US PIRG blog tells us, “Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) of the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit is holding a hearing today on unfair bank overdraft fees and their impact on consumers, especially in regard to debit card transactions.” Chairwoman Maloney has introduced a bill that addresses overly-punitive fees that are often assessed when a consumer buys a small amount on a debit card. As US PIRG points out, “It’s much easier to overdraw your (debit) account. A debit card gives you a latte if you have no money. A latte costs $5 but the bank gets a $30 overdraft.”

Bank are also accused of gaming the system to increase the “whoops, I bought a latte” fees that can be assessed against their customers—by manipulating the order or time frame in which checks are posted to the customer’s account.

You can read the proposed legislation by clicking here.

Bounce protection loans/debit cards under committee microscope [US PIRG]
(Photo:Scarequotes)

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