overdraftfees

If you're fed up with overdraft fees, you're not alone. During a telephone press conference held earlier this afternoon, which I sat in on, Consumer Federation of America released the results of a national poll today showing that (surprise) just about everyone wants limits and additional...

Ugh. Did we just manage to get one annoying, expensive bank fee out of our hair only to turn around and find another one staring us in the face? Yes, we did, according to MSNBC's Red Tape Chronicles. Here's the short version. The Federal Reserve is cracking down on banks that are slapping their...

Let's get the obvious out of the way first: We don't want you to overdraw your checking account. Spending more money than you actually have is not ideal, to say the least, and always winds up costing you more -- sometimes much more -- in the long run. But banks made more than $38 billion in...

Credit card companies are racing against time and sending out a flurry of mail, hoping to implement last-minute changes before the February 2010 deadline when the CARD Act takes effect and credit card companies must play by the new rules set by Congress. Ignore the mailings and these changes could...

Pssst! ... Want to know a secret? Banks actually have two customer-service departments. The one all of you are probably familiar with is regular customer service. But financial institutions also have what's called "executive customer service" - and these guys (and gals) can perform magic. The...

The Federal Reserve announced on Thursday that starting July 1, 2010, financial institutions can no longer allow customers to overspend their account and then charge overdraft fees -- in most cases -- unless the customers have signed up for a bank's overdraft protection plan that includes such...

Earlier today, Senators Chris Dodd, Jack Reed, Charles Schumer and Sherrod Brown unveiled a long awaited bill that will, if enacted, make it harder for banks to lob overdraft fees at their customers. If the Fairness and Accountability in Receiving (FAIR) Overdraft Coverage act passes, it will do...

As you may know by now, several banks have finally gotten the message that America is more than a little weary of overdraft charges. And so Bank of America, Chase Bank, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo have all made changes, or have announced that they plan to, when it comes to doling out fees to...

It's a question that I never would have thought posing if it weren't for England's Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He recently told the banks in England that he believes billions of pounds should be refunded to customers who were swindled out of their money by overdraft charges. That got my...

The dam is breaking. Just a few days after Bank of America and Chase announced that they're revamping the way they charge for overdrafts, Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank are getting in on the action. Wells Fargo, which owns Wachovia Bank, will no longer have overdraft fees for people who overdraw their...