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| Photo Credit: betsssssy on Flickr |
In recent years, the U.S.
government has imposed important new regulations on big Wall Street
banks -- rules designed to keep banks from preying on consumers.
But ironically, the mega-banks have responded to those regulations in a
decidedly anti-consumer manner, with a relentless campaign to impose
unfair new fees on the very consumers the regulations were
designed to protect.
For years,
big shiny banks like Chase and Bank of America were where you went to
get "no fee," "no hassle" checking accounts. We all got so used
to seeing ads touting free checking accounts that many of us just came
to accept free checking as the norm. At the same time, many of us have
had our checking accounts with the same big bank (and/or the big
bank that bought out our original bank) for years, giving some of us
the impression that we're still getting the same great deal as
when we signed up.
But think
about it for a second: How many advertisements for "free checking" have
you heard in recent months? Probably not very many, because free
checking is no longer standard at big banks. Quietly, banks have
ratcheted up the fees associated with their accounts, and now, according to
research firm Moebs Services, virtually all of the big banks
have stopped offering free checking accounts. At the same time, the
banks have increased fees for everything from lost debit card
replacements to account minimums and even the "privilege" of speaking to
a bank teller -- fees that often disproportionately affect poor
consumers who may have less flexible schedules and a harder time
maintaining account minimums.
