Join a credit union, they are non-profit and most care more for thier 'members' than any bank will for thier 'customers'.

I'VE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH CHASE. I HAD A PROVIDIAN CARD FOR YEARS. THEN THEY SOLD TO WAMU. I HAD NEVER BEEN LATE ON A PAYMENT. I HAVE A BUGET SET UP AND PAY 4 DAYS BEFORE THEY ARE DUE. WHEN CHASE TOOK OVER, BEFORE I GOT A NOTICE THAT THEY HAD MY ACCOUNT AND I GOT A LATE CHARGE. THEY HAD CHANGED MY DUE DATE FROM THE 30TH TO THE 21ST OF THE MONTH. I MADE MY PAYMENT ON THE 25TH AND WAS INFORMED I HAD A LATE CHARGE AND THEY WOULDN'T TAKE IT OFF. THANK GOD I ONLY HAVE A LOW BALANCE BECAUSE THAT CARD HAS BEEN CUT UP AND THEY HAVE LOST A GOOD CUSTOMER.

"I don't understand consumers who think they are entitled to free services - especially banking. Why would a bank encourage a withdraw of money by making it convenient (which they do) AND free? This is not a public service."
Because its my money? The banks want to not only have
free use of MY money, but charge to give it back when I want it? Its a service for me to loan my money to the bank?

Stop banking and use cash only. I took charge of my life and it's great! I also laugh at you poor sheep for taking it from the bank!

The title is misleading - moving money out of a bank via a wire transfer will cost you, but moving money out of a bank via ACH is still free. As the last paragraph says, "account holders should always have the destination bank initiate the transfer."

Dave should not be doing wire transfers. If he insists on doing money movements that way then $3 is a very reasonable charge.

buy a safe and put your money there.

Wow. This is the bottom folks. This is the end of responsible consumer behavior. A bank is a business, and like any business on the planet exists to make money. There's nothing wrong with that, it's the free market. And as particiants in the free market, get off your uninformed rears and shop around!!!! You would think men in masks broke in their houses and stole their wallets! This whole "Victim" mentality is a heart-breaking show but in the end you're responsible for understanding the services you use and the costs for them.

Citizens Bank is part of Royal Bank Of Scotland which received a huge bailout from the UK. Royal Bank also owns World Pay which has overcharged its merchant customers and churned its reps. If you are tired of paying extra for your customers reward cards and want to earn rewards for you try www.merchantrewardsnow.com

Maybe - not all banks or bankers(employees) are getting rich - but - their Presidents are - consider - a retired banker was rehired at a huge salary by a bank in a rural area. As a measure of how much he makes - he had no problem giving over one million dollars to the local church for an addition. Yet this bank has some of the highest fees and lowest CD rates in the area. And - it is amazing that this bank has brances within a few miles of each other.

Use a credit union that is part of the shared branching network. I can go to a credit union where I don't have an account, take money from a regional credit union account and deposit it in an out of state credit union. I don't pay a fee for this service.

Yes, the entire nation must awake to an excellent bank in Texas..USAA.. No minimum balance to maintain..checking/savings, REIMBURSED FOR 10 ATM WITHDRAWALS UPTO $15.00, prepaid envelopes, free checks and deposit slips, and much more...visit www.usaa.com. I have been banking for a very long time and I surely feel safe to keep my money in this bank! So AMERICA start switching to USAA Federal Savings Bank in San Antonio, TX. There is no bank to beat this one in all its benefits...dont expect any high interest rate with this sorta economy!

Talk radio hosts don't produce a damn thing. The ones on the right defend capitalism, that is those that live off of those that produce. The banks favor those that steal from the producers. Congress people don't produce either, they just bend forward for a bribe by the capitalist so that the capitalist can continue raping the producers. Laws are made to favor the capitalist and gives them a licence to rape and plunder. Ancient Rome had the same system.

