Bank of America to charge $5 monthly debit card fee
 

From the article:

link

This makes me glad I got out of the banking industry. These bastards are getting greedier by the day.

Hellooo credit union! I just need to find one with a location that is convenient to me because I occasionally need to hit the ATM for deposits or account transfers.

Regions is starting a $4 charge for the same thing. Sucks because the chapter accounts are there and they haven't budgeted for that.

That bank is so random. They have ATMs in several of the malls here, but as far as I can tell, no actual physical branch. I could understand at the airport but some of the places they have them make no sense. With ATMs for the local banks everywhere, I don't see how they make money.

Got out of the banks YEARS ago. I was with my CU from 91' until they merged with another CU. I left the "new" CU because they weren't even based in San Francisco.They were in bankrupt-ass Vallejo of all places plus the associates were not friendly. THere were some other issues I had with them so I said See ya! I moved my $$ to another CU in the city with a good number of ATMS and locations. They have decent rates and good investment plans and they are right around the corner from school.

BofA is going down. Their stock closed yesterday at $6.40.

Dear PNC,

Let Bank of America act a fool if they want to, but don't you get froggy. If you do, you will be a&& out with me.

If you think I'm playing, go ask your friends over at Capital One who still send me "please come back" letters every other month asking me to come back after some new "here's a slick way for me to gouge you some more" ignorant policy they instituted.

not.

Capital One never learns. I left them about 6 years ago when they started to mess with me. I have since moved and I still get the "please come back. We are so wonderful that we will give you the best interest rate." Yeah, mess with me once, shame on you-- mess with me again, shame on me. So far they have had absolutely no change to screw me again.

DaffyKD

Looks like I'll be switching banks even though Bank of America is super convenient for me. Any national suggestions? Citizens Bank?

I left Fifth Third a little over a year ago and went to PNC. I have been so so SO happy with PNC. I will shit a brick and go to a CU in a heartbeat if they do something like this though.

I feel you. My bank charges me $2.00 every time I use my debit card. If I run it as a credit they don't charge me. I don't know the difference as of why they charge if it's a debit, and not credit.

Credit unions have agreements with other cu to allow use of their ATMs. As long as the ATM displays the COOP symbol you can use it with out a fee.

$2 per transaction? Wow. That's ridiculous.

I used to know the difference between using debit vs credit, but I can't remember. It's been several years since I've worked for a bank. I know that MERCHANTS have different fees for using one vs the other, but I wasn't aware that the BANKS did.

Interesting.

I think that because merchants pay more to accept credit cards than they do for debit cards, your bank is making up the difference in their fee income if you choose to use your debit card.

This move by BofA is completely boneheaded. I had heard about Regions making this move, but hoped that BofA wouldn't follow suit. I'm shopping for a new bank. I have an account at INGDirect that I've been happy with, but I've never been able to completely let go of being able to visit a brick and mortar branch.

From what I've been hearing about this.. as goes BofA, so does all the other national banks. An industry expert was saying that all banks will probably be doing this within the next year or so, they are just waiting to see it plays out with BofA.

I am a travel agent and back in my "corporate travel" days I booked travel for BofA. Based on my experience working with them, I would NEVER bank with them. They are almost surreal money wasters. Douchy, rude, money wasters.
There are some great local/regional banks out there and credit unions who still have at least a smidge of a soul.

And I know people who are really happy with Discover Bank and other online-only banks. There is just no need to bank with an organization you think is despicable.

I've been with a CU since I was 17. I don't know why anyone would bank with a "bank." I always hear people talk about ATMs that are accessible - I can't remember the last time I used an ATM (I always pull cash at the grocery store if I need it), and CUs let their members use other CU ATMs without a fee. My CU doesn't charge me for anything, they have the best rates around, and they have terrific (and local!) phone customer service (plus branches).

I also HATE the condescending ad campaigns by Chase and BofA that run in this area. "Now you have a good bank in the area" and "Check out our fancy ATMs!" ads that just make them sound ridiculous, arrogant and ignorant.

I am thrilled with PNC also. So far, they have said they have no intention in implementing this type of fee. Let's hope they keep it that way. I will run it as a credit or use cash only, or go back to writing checks or switch to a CU otherwise.

I have been with a credit union since 1981 and would never switch back to a bank. I did change credit unions about a year ago when the one I'd been with for 25 years closed the branches in town and left us with only shared banking locations. I love the CU we're with now. Better service and more branches.

Ditto on the CU. Make sure it's federally chartered, though, vice state-chartered.

Also, if you have a family member who's been military, see if you qualify for USAA banking. Deposit-at-home, FANTASTIC service, and about every amenity you could want.

USAA is just all-around awesome!

Starting October 1, the government will regulate how much banks can charge merchants for debit card transactions. This is the so-called Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory act passed by the last Congress in 2010. I think the debit card fee is a reaction from the banks to the lost revenue due to the new law--a law sold, by the way, as "consumer protection." I think you can view this as an unintended yet inevitable consequence of the government intervening in the market. Fees that previously were paid by the merchants have been shifted to the consumer, which seems to be a rather perverted kind of protection.

I noticed it, but not so much until they showed up consecutively. So I asked my bank about them, and that's when they told me. Yeah, it is ridiculous.

