Frank writes that he received a call from his bank, TD Bank, that insults the consumer savvy and the intelligence of their customers. TD kept calling him…unsurprisingly, to try to sell him on the idea of opting in to overdraft protection. Their sales pitch? Overdraft protection is a “FREE SERVICE.” Well, yeah, like many services, it’s free until you actually use it.

Frank writes:

I’ve been getting multiple calls from TD Bank – once every day – until I finally picked up the phone yesterday to hear them out. I knew in advance that I didn’t want to sign up for the “convenience” of overdraft protection, despite the “peace of mind” it might afford me – but just out of morbid curiosity I wanted to hear their sales pitch. They actually have the nerve to say that it’s a “FREE SERVICE” – yes, you heard that right. The girl calling me from TD Bank said that their overdraft protection was “FREE.” Not once did she mention the $35 fee – the only time this was even alluded to was when she mentioned that the fees for using the service “would stay the same.”

So it’s a free service…yet there are fees involved? I am assuming that the only way they could get away with saying that it’s free is because there is no annual fee for using the service – but still. I imagine someone too busy to pay attention to her pitch might hear the word free and decide to sign up for it, especially since the $35 charge is never mentioned.

Nice try, TD Bank, but we see through your tricks and the great big imaginary asterisk after the word “free” there.

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Banks Must Now Ask You To Opt In To Debit Card Overdraft Plans
TD Ratchets Up Overdraft Opt-In Push With Pop-Up Scare Tactics
Chase Now Has Human ATM Greeter Who Helpfully Sells Overdraft Protection
When It Comes To Overdraft Opt-In, Chase Won’t Take No For An Answer
Chase Scare-Calling Customers To ReUp For Overdraft “Protection”
Banks Told To Target Financially Unsavvy For Overdraft Reup

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