FARK.com: (6931630) Banks are charging you a fee not to have an account with them

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		Banks are charging you a fee not to have an account with them (boston.com)		22
		More: PSA, Pew Charitable Trusts, consumer finance, checking accounts, savings accounts, PNC Bank, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, bank charge, profit center

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6615 clicks; posted to Business » on 09 Feb 2012 at 11:54 AM | Favorite | share:

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FutureWars		2012-02-09 03:15:08 PM

2 votes:

Some fees are worse. My bank tried to charge me a fee for withdrawing money from my own account when I was inside my actual bank. They called it a counter-check fee. I called it bullshiat and closed my account on the spot.

/CSB

jaylectricity		2012-02-09 09:30:07 AM

2 votes:

I've always complained when Citizens banks wants to charge me $7 to get my customer's money from them. They wrote me a check, I should be able to get my money from the bank it's drawn on. This is a convenience the bank is providing to THEIR CUSTOMER, not me. It's actually an inconvenience for me. I'd rather have my money right away, not have to wait for checks to clear three separate banking systems. To get charged a fee on top of that is an insult.

Mike Chewbacca		2012-02-09 07:05:43 PM

1 votes:

jst3p: Why Would I Read the Article: rudemix: There has to be some cost incurred from printing free checks, cards, mailing it, the time you spent with the accounts person to set it up, etc.

But the bank usually charges you for all of that, too. I just paid $22 dollars for about 100 checks, so I'm guessing their profit was roughly $21.90 on that transaction.

I don't know why anyone uses a checkbook anymore...

Because I have to pay my rent with a check or a money order, and a check doesn't cost $12. I can use a credit card online, but there's a $30 "convenience" charge. I'm still not sure how that's even legal.

jst3p		2012-02-09 06:48:54 PM

1 votes:

Skyd1v: jst3p:
I don't know why anyone uses a checkbook anymore...

I see a couple of others have offered reasons. Mine is: Both the local power company and the gas company started charging "Convenience Fees" for using a card either in person or over the phone. Same thing for doing a electronic transfer. The only ways to pay without getting hammered with additional charges are in person with cash or mail them a check.

/f-ing farktards increase their rates every chance they get. They are not getting another $5.
//some "convenience"

Yeah I guess there are still some uses for them. My bank online bill pay will mail a paper check to anyone so that is what I use in most of those cases but I guess that isn't universal yet.

Skyd1v		2012-02-09 05:45:52 PM

1 votes:

jst3p:
I don't know why anyone uses a checkbook anymore...

I see a couple of others have offered reasons. Mine is: Both the local power company and the gas company started charging "Convenience Fees" for using a card either in person or over the phone. Same thing for doing a electronic transfer. The only ways to pay without getting hammered with additional charges are in person with cash or mail them a check.

/f-ing farktards increase their rates every chance they get. They are not getting another $5.
//some "convenience"

Fish in a Barrel		2012-02-09 05:07:06 PM

1 votes:

Russ1642: Try cancelling a credit card. They'll treat you like you've threatened suicide and send in a negotiator to talk you out of it.

Or DirecTV. It's like negotiating with a trinket vendor in Mexico, except you can't physically walk away.

Russ1642		2012-02-09 04:57:22 PM

1 votes:

Try cancelling a credit card. They'll treat you like you've threatened suicide and send in a negotiator to talk you out of it.

Tjos Weel		2012-02-09 03:51:54 PM

1 votes:

jst3p

I don't know why anyone uses a checkbook anymore...

Because my dentist doesnt take credit cards.

My new HSA has both a checkbook and the debit card, so I really dont need to write checks off my checking account any more.

smimmy		2012-02-09 03:40:28 PM

1 votes:

Tommy Moo: Step 1) Withdraw all but $1 of your account
Step 2) Leave it there to rot, or let them ask for the other $14 as you close it.

The banks I've used in the past have a minimum balance requirement north of $1K and will charge you a fee if your balance isn't above that amount.

/just sent the letter to BofA asking to close my account today
//sweet, sweet freedom

WrestlerManager		2012-02-09 03:36:21 PM

1 votes:

This fee is to deter people who would open an account in order to receive a premium (they used to give you a toaster, now it's usually cash, in the range of fifty to a couple of hundred bucks) then close the account once they get the payoff. It's existed as long as banks have given premiums. No story.

Retro42		2012-02-09 01:37:17 PM

1 votes:

Nightjars: Yet another thread that we're supposed to mention credit unions, right?

Sure, why not.

CSB:

Opened a few checking accounts at a CU near my hometown. They only really exist as a safety net and to have the ability to easily lend/borrow money to my family back there. Got a call last week from them. Turns out I was 2 days away from an inactivity charge. She offered to shift money between the accounts to bypass any inactivity charges AND offered to help me close them free of charge if that would work better.

So yeah, fark the big banks. CU's treating much nicer.

Prancetron 2.0		2012-02-09 01:35:55 PM

1 votes:

FTFA: "Many banks across the country, including several in Massachusetts, are charging customers if they close a checking or savings account within several months of opening it."

