If Microsoft is The Devil, Bank of America is Their TwinToday, I am complaining about Bank of America. Due to a slight accounting error on my part, I overdrew my account earlier this week. There wasn't anything I could do about it until Friday. Like most people in this internet age of ours, I have my primary utility bills set to auto-bill to my checking account. Here are my complaints: 1) Why the fuck is it necessary to charge an overdraft fee per transaction? 2) Bank statements don't have times on them, just dates -- so how am I supposed to know that they didn't purposely clear the large check that overdrew me first before clearing the smaller stuff? For all I know, they're purposely fucking me for two overdraft fees that I shouldn't have to pay. 3) Why are the fees fixed? Overdrafting a $9.99 electronic transaction and getting charged $35 for it is dumb. 4) Isn't the whole point of a check card that you don't have credit? Therefore, if you try to use your check card on an overdrawn account, shouldn't it simply DECLINE? I suppose at some point I must have agreed to having them "protect" me from bouncing transactions by charging me these outrageous fees.
Let's talk about the last one though -- I've had my account for years, and it started with a local bank called Norwalk Savings from back in CT. That bank was bought by a slightly larger bank, which was bought by a regional bank, which was bought by Bank of America. So I may not have necessarily agreed to everything, at least not outrightly -- but banking institutions sneak those subject to change at any time clauses into their agreements, zap you out a new pamphlet in the mail whenever they come up with a new fee, written in 9 point typeface that almost requires a lawyer to understand, and they know most people don't have the time to read them anyway (and in any case, if they have auto-payments and auto-deposits, they know that unless they really really piss off the customer, the customer doesn't have the time or energy to go through the process of migrating to a new bank -- heck, even I'm groaning at the thought of switching banks, and I am really really pissed off!)
Anyway, so ... bank fees. The devil. Yes. Yesterday, though, was payday, and my accounts are all set back right. I suppose the bank isn't so bad as long as you don't run down low on your money, but damn, something stupid happens and you go below $0, and they beat you down further with the let's make you poorer stick. In some ways, it's like a social statement, how the rich get richer by kicking the poor while they're down. ... not that I'm poor, at least not after payday, but still...
16 Jun 2007 - 17:33 by DMSMac |
Category: General
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