I work for a bank. The bank is not responsible for your transactions. The bank does not "approve" each and every transaction. As far as electronic debits they cannot refuse many of them unless the account is disabled. Could you imagine if banks had a person who looked at every transaction. "oops looks like paypal messed up for $50 bucks" They do pull aside very large transactions to check them.
I'm sick of hearing from customers who can't claim responsibility for their actions. If keep your account so close to the edge of being overdrawn then you should get line of credit to protect it. If you overdraw your account 5000 or 5 cents its still negative... you should be keeping a check register for every transaction you do. People always blame the bank. How is it the banks fault for a messed up paypal page or money being accidentally drawn from your account? If you cannot handle a checking account then don't have one. If you get screwed because someone else messes up their account information... then its not your fault and you will be refunded.
On the other side of the story, bank regulation protects the consumer against all forms of fraud. If your account falls victim to fraud then you are completely protected. You will get the money back within 10 days (unless several $1000)
The other misconception is that the bank shouldn't make money. Do you know how much it costs to run a bank? Do you know how much it costs just to insure a bank? The fees you pay for being irresponsible or lazy are what keep your bank running. If you don't want to pay don't overdrawl and be smart with your money or keep your money under the couch. (if the fees are generated by something that was not your fault such as bank error or unauthorized debits then they will be refunded)
As for banks not ID-ing... it depends on the situation. Some branches are terrible about that (but again if its fraud then you will get your money back anyhow). But most bank policy allows tellers to not take ID if they have in the past and you are a regular customer. $2700 check isn't huge and doesn't always require ID if the customer is known. It really depends on the type of check, who the check is from, your current account balance, etc. (but many banks are too lax about this)
Banks make mistakes but the electronic age has brough a new generation of customers who do not keep track of their accounts but refuse to attach protection.
Blaming your bank is like filing a lawsuit against mcdonalds for spilling coffee on your lap.
