Posted on 09/29/2011 5:36:53 PM PDT by rabscuttle385
Bank of America Corp plans to charge customers who use their debit cards to make purchases a $5 monthly fee beginning early next year, joining other banks scrambling for new sources of revenue.
U.S. banks have been looking for ways to increase revenue as regulations introduced since the financial crisis limited the use of overdraft and other fees.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Wells Fargo is also dropping the VISA Extras program.
Wells Fargo?
They ought to change their name to El Fargoso.
IMHO, Congress wants us to change our method of paying for stuff. Why else would they pass regulations like this?
Fine. I’ll change. I’ll go to the ATM, withdraw a bunch of cash, go to the store and spend it. Everybody wins except the bank. The store wins because they won’t have to pay the debit card transaction fee. I win because I won’t have to pay the debit card monthly fee.
The bank will lose twice: First because my checking account balance won’t be as high (I’ll be carrying it in my pocket) and second because there won’t be a transaction fee from the store.
Screw Congress.
And if the bank decides to charge a flat monthly fee on my debit card? I’ll go to all cash and switch the debit card for an ATM-only card. And if the bank decides to charge a flat monthly fee on the ATM card? I’ll go back to writing checks. And if the bank decides to start charging for my checking account? There’s always the credit union. They appear to really want my business.
The bank will NOT win. I won’t let them.
Everyone should remember to thank Obama every time they swipe their card.
A little over a year ago, we were in the process of moving. I was in our new state for several months. We got a call about some suspicious activity on my ATM card. I called and concluded there was nothing suspicious, just me using the ATM 500 miles from home. I thought all was OK until, a few days later, down to my last dollar and 500 miles away, went to the ATM. Turns out the moron at BOA forgot totell me they cancelled my card due to the activity. They did reactivate it so I could get some cash but were unable to send me a new one to my new address, since I had not changed the account over. An hour on the phone and 90 minutes at the branch convinced me that BOA is totally incompetent. These boneheads actually wanted the password I used 28 years earlier when I opened the account.
On the flip side, I have a small account that I’ve had since I was an infant at a credit union. My grandfather was an early investor or something. My account number has a bunch of zero’s in front of a two digit number. I called to inquire about a car loan and they asked the account number. THe response was “Whoa, cool. How much do you need to borrow?” That’s what a bank should be. But, they are also 500 miles away.
Plus you earn membership rewards!
I won’t use a debit card for other reasons. They’ll give you an old fashioned ATM card if you ask for it, but they hide the fact and push the debit cards.
We are in the final phase of closing out all of our business with BofA.
They developed a habit of charging us for our formerly free checking account and for savings accounts too! We would go in and they would apologize and reverse the charges and then several months later they would do it again.
I grew weary of this and several other undesirable actions on their part, so I began 6-months ago to transfer all of our accounts and bill-pay info to the local credit union.
Now the process is nearly complete and BofA can pound sand.
Except that the credit union insurer appears to be reaching a FSLIC state. They've got CUs where they've had to put in conservators because they can't afford to shut them down or pay another CU to take them.
This fee was used by banks to offset losses from fraudulent charges caused by stolen cards and id theft. It was paid by the retail store. They lobbied for the change.
Will will see if prices "drop" at retailers. Yeah right!
Not blaming banks on this one.
That was my first thought. I also wonder what I'm missing when it comes to banks versus credit unions. I've always used a credit union for my personal checking and short term savings. I can't understand why anybody would use a bank. I figure there must be some benefit, but I sure don't see it.
“- go back to counter withdrawals”
There is no going back to this; the AMericans that had worked in branches have been laid off, and replaced by foreigners with little command of English. Many of these are not just Hispanic, but also from Eastern Europe and Asia. In a local branch we have a branch manager that barely speaks English (in a town where 90% of the people still do).
AP articles must be excerpted to less than one half of the total size and no more than 300 words.
Thus your post had to be removed.
Sorry - I’ll try to remember next time.
Thank you.
But if you can’t remember, than just don’t post from websites that need to be properly excerpted.
Cash, and money orders for stuff from out of state.
Obama, Backdoor Barney, and Elizabeth Warren.
Warren Buffet is already having an impact on BofA management, since his investment, BofA has announced layoffs of tens of thousands of employees, and increased fees on tens of thousands of customers!
“Eventually all banks will follow. Not a damn thing we can do about it.”
I’m not so sure about that. I think competition among banks is alive and well, at least in some parts of the country. In my smallish burg in Colorado, there must be at least a dozen different banks doing business here, and that’s not counting branches, which seem like there must be one on every block. The only really big boy here is Chase, and so far, they haven’t started to nickel and dime their customers to death, which may have something to do with the other eleven smaller banks in town just waiting to snap up any disgruntled customers.
If people would vote with their feet and desert BofA by the millions, BofA would drop the ripoff fees and no other banks would attempt it, having seen the meltdown at BofA. I suspect BofA is the leader here because they are stupid, desperate and arrogant, which is a truly deadly combination.
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