Take the debit card and shred it.

@humphrmi: True, but card number will still be valid and linked directly to his bank account. Assuming its a VISA debit card, then if someone got that number they could go on a nice little shopping spree.

@Walrii: Then it'd be pretty easy to track down how his number got stolen, if he shredded it and never used it, eh?

@humphrmi: Not really. There've been cases where a card is used in fraud before the card is ever used. I cancelled my card entirely (and the card is currently sitting on something acting as a dust shield) because I didn't even trust just throwing it out. I now only have an ATM card.

I'd be cancelling my account at that bank and using another one since there's lots of banks out there that don't charge you for not having a card.

Not all banks do this. When I had my Wachovia dummy account to cash my old employer's checks without paying their non-customer check-cashing fee, I refused to take a debit card.

My advice is to change to a better bank.

@humphrmi: uh. no?

@Walrii:

How? They would need the security code on the back without physically having the card wouldn't they?

@humphrmi: Credit/debig card numbers follow a known format, so its not impossible to generate sequences of possibly valid card numbers.

It is also possible that the bank could have a breach and the number leak out that way..

Wow, it's like paying to be unlisted. Bastards.

Now that is some great customer service, Key Bank. It appears that Key Bank's idea of good customer service is find ways to charge customers for things that cost them nothing. Way To Go!

@Eyebrows McGee: What does the star next to your post mean?

@Thomas Palmer: Eyebrows is a 'star commenter.'

time to move to another bank. It's the best way to let them know they SUCK.

.
Oh, my Gawd. KeyBank is brilliant.

All other SurCharge addicts -- banks, phone companies, airlines, hotels, car rentals companies and their ilk -- should take note. After you've sliced and diced to death the various services you offer and the service fees you charge, and it appears as if there's nothing left, fear not. Like KeyBank, you can start charging for things you don't provide at all. NO debit card with this account? Boom. $12 more per year. NO band of tribal dancers circling your home 24/7 with this account? Boom. $25 more per year. The possibilities are ENDLESS!

This reminds me of my morning chuckle when the barista responds to my request for a cup of coffee by asking . . . Would you like 'some room' with that? As if 'some room' is a scone or something. It's room. It's nothing. It's space you otherwise would have to fill with coffee. It's . . . LESS COFFEE, yet they make me feel as if I've just gotten something extra for my money.

@Thomas Palmer: I think it means I'm awesome, it just showed up randomly last week.

Either that or the Consumerist is stalking me and knows when my birthday is, because that's when it showed up. :D

Here is is the conversation:

Them: That will be a $1 per month convenience charge to remove the visa portion of your card.
You: Really? that is ridiculous. I don't want to pay that.
Them: I am sorry, it is bank policy.
You: I have a policy if not paying ridiculous fees. Remove the Visa like I ask and do not charge me the dollar. If you can not do this simple task I will close all of my accounts with this bank. I don't think you want to lose a customer over a dollar do you?

On another bank issue, has anyone heard of a bank refusing to deposit a check that was already signed over? All of a sudden BOA is requiring that I have to be present for my husband to deposit my check even if I have already signed it over. Or I have to deposit it mself, which they might not allow eiher since the account is solely in his name. This is after years of banking with them.

When you realize most consumers don't realize just how crappy debit cards are this is a really socially irresponsible policy.

@jcapello: quoted for truth. But what will they do when all their customers have no more money to give them? It seems like a realistic fear right now.

@BalknChain: Is the check written in both of your names?

Most of the small banks do this. I also notice some doing like 6% apy on the checking accounts then when you read the fine print need to have a debit card linked to checking and use it at least 6 times in a month as a visa debit failure to do so forfeits the free atms and brings down your interest rate down to .15% APY

@MARTHA__JONES: no, it is my paycheck

@BalknChain: No easy explanation then! Sleazy too, since if you call them up most banks have no problems lying to you until you prove to them that you know your legal rights by quoting a few applicable codes.

Another reason as to s why they're called "Fee Bank" here in Cleveland.

@balknChain - National City here in Cleveland requires the same thing; both parties be present when depositing.
If the ATM is used, they haul you both in. It's really a painful change and all in the name of security.

@MARTHA__JONES: It makes no sense to me. We went from both signing and my husband depositing, then we both signed and I had to write "pay to the order of" after my signature and before his, now this newest twist where I have to be present. I told him to change banks, I've had enough and BOA is over here as one of the top 10 poor companies. With my work and school hours I will be relegated to Saturday banking so we can both be there. What a pain.

@Buran: Not to mention plenty of Credit Unions he could switch to.

@toddkravos: So should we expect more banks to do this too? I miss he old days when the banks knew you by name and actually showed you respect. A little "Thank you for all your money that we can now lend to the collapsing housing market! Buh-bye." would be nice. *sigh*

@Exek: What bank is this?

@toddkravos: Huh? Isn't the point of an ATM not having to come in at all? Change banks. Please. Tell them why.

@BalknChain: yeah, that kinda sounds like b.s., but it's probably a policy to reduce check fraud. perhaps if you sit down with the manager, you may be able to get your account notated for an exception.

it seems a bit strange that you're not on his account, though. if it's the only account you two have, you could find yourself in quite the pickle should you find yourself in an emergency situation that requires access to the account.