This is just kind of random in regards to the banks, but has anyone ever heard of those catalog shopping scams through the bank? They send you a $10-$20 check in the mail telling you that it can be cashed at your bank. Once you cash it, it automatically enrolls you in some 3 month free trial shopping membership program. Once the free 3 months are over, it charges your credit card/debit card/bank account $49.95. It happened to me. I canceled it when I saw the charge on my bank statement. If you call before the month is over, they'll refund the money back on your account. Then they go through the "save a customer" line. I'm glad I caught it, because I know some folks who didn't catch it until the first month already processed. By the time they canceled it, they were already charged $49.95. It pays to read the fine print on everything with these banks.

I've never heard of that. The only catalog I've seen even at any of my bank's branches are for checks. Thankfully I have a great local bank that I've used since 1998 that has never given me a single problem or tried to get me to have certain accounts I dont need. They have ATM's & branches all over the city and a few of the smaller cities outside of Lexington here too. I have free checking with no minimum balance. I think I pay something small like $5-10 per year for unlimited debit card use. They dont send me junk in the mail asking me to take out a new credit card every other day either--like Chase, Capital One, & Bank of America.

The non-regulation led to the insane interest rates, crazy over the limit charges (sometimes 3-5 times the amount you went over), the shady practices banks used in processing transactions to their advantage, etc. Banks are constantly looking for ways to get money from the little guy without the little guy realizing what's going on. If they'd stop trying to rip people off, the regulations wouldn't be necessary.

Not to mention the insane mortgage lending to unqualified people that got us into the current crisis. :mad:

It never ceases to amaze me how many people fail to read initial documentation for financial transactions, and how many simply discard the additional information that comes from the banks. If people paid attention, and voted with their pocketbooks, you'd find a lot less of the need (well, some call it "need") for these regulations.

A large number of CU's participate in "shared branching", wherein you can use the ATMs or physical locations of other CU's for basic stuff (deposits and withdrawals, mostly).

I have an account with BofA, but I also have one with Suntrust. I was thinking that it would be no biggie - I put everything on my credit cards and pay them off at the end of the month anyway, since I have a UPromise for personal use and a BankAmerica Cash Rewards for business use, so I get cashback rewards anyway. I figured if I ever HAD to use debit, I would have my SunTrust debit card. I GOT A LETTER FROM SUNTRUST YESTERDAY THAT THEY'RE DOING THE SAME THING!

Oh, well. Back to the dark ages of check writing (in situations where credit cards aren't accepted but debit are), I guess.

I'm with Wells Fargo and haven't had to deal with any of this. I have a different type of account though b/c my hubby & I keep our balances above a certain amount so we get the free checking & savings account and use of our debit cards. Of course, I realize not everyone is in the same position as us to keep certain balances in their accounts for this to be helpful but if WF started charging us regardless of balances, I'd leave them and go to my local CU as well.

Once again, a government program gone wrong. I recall it being the Bush Administration that fought to ease lending requirements to individuals..including individuals who had no means to pay a mortgage. As for the high interest rates the sub primer's got, I really can't blame the banks for that. High risk loan= high interest rate. It's always been that way.

http://www.co-opfs.org/public/locato...ator/index.cfm


GOOD POINT!

I'm sorry, but you're crazy/stupid if you stay with a bank that charges you ANY transaction fee for using your debit card...at least in the U.S. My CU doesn't even charge me a transaction fee that high when I'm overseas!!!

I will definitely be closing my BofA account. The fact that they have screwed me over with unauthorized charges (that put my account 500+ in the hole), then they screwed me over with my mortgage (the refused to refinance, even after Obama gave them a HUGE payout. Then they denied my 3 short sale offers, I was finally foreclosed on in May after over 2 years).

I'm switching to USAA.

Good idea - I was just commenting yesterday to someone about how I NEVER write checks anymore and low and behold, I may start doing it again.

I have a small account with BofA (my real money is in a credit union), but I will be closing it as of Monday once I get my direct deposit changed. A fee to use my money is ridiculous. I'll go back to just using cash for purchases, which is probably going to be better for my wallet anyway (you spend less when paying cash).

I don't know if this has been posted yet or not, but we spoke to them at the bank, and not all accounts will have to deal with this. We have the "Advantage" account, and should have a monthly fee. But because our mortgage is there as well, the fee is waived. We will not be getting the $5 fee.

^^^^
Thanks for the info. We have the Advantage and mortgage too.

I don't think this is necessarily true for all CUs. I bank with a CU and I had thought that if that sign was on the ATM it meant I could do free withdrawls there. Not true. I had to look up on my bank's website to see which ones were actually free. A little annoying, but now I know where the free ones are it's not an issue.

I don't understand what the big deal is. In Canada, we have to pay a monthly fee for pretty much any bank you join. Most banks do give free accounts to students, but after that we have to start paying anywhere from $3-$25 a month. I'm from the States originally so while I would be peeved if my bank started charging me for my debit account, it's better then having to pay more for a different BS reason. I'd much rather be dinged $5 a month and have a low fees then have have a free account with high fees when I do have an "oops" moment.

They still have high fees when you have an "oops" moment. There are just more regulations about them.

I have a checking and savings account with USAA and I will be closing my B of A account soon. I love USAA, but I do like to go into a bank on occasion.