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Thursday, July 2, 2009
2:38 PM TweetThis
  • Now that Bank of America (BAC) will assess overdraft fees 10 times a day instead of five, Felix Salmon takes on the scandal of the charges, which are raking in $30B for the banks: The median amount triggering overdrafts is $36, meaning implicit "loan" interest in the thousands of percent, resulting in an unconscionable "tax on poverty."
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This news story has 14 comments:

  •  
    Where is the vileness that is usaully heaped on check cashing companies who charge as little as 350% or up to 500%.
    Jul 02 02:42 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Taxpayer dollars hard at work. Bail them out so they can survive to bleed us out.

    Man this just plain stinks!
    Jul 02 02:47 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Just FYI, I talked to my bank about this, and it turns out that (at least mine) has a program that allows you to link your savings account to your checking account. That way, if you do overdraw, it comes out of your savings, not some overdraft crap. Plus, they charge me at most $5 a day when this happens, not $35 per occurrence.
    Jul 02 02:48 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    That guillotine investment is looking better and better!
    Jul 02 02:59 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Not surprising at all....taxing the poor is what these guys do best! Not to mention they all need to boost their liquidity to deal with the defaults coming down the pike.
    Jul 02 03:04 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Hey you dumb schmucks! Don't you feel better about bailing out the banks interest free? LOL.
    Jul 02 03:07 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    ...... (mine) has a program that allows you to link your savings account to your checking account.

    The point here is that the people getting hammered the most on this is the people that just barely have enough money for a checking account let alone a savings account.

    They won't turn the overdraft feature off. That would be like and executive saying I don't want anymore bonuses.............

    I don't always agree with Felix; but, I whole heartedly agree on this one. Say what you want; but, this is what Government is for. To keep the big guys from grinding the small guy into the pavement with the heel of their boot. The big dollar boys bitch to high heaven with the mention of raising taxes. There isn't much difference here.
    Jul 02 06:34 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    I have overdrafted my bank account a few times (mostly when I first started using it) and I know from experience that most banks will work with you and cancel the fees if you talk to them (and you don't threaten them - "you get rid of these fees or I'm out of here" - they'd probably rather you did leave).

    Most banks also do allow you to tie in a savings account as overdraft protection. The main bank I use now (ING) will actually cover the amount (up to a certain amount) and charge you interest.

    When you open a bank account you know what the penalties are for writing a check for more than you have in there. If you don't agree with the terms, then don't open the account - it's as simple as that.

    I remember a lady telling me recently how she racked up $500 in overdraft fees from her bank. She was waiting for her tax refund to show up in her account. At her work there was an ATM machine and so she was checking her balance every 5 minutes! The ATM wasn't owned by her bank and so she was charged a $3 fee each time she accessed her account. She soon was overdrawn but kept checking, and before you know it she was overdrawn for almost $500. I felt sorry for her but really it was her own stupidity. The bank did end up getting rid of the overdraft fees.
    Jul 02 07:06 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Right, becasue it's so fair to charge $3 to check your acccount balance.
    Jul 02 09:50 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    How difficult is it to know how much is in your bank account?
    Jul 02 10:27 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    The bank doesn't charge $3. The owner of the ATM does. Everytime you use an ATM it clearly lets you know what fees you will be charged.


    On Jul 02 09:50 PM herbert hoover wrote:

    > Right, becasue it's so fair to charge $3 to check your acccount balance.
    Jul 03 03:12 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    What percentage of ATMs aren't owned by banks? For the purposes of this article its the banksters who are ripping everyone off as usual.


    On Jul 03 03:12 AM dealfinder500 wrote:

    > The bank doesn't charge $3. The owner of the ATM does. Everytime
    > you use an ATM it clearly lets you know what fees you will be charged.
    >
    Jul 03 10:21 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    How about the 1% international fee VISA charges when you withdraw from your savings or checking account? Perfectly fair my sticky rice!
    Jul 03 10:23 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Don't despair. Thailand has the highest ATM fees on the planet. 150 baht (4.41) per transaction. If you have a 500USD per day limit that means you'll pay just under $10 to get YOUR money out of your account when factoring in the 1% int'l VISA fee. Seems the Thai banks have taken a page form their US bankster cousins.
    Jul 03 10:27 AM | Link | Reply
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