TCF's New "Insufficient Funds" Scam

In the wake of the supposed overdraft reform, outspoken right-winger Bill Cooper and his bank, TCF, have figured out other ways to gouge customers.

I only noticed because I received an overdraft despite the fact that I'd deposited money earlier in the day.

Here's how it works, according to a TCF customer service guy I spoke to on the phone, who said the policy recently changed:

• Deposits into ATMs after 3 p.m. are now pending transactions and not added to account until the next day (despite the fact that many ATMs are outside TCF branches that are open until 7 p.m. on weekdays).
• Debits on the account until 10:30 p.m. are also pending transactions, but they're assessed immediately against your old posted balance.
• This means you could put $1,000 into an account at 3:05 p.m., only be charged for a insufficient funds for an $11 dollar transaction at 3:06 p.m.
• The bank now treats deposits and expenditures differently and TCF makes $35 in the interim.

It's odd how this always works in favor of the bank, isn't it? It also seems to target the same demographic as their old overdraft scam -- Americans living paycheck-to-paycheck.

I'm not an expert in bank jargon, so if this scenario isn't precisely right, in terminology, I'd welcome corrections from TCF reps. Here's some other complaints about the practice.

But does this make other people want to make the switch to community banks or credit unions? What sort of experiences have people had with TCF or other complicated overdraft scams?

Update: I noticed another implication. A pending purchase that was immediately cancelled has been drawing money out of my balance for four days, despite the fact that it was cancelled and will never be posted.