SO, WHAT'S NEW? In the late '50s, my father helped me set up a savings account ( at 3% ) at a local bank. This was probably for, like, $70-80. A year or so later, we took in my passbook ( remember them ?) to have the interest updated and were told that I had none coming! Seems like they had arbitrarily decided to not pay interest on accounts under $100 or, maybe, $200. So, why weren't we notified? They claimed we were notified; there was a sign in the lobby for 30 days!

Needless to say, we pulled the money out of the account and found another bank. Fifty years later, I am still avoiding that bank . . .

Our country stated right there on the neighbors, based on who? Almighty God and nothing could make them turn back, even though they lost over have the crew. The reason that the country is in the way it is New England is because that everybody wants to run there yap in this country, but no one wants to repent and turn back to the God that this country was founded on!

Too many people are focusing on the $3. That is not the point of the story!! The point is that the service used to be free and isn't now. It was covertly added.

We can talk till doomday..If everyone took all their money out of the banks..they would go under..it's time to act..and not complain..I read something from a great historian "american people are stupid" and we are,because we put up with it!!! all of what's demanded of us. Bank of America has a save the change..they round off what you charge on you ATM card then they charge you a monthly of 3.00..I told them that's the point..did't get a good enough answer.

Enjoyed and learned good information from many of the postings here. There are some very organized and knowledgeable people commenting here. They convinced me to pursue both community banks and credit unions.

Banks are a business, just like any other business. Banks have employees, taxes, expenses, etc. While I do feel that some banks do charge outrageous fees, they still need to make money somehow. What service ever comes free without some type of cost? And, for those of you that are saying that credit unions are better....credit unions are NON-PROFIT. They do NOT pay any taxes. Therefore, they can AFFORD to pay better interest rates. Someday if congress smartens up they will change all of that. There is NO reason why they should be exempt from paying taxes...they operate the same as banks do.
Finally, for the person that stated that they were being charged fees for excessive transfers between their savings and checking accounts. That is a federal rule, a savings account should be a savings account, not a transaction account. When customers exceed the legal limit, the bank is required to take action which requires extra time and work from someone behind the scenes. Finally, all the fees that all of you are griping about are probably disclosed to you at the time you open your account. Ignorance is not always bliss. You have eyes and brains for a reason. Read the account disclosures!!!!

How about this---I went to withdraw 8000.00 and I was told I needed to ORDER it at least a week in advance! Huh---so goes and emergency fund cause ya know emergencies do wait!

If you don't like banks, don't use them.
If you don't like credit unions, don't use them.
If you worried about the fees: read the inserts in your statements, your bank inbox, your email, and usually they contain the fees that most people throw out. Stop at the bank and ask for their latest brochure on fees, since you go there probably at least once a month for some transaction. Better yet, read the website that lists all the fees.

If you do a new transaction other than your regular ones that you know don't cost you money, inquire before you do it.

See, there are easy solutions.

I am a marketing director at a credit union so here is another plug for credit unions....our credit cards don't have high interest rates and we won't jack them up on you...The one credit union I use has an credit card interest rate of 8.90% APR which is a FIXED rate. The credit union where I work our interest rate is 10.65% APR again FIXED and in this day and age still not a bad interest rate for a credit card...Take that Chase, Bank of America and Citibank....Don't get me wrong....there are good credit unions and bad ones (greedy CEO's can work at credit union's too but they are more than likely ex-bankers) but the credit union philosophy is "not for profit, not for charity, but for service"... The message here is do your homework! We just did a market survey and most of our fees are even lower than the other credit unions in the area. We have low interest rates for automobile, home equity and personal loans. So check out your local credit union! You just might like what you see on your statement every month…!

I have been a credit union member for well over 20 years and I would never NEVER go back to a nickel and dime you to death bank. I prefer to keep my money.

I am so glad I found this article. Today I left the awful people at Chase. I am a college student with a single parent trying to save money to pay for college. I currently keep my saving in a high-interest ING savings and as a result, I get docked 4 dollars a month for not maintaining a minimum $300 balance...What college kid is going to consistently have that kind of money when they pay for their own schooling. Sorry I want to earn more than your generous 0.01% interest rate. And when I left Chase, the branch manager acted like a total toddler and stormed out not saying a word to me when I said there is no way I am staying...(clap clap clap) way to run a "professional" business.

