Episode 3 Aftercast: Bank fees, and how to avoid and fight them!

Okay, here it is, the information you've waited years for:

- How bank fees got so prevalent, what they are

- How to avoid them

- How to complain about them, escalating to top management (contact info)

- How to report banks to regulators over fees

- How to file lawsuits against them.



Show Audio Here.



Here are all the links / sources used in the podcast by timestamp when they are heard in the show and some useful information in between:







We start our aftercast with some outraged people who tell of their experiences with Bank of America, Wells Fargo (chanting from the protest on Wall Street - Wells Fargo this sucks! Where's our $25 million bucks!), Citibank, and Chase bank.  Can you relate to these people?  Are you mad as heck and don't want to take it anymore?  Protesters walk Broadway in Manhattan, NY, they walked in Chicago, and other cities!  Are you mad enough to want to join them if and when there is another protest?



Scott's pet peeve is FEES and specifically, in this aftercast, he takes on bank fees (credit card fees will be featured in another podcast).  In this discussion, free checking (is there such a thing?), small print on bank notices, and other bank fees.  Scott will take us through the fees and how to report these outrageous fees to many different agencies.



7:45: Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depository_Institutions_Deregulation_and_Monetary_Control_Act



8:45: First National Bank of Chicago Teller Fee in 1995

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2008/04/paying-cash-at.html



 In 1995, First National Bank of Chicago started charging a $3 teller fee which forced people to use the ATM and profits doubled for 28%.  Banking customers have become nickeled and dimed ever since.



10:15: Financial Times August 2009 on Bank Fees:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/43d18c68-851d-11de-9a64-00144feabdc0.html



Banks make $38 billion from fees yearly.  Fees have nearly doubled since 2000 - Financial Times, August 2009. Banks made 75% of their money from fees, not interest.



13:20: PocketMoney checking account register software for Iphone:

http://www.catamount.com/iPhoneApps/PocketMoney.html



17:37: Coverage on the courtesy overdraft scam where fees and interest are charged to move funds to cover itemshttp://www.billshrink.com/blog/7898/bank-of-america-overdraft/

19:15: Usury references in the Bible:http://www.tentmaker.org/lists/UsuryScriptureList.html

20:00: Usury defined:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usury

20:15: Fed Moves to Limit Overdraft Fees:http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/federal-reserve-issues-new-rules-restricting-overdraft-fees-on-d/19235338/

22:00: Banks move to limit Overdraft Fees:http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/index.php?s=43&item=8538http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/09/24/wells-fargo-to-eliminate-overdraft-charges/

24:15: Red Tape Chronicles MSNBC Reporter Bob Sullivan Reveals BOA's ATM Denial Fee:http://redtape.msnbc.com/2005/10/now_even_atm_de.html



Thank you to Bob Sullivan, Red Tape Cronicles, for revealing an ATM denial fee of $1.50 from Bank of America when he was over his DAILY withdrawl limit.

24:50: One Consumer (of millions) gets stung with the daily spending limit when shopping:http://consumerist.com/2008/02/bank-of-america-wont-let-you-access-your-money.htmlEven worse: Stranded when they cut you off when you are abroad:http://consumerist.com/2008/06/bank-of-america-tries-to-ruin-your-vacation-for-your-own-protection.html

25:30: History of ATM's - They started out Free (Thanks to K.D. Weinert) http://www.stopatmfees.com/newpage3.htm  

29:45: The Wells Fargo Rewards Debit Card program Elaine describes:https://www.wellsfargo.com/checkcard/rewards



The Wells Fargo Rewards Program is free if you ONLY register your credit card, but of course, when you try to register your Debit/Visa Logo card to that, there is a yearly fee of $12.  This information comes directly from a customer service representative who I spoke with in the Rewards Dept.  Even though you will get $1 reward for each $1 you put on your credit card, the debit card with visa logo is less than that.

30:15: Chase Leisure Rewards Program referred to in Short Show:https://www.chase.com/ccp/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/shared/assets/page/leisure_rewards_faq

30:30: How Points and Loyalty programs work:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyalty_program

31:15: TCF Bank $50 bonus promotion:http://www.tcfbank.com/PersonalBanking/pb_checking_free_cash_50.jsp

33:52: Wells Fargo Coin Counting Program:  CORRECTION: Elaine stated there is a program to only count coins on certain days and only for WF members. It was information given to her by her local branch of Wells Fargo. Although, when calling to check on this I was advised WF will count coins for no fee for either customers or non-customers IF they have a coin counting machine in the branch, but if they do not, then the tellers will not take the coins (they should) and will refer the customers to another branch.  WF was unable to tell me if they have a policy spelled out on their website, and I could not find one.

34:15:  WF and others charing non account holders $5 fee to cash checks drawn on their bank:http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2005/09/05/daily12.html

35:20: Regulations D Savings Fee Info:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_D

39:00: Bob Sullivan's book "Gotcha Capitalism"http://www.gotchacapitalism.com/

44:22: http://www.moveyourmoney.info  is the site helping you find other smaller more local banks to bank with instead of these big 4 banks the fee you to death and took your tax bailout money, yet won't pay you decent interest or loan you money. 

Huffington Post coverage: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/move-your-money-a-new-yea_b_406022.html

45:45: How banks play games with waiting to credit your deposit to your account:http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/chk/19991102.aspThis article also has 6 great tips to avoid this affecting you or making your account go negative. 

