Bank of America to charge $5 debit fee

[sunshinepa]

I saw this article before it was posted here......my first thought was WOW, sure glad they were one of my creditors in BK and I got to stick it to em!!!! I am sure other banks will jump on the bandwagon too. Sure glad my bank is locally owned and hope they don't follow the biggies.

[banca rotta]

This is yet more example of runaway..."capitalism" screwing the population.

Iamold, just so we are all on the same page I posted this recently to help inform all of us the difference between right & left, democracy vs. a republic and capitalism.

Yes this is "runaway capitalism screwing the population" but it is NOT free market capitalism.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQgcqnm9eRU&feature=related

BTW I just heard citi will be following BOA in charging fees and this is a result of Dodd/Frank and signed into law by Obama just a Bush gave us TARP for his Goldman sucks criminal gang.

[Pandora]

Pandora here represents the success banks and retailers have had in getting people to quit using checks or cash to pay for their purchases. ....

Pandora, Durbin's amendment does not apply to smaller banks or CUs. Move your account to one of these institutions and you may avoid the fallout,as noted by IamOld.

Your post is great...except for the first part re: why we use our debit card I could care less what "advertisements" are directed to - I use my debit card because its my money first and foremost, and I dont carry alot of cash on me, nor do we have a credit card / pre-paid debit card. Havent had a credit card since early 2008 and then it was only 1. I've always used my debit card regardless of what bank I was with since the inception of the debit visa/mc came about; before that it was strictly an ATM card. There is no "rewards program" with our account & we have never opted in for any in the 25+ years I've had a checking account - its straight forward. We do write checks and pay cash for many things, but I shop online and prefer not to pay the monthly fees associated with a pre-paid debit card. There should be NO FEES associated with debit purchases, period. The only reason they are assessed is because of greed on behalf of Visa as well as greed on the banking industry side; too often that fee was assessed in order to fund "reward programs".

As to the last part - where we live, its a very small place - so local banks are limited. We had 3 local banks at one time, two have now been bought out by larger ones within the past year, so that leaves BOA or Wells Fargo (which was 1 of the prev. local banks). We have 1 credit union that affiliates with our local college (UVA) and our other "big" CU for the state, we are members of but cannot use (they're the reason we filed Ch. 13 - strip a 2nd). We're going to end up stuck with BOA at this rate as the lone surviving local bank is in the process of being purchased again (for the third time) and does not offer direct deposit which is required for SSD. So we are limited severely at this point; the banking industry has people by the short hairs and they know it - much like the gas/oil/electric industries.

Too big to fail my eye -

*sighs* how true..how true...

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.”

— Thomas Jefferson

[Freddy03]

Regions will soon be charging $4 for debit card use.

[IamOld]

Regions will soon be charging $4 for debit card use.

Same with SunTrust. - $5

[Pandora]

@ Freddy & Iam: I think every bank & CU is going to be following suit very shortly....unfortunately.

Watch what happens when people decide to take their money OUT of the banks - I fear another "crash" and lock-out happening like so many years ago.

[IamOld]

@ Freddy & Iam: I think every bank & CU is going to be following suit very shortly....unfortunately.

Watch what happens when people decide to take their money OUT of the banks - I fear another "crash" and lock-out happening like so many years ago.

Right Pandora...now if more than say...just 10-20% of the people want their $$ out and/or the total withdrawals exceed say 10-20%...banks don't have the $$...that's when we'll have a huge run on the banks and sadly FDR is nowhere to be found.

So yet again, the "capitalists" are destroying themselves and taking us along for the ride.

[Freddy03]

@ Freddy & Iam: I think every bank & CU is going to be following suit very shortly....unfortunately.

Watch what happens when people decide to take their money OUT of the banks - I fear another "crash" and lock-out happening like so many years ago.

I agree -

[shark66]

@ Freddy & Iam: I think every bank & CU is going to be following suit very shortly....unfortunately.

Watch what happens when people decide to take their money OUT of the banks - I fear another "crash" and lock-out happening like so many years ago.

What was that curse...may you live in interesting times, or something along those lines...

Boy we were cursed and then some...

Good luck to us all.

