As a reader of Consumerist, Shawn knew that he should probably stay away from mega-bank and Worst Company in America 2013 Final Four contender Bank of America. Yet his non-BoA lender of choice sold his mortgage to…well, guess who? He moved his other banking there for the sake of convenience, and that’s when he walked up to an ATM and conducted the fateful transaction.

He writes:

I avoided Bank Of America with my home mortgage… yet it was sold to them.

I used ING Direct… yet I needed BoA to deposit checks (before they had smartphone deposit)

Recently I moved my checking and savings from ING/Capital One 360 to Bank Of America. It all stemmed from the $1000 daily ATM limit for ING (I rarely take that much out, but needed it one day for an emergency).

So this weekend I was at Caesars Palace (I live in Las Vegas) and stopped at an ATM twice. $6 ATM fee each time. The first time I checked my balance and withdrew. The second time, I withdrew.

Fast forward to yesterday, I see the $2 ATM withdrawal fees from BoA (ludicrous in its own right)… but I also see a $2 balance inquiry charge. They charged me $2 to check my balance in the same transaction where I withdrew money, costing me an additional $2.

I called BoA, they refunded it, but despite having my mortgage, checking, savings, and a pending business account with them, they couldn’t remove that type of fee permanently.

So I called my former bank, ING/Cap One 360, re-fied my home loan with them (I was due), am bringing my checking and savings back to them, and I am opening my business account elsewhere.

Massive banks are nickel and diming everywhere. Because of Bank Of America wanting $2 to see how much money I have, they lost an estimated $110,000 in interest.

TL;DR Bank Of America charges for balance inquiries during same withdrawal transaction, so I took my mortgage away from them.

One thing to check before you withdraw all of your money from any bank in a huff is where that fee came from. If Bank of America owns that particular ATM, well, flounce away. If another company operates it, then your bank has no control over the stupid, stupid fee.

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