Heads Up to Bank of America Customers

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Yeah, I am done with BOA. I am in the process of changing to a credit union.

:4321:
 
And to think that when I first opened my BOA "Now" checking account, it payed 5% APR. This is down to 0.02% and they are already charging a $3 check imaging fee.

Citizen's bank is no great shakes either. They autodeduct my minimum mortgage payment AFTER they receive my check.

Time to look at credit unions. It's a good thing I don't live in RI -the CU's went bankrupt there years back ......

..... oh Wait, I do live in RI. :blink:
 
I saw this last night. I have various accounts with them and have 5 cards between me and my wife for various personal and business reasons. If they charge me 5 dollars per card, I'll probably look elsewhere since I keep my balances above what they require to currently wave fees. If they're going to charge me for my cards now, I'll take my balance (money that they get to play with each month) and go to somewhere more friendly. Ive avoided fees with them for the last 15 years. If they're going to charge me for my debit cards now, they can screw themselves.
 
The question is... have any banks declared that they won't follow BofA down this road? I don't want to change over to another bank and then have this happen again?

I've got several personal, financial, and small business accounts with them. If I switch over, I want to do it once.

Anyone in MA got any suggestions for full service banks with little to no fees?

I can also move my money to Fl. since I have a residence there so anyone who knows of a good one in SW Florida as well.
 
CleatMarks said:
The question is... have any banks declared that they won't follow BofA down this road?
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I've kept my nose to the grindstone for the past couple of weeks so I may have missed it, but it's interesting that no major bank has stepped up to offer no debit card fees as a means to grab market share in one fell swoop.
 
tehmackdaddy said:
I've kept my nose to the grindstone for the past couple of weeks so I may have missed it, but it's interesting that no major bank has stepped to to offer no debit card fees as a means to grab market share in one fell swoop.
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I know 3 banks up here that have been charging like this for a while (TD Bank being one of them)
 
The BofA website has been under attack since they announced this.. they keep saying they weren't hacked, but it looks like a denial of service attack, more than likely because of this announcement.
 
assholes. They don't pay jack shit for interest, make you maintain minimum balances, charge you an arm and a leg if you make a mistake, and now they want to charge you for these cards. Banks really suck these days. It costs you more to keep your money in them than to pay cash. As far as I'm concerned, get rid of some of the branches and quit charging me to keep 5 branches open in every town. I keep enough money in them that they're using as capital.
 
well if you or your parents are military can sign up for usaa.com

no fees or mininum balances and lots of cool features. I use them for all of my insurance as well and get pretty nice discounts and will use them for my mortgage when I get back to the states.

being able to take a picture of a check with my phone and upload it to the website from my phone to deposit it has got to be one of the coolest and convenient features from any bank i've seen lol
 
CleatMarks said:
assholes. They don't pay jack shit for interest, make you maintain minimum balances, charge you an arm and a leg if you make a mistake, and now they want to charge you for these cards. Banks really suck these days. It costs you more to keep your money in them than to pay cash. As far as I'm concerned, get rid of some of the branches and quit charging me to keep 5 branches open in every town. I keep enough money in them that they're using as capital.
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You realize this is in response to legislation, correct? Congress cut the banks' fee revenue elsewhere so they decided to implement this debit card fee to make up for it.

It's very similar to Congress capping the interest rates on credit cards "for the benefit of the consumer." What happened? Instead of the banks making revenue off of those who don't pay timely and go over their credit limits (bad customers), the banks raised the rates on the good customers who do pay timely and stay under their limits.

Congress fail.
 
This is what happens when government banking insured regulatory programs go bad and the banks look for other ways to make up a monetary shortfall...unfortunately it's Joe Citizen that picks up the tab.:doh:
 
you would think that congress would do a bit more research all of these unintended consequences seem to be piling up quite fast =/

i have an interesting thought i wonder if they could try that whole free market thing they keep talking about and just leave it all alone just think of how much money they'd save if they didnt ahve to pay all those bureaucrats
 
BS.. and this is getting political so maybe it should be moved but let me just say they don't HAVE to ream us every which way because you know, some banks don't..even with all the new laws for consumer protection. We moved to USAA they pay us to use or ATM and their fees are minimal yet they are making plenty of money and are amazing at customer service. It can be done where both companies make plenty of profit and consumers don't need lube to do business in the modern world.
 
