Comments on: Bank Fees Increasing http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/ personal finance tips, tricks, and commentary Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:22:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134591 DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:23:18 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134591 Not surprising-- the friendly banker isn't so friendly anymore . . . Not surprising– the friendly banker isn’t so friendly anymore . . .

]]> By: Sarah http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134470 Sarah Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:43:41 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134470 Ha - try five years with my bank and all of a sudden in May of '09 they decide to take $20/mo in fees because we don't have $15000 balance in the account. This is a fee free account since '04. It took four months for me to find because the hubby thought I was overdrafting! Men and banks! Ha – try five years with my bank and all of a sudden in May of ‘09 they decide to take $20/mo in fees because we don’t have $15000 balance in the account. This is a fee free account since ‘04. It took four months for me to find because the hubby thought I was overdrafting! Men and banks!

]]> By: Daniel http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134416 Daniel Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:09:55 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134416 @Frank If course they will honor the largest transaction first. Larger transactions are more serious, but still, question if this is a tactic to benefit the merchant or the bank, I don't know. Working in a bank I heard a lot of stories from people wanting their fees reversed. And in all honesty, I really have no sympathy for someone who uses their Debit card like a credit card and not actually manage their money. Then complain that their overdraft charge is $35 or so for each transaction. They think that the price is an outrage, yet it is their fault, and they were informed of the cost when opening the account. When you think of overdraft fees, what it is, is the bank putting up money to cover your costs. If someone would make a mistake once in a while, then I didn't have a problem reversing the fees, but a lot of people are financial idiots. Not to mention they don't seem to understand the concept of Overdraft Protection, usually offered by many banks. Where my banks over a credit line, and BofA offers (in my opinion, but still something) linking it to a savings account or credit card. Every bank has some sort of protection, and a lot of people don't activate it or research it. You might want to blame the banks, but it is the customers fault majority of the time. And of course the customers will go whine to the government, who will mandate more crap on banks... it's sad... /rant @Frank If course they will honor the largest transaction first. Larger transactions are more serious, but still, question if this is a tactic to benefit the merchant or the bank, I don’t know.

Working in a bank I heard a lot of stories from people wanting their fees reversed. And in all honesty, I really have no sympathy for someone who uses their Debit card like a credit card and not actually manage their money. Then complain that their overdraft charge is $35 or so for each transaction. They think that the price is an outrage, yet it is their fault, and they were informed of the cost when opening the account.

When you think of overdraft fees, what it is, is the bank putting up money to cover your costs. If someone would make a mistake once in a while, then I didn’t have a problem reversing the fees, but a lot of people are financial idiots.

Not to mention they don’t seem to understand the concept of Overdraft Protection, usually offered by many banks. Where my banks over a credit line, and BofA offers (in my opinion, but still something) linking it to a savings account or credit card. Every bank has some sort of protection, and a lot of people don’t activate it or research it.

You might want to blame the banks, but it is the customers fault majority of the time. And of course the customers will go whine to the government, who will mandate more crap on banks… it’s sad…

/rant

]]> By: Frank Fitton http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134414 Frank Fitton Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:36:01 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134414 Overdraft fees have really gotten out of hand. The amount of money the banks make of these just floored me. The part that I hate is that they take out the biggest purchase first to try and hit you with as many fees as possible. If you have $100.00 in your account and make check card purchases of $10, $25, $40, $75. Instead of 1 overdraft fee, they hit you with 3. That's just crazy. What's really troubling is that these overdraft fees are affecting the people who can least afford it. Its not the upper class or even the middle class. 90% of the fees, come from 10% of the accounts. As soon as our goverment cuts down on one angle the banks got going, their just going to get their money somewhere else. Overdraft fees have really gotten out of hand. The amount of money the banks make of these just floored me.

The part that I hate is that they take out the biggest purchase first to try and hit you with as many fees as possible. If you have $100.00 in your account and make check card purchases of $10, $25, $40, $75. Instead of 1 overdraft fee, they hit you with 3. That’s just crazy.

