuff frequently.

[–] Ookami38 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I haven't actually looked into any that weren't local. Well, I did, but none that I found I could qualify for at the time. It may be worth looking into again.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

If you are in any sort of unique demographic, like you aren’t a straight white male office worker, you might look for credit unions that serve your specific population.

Like if you do trade work, there’s options. If you are Hispanic there’s options. Veterans have several options, women and feminists have several as well. Just sort of look for whatever fits you and see what might be available on a more national scale.

And if you are a cishet white male office worker with nothing to distinguish you from anyone else there’s probably a credit union for that, too. The theme of the day is themes. Credit unions that aren’t regionally based are nonetheless community based, and I’m sure you fit a community.

Really tho I hope you find something that fits so you can buck the bank. Banks are horrible and we can do better! Through unions!

Edit: I looked up Star Trek credit union just for giggles and there’s a NASA credit union, hence the theme being themes.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

multiple gov & military credit unions and specialized banks - navy credit, usaa, geico etc

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Not the best places to look tbh. Nothing personal, ofc, but stuff to be aware of. Nothing comes up for geico news search but as a major company I don’t trust them in the slightest. But navy fed and USAA have both proven to be garbage piles.

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-orders-navy-federal-credit-union-to-pay-more-than-95-million-for-illegal-surprise-overdraft-fees/

https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2024-04-26/fraud-bank-usaa-louisiana-13665723.html

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

eh, USAA has been stellar for me for 3 decades. A gaggle of call center employees going bad (and getting caught) is hardly wells fargo levels of garbage for example.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

I guess if you are already with them you can overlook it because it’s easier, but I certainly wouldn’t encourage new people to be potentially swindled along with you, wtf?

Certainly not with an “eh”, like that’s normal shit to have happen (it isn’t at all, for the record)… comparing it to a more egregious actor doesn’t help your case either.. those bad things are still really bad even if someone else is worse.

How did random low level call center employees even manage to steal that much, if not poor organizational security?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Wait is there a gay credit union lol? I just use a regional one.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

Yes, there is. It’s called superbia. Looks like it was founded in 2019.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I've used the free online banking from Charles Schwab as well as Capital One for years and don't see any fees. Schwab refunds any ATM fees for withdrawing cash, even internationally last I tried. Capital One also has a large partner ATM network.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea 2 points 6 days ago

I'm similar, but I'm with Fidelity instead of Schwab. Using a brokerage as a bank account is an awesome cheat code to getting awesome interest w/o any extra effort. My "checking" is a brokerage account and the cash sits in a money market fund making ~4.5%, which is awesome.

The main downside w/ an online bank/brokerage is lack of access to branch services, like depositing cash or withdrawing specific denominations. I maintain a local bank that doesn't entirely suck to get access to branch services and leave like $50 in there so they don't close it, and then just transfer money to/from as needed. All of my regular expenses go through my brokerage "checking."

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Dude you need a new bank, or credit union, or GameStop.

An insufficient funds fee!?! Fuck me, America.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea 1 points 6 days ago

Yeah, when I look into a new bank for whatever reason, the first place I go is the fee schedule and I look for BS. Most big banks have a ton of BS in there, so avoiding them is usually sufficient if you don't want to read a table of fees.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago

Just don't be poor. Those bootstraps are there for a reason.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Since I opted out of overdraft protection several years ago with my credit union, I've never been charged insufficient fund fee. Sounds like banks are doing shady/shity things to their consumers again. When will people learn to leave banks and go to a credit union that cares about their people before profits?

[–] Ookami38 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I love that last line that shifts the onus of responsibility to the consumer.

Really, though, I've gone through a few banks, and am current with a credit union. They're better than what I got with the banks, but they're still shady, still wont to charge whatever fees they can get away with. There's very little oversight, and in a lot of cases you're kinda stuck with what you get.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

Well capitalism only works if we let it. Don't want micro transactions in games, stop playing them. Don't want stupid fees, don't use them. They only way they learn is to hit their bottom line. The government isn't going to fix it, as we have learned over and over again they are ran by oligarchs. Anything that makes them more money they will do.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 1 week ago (1 children)

what do you mean? If I try to pay with an empty bank account the transaction is simply denied.

Nothing sovcit about not wanting the bank to give you what's essentially a small expensive loan.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea 1 points 6 days ago

In fact, overdraft protection is typically opt-in, so just don't sign up for it and you're golden.

The only overdraft I use is self-funded overdraft where it pulls from savings instead of a tiny bank loan. I have it send me a notification when that happens so I can tell when my cash flow is wonky.

[–] Ookami38 10 points 1 week ago

They mean opting out of overdraft protection. Banks typically allow you overdraft protection, where instead of denying your sale at point of sale, they'll pay it, charge you a fee, and let the transaction go through.

If you opt out of overdraft protection, it should instead deny the sale, and you don't get to buy whatever. At my bank, they do this and then charge an insufficient funds fee, which is the same as the overdraft fee. It's bullshit.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Some banks allow you to choose- If you overdraft, do you want us to pay the vendor, and then hit you with a overdraft fee? Or do you want us to reject the charge?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago

Yeah. I’m in the latter group. I’ve got my secret gas cash, but if I run out of money I get rejected. It hasn’t happened since college, but I keep it in case

[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It's interesting how he somehow manages to have money when he "banks" one way, but constantly overdrafts when he "banks" another way. It honestly sounds like he has difficulty with money management when the money's in an abstract form, such as a checking account. Having physical cash on hand is a lot easier to keep track of.

I, too, have dealt with that problem. But my solution was to carry a limited amount of cash on me and leave my debit card at home. I mean, I'm glad he found a method that works for him. I'm just concerned he'll be SoL when the transition to digital-only games renders physical GameStops obsolete.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

If you look at the image, you can see the date it was posted. 2014.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

So you mean, he's probably already screwed?

[–] pelespirit 23 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Video games=paper money=chickens. I'm surprised he's telling people where his gold is though, that rarely works out well.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago

Wouldn't it be more clevererer to go straight from video games to chickens? Like, go to your steam account and get refunded in nuggies hand-delivered by Gabe? Why no one thinks of this, it's like I'm surrounded by retards

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 week ago

My sister used to do this with Target.

She was always overdrafting her accounts to the point where my dad actually had to go pay Bank of America $200 to close one of them for her, so she decided 'fuck banks' and would just spend her entire paycheck at Target. Whenever she needed cash she would head to Target and return some stuff.

[–] Early_To_Risa 16 points 1 week ago

1 vote for brilliant

[–] Mandy 9 points 1 week ago

The only difference is charisma and since this is a 4channer we are talking about, it's not hard to guess which they are