I was going to write a really funny post today. Really I was. But somehow, I’m no longer in the mood to be light-hearted and care-free. Seems the realities of life keep getting in the way.
As I opened my internet browser, a news item caught my eye on the home page. Turns out MY bank is going to now start charging me fees for using my debit card. Apparently, financial institutions are suffering fallout from financial reform and need to pick up some extra money from us to make their numbers.
Well, that’s officially it…this person has had enough.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t expect something for nothing. I’m willing to pay for extra services if I have to, although I don’t think I’m really given a choice here other than changing to another bank who will follow the same path eventually.
But I’m confused. What does my bank want me to do? They’ve already begun assessing fees if I go INSIDE the bank, because apparently that’s considered top-notch, individualized service that I must pay a premium for. So, I did what I was supposed to and quit going inside the bank. I also quit using the drive-thru service. They used to charge only when I used other banks’ ATM’s. So I stopped doing that too. I pay bills on-line. Hell, I even went paperless to help them out. We won’t tell them that I really just didn’t want to receive a 42-page bank statement every month showing my $1-2 debit purchases for cokes and crackers. No, I was being green!
But now they don’t seem to want me to use my debit card either. Checks cost money. Credit cards gouge you with high interest rates and fees up the a$$. How else am I supposed to consume as a good consumer should without getting into a position where the bank charges cause me to go into overdraft mode?
What’s left, Generic Bank of USA? What ELSE are you going to charge me for? Let me just help you out here by offering some suggestions, because it makes me feel slightly better to be pro-active and have some control in this matter.
- You can assess monthly fees for the junk promotional mail you send everyday that promises how much I can save if I transfer all my balances to your account once I agree to a 4% transfer charge and a permanent 28.99% interest after six months. What a deal! Just charge that postage to my account. Paper’s expensive too, so don’t forget that. And by the way, I love that you use all that color in your junk mail…add a few more colors and pass those costs on to me as well. Because we don’t really care about going green, right?
- On-line banking is high-dollar stuff. You’ve got an entire IT staff to pay for here and I know that business all too well. You can go hog wild when I forget my password or try to sign on from another computer. That’s pushing it from a customer service perspective. Some contractor reaping the rewards for being on call during my crisis deserves a top-dollar rate.
- Mobile banking must be killing you too. The mere fact that having such information at my fingertips may actually save me a late charge here and there on a really crazy month. You’ve got to make up for that somehow. You can probably cut a deal with my wireless service to get a piece of that action.
- Phone calls scream revenue. I’m sure that switchboard and those 5 re-directs it takes to get an actual person on a phone is costly. Charge me $10 to make a $20 payment by phone (wait, you may already do that). And if I get really lucky and get to talk to someone who resides in my country and speaks my language, you should profit from my good fortune. And charging me by the minute for a 20-minute phone call that could have been resolved in 5 is a no-brainer.
- You can add a 50 cent transaction fee for each lollipop you distribute to kids in the car in the drive-thru lane. It doesn’t matter whether they want them or not. Force it on them. The sooner they learn the laws of banking, the better.
- I turned around in one of your branch parking lots the other day to switch directions. You could have had me for a couple of bucks if you’d had a paid parking attendant out there. Again, your loss.
- Charge me for withdrawals, for check cashing, for direct deposits. Don’t stop there…charge me just for driving PAST your freaking branch. I’m sure I’m blocking your branch manager’s view when I do so and I should be penalized.
OK, I’m done. I’ve maybe even gone too far. And if for some crazy reason, this stupid blog about nothing goes viral, maybe this will backfire when the CEO catches wind. It’s time to move on and accept the fact that I’m blogging a losing battle here. Maybe tomorrow I’ll remember that funny post I was going to do.
But for now, I’m changing my default home page so that I don’t have to look at bad news first that kills my mood.
My boyfriend was a BofA customer until that announcement came out and then I convinced him to switch to my bank. Having a military background gave me access to USAA. To date, I have never had a negative experience with them.
Maybe the banking “business” is forcing us to go back to hiding our cash in our mattresses or burying it in mason jars in the back yard.
I agree. Let’s see what happens when we go “all cash”. May have to since the BANK OF AMERICA WEBSITE HAS BEEN DOWN FOR DAYS!
Thanks for the comment and giving me another opportunity to get that in!
BRAVO!!! Let it out….glad I live in a small town where my local bankers know me and no idiotic charges as mentioned above….not yet that is.
Local is sounding really good right now.
sorry
Me too.
I had been taking out $20 whenever I had enough to go make purchases at the grocery store since it makes me think about my spending money and not go overboard into my bill money. Perhaps that was a good thing to start since they say the fee won’t apply to ATM usage (yet).
Good idea to keep expenditures in check. So easy to overspend when you’re just pulling out a card.
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use your credit card and pay it off 100% at the end of each month. Make sure you earn points or cash back! If you ONLY use your credit card like it is a debit card you should have the money to pay the bill once a month. Avoid those fees!
I think this is exactly what I’m going to do! I need to find a good rewards card. Paying one bill a month sounds great!
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If you have access to a credit union, you can kiss those fees goodbye. I switched years ago, and never looked back. Once I compared my statements, I realized just how much money I was saving just on fees. You may want to consider that possibility, if it is available to you.
I’ve been lucky to not have fees up until now. I guess it could be worse.
BOA has to find someway of paying that $20 million settlement to it’s customers that it stole in overdrafts years ago. I’m a part of the settlement because I had an account with them from 2001-2007. I just opened an account so I don’t have to pay any fees when I cash my check, then withdrawal the money every week. I hate banks. and all their bullshit!
Interesting…I had not heard about the settlement. Good luck!
Bank of America is the worst bank out there….
I think you may be right.
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Ugh, I always thought that people who took their paychecks to Western Union to cash them and carry it around in their wallets were nuts. Why would you want to GO to pay your utility bills in person with cash, when you can just send a check or do it online?
But after reading your post, it ALL makes sense.
Yep, and they don’t have to worry about identity theft either.
The economy has gotten so bad that banks charge you to hold your money and even more if you don’t have any money; it’s no longer affordable to even be broke. Guess its back to keeping money in a shoebox under the mattress…
I agree. They’re making money off our money. Isn’t that enough?
ugh, i saw that gem this morning. i got tired of it, and now i’m with a much smaller bank. they don’t seem to care about fees. i overdrafted and still… no fee. it’s nice. i’m not used to financial institutions being nice!
You’re right. It may be time for a change. It’s a hassle, but could be worth it. I’m sure some little bank would love to make interest off my large bank balance
OMG… LOVE it! And, it must be BofA, cause I woke to the same news today, and was creatively trying to figure out how I will reformulate my habits. I just bragged to my Mom recently that I never carry cash anymore- I use my debit for everything…it’s safer! Yep, much safer…..just bend over-here it comes!
Yeah, I had a little rant there. What do we not have in common? Crazy, right?
Yeah, I’m pissed about it too. My mom doesn’t seem to care though…
Just so tired of being $5 dollared to death. Something’s gotta give here.