On the Hunt for Bank Fees (Not Eggs)
With new regulations that are limiting their more lucrative charges such as late and over the limit fees, banks are getting creative in devising new fees and terms on checking and savings accounts. So creative in fact, it’s like you’re in a twisted Easter Egg Hunt trying to find the hidden gems when you don’t even know what they look like!
According to the Truth in Savings Act there must be a “clear and uniform disclosure of rates of interest and the fees that are associated with the account so that the consumer is able to make a meaningful comparison between potential accounts."
In reality, bank terms aren‘t very clear, uniform or even visible.
Consumer Reports recently had an article by Maggie Shader that highlighted the successful and not-so-successful efforts of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) to collect information on banking fees and free checking from over 400 banks across the country.
Initially a quarter of the banks refused to give out the information and many others just supplied a myriad of sales brochures. Finally, after two or three requests, PIRG was able to get fee schedules from approximately 55 % of the bank branches.
PIRG also determined that in fact, half of the banks did offer free checking and 29% offered free checking with regularly scheduled direct deposits. In addition, they found that free accounts were more widely offered at smaller banks and credit unions.
So how can the average person find out about and analyze bank terms and fees?
The Consumer Reports article recommended taking the following actions:
- 1. Ask the bank for disclosure statements and if you have questions, have a representative outline all of the fees for you.
- 2. Check your statement monthly to see if you’ve been charged any fees, including out-of-bank ATM fees, and write them down.
- 3. Use this information to compare the fees of other national and regional banks.
- 4. Consider becoming a member of a federal or state credit union.
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