Should 'maintenance fees' be illegal for bank accounts?

[Fizzzzle]

I've always found it stupid. You're going to charge me $12 or $15/month or whatever to manage my checking account when it's like... Managing my cash and investing it is your entire business model? Like, you basically agree to hold everyone's money and guarantee it will always be there, meanwhile you're kind of secretly gambling it. That's the exchange. When you start charging me for the privilege of doing that... How does that make sense and why do we accept it?

[CastlevaniaNut18]

That’s a thing? I’ve never had that at any bank. 

[Air_Delivery]

12 minutes ago, CastlevaniaNut18 said:

That’s a thing? I’ve never had that at any bank. 

If you have under a certain amount usually like 250 or 100 bucks

[Fizzzzle]

6 minutes ago, Air_Delivery said:

If you have under a certain amount usually like 250 or 100 bucks

At chase and b of a it's closer to $1000. At chase it's like $1150. Source: been dealing with changing banks

[CastlevaniaNut18]

My bank has a free checking with no fees or minimum amount required. There’s a higher tier that earns a bit of interest and they charge you a few bucks if you go below $1000. 

[Air_Delivery]

Its like 200 at my credit union. And they instantly charge you if you dip below it at any time even for a second. 

[gamer.tv]

15 minutes ago, Air_Delivery said:

Its like 200 at my credit union. And they instantly charge you if you dip below it at any time even for a second. 

I could benefit from this peer pressure in my life. 

[Keyser_Soze]

51 minutes ago, CastlevaniaNut18 said:

That’s a thing? I’ve never had that at any bank. 

 

Bank of America charges $10 if you have less than a certain amount in the account.

[Fizzzzle]

1 minute ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Bank of America charges $10 if you have less than a certain amount in the account.

They charged me $13 for having less than $1000. It could vary by state, otherwise... Class action, anybody?

[Keyser_Soze]

13 minutes ago, Fizzzzle said:

They charged me $13 for having less than $1000. It could vary by state, otherwise... Class action, anybody?

 

The only reason I have an account there is because to get a Medallion signature guarantee you have to be a member for six months. So I opened an account with like $100 in it so I could say I was a member to get the MSG, then planned to close it after. But they make you jump though even more hoops after that. So I still have the account.

[Guest]

Banks now charge to deposit cash, usually once you go over $5k in a statement period. They get ya everywhere they can.

[Fizzzzle]

23 minutes ago, sblfilms said:

Banks now charge to deposit cash, usually once you go over $5k in a statement period. They get ya everywhere they can.

We are giving them money so they can make money off of our money. Their whole business model is "whatever happens with your money while we hold it is none of your business." And also lending. It's like... Why has this not been ruled illegal? Making money off of holding my money is what you should be paying ME for, not the other way around. I should be getting dividends, motherfucker, not charges.

[Brian]

I signed up for a student bank account with BofA when I was in high school and got grandfathered into no fees. #Livingfeefree

[crispy4000]

Use DepositAccounts.com to find banks that aren't shit.  Almost without exception, if you're banking at a big name institution, you're doing it wrong.

 

I have no maintenance fees or mandatory limits at two local banks I'm at.

[stepee]

Yes, it should be. Overdraft fees should be looked at as well. though I think they were forced to tone down how they handled those, it used to be so predatory where accidentally going $5 over could results in hundreds of dollars in fees by the time you even notice.

[Dodger]

Do you have direct deposit? I thought Chase waived the fees for direct deposit. I got rid of Citi bank and switched to Chase over this. I had Citi for like 15 years and they were charging me fees because I didn't have the minimum amount at the time so I switched to Chase, which worked out anyway since Chase is all over AZ while I haven't seen a single Citi location. 

[AlwaysDyingX]

It sounds like it just affects poor people with less than $1000.  

 

[Jason]

19 hours ago, Air_Delivery said:

Its like 200 at my credit union. And they instantly charge you if you dip below it at any time even for a second. 

 

Plenty of credit unions that don't suck, they all share an ATM network and some of them will handle teller stuff for other credit unions too. If you're with your credit union because the physical location is convenient, see if they offer co banking so you can just use them as a front-end for a non shit CU. 

[Guest]

A perk of having my business accounts at the same bank as my personal accounts is they treat them as a single account for the purposes of fees and other benefits 

[stepee]

1 hour ago, BasemntDweller2 said:

It sounds like it just affects poor people with less than $1000.  

 

 

That’s the main ire I draw from these things, they are policies that particularly attack the people who actually need the money the most. 

[Biggie]

2 hours ago, BasemntDweller2 said:

It sounds like it just affects poor people with less than $1000.  

 

[Biggie]

2 hours ago, Dodger said:

Do you have direct deposit? I thought Chase waived the fees for direct deposit. I got rid of Citi bank and switched to Chase over this. I had Citi for like 15 years and they were charging me fees because I didn't have the minimum amount at the time so I switched to Chase, which worked out anyway since Chase is all over AZ while I haven't seen a single Citi location. 

Direct deposit? The dude still gets paper checks that sometimes bounce.

[Biggie]

23 minutes ago, stepee said:

 

That’s the main ire I draw from these things, they are policies that particularly attack the people who actually need the money the most. 

Have they ever tried not needing money?

[AlwaysDyingX]

3 hours ago, stepee said:

 

That’s the main ire I draw from these things, they are policies that particularly attack the people who actually need the money the most. 

 

Oh I've been on the receiving end, its f'n bullshit. Its another way to keep people down. 

[Ominous]

Never delt with this at my Credit Union, but in general yes this is bullshit. 

Bank fees are a poor tax. Just like check cashing fees, etc. 

Smaller packages of food, dry goods, pantry items are "cheaper" but you pay more per ounce or serving when buying the "cheapest" smallest package.

It's expensive to be poor. 

[Dodger]

9 hours ago, Biggie said:

Direct deposit? The dude still gets paper checks that sometimes bounce.

 

well then that’s his problem right there.

[Zaku3]

I asked the ghost of Karl Marx and he said yes they should be illegal.