How about banks robbing children? I opened two savings accounts for my two boys 10, 11 at bank of america with there hardearned money i told the lady i wanted savings acoounts . They paid the first month one kid 2 cents the other 3 cents on 200 and 300 dollars then CHARGED EACH KIDS ACCOUNT 5 DOLLARS A MONTH. FOLKS THIS IS PURE ROBBERY THE KIDS WANT HAVE ANY MONEY IN THE ACCOUNTS IF I LEFT IT IN THERE BANK OF AMERICA IS A CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE BEWARE CHILDREN. There explanation was they couldnt open the account by themselves so because it was a custodial account they had to charge 60 dollars a year SCREW THEM. I took money out and put it under the mattress.

Credit unions? Hah... try this on for size and tell me you actually feel safer... http://www.reporterherald.com/news_story.asp?ID=24177

All of you claiming the benefits of credit unions... in my town, at least it wouldn't do a bit of good. 2 of them are under investigation and are on the verge of being shut down because of their bad business practices and their overall non-profitability.

I work for a small business. Quite often a new vendor of ours needs a reference from our bank. Our bank is now charging a $10.00 reference fee to my perspective vendor. So naturally the vendor will not pay it so we are turned down because there is no bank reference. Grrrr

All this talk is reminiscent of the depression, when people hid their money in mattresses, because they hated the banks.

I heard the FDIC is in trouble. They do not have enough money to cover losses; probably why they are hining their fees to banks.

What some people fail to realize is the work required with maintaining accounts. Not every bank nor banker is getting rich. There are plenty of good banks out there. Yes, some of them are horrible. I can't wait until my car loan is paid off and I don't have to deal with Chase anymore. But there are plenty of hard working people at banks. The evil is not all encompassing.

Simple. Bank LOCAL or Credit Union. I switched from Bank Of America after I got frustrated with their fees. I switched to two small local banks and have never looked back. And these local banks were NOT stupid enough to be involved in sub-prime mess and their assets are fine. Exceptional service too. But generally only available in smaller towns.

Isn't it funny how banks are always charging you more but yet they are doing it to save you money. Another out of control institution that our dear congress gave free rein to.

At National City Bank, a "free" checking account with overdraft protection drawn from your own savings account is free unless you over draw. They charge you $15 for that transfer from checking to savings - for using your own money. They charge $35 if you don't have enough in savings, and they fork over their own money. They also carefully arrange your transactions in the way that benefits them most. The hold all your transactions for several days in a "pending" column then order them from largest debit to smallest. In this way, even if you accidentally overdrew by a few cents on the last item you purchased, their crafty arrangement will cause a domino effect of overdrafts and fees, the fees themselves being instantly removed causing more overdrafts. They say you should be responsible for knowing your balance. Yes, you should. But a few cents over is one fee-generating mistake, and they manipulate it so that it can cost hundreds of dollars. That's evil.

My credit union, on the other hand, charges nothing if you overdraft and the money is transferred from your savings. If that happens multiple times, they charge $1 each. If it happen more in the same month, they charge $20. They are also currently paying 4.01% on checking, and refund up to $25 a month on non-cu ATMs. Even better, my credit union offers Visa cards at 7.90%, whether it's a purchase or cash advance, or balance transfer. They don't charge a 3% balance transfer fee, and don't charge if you accidentally go over the limit. Basically, there are no real fees unless you really screw up and deserve it. And even then, I made a bunch of transactions one day, having the wrong balance in mind, and raced up $80 in overdraft fees. I called them and told them it was really one mistake multiplied over, and asked if they could just charge me $20. They removed all the charges. A credit union really works in the best interest of their members and that's why I'l never again go to a bank.

Then don't do an online transfer...Get up from the computer, go to the bank and withdrawl the portion you want to transfer. People are getting so dependant on the internet. I love the internet too, I use online banking and bill paying...but holy moly, people, you still gotta leave your house sometime. LOL

Are people angry enough yet to get some torches and pitchforks and shove it up the arses of the robber barron CEOs? Americans could take a lesson from the people in Iran.

