From totally free checking to totally fleece checking

[bssc]

Wells is doing the same for us. We're charged a $15/month fee (started last November) but there is an immediate reversal.

Curious how Wells is doing the accouting though. I presume they're claiming the revenue for all of the $15/month fees and then doing a write down for 'customer goodwill' from the reversals. Makes their revenue #s look higher yet they're not really pocketing all that much more than before since many who aren't having their fees reversed are leaving.

For us, they changed the name of the account but the fees never showed up to be reversed. Since I always balance my checkbook, I know this to be true.

 

[Lsbcal]

I love my credit union. No fees at all. I've been with them about 25 years and could never figure out why anyone would want to deal with BofA, JPM and the like.

Our credit union is great too and offers reward checking with 1% (was 2%) rate on 10k of assets, then 0.3% (I think) after that. Never thought that would be a good deal .

We maintain a Chase (was WAMU) account because:
1) Need safety deposit box
2) Occasional need for broad banking services, like cashing in an EE bond
3) It is nearer our house

 

[mountaintosea]

My credit union which I've had for over 30 years wanted to charge me $5/mo if I wanted a paper copy. I showed up and told them I wanted them to credit my account the $5 and to waive the fee and I still wanted to receive a statement every month. They did because they said of the number of years I've been with them. But I suspect it's because of the $$$ I have in their cu. Which is way too much by the way.

 

[Khan]

Our credit union is great too and offers reward checking with 1% (was 2%) rate on 10k of assets, then 0.3% (I think) after that. Never thought that would be a good deal .

We maintain a Chase (was WAMU) account because:
1) Need safety deposit box
2) Occasional need for broad banking services, like cashing in an EE bond
3) It is nearer our house

In my case CU has
1) Safety deposit box less than 5 miles away
2) Cashes all bonds I have
3) Nearest ATM/full service location is less than 1 mile.

 

[JP.mpls]

easysurfer,
Our bank (TCF) recently started a similar checking account fee policy. $10/month, unless we use a debit card a certain number of times per month, or keep a very large account balance.

We use a rewarks Visa, and pay the balance each month, so we have no plans to use their debit card or keep an extremely high balance.

We made plans to close our account and move to a local credit union, but TCF has yet to actually charge us the $10. Maybe they backed off on their plans, because too many people were closing their accounts.

Because of the work involved changing checking accounts, we will sit tight for now.



Take care,


JP

 

[easysurfer]

easysurfer,
Our bank (TCF) recently started a similar checking account fee policy. $10/month, unless we use a debit card a certain number of times per month, or keep a very large account balance.

We use a rewarks Visa, and pay the balance each month, so we have no plans to use their debit card or keep an extremely high balance.

We made plans to close our account and move to a local credit union, but TCF has yet to actually charge us the $10. Maybe they backed off on their plans, because too many people were closing their accounts.

Because of the work involved changing checking accounts, we will sit tight for now.



Take care,


JP

JP,

My first reaction was to say the heck with this and close out my account and go with a local credit union. But my bank is convenient (a branch in the grocery store very nearby, plus a free coin counter and their online statements are organized -- unlike other banks I've had in the past). With a little tweaking of my current spending, I should be able to set up enough auto transactions to meet their minimum transcations amount each month.

Easysurfer

 

[JOHNNIE36]

I have been with Band of America since 1990 when I first came to Florida. It was Barnett Bank back then and it became Nations Bank before BOA. No fees on our checking account with direct deposit. No problem. I love their on line bill pay system. It's a heck of a service that costs me nothing. I still don't see how they can provide that as a free service. I know most bill pays are wire transfers but there are a lot of checks they have to print and mail also. No fees either on their debit card. I can transfer funds between Ally and Credit Union and BOA with no fee. I'll stay where I'm at until the fees start up and then I'll probably still hang on for the bill pay.

 

[easysurfer]

I got a letter in the mail today. Looks like my bank did an about face and starting July is changing from what they called convience checking to free checking. In other words, no more pesky monthly maintenance, mininum balance, minimum transaction fees.

I'm thinking, probably too many customers balked and either decided to walk, threatened to walk or nickel and dimed (me in the last category) back by making smaller transactions just to meet the free limit.

I'm sure nothing is really FREE so I bet they probably increased overdraft fees or something. But I avoid overdrafts..so I'm okay.

 

[Dawg52]

I got a letter in the mail today. Looks like my bank did an about face and starting July is changing from what they called convience checking to free checking. In other words, no more pesky monthly maintenance, mininum balance, minimum transaction fees.

I'm thinking, probably too many customers balked and either decided to walk, threatened to walk or nickel and dimed (me in the last category) back by making smaller transactions just to meet the free limit.

I'm sure nothing is really FREE so I bet they probably increased overdraft fees or something. But I avoid overdrafts..so I'm okay.

Good. The only new charge my bank hit me with was a $1 paper statement fee. I just never got around to changing to an electronic one so that got me off my lazy a$$(briefly) and I made the change. Good to go with no monthly charge.

 

[scrabbler1]

The only time I paid any monthly fees to my bank was back in 1989 just after I bought my apartment. I had forgotten that Citibank had been raising their minimum balances to avoid fees because my balance was well above it. After I paid the second half of the down payment and all the closing costs, I fell below it and got hit with the fees which included per-check fees and the monthly fee. I quickly switched banks to NatWest (which later became Fleet which later became BofA) not only because of the fees but because it had a branch down the street from my new place as well as one near my office.

