Consumerist
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savings accounts
Don't Let Maintenance Fees Ruin Your Automatic Savings Program
If you participate in an automatic savings program like Bank of America's Keep the Change service, where debit card purchases are rounded up and the difference is deposited into your savings account, keep an eye on maintenance fees. James says he was hit with a $5 charge last month because he hadn't met the minimum monthly deposit requirement of $25: "It turns out that I wasn't even accruing $5 worth of change per month, so I was losing more money due to the maintenance fee than I was saving via Keep the Change!" More » -
fees
Citibank To Charge Fees On Checking Accounts
If you're a Citibank customer who has one of the bank's two smaller checking account plans—the ones where the monthly fee is waived as long as you use direct deposit or their online bill payment—then maybe it's time to consider taking your business elsewhere. Starting in February, anyone with an average balance of less than $1500 will be assessed a monthly $7.50 service fee, reports the New York Post. More » -
account closings
Former Customer Says Wells Fargo Bills Him $101.70 On Closed Account
Royal says it's costing him more than $100 to break free of Wells Fargo after he closed his checking account before waiting for all pending charges to clear. More » -
this is not a way to save
Wachovia's "Way2Save" Account Triggers Over $5,000 In Penalty Fees
Wachovia has a new financial product called Way2Save that automatically moves $1 from your checking account into a high interest personal savings account every time you make an electronic bill payment. Susan tried to maximize her contributions by making a lot of little bill payments, but Wachovia cut off access to her funds without notice and triggered an avalanche of penalty fees. Now she owes over $5,000 to her credit card companies, far more than she would likely have ever earned through Wachovia's complicated savings program, and of course Wachovia is denying any responsibility. More » -
overdraft fees
Bank Of America Uses Temporary Hold To Trigger Overdraft Fee?
Bank of America got so fee crazy last week that it applied a $10 overdraft fee to Christopher's account even though it wasn't overdrafted. I went back and forth with Christopher to try to figure out what BoA could have done to trigger this, but as you can see from the screen cap below, he only had two debits on the day of the event. More » -
banking
All About Reward Checking Accounts
Reward checking accounts offer above market interest rates, higher than almost any other bank deposit account, if you can satisfy their requirements. More » -
usaa
USAA Online Checking & Savings Open For Non-Military
If you've heard us rave about USAA's stellar financial services but grown sad when you learned that it's only available for military-members and their family, have heart: you can get still get access to some of their services like banking and checking. More » -
fees
Citizens Bank Now Charging An Overdraft Protection Fee
Lynne writes, "Citizens Bank is now charging customers an annual overdraft protection fee. This is a charge for linking your savings account to your checking account. Customers can be removed from the program and can get the fee back." We don't know when this started—they just say there might be fees involved and call for details on their website—but if you're a customer of the bank you might want to make sure you haven't been enrolled without knowing it. -
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banking
The Free Checking Account Myth
One of the biggest myths of the financial industry is the "free" checking account. They have high minimum balance requirements, offer 0% interest, and have other annoying requirements. The worst part is that they're not even free. More » -
chase
Chase Bank By Phone Telephone Tree Map
Should you ever get lost in the Chase bank-by-phone tree, this function map may help you. Or it may explode your brain all over the receiver. The choice is yours. More » -
usaa
USAA: Deposit Your Checks With An iPhone!
The friendliest bank in the world, USAA, will soon let customers instantaneously deposit checks through its iPhone application. Here's how it works: you snap a picture of the front and back of your check, and send the picture to USAA. That's it. More » -
identity theft
The Maid Is Stealing Your Checkbook
Identity theft is rising in the recession, according to a Brooklyn public defender I talked to at a party this weekend. Most often the crime starts with the perp stealing the victim's checkbook, he said. More » -
chase
updated: WaMu Accounts Become *Almost* Totally Chase July 24
Starting July 24, 2009, WaMu accounts will get fully transitioned to Chase. After that, ex-WaMuers will be able to fully enjoy the benefits of Chase banking, like making deposits into Chase ATMs, the full range of Chase branch banking services, and the luxury of paying Chase's service fees which are higher than WaMu's were.
UPDATE: Actually, this is just the second conversion. The third and last conversion will happen in the fall.
(Photo: mr.hodgson)
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circuit city
Circuit City Bouncing Refund Checks, But Will Reissue Them
If you have a Circuit City refund check not deposited before 11/10, it's going to bounce. More » -
mb image world
Watch Out For Illegal "MB Image World" Charges On Your Bank Account
Watch out for a charge on your checking account for a charge from "MB Image World." People are complaining that the porn site, that they've never done business with or gave their account information to, is fraudulently issuing electronic check charges for $39.99. If they hit you, report the item to your bank as fraud and reverse the charges.
866-878-7962 [800notes] (Thanks to jurijuri!) (Photo: Getty)
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stop payments
Stop Payment Orders On Checks Only Last Six Months
Jennifer says National City Bank has contacted her fiance to inform him that the stop payment order he placed on a check is about to expire, and he'll have to pay another $32 fee to renew it for six more months. She writes, "Have you heard of stop payment now only being 'suspend payment for six months'? This seems to me to be extortion." We're going to come down on the side of the banks in this case—but because of the recurring nature of the fee, it might just be cheaper to close the account. More » -
overdraft fees
Watch Out For These 5 Overdraft Traps
Banks need your money. They're not doing too well on their own, and you're not screwing up enough to generate the fees they need to make their shareholders happy. That's why they've set up sneaky ways to maximize your every mistake—or in some cases, ways to change the rules so that you make new mistakes where you didn't before—in order to penalize you. Here are five things SmartMoney says to watch out for. More » -
unauthorized overdraft fees
Overdraft Fees Are Trapping Consumers On Social Security In A Cycle Of Debt
The Center For Responsible Lending has put together a report that examines the disastrous effect of overdraft fees on Americans who depend on Social Security for all or part of their income. Despite the fact that they've had checking accounts all their lives (and presumably know what they're doing), each year older Americans pay 4.5 billion dollars in overdraft fees— and on average they actually pay more in fees than they receive in credit when the overdraft is triggered by a debit card transaction.
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9:51 AM on Tue Jun 24 2008
By Meg Marco
6,756 views, 105 commentsLatest by tinpuck: I don't think the point of this article was that Mary can't manage her money it's more that people with more »
checking
New York, 6:42 PM
Wed Nov 11
19 posts in the last 24 hours
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