Just write out a check and put it in the mail. It's cheaper, just have to pay for the stamp.

this foray is another disater for those uninformed and refuse to read the fine print or use the net

I have notice that there is a thief with access to my bank account!!!!! Every few days, this thief reaches in and takes a few more dollars. Never a large amount as that might get my attentions. Just a constant stream of small deductions from my business account. It amounts to about 8% of the revenue of my business getting into the hands of this filthy thief. I went in last week and tried to report that Mr. W. Fargo had my account number, but the bank told me he was legit.

Here's an idea. Have your employer pay you in cash and then keep the money in your drawer. When you owe someone money, or you want to give it to someone else, get on your bike and ride over and then pay them. Problem solved. Your right, who needs a bank. Computers and proceesing centers are all free. They don't cost anything to operate so everything should be free. Good point.

I am a former bank Vice President and there seems to be some misunderstanding on the subject of money transfers. Everybody needs to WAKE UP and understand that "Mike Jones" is misleading the public when he compares ACH transfers of money between accounts at different banks to a "wire transfer", and then makes it sound like we're getting some kind of "deal". It's bogus. Transferring money between banks such as ING or other online services uses the ACH system, which takes a day or two but costs the bank little to nothing. Think of it as paying a bill with an electronic check, or automatically making payments on your mortgage .. you are technically transferring money from your account to the merchant's account at a different bank, right? There are no substantial costs to do this, which is why we aren't charged for it. A true "wire transfer" is different: it involves using the fed wire system, wire operators, and a lot of paperwork for each transfer. It is also instant. The cost of $18 to $35 for this is therefore somewhat justified. But this is a completely different system than what most online banks use to transfer money for their account holders, and what Citizens bank and others are charging for. For citizens to compare the two to justify a charge they hid in an "improved website" announcement is borderline fraudulant. This needs to be clarified and STOPPED.

I work at a small bank and I can tell you why Banks don't like to send money is that there is an inherent risk in doing it. Lets say John wants to send $10,000 from bank A to B and sets it to go out on Day X. If John pulls out $9,000 the day before the transfer. X day comes and the bank sends the money. Now the bank that intiated the transfer is LEGALLY responsible for that $9,000. Now if you ask a bank to draft money if the money is'nt in the account it just posts as an NSF with no risk to either institution.

Write checks. The additional work for the bank will make them wish they could do transactions electronically. Then maybe they will back off the extra fees.
I say that as if there was a snowballs chance that the public can act as one body in their mutual self interest. Call me a dreamer.

Where is the fee for bailing out these low class scum a** holes!! Too bad the whores of congress protect them when they rip us off!!

Bank Execurives and CEO's are trying to screw everybody they can so they can get their big bonuses and Salaries is whats really going on !!! I never do any business with BOA, CHASE, WELLS FARGO, CITI never- ever and have NO intentions to,,their fraudulent banks with lies and Spin that take advantage of consumers, everybody should Quit doing business them, the power is with the people !!!!

Recently my 9yr old daughter brought her coin filled bank to add the amount to her savings for she hopes a college future only to be told that a 3% charge of the change total will now be deducted as a fee,How can we teach our kids to save their pennies and dimes when the bank deducys fees for a 9 yr old.

Not so fast about recommending credit unions. I just switched because my old CU closed out my line of credit, and began charging me for doing to many transfers from my savings to my checking account. If they want to tell me how to manage my money, then I'll find someone who won't. If I can't then I'll start sticking it in my deposit box. Might be inconvenient but at least they won't have use of it.

You want to save the $3, then spend 42 cent on a stamp and get an envelope to mail a check.

Wire Transfers (aka Fed Wire)always cost extra. $3 is actually cheap.

However, why are they using Wire Transfers in the first place? Unless the money has to be there immediately, use EFT which is generally free and the method that electronic checking is done by.