What’s really troubling is that these overdraft fees are affecting the people who can least afford it. Its not the upper class or even the middle class. 90% of the fees, come from 10% of the accounts.

As soon as our goverment cuts down on one angle the banks got going, their just going to get their money somewhere else.

]]> By: The Biz of Life http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134404 The Biz of Life Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:13:34 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134404 I've been a BofA customer for a while through all the mergers and have never been hit with a fee. I'm not endorsing any bank in particular, but there is enough competition in this sector between online banks and brick and mortar banks that almost everyone should be able to find a bank that suits their needs without service charges. I’ve been a BofA customer for a while through all the mergers and have never been hit with a fee. I’m not endorsing any bank in particular, but there is enough competition in this sector between online banks and brick and mortar banks that almost everyone should be able to find a bank that suits their needs without service charges.

]]> By: Darin H http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134398 Darin H Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:40:34 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134398 We've used BofA for 10+ years, I don't think I've ever been charged a fee. We're advantage members - solely because we have a brokerage account with them. Their interest rates are awful so we don't keep more than just what we need monthly in checking and $500 in savings and have a couple of online savings accounts. We’ve used BofA for 10+ years, I don’t think I’ve ever been charged a fee. We’re advantage members – solely because we have a brokerage account with them. Their interest rates are awful so we don’t keep more than just what we need monthly in checking and $500 in savings and have a couple of online savings accounts.

]]> By: Daniel http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134393 Daniel Mon, 24 Aug 2009 06:47:12 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134393 Government doesn't own the banks... banks own the government Government doesn’t own the banks… banks own the government

]]> By: RB @ Financial Samurai http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134391 RB @ Financial Samurai Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:45:37 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134391 How do you guys like 36% government owned back Citibank, with its massive bailout money, pay one of their oil traders a $100 million bonus?! I ended up taking ALL my savings out of Citibank earlier this year, b/c I don't stand for that kinda crappola! Best, RB How do you guys like 36% government owned back Citibank, with its massive bailout money, pay one of their oil traders a $100 million bonus?!

I ended up taking ALL my savings out of Citibank earlier this year, b/c I don’t stand for that kinda crappola!

Best,

RB

]]> By: jan murphy http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134372 jan murphy Sat, 22 Aug 2009 19:42:47 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134372 Well i have 2 accounts with bank of america but my daughter also had an account with them. She closed her account with them but they did not get the message i guess because every month they charged her a fee for having an open account with no money in it. so because we had listed her on our account in case of a simultaneous death. (we travel a lot) they would charge our accout with an overdraft fee since her which was closed had no money in it. It became such an ordeal, that she finally went down to the bank and demanded for them to refund us the fees accumulated from her closed account. They looked it up and sure enough, it was closed. guess what after about 500 dollars in fees on our account, they refunded us a whole 100 dollars because she did not come in an question what they were doing. I will probrably get a fee charged for just saying this. while i am at this could anyone tell this old lady how soon i could pay off a mortgage by paying an extra thousand a month with a rate of 5.75 on the mortgage and a balance of 171000. my brain is to empty to figure it out Well i have 2 accounts with bank of america but my daughter also had an account with them. She closed her account with them but they did not get the message i guess because every month they charged her a fee for having an open account with no money in it. so because we had listed her on our account in case of a simultaneous death. (we travel a lot) they would charge our accout with an overdraft fee since her which was closed had no money in it. It became such an ordeal, that she finally went down to the bank and demanded for them to refund us the fees accumulated from her closed account. They looked it up and sure enough, it was closed. guess what after about 500 dollars in fees on our account, they refunded us a whole 100 dollars because she did not come in an question what they were doing. I will probrably get a fee charged for just saying this. while i am at this could anyone tell this old lady how soon i could pay off a mortgage by paying an extra thousand a month with a rate of 5.75 on the mortgage and a balance of 171000. my brain is to empty to figure it out

]]> By: Chris http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134369 Chris Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:09:32 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134369 Its free to wire money to my BoA account, but they will fee me for the other way. I don't have this prob with Schwab or FNBO direct. Its free to wire money to my BoA account, but they will fee me for the other way. I don’t have this prob with Schwab or FNBO direct.