I nearly left Fleet after they took over NatWest because Fleet's account rules were lousier than NatWest's. I had to give up my MM savings account and its few dollars of interest in order to consolidate its linked checking account and avoid the new monthly fees, in effect a "fee" in lost interest. But all the other area banks had similarly bad account rules so I stayed with Fleet.

When BofA took over from Fleet a few years ago, I was able to get interest checking with around the same minimum account balance but with interest rates so low I earned less than 10 cents per month, making it more of a nuisance in my record keeping. But after BofA gradually raised its minimum balance, I was able to switch to a different type of account with a lower minimum balance and in return forgo the "interest" I was earning. I had direct deposits from my investments which satisfied their rules, too.

But in 2010, BofA stopped including images of my few canceled checks in the monthly statements. This followed them stopping sending me the canceled checks themselves (from some new banking law) a few years earlier. I had not been using their online banking at the time so I added that which enables me to view and print the canceled check images. But BofA tried to charge me for the canceled check images the first month the rule went into effect, so my local branch manager (who helped set up the online banking and told me the default option would be to NOT include the images in the statements and avoid the fee) reversed the fee as soon as I told her what happened. So I continue my 23-year streak of no fees.

 

[ohyes]

Our bank just went from free checking (55 yo+) to $6.00/month and now they charge $3.50 S & H for checks. We go through a box of checks every two years, but still...

The new account allows 4 credit reports per year with credit score for each adult in household. That is the only perk i care about, but not to the tune of $72/year.

There is a credit union that i think we can join. Only some groups can, but it appears that if you have a relative that is a state employee, you can get in. Our DD is a state employee. We need to get off our lazy retired rears and trek on over to ask questions.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

I left BOA 7 years ago for a credit union and have not looked back. I love it the only question is why I did not do it sooner. Here is a link to find a local one by you http://www.creditunion.coop/

 

[Badger]

The last time I had a bank account was in the 1980's when my (then) bank started charging 50 or 75 cents for customers to use a walk-up teller person in the lobby.
I have been a loyal credit union customer for the last 30 years.

+1 Similar experience and time frame. I'm also greeted by name and with a smile.

Cheers!

 

[East Texas]

I've always had free checking and free checks with USAA FSB.

 

[rescueme]

I've always had free checking and free checks with USAA FSB.

I've always had free checking and a safe deposit box (to keep my gold and weapons in ), since I'm an old phart with just a bit of cash in an account that they charge others to lend.

Most banks/CU's do have programs, depending on age. You just need to search them out...

 

[mickeyd]

The last thing that any of us need to do is to fall in love with a bank. I have been banking @ USAA for about 25 years with wonderful service, ATM rebates and no complaints, but if they were to begin the fee game, I would split in a heart beat.

 

[Nords]

I have been banking @ USAA for about 25 years with wonderful service, ATM rebates and no complaints, but if they were to begin the fee game, I would split in a heart beat.

There's been a lot of agonizing over that. Every time a member wants a good service (like business checking for military spouses), USAA has to calculate the compliance & auditing costs. And then they say "No, can't do it."

They've already cut some of their rewards programs. I think they'd continue cutting rewards programs before they'd start implementing fees.

Meanwhile MMM was getting $100 referral fees for people trying out cards on his site that were offering $400 rewards or zero-fee balance transfers or other gimmicks. I'd have to conclude that the majority of the card company revenue is coming from interest charges & late fees. Not exactly the demographic of USAA's customers.

I'm lookin' forward to gettin' me one o' them there USAA 40-year stickers... in 2021. I hope they hold up their end of the deal.

 

[East Texas]

I'm lookin' forward to gettin' me one o' them there USAA 40-year stickers... in 2021. I hope they hold up their end of the deal.

I look forward to getting the extra bonus when I reach that magic moment in a few years.

 

[Nords]

I look forward to getting the extra bonus when I reach that magic moment in a few years.

You mean the part where they give our own money back to us as a sort of special longevity privilege? After holding on to it for 40 years "just in case they need it"?

It reminds me of the military, where all of your God-given rights are taken away from you and handed back one at a time as "privileges"...

 

[mickeyd]

I look forward to getting the extra bonus when I reach that magic moment in a few years.

It's indeed a sweet ride when USAA gives you back money that you gave them 40+ years ago and you can give it back to them to pay off several months of auto/ho insurance premium every year.

 

[deserat]

It's indeed a sweet ride when USAA gives you back money that you gave them 40+ years ago and you can give it back to them to pay off several months of auto/ho insurance premium every year.

I didn't know about the 40 year provision - hmmm, not too many to go now.....

On topic - love credit unions -have banked with many of them through the years - also like USAA FSB - don't like PenFed -see previous rants/links. Will not pay anyone to hold my money or allow me access to it and will move my money to show dis-satisfaction with that type of behavior.

 

[clifp]

Several years ago, the bank where the family bidness had banked for 50 years (with several bank name changes in between) suddenly decided they would charge $3 to open the bank bags that we deposited after hours. I went over and talked to them but they wouldn't budge. The bidness kept an average of $25K in non-interest checking with this bank. I closed the acct. and moved it to a bank without the fee. 6 months later, the old bank called to ask why we had closed the account "after all these years". It was a very enjoyable conversation since there was nothing the old bank could do about losing a small fortune in "free" money because of their $3 fee that couldn't be waived for a good customer. Sweet!!

Good for you and I bet the conversation brought a smile to your face and a bit of sputtering to the old bank rep.

 

[Danmar]

We have been setting up banking arrangements in the US recently to handle our Arizona property. I would have to say Banking is much easier in Canada. Although we don't pay fees anywhere(other than wire payment fees to transfer funds to our US accounts) Cross border banking, although touted by a couple of CDN banks, does not exist.