Citizens bank is now also charging for overdraft protection that was previously free. Every time they transfer money from my overdraft account (which is an interest free account that I deposit money into), they want to charge me $5. it's getting ridiculous

Just as the banks try to make money consumers should try to save money. If I dont ahve to pay, why should I? You people that are complaingin about someone having to pay a fee, you can pay all the fees you want. I dont want to pay and I wont pay if I can at all help it. Your poor spending habits probably are closely related to your poor saving habits, and people like you that dont mind paying 3.00 and 5.00 and 3.00 and so on a month are the same ones that get 20 percent credit cards and default on them. Truly a penny saved is a penny earned. And 10 dollars is 10 dollars.

"So much for the excuse "I travel alot and need a national bank"."
-----
That's a fair point, except that I travel a lot and need an INTERnational bank. Credit unions simply don't have the range I need when I'm doing business overseas.

I bank with one of the big internationls, and thanks to the miracle of direct deposit, I pay no fees on any of my accounts, including checking.

The advertising ploy is obvious here. They are trying to put a positive sounding spin on an additional "service" they can charge you for by saying it's a "convenience" and a "cost savings". It's also helpful if other institutions are doing it. It's kind of like saying if Walmart has cameras watching you, it's ok for cameras to be installed in your home to watch you as well.

It's NOT ok to be controlled no matter what the precedent is. And banks love to make you think they have a right to control your money as a "reward" for keeping your money with them. We all know "reward" really means "fee" if you do something other than allow the bank to control what belongs to you.

Use all the ways mentioned above to keep the money that belongs to you and avoid every "reward" you possibly can - those rich bankers aren't suffering as much as the rest of us in this economy and I for one have very good uses for every single dollar I work for.

Fees aren't new. It's just a gotcha factor when they slip a new one in on you in the fine print. Fine print which the law should require to be larger and more visible if it's going to be required to be stated at all.

i think it depends on the bank some people are just lucky to find a good bank and be happy i never did like credit unions i like to do what i want witrh my accounts and money i have no fees that you are speaking of

Just two words: CREDIT UNION

I guess it depends on your bank I do onlline transfers and I have never got charged and all these other fees you are talking about I have never heard of I do not get fees from my bank and have been with them for several years and plan on staying with them only because I have liked them and not been told to close and credit cards when late I know some one who had help from a credit union to pay one off and they told her she HAD TO CLOSE THE ACCOUNT WHEN PAYED OFF- doesn't sound right to me

All the banks are scums of the earth. They will do anything to try to steal you money. They use our money to make themselves a boat load of money. Why not just take all of our money our and let the banks go under.

Citibank does not charge for transfers in or out.

I haven't used a bank in over a year for anything except deposit and withdrawal. The money I have saved was way beyond what I expected. Their lost my gain.
Banks are there to take your money not give you money.
Sad but true

Tell me again WHY we bailed out the banks and gave folks at Goldman and other BILLIONS while we struggle to eek out a 0.025% on a savings account?

@Chris, Concord, NC - we do "pay" for the banks services. They use OUR money to loan to other people. The way I see it, it is a business arrangement. We benefit by having our money in a secure place thats easily accessible and they benefit by being able to loan it out temporarily. The services the bank and consumer provide are mutually beneficial and therefore fair. When banks start charging for accessibility to our money, that's when it becomes a lopsided business arrangement.

Everybody is looking in the wrong place, The FDIC has increased their fees so much that the banks have to look at Fees to recoup these outlandish Fees. Thanks to the Federal Gov't. we are paying for the FDIC large increase. Next time in the bank as the Bank Officer how much this increase was, then you will know why the fees are increasing.

How soon banks forget why they exist in the first place. If you look at history, "runs" on banks (when evryone wanted to withdraw now!!) could destroy a bank instantly. So the Government wanted to calm the depositors by asking them to please don't panic. Thus the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was enacted to gain consumer confidence that their deposits would be safe. As a bonus for keeping your money in the bank, the banks offered an incentive called "interest" (5% back then). Thus your money would grow. Fast forward to 2009, the interest have been eliminated and now there is a reversal in savings growth. Put less than $10,000 in a savings account and watch the bank bleed down the account in "maintenance" fees. It would be better to keep your money in a safe deposit box than the keep it in an account. A complete reversal in the banking institutions with no longer any incentives to put your money in the bank. Take that to the bank!!!!

