I am extremely particular about my money. I have a single credit card, and I pay it off promptly every month. I have never been late with rent, and I pay very close attention to every transaction I partake in. I have been on the phone with my internet and utility providers to combat discrepancies more times than I can count, and I have a set budget for every aspect of my life. At any given time, I can tell you how much is in my savings account, my Duckweb account and on my credit card as well as when every bill that I am responsible for is due.@@er…relax a bit?@@
Am I paranoid? Yes. But I have learned that in the financial world, no one cares about you. If you let your guard down for even a minute, you will incur some new fee. If you don’t plan for every future step, you’re letting someone else plan it for you.
My mania leads me to one bit of advice for Bank of America customers: Tread carefully.
A well-known target of the Occupy protests is big banks, and Bank of America became the movement’s primary example of corporate greed — and for good reason. But what defines corporate greed in the way we imagine it when considering the Occupy movement? The abstract concept is one thing, but underlying practices and hidden activities have and should define the standards by which we judge our banks.
Huge customer unrest stopped Bank of America’s plan to charge customers $5 per month to use their debit cards.@@not surprising@@
“Our customers’ voices are most important to us,” said Bank of America co-Chief Operating Officer David Darnell in a November press release.@@checked@@ “As a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so.”
To many of those protesting and moving their money from big banks to smaller credit unions, this seemed like a victory for the average consumer.@@a very small step, but something@@ However, a rash of new lawsuits facing Bank of America and other large-name banks should bring doubt to all corporate bank account holders as to the nature of what they, as customers, are paying for.
According to the Washington Post,@@checked@@ Bank of America, Wells Fargo and several other big banks and mortgage companies are currently being sued for allegedly hiding illegal fees in loans to U.S. veterans. Another suit @@checked@@by Bank of America debit card holders claims the bank processed customers’ transactions using methods that generate overdraft fees and charge undue penalties.@@ouch@@ The Huffington Post @@checked@@recently reported that the bank was collecting penalties from people collecting their employment benefits on a prepaid debit card. According to ABC News,@@checked@@ 160 veterans just won a $20 million settlement from the bank after the result of their homes being illegally foreclosed on from mid-2009 to 2010.
None of these instances are included in the press release archives @@checked@@of the Bank of America website.@@not surprising@@
These instances and many more, spanning many other banks, were the trigger for the grand movement from Big Bank to credit union, spawning 650,000 @@checked@@new credit union accounts in October alone.
The simple fact is that these banks, once deemed “too big to fail” as justification for government bailouts, are now just too big to trust. Bank of America Corp. CEO Brian T. Moynihan@@http://people.forbes.com/profile/brian-t-moynihan/10059@@ said at a global town hall meeting @@checked@@in October that he was “incensed” with public criticism of his company, urging critics to remember all the charity work and customer service the bank offers,@@pr cover to give us that ‘feel good’ feeling@@ adding “You ought to think a little about that before you start yelling at us.”@@what a douche@@
Well, I have thought about it. And I am yelling at you.@@Snap. -FB; I like the period she uses here to express her outrage.@@
Bouchat: “Too big to fail?” Bank of America is too big to trust
Daily Emerald
November 11, 2011
0
More to Discover