A YouTube video has racked up over 300,000 hits promoting the idea that you can really mess with the banks by sending back activist messages in those pre-paid response envelopes that come with the credit card junk mail. The theory is that if enough people do it, it will force people in the bank mailrooms to have a meeting about all these Occupy Wall Street slogans showing up in their mail, and making banks engage in a dialogue with their customers, revolutionizing how they operate to a way that’s more responsive to the common good. This is a terrible idea and a waste of time. [More]
banks
Feds Investigate $600 Million Allegedly Missing At MF Global
By 11.2.11
Federal investigators are attempting to sort out how New York-based derivatives broker MF Global has apparently up and lost $600 million of customers’ money. The FBI, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission are all reportedly investigating, amid accusations that MF Global has broken federal rules for keeping customers’ money separate from the business’s own assets. [More]
Man In "ZZ Top Beard" Tries To Rob 2 Banks In 10 Minutes
By 10.25.11
A man sporting a “ZZ Top” style beard is wanted in Philadelphia after he robbed two different banks in 10 minutes. [More]
Bill Introduced To Let You Keep Your Account Number When You Switch Banks
By 10.21.11
When you switch phone companies, you’re allowed to keep your phone number. So why isn’t there this “number portability” for bank accounts? Well, a bill has been introduced in Washington to let you do exactly that. [More]
BofA Is No Longer Biggest Bank In America
By 10.21.11
After a recent round of selling off assets, Bank of America is no longer the biggest bank in America. [More]
Bank Of America Can't Help With Warning Of Possible Future Fraud
By 10.20.11
Ralph knows that mysterious deposits in your bank account from unknown entities are probably not a good thing. They’re much more likely to be harbingers of fraud than tiny, mysterious gifts. So he alerted his bank, Bank of America, that someone might be trying to steal from his account. The bank proceeded to do… not all that much, since no fraud had been committed yet. [More]
Discover Brings Back Disposable Account Numbers
By 10.17.11
Without explanation as to why, Discover card is telling customers that they’re bringing back the disposable account numbers they got rid of at the end of August. [More]
Get $12 In Chase Credit Card Balance Transfer Class Action
By 10.17.11
You can file to get $12 because of a settlement in a class action lawsuit against Chase which alleged the bank enticed customers with promo interest rates on balance transfers, but then didn’t do a good enough job of telling them when the rates would expire. [More]
Why You Should Thank BofA For The $5 Debit Card Fee
By 10.17.11
Bank of America’s new $5 monthly fee for having a debit card is getting painted as a public enemy, but columnist Michael Hiltzik for the Los Angeles Times says we should be giving it a great big hug. [More]
ATM Council Sues Visa And Mastercard For Forcing Them To Charge Consumers Set Fees
By 10.14.11
Visa and Mastercard have been accused of price fixing in a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the the National ATM Council. The suit alleges that nonbank ATM operators could charge customers lower ATM fees when they use other, cheaper payment networks, but are prevented from this by the set access fees Visa and MasterCard charge. [More]
TCF Bank Adds New $28 Daily Overdrawn Balance Fee
By 10.14.11
Reader Jeff used to intentionally overdraw his bank account in order to have enough money to feed his family and gas the car. At $35 a pop, that’s a pretty cheap loan. But now that’s not going to be a viable option because TCF Bank has started to assess him a daily fee of $28 if his account is overdrawn by $5 or more. [More]
Bank Of America Exec: It Would Be 'Premature' To Eliminate Debit Card Fee
By 10.14.11
Bank of America’s infamous $5 monthly debit card fee hasn’t quite caused enough backlash to make the bank Qwikster it away. But customers can cling to hope of the bank one day eliminating the fee, because at least an executive has spoken publicly about the hypothetical notion of getting rid of it. [More]
November Fifth Is Bank Transfer Day
By 10.13.11
Remember, remember, the fifth of November, because that’s when “Bank Transfer Day” is happening. By that date, all participants will have closed their big retail bank accounts and put their money in a local non-profit credit union or local or regional community bank. [More]
Attempted Bank Robbery Fails Due To Poor Handwriting
By 10.13.11
Good penmanship is not important in the modern world. I often go days on end without writing anything on paper. When the elementary school teachers of the world corrected our penmanship, though, they probably didn’t have what happened during a recent attempted bank robbery in Delaware in mind. Police say that the teller was unable to read the note chicken-scratched on a blank deposit slip, and gave it back to the man to rewrite. He left, threw the note in the trash, and was apprehended by state troopers. [More]
Non-Credit Union Alternatives To Banks With Monthly Debit Card Fees
By 10.12.11
While often the default response online to people looking for something other than a big retail bank to stash their cash is to shout, “Credit union! Credit union!”, they’re not the only game in town. [More]
How Bank Of America Picked $5 As The Debit Card Monthly Fee
By 10.7.11
The new $5 monthly fee Bank of America is charging debit card holders wasn’t just picked because the spreadsheet guys really like Subway $5 footlongs. There’s actually a calculation behind it. Here’s the math. [More]
Banks Marketing 1% APR Bank Accounts As "High-Yield"
By 10.4.11
Considering how “high-yield” savings accounts used to give returns of 4-5%, reader Phil thinks it’s a bit disingenuous for banks to continue marketing them as such when the rates are only 1%. He sent in a picture of a recent piece of junk mail he got from American Express to illustrate. [More]
Bill Introduced To Let Robots Call Your Cellphone
By 9.29.11
Since ’91, it’s been illegal for telemarketers to use autodialers and other robot-like devices to call your cellphone. Last week, a bill was introduced to change that. While in the past email hoaxes have gone around saying that your cellphone could be opened up to telemarketers, HR 3035 seeks to let businesses contact your cellphone “for informational purposes.” [More]