I am slowly convincing every person I know to switch from their Big Scam Banks to local credit unions. Credit Unions are not for profit while banks are. This directly results in higher yields on checking/savings accounts and at least .15% on my mortgage loan compared to every big bank I checked (check chase/wells fargo/ect website and your local credit union for rates and fees and see what I mean). I have yet to incure a fee on anything since switching while my SO with Wells Fargo gets nickled and dimed for everything she does (oh and her yield on her savings account is .05% LOL). If more people worked with a local Credit Union maybe these banks would wise up. BTW, many credit unions are part of a CU network and I can bank and do transactions at 3,800 service centers across the country and get free withdrawals from 28,000 atms! So much for the excuse "I travel alot and need a national bank". Time to switch people!

Another vote for credit unions. I pay my bills thru mine, deposit my incoming checks thru scanning them at my home, pay my VISA with a simple in-house transfer, and they REFUND the first $5 of atm "fees" other banks charge me. Need I say there are NO fees?When I left a bank 20 years ago to do all my banking in a credit union, and I told them I wasn't going to pay any fee for my checking account, the bank rep told me they'd waive the checking account monthly fee ($7) if I kept $5K in the account. I laughed and signed my last withdrawal order with them. Read "Shylock" for banker - and find a credit union.

After getting all that Government bail out, I can not believe these banks are so crass. I would love to see that Mike Jones rot in jail the rest of his life for suggesting they are doing us customers a favor.
We are getting back to the time when it is better to keep your money in a mattress than to let the banks get a hold of it.

Easy Solution.

Go to a credit union.

let's hear it for Credit Union's. they don't charge that crap.

This is a no-brainer....of course a bank will charge you to send money to a competitor. Always initiate the transfer from the place the money is going to. It's like paying a credit card bill, you set up the transfer from the credit card company for free, or go the other route of bill pay from your financial institution, which may or may not be free.

That last paragraph should have led off that article. Why use your bank's free online services to send money elsewhere? You implied that banks even charged when the other bank initiated the transfer until the very end.

We're considering offering a bank to bank feature to our online services, and will charge if someone sends money out from within our own service to another bank. YES, we want money coming in, but if you're sending money out, pay a fee. We will use this so members can move money in to pay loans, or to get CDs easily. It's a benefit to members who keep their money with us, plain and simple.

A good rule of thumb is to bank at a "Community Bank", not a large regional or national bank. Small community banks do not have outragous fees. They are a part of the community.

None of this is new. Go read history. Our Founding Fathers, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin spent a lot time in pre-revolutionary France, when that failing state was experimenting with free trade and all of the other claptrap of unfettered corporate greed. Having observed this they wrote, warning us about banks and bankers and investors, telling us these were beasts that prey upon the poor and undermine government. We were advised to regulate them. In the Constitution they added trade tariffs to protect our jobs and they granted COngress the power to issue and *void* trademarks, patents, and copyrights.We are faced with a plague of rogue corporations that actively due harm, that contribute nothing - KBR, Microsoft, IBM, BOA, and other banks, the whole of the financial services industry. Put them out of business. Make them illegal. Regulate banks to the extent that bankers have to raise their hands before going to the bathroom. Capitalism, business, that does not serve the best interests of the people has no excuse for it's existence.

I REFUSE TO BANK AT ANYTHING BESIDES A CREDIT UNION. I keep hearing horror story after horror story about how banks are robbing customers! They steal money from anyone, even non-profit charitable institutions! I think that in the final banking reform package that comes out of congress late this year, early next year, that elimination of "monthly maintenance" fees, and other strictly BS fees (that create a negative interest rate on savings & checking while they advertise positive interest rate savings percentages and zero-to-low interest rate checking accts) become illegal!! It's false advertising!