PatrietteAz said:
... but let me just say they don't HAVE to ream us every which way because you know
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You were already paying the fees indirectly. The banks charged the merchants who charged higher prices to you for the things you buy. The legislation simply says the middle man in this process (the merchant) is being bypassed and the consumer is being charged directly by the banks.

It's a zero sum change. :thumb:
 
tehmackdaddy said:
You were already paying the fees indirectly. The banks charged the merchants who charged higher prices to you for the things you buy. The legislation simply says the middle man in this process (the merchant) is being bypassed and the consumer is being charged directly by the banks.

It's a zero sum change. :thumb:
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As we speak, tens of merchants are lowering prices..
 
tehmackdaddy said:
You were already paying the fees indirectly. The banks charged the merchants who charged higher prices to you for the things you buy. The legislation simply says the middle man in this process (the merchant) is being bypassed and the consumer is being charged directly by the banks.

It's a zero sum change. :thumb:
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I know. I ran my own small business for awhile and was APPALLED at the fees I had to pay. It isn't always as simple as "Oh look the meddling socialists are effing it up again". Why anyone defends banks is beyond me and I will bow out of this conversation now because I avoid the political forum for a reason.
 
PatrietteAz said:
I know. I ran my own small business for awhile and was APPALLED at the fees I had to pay. It isn't always as simple as "Oh look the meddling socialists are effing it up again". Why anyone defends banks is beyond me and I will bow out of this conversation now because I avoid the political forum for a reason.
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No one mentioned what you quoted, I'm simply trying to make sure people understand why the banks are now charging fees. As a former business owner I would guess that you would understand. The banks had a source of revenue capped. Now their income statement is short on revenue and the same on everything else. This leaves a shortfall on the subsequent metrics (GM, Operating Income, EBITDA, EPS, etc.). The banks don't answer to themselves, they answer to their owners, the shareholders. The shareholders are interested in the earnings potential of the entity. If the bank simply absorbs the loss in revenue then the shareholders become unhappy and either sell (share prices go down) or they fire existing management and hire new management that will repair the financials.

So really the essence of the issue here is the banks lost a source of revenue and are making it up with another source of revenue. I don't see how that's evil, wrong, or anything other than the natural reaction any business, large or small, would make.

I certainly don't think that understanding the banks' position equates to "defending" those banks. As one of BoA's customers I'm considering my options for a replacement institution. It's just the nature of the game. If the price of hamburgers and steaks go up because the price of feed goes up, I understand it and start to think if I could eat more chicken. :shrug:
 
Hey y'all. Nevermind.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/news/2011/10/31/bank-of-america-wells-fargo-bow-to.html

After overwhelming negative response from consumers, mega banks Bank of America , Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase are all dropping or tweaking monthly fees aimed at customers using debit cards.

Charlotte, N.C.-based BofA on Oct. 1 announced it would begin charging in 2012 a $5 monthly fee for debit card use. Only customers with BofA mortgages or high-end accounts with $20,000 on deposit would be able to escape the charge.

But harsh and negative reactions from consumers and politicians overwhelmed the bank. Chief Executive Brian Moynihan told employees earlier this month he was “incensed” at the criticism. BofA contended it was only trying to recoup the swipe fees taken away by new federal regulations.

Finally this weekend the bank bowed to angry customers — and no doubt the strong response from smaller competitors in recent weeks that wooed customers with aggressive marketing promising no debit card fees. BofA is now considering plans to implement easier ways for customers to avoid the fee, sources say, including simple steps such as having direct deposit at the bank or opening a credit card account with BofA.

Rivals Wells Fargo and Chase took things a step further. The banks both announced over the weekend that they would suspend pilot programs testing similar debit card fees. Wells said the move is in “response to customer feedback the bank has received,” according to a press release.
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