[quote=briansd1][quote=Ren]
Anyone who gets upset about being charged fees for being overdrawn has other problems besides their bank. Unless you’re so young that you’re living in a frat house, no transaction should put you anywhere near a zero balance.
Our investment accounts are with Schwab. We’ve had 99% great experiences with them, but the 1% definitely accelerated the gray hair. The only reason we didn’t leave them out of principle was because of the pain-in-the-ass factor of finding a replacement.[/quote]
Nobody is disputing that a large percent of the population has financial management problems. But isn’t is our society’s job to help them?
If someone has only $1 in the bank, and overdraws the account by mistake at McDonald’s, how is it to our society’s benefit to allow the bank to charge them $20 overdraft fee? Simply decline the transaction and be done with it.
To me, free basic banking is the same as free over-the-air broadcast and universal lifeline telephone. It wouldn’t be necessary if employers were required to pay in cash if the employees so chose.
When check payments are obligatory, banks get an automatic stream of customers which they prey upon.[/quote]
I believe you now have to “opt-in” to the Overdraft Protection Plan. I’ve received at least a couple of notices from Chase and US Bank regarding this (because we are NOT opting in). I think some of our other banks have sent these notices as well.
Looked it up, and yep…here it is:
The Federal Reserve Board issued new rules that will kick in July 1 giving consumers additional options regarding overdraft protection. Financial institutions won’t be able to automatically sign you up for overdraft services. As with any such change, there’s always some confusion. So the Fed has recently created an online publication on the new banking overdraft rules. I recommend, even in your information-overload state of mind, that you take the time to read the publication, particularly if you frequently use overdraft protection.
On http://www.federalreserve.gov, click on the link that says, “What You Need to Know: New Overdraft Rules for Debit and ATM Cards.” Once on the page you will find a summary of the new rules, including a sample of the notice you should be getting in the mail from your bank or other financial institution.