]]> By: Weldrev http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134366 Weldrev Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:10:44 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134366 The larger banks are essentially a haven for white collar crime. They are a joke and a complete embarrassment to this country. They will nickel and dime you to death..........if you let them. The larger banks are essentially a haven for white collar crime. They are a joke and a complete embarrassment to this country. They will nickel and dime you to death……….if you let them.

]]> By: RB @ Financial Samurai http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134364 RB @ Financial Samurai Sat, 22 Aug 2009 07:46:02 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134364 I just got notice from a bank where I have over $350,000 in CDs with that i'm going to start getting charged $15/month in 2010 if I don't have at least $3,500 in checking with them!! Are you guys kidding me? Why would they nickle and dime me like that. I'm not keeping money in a checking account paying me 0.1% interest. The bank is First Republic Bank a boutique bank in California. They're going to lose A LOT of customers if they do this. Rgds, RB I just got notice from a bank where I have over $350,000 in CDs with that i’m going to start getting charged $15/month in 2010 if I don’t have at least $3,500 in checking with them!!

Are you guys kidding me? Why would they nickle and dime me like that. I’m not keeping money in a checking account paying me 0.1% interest. The bank is First Republic Bank a boutique bank in California. They’re going to lose A LOT of customers if they do this.

Rgds,

RB

]]> By: Daniel http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134360 Daniel Sat, 22 Aug 2009 01:31:46 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134360 Oh I know your not specifically trying to defend them, and I also know that my opinion of them is very biased due to the branches that I have worked in and comments made by other people. Although I do question a lot of Bank of America's sales tactics (though it might has changed because it has been 18 months since I worked there) I have heard good things from customers when I did work there. Mainly it was based on specific personal bankers compared to the bank as a whole. The manager I worked with the longest was very micomanaging, sales oriented, customer service avoiding type, and that was where most of my biased streamed from. Regardless, I always say this to anyone talking about banks vs credit unions vs whatever... If you're happy, who cares what others think, why change banks from happy to unknown. If you are not happy, then go somewhere else. For a long time when we saw strong interest rates (like last year ago or so) I read a lot of financial blogs about different rates, 5%, then 6%, then 7%, etc, but I never understood people actually "chasing" them. It's like someone constantly buying a car because of features not dependability... Sorry, I was kind of rambling, but besides my opinion, if you're happy with Bank of America, then thats all that matters :) Oh I know your not specifically trying to defend them, and I also know that my opinion of them is very biased due to the branches that I have worked in and comments made by other people. Although I do question a lot of Bank of America’s sales tactics (though it might has changed because it has been 18 months since I worked there) I have heard good things from customers when I did work there. Mainly it was based on specific personal bankers compared to the bank as a whole. The manager I worked with the longest was very micomanaging, sales oriented, customer service avoiding type, and that was where most of my biased streamed from.

Regardless, I always say this to anyone talking about banks vs credit unions vs whatever… If you’re happy, who cares what others think, why change banks from happy to unknown. If you are not happy, then go somewhere else.

For a long time when we saw strong interest rates (like last year ago or so) I read a lot of financial blogs about different rates, 5%, then 6%, then 7%, etc, but I never understood people actually “chasing” them. It’s like someone constantly buying a car because of features not dependability…

Sorry, I was kind of rambling, but besides my opinion, if you’re happy with Bank of America, then thats all that matters :)

]]> By: Nickel http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134359 Nickel Sat, 22 Aug 2009 00:46:32 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134359 Daniel: I'm not actually trying to defend BofA (in the grand scheme of things), or say that people should use them. We actually keep as little money with them as possible due to their abysmal interest rates, etc., but we do value the convenience associated of having a bank that is virtually everywhere. Beyond that, I just haven't had the same negative experiences that many others seem to have had. This might be due, at least in part, to the fact that we live in a pretty small town, so the culture at our branch might be a bit different. Daniel: I’m not actually trying to defend BofA (in the grand scheme of things), or say that people should use them. We actually keep as little money with them as possible due to their abysmal interest rates, etc., but we do value the convenience associated of having a bank that is virtually everywhere. Beyond that, I just haven’t had the same negative experiences that many others seem to have had. This might be due, at least in part, to the fact that we live in a pretty small town, so the culture at our branch might be a bit different.