[DYLAN150]

I think the banks are banking on the fact that 5 bucks isn't much money to alot of people. Isn't that about the price of two coffee's at starbucks? Of course when you have 10 million customers times 5 bucks, well that's a nice amount.

[shark66]

The ones hooked on Starbucks are not likely to be the same ones who will be closing their bank accounts...

Can't wait for this to start happening...I'm with a small local bank, but will have *no* problem going all cash if they attempt to implement any nonsense like the one discussed in this thread...

Good luck to us all.

[treehugger1]

Wow, I had no idea this news release would generate so much interest. I'll add my personal experience over the past 5 decades. In the Pacific Northwest in the late 60's - early 80's there was no such thing as free checking. I exclusively banked at credit unions becaue they had the lowest costs. However, these costs generally included a $5.00 per month membership charge, a fixed cost for checks up to a certain amount of checks written, or a fixed cost for unlimited check writing ability. Do others remember these types of accounts? In addition, no bank paid you interest on your checking account.

It is not my intention to take sides with the corporate banking industry. However, we seem to have come full circle.

I have been stunned to learn of the costs often passed down to the consumer because stores have to pay a cost for consumers using a debit or credit card. What a strange, strange world.

While I am not defending the big banks, I do defend their rights to offer "contracts" to consumers. If you do not understand your contract, then do as I do; operate on cash, money orders, cheap pre-paid debit cards, etc.

[DYLAN150]

Treehugger from Ore-E-gun: I have a credit union account and everything is free. No checking charges, they give me free checks. So there not making any money from me but then again, it's free because I am an old fart. But then you have people like my 35 year old son who use's his debit card at 7/11 for a $1.25 purchase. I know what the banks are after, they want a person to use their credit card.

[Slingerland]

I was a Regions customer for 23 years... personal checking, joint checking with my wife, company checking/savings for my rental properties. My kids opened their first accounts at Regions. Notice I said "was"... the $4 debit card fee when assessed against 4 accounts would be $192 a year just for the 'privilege" of them storing my money. To add insult to injury, I was told my rentals were not "large enough" and I would be charged $15 a month just to have a commercial checking account with them.

Fortunately there are two local banks in my city who are heavily advertising their "no fee, never a fee" free checking (Bank of the Ozarks and Arvest Bank.) I happily moved all my accounts to them.

[Slingerland]

Actually this is tacky on my part, but why not give everybody a chuckle...

Regions also has several of my rental property mortgages. Last week I was trying to set up online payment using the new Arvest accounts. I needed to manually make the payments for one month while setting up direct debit. I was trying to set up the payment for the 5th of the month (within my grace period) but the online system kept flagging it with a fee.

Here's the way the conversation went:

REGIONS: Hello, my name is (redacted). How may I help you?
ME: I am wondering why I'm being charged a fee to make an online payment.
REGIONS: Are you making the payment before the due date?
ME: I'm making it within the grace period.
REGIONS: But it will be late?
ME: No. Late is on the 15th of the month.
REGIONS: Why are you paying late?
ME: I'm not paying late. This is a mortgage with grace period. It's due on the 1st with a 15 day grace period.
REGIONS: Why do you not pay on time?
ME: I need time for the tenant's check to clear.
REGIONS: Oh, okay. There is no fee if you use a Regions account.
ME: I'm closing my Regions checking and savings accounts.
(silence)
REGIONS: (typing) I see that. You previously had auto-debit. Why are you no longer using auto-debit?
ME: As I mentioned, I'm closing my Regions checking and savings accounts.
REGIONS: (timdly) Why are you closing your accounts?
ME: Because Regions keep adding fees to my accounts.
REGIONS: What kind of fees?
ME: Well, for one thing, fees for paying my mortgages within the grace period.
REGIONS: (oh)
(silence)
REGIONS: This isn't going to get any better is it?
ME: No.
(silence)
REGIONS: When you have your new checking account, will you be setting up auto-debit?
ME: Is there a fee?
REGIONS: (mumbling) God I hope not. (to me) No sir, no fee.
ME: Yes, I'll set it up once these payments are made.
REGIONS: There's no fee if you pay during the grace period at the branch in person.
ME: Thank you!