46:09: Check 21: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Check_21

46:25: The Expedited Funds Availability Act: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedited_Funds_Availability_Act

46:45: Here is some good strategy for getting the fees waived:http://money.blogs.time.com/2010/02/23/the-customer-service-confrontation-what-to-say-to-get-fees-waived/

Escalation Resources:

47:41: Federal Reserve Bank: Consumer Complaint Form: http://www.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov/consumercomplaint.cfmContact Info listed on that same page as well. 

49:00: Office of Comptroller of the Currency:Complaint Form: https://appsec.helpwithmybank.gov/olcc_form/Contact Info Here:http://www.helpwithmybank.gov/contactus/index.html

50:00: Complain about a Credit Union:

http://www.ncua.gov/Resources/ConsumerInformation/Complaints/index.aspx

Pick the right category of Credit Union, then pick your state, and the contact info for the correct regulator will be revealed.



50:47: Karney Hatch's Video "Overdrawn" featured his successful suit against Wells Fargo fighting outrageous overdraft fees. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUXRBehEuH0

Overdrawn homepage: http://www.overdrawnmovie.net



51:45: Consumerist.com article link to web page for small claims court process in all 50 states:

http://consumerist.com/2008/01/suing-big-companies-in-small-claims-court-is-fun-and-easy.html

Direct link to the resource: http://law.freeadvice.com/resources/smallclaimscourts.htm



52:30 Kopelowitz & Ostrow law firm is another possible legal option:  See if there is a class action suit and join it, or start a new one: http://www.bankoverdraftlawyers.com/how-to-avoid-bank-overdraft-fees.php



Social Media Sites to Publicize your story and complain at:



53:15:  Consumerist.com:  http://www.consumerist.com (Email your story to them, if they cover it, seen by thousands of people, but note, they redact the story so the actual location of the business isn't revealed.)



The rest of these sites do NOT redact stuff, which I feel is better.

Rip Off Report: http://www.ripoffreport.com 

My3Cents.com: http://www.my3cents.com

PlanetFeedback: http://www.planetfeedback.com

Complaints.com: http://www.complaints.com

Epinions.com: http://www.epinions.com



These sites are geographically oriented.  When other consumers search for that business, they just might see your review and not shop there! :)

Yelp.com: http://www.yelp.com

Google.com: http://www.google.com.  (Look up the business and then you should see link for reviews, write a review, many others will see it.)

CitySearch.com: http://www.citysearch.com

Yahoo Local: http://local.yahoo.com/

Insider Pages: http://www.insiderpages.com

Think Local: http://www.thinklocal.com

Metromix: http://www.metromix.com

Ziphip: http://www.ziphip.com

Kudzu: http://www.kudzu.com



Bank Executive Contact and Salary Info:



55:00:  John Stumpf, CEO of Wells Fargo:

Contact Info: http://consumerist.com/2008/09/contact-info-for-wells-fargo-ceo-john-stumpf-and-friends.html

Salary Info: http://people.forbes.com/profile/john-g-stumpf/85891

(Sarah is his personal assistant as per Elaine.)



57:00: Jamie Dimon, CEO of Chase Bank:

Heather Joyner, Resolution Specialist: http://consumerist.com/2010/03/having-a-problem-with-chase-bank-heres-where-to-turn.html

CEO Contact Info: http://consumerist.com/2008/05/contact-information-for-chase-ceos.html

Salary Info: http://people.forbes.com/profile/james-s-dimon/46630



59:50: Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America:

BofA is a finalist in Consumerist.com's Worst Company in America Contest:http://consumerist.com/2010/04/worst-company-in-america-overtime-rules.html

CEO Contact Info: http://consumerist.com/2010/04/reach-bank-of-americas-ceo.html

Salary Info: http://people.forbes.com/profile/brian-t-moynihan/10059



60:48: Vikram Pandit, CEO of Citibank:



CEO Contact Info:: http://consumerist.com/2008/10/reach-citibank-executive-customer-service.htmlSalary Info: http://people.forbes.com/profile/vikram-s-pandit/19716

Also: 27 Citibank executive emails! :)  http://consumerist.com/2009/03/27-citibank-executive-emails.html



62:07: Correction: I had stated that Vikram's share of Old Lane netted him $79 million, but two articles say he actually made around $162.5 million on it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikram_Pandit

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ausa1oLaMjBs&refer=home



67:05: Chase Bank Unemployment Card Fee Scandal:

http://cbs4denver.com/investigates/unemployement.debit.cards.2.1531314.html



Extra Resource Not Mentioned in the Episode:























Big 4 banks fee disclosures:



Chase:

https://apply.chase.com/oao/DisclosureRetriever.aspx?DI=aHR0cDovL2FwcGNvbnRlbnQuYmFua29uZS5uZXQvUlNJL0RlcG9zaXQvUEVSU19DT19BQlNGX0VOR19WMzEuZmRm



Wells Fargo:

https://www.wellsfargo.com/wfonline/deposit_acct_fees



Bank of America:

http://factsaboutfees.bankofamerica.com/manage-banking-fees/



Citibank:

http://www.citigroup.com/uae/gcb/info/docs/fin_charges.pdf