]]> By: Daniel http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134358 Daniel Sat, 22 Aug 2009 00:35:00 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134358 Yeah, that is easy to do because you can make an account a fee-less account for 12 months. I guess it was more based on management and their attempt to be #1 in sales (or accounts). I got actually shunned for putting a 12 month waiver on a customers account instead of closing out their checking account and opening a new one... Which ever, I'm happy; Credit Union + ING + Schwab Investor Checking = Synergy Yeah, that is easy to do because you can make an account a fee-less account for 12 months. I guess it was more based on management and their attempt to be #1 in sales (or accounts). I got actually shunned for putting a 12 month waiver on a customers account instead of closing out their checking account and opening a new one…

Which ever, I’m happy; Credit Union + ING + Schwab Investor Checking = Synergy

]]> By: Nickel http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134357 Nickel Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:22:34 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134357 Daniel: It must vary by location, as the personal bankers at our local BofA branch have been nothing but helpful, and have even offered to waive the monthly fees on our business checking account so we don't have to pay even if our avg daily balance slips below $3k. This could only be done 12 months at a time, but they said we could just call back every year and ask for a new waiver. Daniel: It must vary by location, as the personal bankers at our local BofA branch have been nothing but helpful, and have even offered to waive the monthly fees on our business checking account so we don’t have to pay even if our avg daily balance slips below $3k. This could only be done 12 months at a time, but they said we could just call back every year and ask for a new waiver.

]]> By: Daniel http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134356 Daniel Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:16:40 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134356 You have to be careful with Bank of America, As long as you don't change your accounts around and don't overdraft, you will be fine. But Bank of America lacks serious ethics when it comes to banking. They do have a strong policy against giving back fees and one of my friends was forced to resign because he was giving back too many over draft fees. Mix that with Personal Bankers being pushed to open 2 or 3 checking accounts per person without giving them much of a choice, it is just not a respectable company. Course, this is what I only experienced working for them in orange county, SoCal You have to be careful with Bank of America, As long as you don’t change your accounts around and don’t overdraft, you will be fine. But Bank of America lacks serious ethics when it comes to banking. They do have a strong policy against giving back fees and one of my friends was forced to resign because he was giving back too many over draft fees. Mix that with Personal Bankers being pushed to open 2 or 3 checking accounts per person without giving them much of a choice, it is just not a respectable company.

Course, this is what I only experienced working for them in orange county, SoCal

]]> By: Peter http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134355 Peter Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:47:23 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134355 I'm fee free with ING Direct. Like they say "Money Doesn't Grow On Fees"! I’m fee free with ING Direct. Like they say “Money Doesn’t Grow On Fees”!

]]> By: vga http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134351 vga Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:37:07 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134351 I used to use BoA until they dinged me to death with bogus maintenance fees which they refused to refund. I pulled all my money out, closed my accounts and canceled by BoA credit card. I refuse to ever bank with them again unless there is just no other option. On a happier note, I love my credit union. I used to use BoA until they dinged me to death with bogus maintenance fees which they refused to refund.

I pulled all my money out, closed my accounts and canceled by BoA credit card.

I refuse to ever bank with them again unless there is just no other option.

On a happier note, I love my credit union.

]]> By: Evolution Of Wealth http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2009/08/21/bank-fees-increasing/comment-page-1/#comment-134349 Evolution Of Wealth Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:03:34 +0000 http://www.fivecentnickel.com/?p=3517#comment-134349 Bank of America now charges you $6 to walk into a branch and cash a Bank of America check if you don't have an account with them. Bank of America now charges you $6 to walk into a branch and cash a Bank of America check if you don’t have an account with them.

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