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Jun. 11th, 2004 12:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pearwaldorfHave an "overdraft protection plan" at your bank?
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Have an "overdraft protection plan" at your bank? <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/08/business/08check.html?ex=1402113600&en=b686b17d44826a49&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND" " >this</a>.
<i>The programs enable, and in some cases encourage, customers with low balances to overdraw their checking accounts, allowing the banks to skirt credit laws and collect billions of dollars in fees. They are generally marketed as "overdraft privilege" or "bounce protection" and have grown very rapidly in the last five years, with at least 1,500 banks now offering them.</i>
I am proud to note that my bank (Washington Mutual) is one of the worst perpetrators in this regard, and I can personally attest to paying ridiculous amounts of money in overdraft fees, especially for a series of small purchases. That doesn't bother me too much, because I should have been keeping track of my balance, and what better way to learn than paying 100 bucks a pop in fees? This, however, is unconscionable:
<i>The Federal Reserve proposal also does not bar banks from programming their A.T.M.'s to display a balance that includes both the amount available under the overdraft program and the consumer's own balance without distinguishing between the two. For example, some banks tell a person with $100 in his account that he has an "available balance" of $400, including a $300 overdraft program. They then charge an overdraft fee for any withdrawal of more than $100.</i>
That is out and out fraud, and that really fucking pisses me off.
<i>The programs enable, and in some cases encourage, customers with low balances to overdraw their checking accounts, allowing the banks to skirt credit laws and collect billions of dollars in fees. They are generally marketed as "overdraft privilege" or "bounce protection" and have grown very rapidly in the last five years, with at least 1,500 banks now offering them.</i>
I am proud to note that my bank (Washington Mutual) is one of the worst perpetrators in this regard, and I can personally attest to paying ridiculous amounts of money in overdraft fees, especially for a series of small purchases. That doesn't bother me too much, because I should have been keeping track of my balance, and what better way to learn than paying 100 bucks a pop in fees? This, however, is unconscionable:
<i>The Federal Reserve proposal also does not bar banks from programming their A.T.M.'s to display a balance that includes both the amount available under the overdraft program and the consumer's own balance without distinguishing between the two. For example, some banks tell a person with $100 in his account that he has an "available balance" of $400, including a $300 overdraft program. They then charge an overdraft fee for any withdrawal of more than $100.</i>
That is out and out fraud, and that really fucking pisses me off.
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Date: 2004-06-11 12:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-11 01:38 pm (UTC)