A Source of Easy Money

[draggar]

There is nothing wrong with establishing credit from a young age. It teaches financial responsibility. Of course banks will attempt to offer goodies! They even offer these perks to adults. Every time I might call customer service they will attempt to sell me services on a trial basis. While they are legitimate, I politely but firmly turn them down.

The worst is post bankruptcy. You wouldn't believe how many "pre-approved" applications you'd get. The banks know you can't file for another 10 years (under normal conditions) so they know you'll be stuck with them for that long.

And I'll bet that if these people simple paid their bills on time, the late fees would not be relevant to them.

I used to pay my Bell South bill two weeks before it was due. The check was always "cashed" within a week. When they went to AT&T it started to take them 4-5 WEEKS just to cash the check but if my payment was late they'd turn off the phone and internet, slap me with a $35 reconnect fee plus interest.

We ditched them because I didn't think it was fair that I had to not only guess what my payment was but to pay it before I even got the bill.

People generally think that fees are only for the irresponsible. Even responsible people get shafted with them and a lot of the times the corporations behind them don't care about us - only the extra revenue.

[Acro]

The "old school" delay in processing payments should be less of an issue nowadays, as consumers have full rights to complain and reclaim lost funds (plus interest) if banks or other processors fail to register these funds timely.

[draggar]

The "old school" delay in processing payments should be less of an issue nowadays, as consumers have full rights to complain and reclaim lost funds (plus interest) if banks or other processors fail to register these funds timely.

And companies are so large now that they know well enough that they either have a monopoly (well, a legal monopoly like Comcast and AT&T) and the consumer has no other choices or they have the consumer by the jewels enough (like FPL) that they don't have to worry about keeping you as a customer.

[JuniperPark]

The "old school" delay in processing payments should be less of an issue nowadays, as consumers have full rights to complain and reclaim lost funds (plus interest) if banks or other processors fail to register these funds timely.

Exactly.

All my basics are "auto-billed".

The company bills me too late? Not my problem. They don't credit my account after billing? They'll fix it or get sued.

Bill paying has never been easier in the history of the world, there is no excuse for being late these days.

[Acro]

Ed, I use FPL too, they have an automated system or you can pay your bill manually.

Now, I'll give you an example of opposing mindset: in my home country of Greece, in order to pay your utility bills you still have to go in person to the local branch, wait in line and provide cash. Also, banks charge a fee for allowing you to access your account and making transactions online as opposed to in person at the bank - in the US banks start charging you if you appear in person more than a few times per month.

And while I am in a venting mood, robberies of gas stations in Greece is a daily phenomenon, because they keep thousands of euro in cash at any given time (compared to $50 in the register, the rest in the vault as it is in the US).

[HomerJ]

I don't understand what the fuss is all about.

You mix two things: global economy & rights to wealth, with one's failure in managing their debt and/or bills.

If you want to vent off about the structured policies of the banking system, think of it this way: you can choose not to conduct business with anyone unless it's cash.

no fussin and a fightin mon. i feel the overdraft fee is exorbitant. my solution was to switch banks. thats my personal decision and how i chose to handle the situation. the OP has linked to an interesting article that supports my point of view. others disagree with my point of view and that of the article. thats okay to disagree, but if someone wants to challenge my point of view Im sure going to respond.

there is a major problem with banking and the worlds money system. you say its two separate issues. I don't know. On one hand it is true that each individual is free to make personal choices. On the other hand there are larger sociological factors at play.

most of the people I know that are using credit cards and are in debt are the people that are living paycheck to paycheck, and just trying to survive, not spending it on yachts and second homes. for some of these people I know, that overdraft charge might be half what they make in a day.

if I fussed its mainly because people were also jumping in to exclaim and proclaim about how much the average in-debted person is a deadbeat and that these overdraft fees and other fees should teach them a good lesson, and treating the banks as somehow praiseworthy of all things. when i talked about the larger issues it was in context to that.

[500,000]

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[JMJ]

They can charge $35 or $250. What's the issue? You are using money you don't have in your account. Think of it as a loan. The $35 fee is generous in my opinion.

BTW - you can ask for your bank account to NOT have overdraft protection. Therefore even if you try to purchase something and you don't have the available amount in your bank account it will be rejected...

so what really is the issue here?

These are the same people that complain about high interest rates on credit cards...no one asks you to buy for something and NOT pay for it in full...you do that yourself...

IMO these charges are not outrageous they are FAIR!

Incorrect. I have never had overdraft protection and I've had this reversal scheme happen to me time and time again. Like someone else has stated they'll remove the low dollar amount purchases place the higher dollar amount purchases in line and ding you with a bunch of small ones where the 1 bigger would have been the only one. I've also had them charge this fee on a number of occasions where an autodraft such as my cellphone bill comes in and there's no funds. They don't pay the actual bill. They just charge me for the $35 because the money for the autodraft wasn't in the account.

I should also note I was a party in a class action lawsuit regarding this sort of thing. Didn't do much good they are still doing it.

[BidNo]

There is no doubt bank fees and practices are predatory and abusive. Among other facts, did you know something like 70% of all bank fees are collected from 5% of their customers? Banks say they're just "servicing debt". If you'd tired of the abuse, I highly recommend following HomerJ's lead and switching to a credit union. I did this twenty-five years ago and have never looked back.

[JuniperPark]

There is no doubt bank fees and practices are predatory and abusive. Among other facts, did you know something like 70% of all bank fees are collected from 5% of their customers? Banks say they're just "servicing debt". If you'd tired of the abuse, I highly recommend following HomerJ's lead and switching to a credit union. I did this twenty-five years ago and have never looked back.

Bad news for you: Credit Unions charge the same fees when people violate their agreement!

Again - don't play check-kiting games and pay your bills on time and the fees are a NON-ISSUE.

In other news -- people who don't speed and don't run red lights don't care what the fines are, because they don't pay them!

[Banned: theinvestor]

Incorrect. I have never had overdraft protection and I've had this reversal scheme happen to me time and time again. Like someone else has stated they'll remove the low dollar amount purchases place the higher dollar amount purchases in line and ding you with a bunch of small ones where the 1 bigger would have been the only one. I've also had them charge this fee on a number of occasions where an autodraft such as my cellphone bill comes in and there's no funds. They don't pay the actual bill. They just charge me for the $35 because the money for the autodraft wasn't in the account.

I should also note I was a party in a class action lawsuit regarding this sort of thing. Didn't do much good they are still doing it.

What's incorrect ? Every account has overdraft protection. Wether you know you have it or not.

I am not sure what you're talking about... if your balance does not go into the negative then you're not talking about overdraft protection. (since you said they didn't pay the bill) They may be charging you a fee for bouncing a payment...which is completely different.

[500,000]

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[requestingbackup]

the bank i deal with in canada was always good about it if i called them in advance and told them there might not be enough $ in my account but its just because i'm waiting on a cheque, they usually waived the fee...