I am certainly not pro-bank, but if you close an account "within several months" either you 1) took advantage of some free money/check/short-term rate deal for opening an account or 2) didn't do your homework on what type of account/bank you were doing business with. Maybe your tard ass should pay.

nekom		2012-02-09 01:27:58 PM

1 votes:

vpb: No, you be harassed by a collection agency.

One certified letter and they'll never call again. Or they will and I'll sue them. I will NEVER pay a cent that I don't owe. A bank tried some horse shiat on me once, never paid them, never will. Not on my credit report, not in Chexsystems. Gotta stand up to BS when you see it.

Daddy's Big Pink Man-Squirrel		2012-02-09 01:07:14 PM

1 votes:

rudemix: FTA:are charging customers if they close a checking or savings account within several months of opening it.

There is a part of me that agrees with this, if it's up front explained and that monthly is 3 months or less.

I would agree, except that you should be able to avoid the fee if you close the account because you discovered something nasty about them after you signed up.

Like, "What? You're a bank? Eeeew~"

StrangeQ		2012-02-09 01:03:16 PM

1 votes:

Khellendros: nekom: If I want to close my bank account, I withdraw every cent and then tell them CLOSE it. I'll be damned if I'd pay them a fee after I decided to close an account.

You withdraw down to $0. When you tell them to close it, your account is hit with the "closing fee", your balance goes negative, and remains open while they harass you for the $25 fee to actually close it. And if they're really a bunch of bastards, they'll hit you with an insufficient funds charge for not being able to handle the closing fee when it hit your account.

Oh, and don't forget they'll also send you all sorts of threatening letters about how closing your account in that manner would severely damage your credit history and preclude you form opening an account with any other bank in the future.

LouDobbsAwaaaay		2012-02-09 12:59:18 PM

1 votes:

rudemix: If these are fees added to gouge long term customers leaving because they've finally discovered their bank is a POS, then fark them in their shill holes!

According to the article, you could be forced to wait for anywhere from 6 months to a year before closing in order to avoid the charge. It doesn't take even three months to discover these banks are pieces of shiat.

Khellendros		2012-02-09 12:45:48 PM

1 votes:

nekom: If I want to close my bank account, I withdraw every cent and then tell them CLOSE it. I'll be damned if I'd pay them a fee after I decided to close an account.

You withdraw down to $0. When you tell them to close it, your account is hit with the "closing fee", your balance goes negative, and remains open while they harass you for the $25 fee to actually close it. And if they're really a bunch of bastards, they'll hit you with an insufficient funds charge for not being able to handle the closing fee when it hit your account.

Fish in a Barrel		2012-02-09 12:29:32 PM

1 votes:

Lawnchair: How does that work?

I had one account (an HSA) with a listed 'account closing fee'. I never formally closed it. I just wrote a rollover check for the exact amount. Which went through. Zero balance. Then you get a 'final statement' statement. And that's it. Trust that innate laziness overrides greed. It's a royal pain to cancel your check and demand that you write a check for $15 less than what you have.

The closing fee probably didn't apply. If you read TFA, this is about fees for short-lived accounts. If the account had been open for more than six months it's unlikely the fee was relevant.

vpb		2012-02-09 11:55:22 AM

1 votes:

nekom: If I want to close my bank account, I withdraw every cent and then tell them CLOSE it. I'll be damned if I'd pay them a fee after I decided to close an account.

No, you be harassed by a collection agency.

nekom		2012-02-09 10:27:57 AM

1 votes:

If I want to close my bank account, I withdraw every cent and then tell them CLOSE it. I'll be damned if I'd pay them a fee after I decided to close an account.

hubiestubert		2012-02-09 10:19:53 AM

1 votes:

kingoomieiii: Also, I'm actually shocked, shocked that BofA doesn't have a fee like this.

Finally got around to closing my account earlier this week, after noticing two inactivity charges.

I have been fleeing the BofA debacle in Mass, while they were busy merging how many crappy banks together? I quit Fleet exactly because of their fee structure--and their tendency to let checks lie in wait to heap on fees. Seriously, four days once to process a cash deposit. On a weekday. With a cashier. That was it for me.

I don't begrudge folks making a living. Loan me some cash, I don't mind you getting your points to make it worth your while--but let's make the vig something we can handle. Consequentally, I loan YOU some money--and really, that is what is happening in banks, is that all our cash is getting tossed up in the air and traded around a bit--you give ME my points. Not, I have cash, so you siphon it off with fees for services that you just made up to give you a reason to nickle and dime me again.

Went with TD when I hit the Right Coast from Phoenix, and I can't say that I miss CHASE at all. The Canuckistanis do right by me so far...

hubiestubert		2012-02-09 09:09:23 AM

1 votes:

As the article states: this is not a new practice. It's just coming under scrutiny.

Sort of like colleges that conveniently "forget" to discontinue an automatic payment. It's not new, it generates revenue like it's supposed to, but is less than popular with the folks that they hit with them.

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