Us Banks Getting To Be A Pain

[Mr Lee]

I am posting this for all our members, even though it only affects those with US bank accounts right now. I recently got a letter from Citibank which informed me that starting November, we will need to keep a minimum balance of US $6000 in a relationship of our accounts or pay a $15 a month fee. :mocking: Well at least they wrote that they will not charge an ATM fee. That is the account that we use to save up our money for our yearly trips and vacations and spending money for when we are in the Philippines. :( I guess that account will have to go. Below is a scan of the letter if anyone wishes to read their bs. Has anyone else gotten notices from their banks anywhere else in the world, or in the US? I am wondering how fast this is going to spread? Next in the news, Bank of America plans on starting to charge a $5 fee for ATM usage in addition to the $12 a month fee. :)Read about it HERE What the heck is going on with US banks? Well IMO this is going to be monkey see monkey do, so hold onto your wallets, I will bet you money that these fees will spread across the world before long :( unless the economy gets a lot better.

[Call me bubba]

USAA they will NOT charge such OUTRAGEOUS fees or require that you keep such a large amount of funds on deposit. You must look around to find the best bank that suits your particular situation. which is a Credit Union ,a Small,local bank ,a "Internet bank" or USAA, NOT A MAJOR Bank unless you have to have the "services that they offer " which still can be found at most Credit unions. Yes i am a (bank) customer as well a member of them (for my personal insurance needs), they have treated me VERY WELL over the past 20 plus years ( Total service charges =late fees, overdraft etc is much under $100, thats again for the past 20 years)

[Art2ro]

Holy sh&t! Our COLAs has already been frozen across the board for the past 2 yrs and now our U.S. banks are going to stick it to us with additional surcharges, monthly and or annual fees! Does the U.S. government still manually mail out U.S. Treasury pension checks door to door, but probably not to the Philippines? There's probably a fee for cashing in U.S. Tresury checks too huh? Even direct deposits of U.S. government pensions to overseas accounts aren't free! Well, there goes my "free banking system"! It really pisses me off! What's next, the Philippine banks will follow suit too and charge us a monthly or annual fee weather we use our ATM debt cards or not even though we already keep the minimum amount in all our accounts? Now that would really suck big time! I'm with BofA and BPI and I have never been charged with any fees what so ever in the past 13 years ever since retiring! Our COLAs then better be returned next tax year to make up for our lost from these banks screwing us all! Fortunately I still have options open to me to stick it to the U.S. government in the end for an increase from my prior military service disability compensations through the V.A., just takes time in processing my paperwork! Like I always say, "It's always a matter of money"!

Edited October 5, 2011 by Art2ro

[Art2ro]

USAA they will NOT charge such OUTRAGEOUS fees or require that you keep such a large amount of funds on deposit.You must look around to find the best bank that suits your particular situation. which is a Credit Union ,a Small,local bank ,a "Internet bank" or USAA, NOT A MAJOR Bank unless you have to have the "services that they offer " which still can be found at most Credit unions. Yes i am a (bank) customer as well a member of them (for my personal insurance needs), they have treated me VERY WELL over the past 20 plus years( Total service charges =late fees, overdraft etc is much under $100, thats again for the past 20 years)

So Ed, that has been 20 years in the making that your bank has been sticking it to you, while for me it has been free and other U.S. banks are now just beginning to stick to their customers as Lee has informed us from his OP!

[Bastos]

Thank Barney Frank and Chris Dodd for the necessity of banks to raise fees. "The two Democrats pushed through the much-vaunted Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which President Obama signed and touted as one of the signature accomplishments of his presidency. That act, which included a micromanaging amendment on fees, carried a $2.9 billion implementation cost for that alone over five years, according to the Government Accountability Office." Bottom line, Act cut fee banks can charge retailers in HALF. Is anyone, ANYONE, surprised by the banks passing this loss on to their customers. If it cost a baker 50% more to make a loaf of bread can he stay in business if he doesn't increase the price he charges for the same loaf?

[Mr Lee]

USAA they will NOT charge such OUTRAGEOUS fees or require that you keep such a large amount of funds on deposit. You must look around to find the best bank that suits your particular situation. which is a Credit Union ,a Small,local bank ,a "Internet bank" or USAA, NOT A MAJOR Bank unless you have to have the "services that they offer " which still can be found at most Credit unions. Yes i am a (bank) customer as well a member of them (for my personal insurance needs), they have treated me VERY WELL over the past 20 plus years ( Total service charges =late fees, overdraft etc is much under $100, thats again for the past 20 years)

So Ed, that has been 20 years in the making that your bank has been sticking it to you, while for me it has been free and other U.S. banks are now just beginning to stick to their customers as Lee has informed us from his OP!

I do not believe a bank is sticking it to a customer of that bank, when they charge late fees or overdraft fees (I think that is what Ed has referred to) because it is up to us to not be late or go over our balance, and when it does occasionally happen, I feel they have a right to charge us for those administrative costs, but now they are charging us just for the privilege of having an account with them, so I have spoken with my feet and found a local credit union which accepts almost anyone as a customer, and on top of that pays 1.5% on a checking account and requires no minimum balance. I suggest others do the same thing, but it is easier said than done for those who are living full time in the Philippines. Citibank will not get to screw me/us because our accounts will be closed before the fee is implemented in November. As for the govt being responsible, yes that is true to some degree but I feel it is more about the banks being used to making the big bucks so they can give their CEO's and upper crust giant salaries, so they do not wish to give in and be like the rest of the world, tightening our belts, so they decide to screw their customers. I feel govt has no right telling business how to do business, but at the same time I feel business has not right screwing their customers, so the only way to prevent getting screwed, is to show them we are not going to take it, by seeking out other banks and credit unions that do not charge those fees. The problem I see with all this is, if the majority of people allow them to screw us, then the fees will spread quickly to other banks, so it is now in our ball court to show them we will not tolerate the fees, and if we don't, then we can expect to be paying fees around the world before long. When I called Citi to complain, I could tell by the ladies words and tone that she has been hearing it since the letters went out, so people are complaining but they have to act also by closing their accounts.

[Candyman]

We have had exorbitant bank fees for years out here in Australia ! I do not know of any bank out here that does not charge you, just for having the privilege of having your money in their bank ! For us it is $6.00 every month for every account, regardless of the amount in the bank !