Bank customers urged to fight back against fees

02.11.09
By Nicholas Storie

Many people may think that bank overdraft charges are just an unnegotiable part of having an account - but what if you were given the option of not participating?

The Center for Responsible Lending is encouraging people to tell the Federal Reserve how they feel about overdraft fees and support action on reforming related regulations.

Customers often get fed-up when they accidentally exceed their account balance while using a debit card or withdrawing money at the ATM and then are hit with a fee.

Additionally, some people are unaware they are enrolled in such a program or find they are unable to withdraw themselves from it.

In response to complaints about banks automatically enrolling customers in programs that charge overdraft fees, the Fed made two proposals designed to help empower account holders.

One involves changing the rules so that financial institutions would have to obtain someone's permission before enrollment - in other words, the customer would be able to opt in.

In the second proposal, banks would be able to continue to enroll people in these programs, but customers would be guaranteed the ability of opting out.

The CRL is urging people to make their opinions known before the Fed's deadline of March 30th.

Amid the challenges of the current economy, overdraft fees may place an additional burden on Americans who are already troubled with a number of financial problems.

Research conducted by the FDIC found that approximately 14 percent of bank customers pay 94 percent of all overdraft charges.

The study also revealed that many debit card transactions that trigger a fee are worth less than the overdraft charge itself.

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Overdraft fees may take you by surprise