Let's Hold Banks Accountable
 Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 by Connie T.
Last year alone, commercial banks made over $50 billion from consumers for overdraft
fees and insufficient funds / negative balance charges - their number one source of
income. In February of 2007, Rep. Carolyn Maloney
(D - NY) introduced H.R. 946 to Congress, the Consumer Overdraft Protection Fair
Practices Act, which would have extended the protections of the Truth in Lending Act
to overdraft protection programs, services and fees. prohibiting "the systematic manipulation"
in the posting of debits and fees.
It was introduced into Congress, referred to the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer
Credit, and never heard from again.
Why is Congress refusing to allow a bill to make it
to the House and Senate and ultimately the President to be signed into law? You're answer is
as good as ours.
Tomorrow President Barack Obama will be meeting with the
credit card company executives in order to crack down on escalating credit card fees. While this
is a positive step towards fairer lending practices, those consumers that do not have credit cards
(and even those that do) will continue to be subjected to ridiculous fees by their own banks when they
accidentally spend beyond their means (which is what a credit card essentially is, anyhow) - and let's
face it, in these times that is very easy to do.
Just how much are these banks charging? We've
compiled the overdraft fees of 10 common banking institutions for you (above) - Bank of America, Charter One Bank,
Citibank, Fifth Third Bank, First Merit, Huntington Bank, Key Bank, National City Bank, US Bank, and Wachovia - and
the news isn't very good. Of all of them combined, the average overdraft fee per transaction is $33. In
addition to this amount, many of the institutions charge additional fees such as negative balance per day, a flat
fee for going under $0, etc.
Those of the banks that offer any sort of overdraft protection all require
either a credit card, savings account with a minimum balance, cash reserve or home equity line in order to pull
funds from if you overdraw your checking (and there are fees associated with that, of course).
You may be
thinking: well, it's simple, don't go into negative. But banks create practices such as highest to lowest drops,
where they can post your transactions beginning with the largest amount instead of the consecutive order, and
then post deposits after debits; methods like these confuse consumers struggling to balance their
checkbook from paycheck to paycheck. And certainly those that can least afford it are those who fund these
banks' primary income.
 What can we do? ConnieTalk.com
is asking for YOUR help! We've drafted a brand new petition to Congress, its subcommittee for financial institutions, the
U.S. Federal Reserve, and
Mr. President himself. All we need is your signature to push this petition onward on behalf of the People! Whether
or not you've been affected by this issue, please add your voice for those who have been.
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