Ok, long story, here we go.  First off, the tips below still apply, with one exception.

By reporting charges before they have processed completely, the bank should be able to remove them immediately without having to credit your account, which can take days or weeks.

This is not true!  I checked our account on Monday and found charges to our account that weren’t ours.  I called the bank immediately, and from what I was told and understood, they had reversed the authorizations so that our available balance was back to normal.  I asked if there was anything else I needed to do, and they said basically, “No”.  I hung up, refreshed my online banking page, and the charges were gone.  I was amazed, and happily impressed.  I started telling everyone how wonderful US Bank is. 

Fast forward to Wednesday.  I check our account and almost fell through the floor…  The charges were no longer pending authorization, they had posted.  So that money was really gone now.  I called the bank very irriatated.  No one had told me the charges would still post after the authorization had been reversed.  I talked to them three times that day, going as far up the chain as I could.  They said, “It is part of our scripting to inform you that the charges can still post to your account.  It all depends on the merchant.”  WHAT??  No one told me that!  Had they told me that, I would have moved all that money to another account so it would still be available to me, and US Bank would just have to deal with the overdrafts, which would get refunded in the end anyway. 

So, BIG TIP!!  If you catch fradulent charges that haven’t posted yet…  Get the authorizations reversed ASAP, and as soon as the available balance is back MOVE THAT MONEY, so you still have it available to you.

I addition to not being informed that these charges can still post, the entire way these cases are handled is ridiculous!  Here is the work flow… Tell me this isn’t crazy!

-You notice odd charges, Call the 24 hour banking number
-They open a fraud case, and reverse the authorizations
-The funds are back (at least temporarily), and like me, you do nothing else
-Your awaits assignment to a Claims Processor (who only works 8-4:30pm M-F), which can take 7-10 days.
-In the meantime, the charges post to your account without your knowing, and you are broke
-You call the bank angery that no one told you this would happen, and want your money back now
-They say that only a claims processor can approve a provisional credit to your account
-You say well then transfer me to a claims processor
-They say sorry they are gone for the day and it can take 7-10 days for someone to be assigned
-You stutter for a moment becuase this is so crazy
-You say well it seems that they should think about expanding their claims department if they have so many cases that they can’t get to them more quickly, and that they should probably think about putting them on 24 shifts seeing as how important their job appears to be. 
-They say thanks for suggestion, but you know nothing will change
-You hang up and post a blog about how horrible US Banks fraud case system is!

Tell me that isn’t ridiculous!  There are so many cases like this everyday, you would think that the banks first priority would be to help the customer.  It isn’t!  If it was, they would have someone working on these cases 24 hours a day so that people lives wouldn’t be disrupted.  They don’t.  I tried to aurgue with them that these are not NORMAL circumstances, why would their employees work NORMAL hours?  They couldn’t understand that. 

Long story, short:  US Bank is not as great as I thought, and they obvisouly don’t understand the plight of their customers that go through this kind of problem.  Write them a letter, if you have US Bank.

Now, I just have to say, ARG!!!