@humphrmi:

If he shreds the card then he can't use the ATM at all.

@mac-phisto: After a Nasty divorce from my ex-husband it was recommended by a lawyer to me to keep as much as possible in my current husband's name. My ex was trying to steal from me and use my ss# and even tried applying for things in my father's name because they had the same first name. My father is still arguing with one collector to this day who, while they no longer believe my father is my ex, they now think my father is just hiding him..? OK, TMI, but the legal recommendation holds for a while yet. I'm thinking about presenting that info to BOA.

@BalknChain: that's unfortunate. this is a very common form of id theft & yet very little is done about it.

i would suggest sitting down w/ the manager - bring what information you're willing to have placed on file at the bank, but see if you can get the account notated without it.

& if that doesn't work, consider a smaller operation. savings banks & credit unions typically indulge individual needs that don't follow scripts.

I used to bank with Key when I lived in Maine. The tellers and managers were nice, and I never had problems. I specifically did not have a debit card, and it did not cost me, so this must be new. It always tripped the tellers out when I would go to the window to withdraw $20, and they would ask me why I didn't use my ATM or debit card, and I would explain to them that I had neither. They usually didn't even think it was possible.

I know it didn't cost me because I was nearly broke the entire time I lived in Maine, and I would have definitely noticed a $1/mo charge on my "totally free checking" account.

I'm sorry, but I pity you fools with banks. Seriously, just walk away. Find a local credit union and virtually all your banking troubles will disappear.

I've never had a bank account in my life. Opened my first account with a credit union when I was 14 and have been with them since. You couldn't pay me to move my assets to a regular old "bank" with all their stupid games.

That bank must suck to charge that fee.

I have to side with Key Bank on this one... Sneaky as at may be, it is clearly stated in their disclosure, available on their website when you open an account, and it should be provided if you open an account in person.

Under the "Disclosure Statement and Terms and Conditions for Electronic Fund Transfer Transactions" agreement:
_______________________________________________________________________
7. CHARGES FOR TRANSACTIONS, TRANSFERS AND OTHER SERVICES.

(b) KeyBank ATM Card Charge. If you possess only a KeyBank ATM Card and not a KeyBank Debit Card or a KeyMiles card, your primary account linked to the KeyBank ATM Card will be charged a $1.00 monthly KeyBank ATM Card fee. If you possess all three types of Cards or only a KeyBank Debit Card or a KeyMiles card, you will not be charged this fee.
_______________________________________________________________________

But snapping back to reality, if you went into the bank to open an account and read every line of every paragraph before you signed the paperwork, you would be there for hours, so nobody reads everything, and there it was, tucked away not in the main document, but in the "Other Important Agreements and Disclosure" statement, hidden again in the middle (section 7) of this document.

Sneaky.

My sympathy shifts back to the OP

Key bank has different accounts. Also, the monthly fee for an atm charge must vary depending on your state. When, I read the account agreement, there is no monthly fee with or without an atm/debit card. You could also still get that dual use card and just use it mostly as a pin transactions. Key bank use to charge for pin transactions, they do not anymore.

I myself (Not through key bank) have a debit card. I use it. However, I keep my daily authorization limit at $1,000 for Signature and pin transactions. I check my account online everyday. Sometimes more often.

There are actually a lot of good reasons not to do business with Key Bank. I left Key Bank for HSBC for cryin' out loud!

Another reason to keep your money safe inside your mattress.

@sauceistheboss: I didn't get that he wanted an ATM card. But as @Dooley points out, the fee isn't for not having a debit card, it's for having an ATM-only card. Sure, splitting hairs, whatever. You can also get by without an ATM card, and apparently they won't charge a fee for that.

@mac-phisto: We will probably be doing just that, thank you.

I'm glad everybody liked my story. For the record, I've had nothing but good experiences from Key up to this point.

I hate that crap. I don't want people to people to hit my account directly without at LEAST having to use a PIN. For non-PIN transactions, I'll use other people's money in the form of a real credit card, thanks.

Commerce/TD Banknorth, if you are reading this: If you EVER try this crap, I am gone. That is a promise.

At the moment, however, Commerce does not mind that I don't have a stupid Visa Checkcard.

They make a crap load more than $12, everytime you use your card something like 0.7% of that purchase is their cut of the interchange fee.

@Buran: Yup, it is the point of ATMs in a typical customer world view. But the bank (and more of them it seems) tend to disagree when it comes to signing over a check thing.

@toddkravos: I really hope you ARE leaving that bank, then.

@BalknChain: I have BOA premier checking, and even at that account level I can't deposit checks with the teller that are written to and endorsed by my husband because he is not on the account. I'm actually surprised they let you do this before. I don't use this checking account very often, so I don't know if I had tried to deposit husband's check before, but they wouldn't let me, and this was probably around 2 years ago. If I talk to the private banker rep that I have, she has much more latitude to do stuff. So maybe it's just an issue that the teller doesn't have the authority? I would suggest talking to a rep at the branch. Or switching banks, although I have had a great experience with BofA, even though occasional bureaucratic nonsense comes up. They have also treated my mother extremely well through years of my dad being ill and his death.