One thing I forgot to mention, this account has been closed for approximately 2 years. We are just paying it off. And to Mr. Ken Lewis, just because BofA has to pay a 33 million dollar penalty because YOU and your CRONIES misled investors, is no reason to TAKE ADVANTAGE of your customers. You should be ashamed of yourself!

It should be obvious to everyone by now that banks and credit card companies don't hate you, they just regard you as a dairy farmer regards a cow. If you don't do all your financial business through a credit union, you're going to be milked before being sent to the slaughter house.

Start writing checks again!!!!!

Large institutions do whatever they can to make sure that THEY control your relationships with them. They don't want you shopping around for the best deals - instead, they want for you to subsidize their bloated bureaucracies and their overpaid executives.

Since the contract in force between a person and the large institution is always stacked against the individual, it is up to the individual to find the loopholes in the game's rules and exploit them before they are closed. This is not always easy....

If I want to put my money in an internet bank (such as ING Direct), I have two cost free ways of doing this: (1) Direct Deposit of my paycheck, and (2) A funds transfer initiated by ING. As long as those two options are available to me, I have no reason to bother subsidizing the large domestic banks - as they have no real interest in satisfying my needs....

If I were to use wither of my brick and mortar banks' bill pay services, I'd have to pay a fee for it. Instead, I prefer to log onto the payee sites directly (such as Chrysler Financial, etc.) and initiate individual bill payment from there - saving money for me. Since the payments are debited to my checking accounts as "electronic checks", there is no cost to me other than what I've been billed for....

Sooner or later, the banks will try to close this loophole. But it will be hard for them, as they may end up killing checks and online payments in the process....

Don't pay the stupid tax, don't pay bank fees. Close your account if the terms could result in you getting charged fees and go elsewhere. A lot of people might be much better off at a local credit union. The credit unions would be grateful for your business and act accordingly. I know mine was a no fee, no hastle, and good service like i'm opening a new account every day.

I don't think the credit unions are trying to eat our lunch and tell us we should be happy about it too as much as the big evil banks are.

Many of you who believe the credit unions are healthy, are grossly misinformed. Not all, but many credit unions, are equally loaded with toxic assets as are many of the banks. The bad, make-a-quick-buck, lending policies have all been driven by greed. The credit unions have all invested in their share of real estate construction/development loans that have now tipped upside down. Do not assume your credit union is a safe place to invest money. See this recent article: inhttp://www.startribune.com/business/51633817.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciaec8O7EyUsl

I had money wired _to_ my Citibank checking account. When I got my Citi statement, I learned that they charged me $5 to _receive_ the wire transfer. What a rip-off!

I have closed my account with Citizen's bank due to the increased fees they charge for everything and unfair practices! They charge overdraft fees for transactions which have not yet posted, and after electing to get e-statement delivery which saves the bank substantial costs I was told it would cost $6 plus $25 per hour for me to get a copy of a bank statement which was no longer available online. Currently these banks do not care or do not listen to the little guy with a few thousand dollars in an account, but if we all left it would have a serious impact.

Two words: Credit Union.

Banks charge you to keep a minimum balance so that they can use your money...
They should be paying me, to let them hold my money.

Use a Credit Union. They don't have all of the fees, online or otherwise.

I was with Washington Mutual and there were no fees for anything I did such as online banking. After they became Chase I notince on my statement a $5 fee for non-ATM cash. I had to really think what that was for and then I remembered that I had withdrawn some cash from the bank using a teller at the bank. I was charged for withdrawing money by using a bank teller.

WOW...
I am very glad that I do my Banking at a local CREDIT UNION. Matter of a fact, I work at one.
We have no fee for late payment on loans, we have no fees for past statements until you get 3 of them. This article said 18 bucks for a wire transfer! WOW we only charge $12.50.
As for transfers from Shares to Share Draft or even to a separate account they are FREE. We have real people that pick up the phone when you call. 95% of the time that is within 1 ring!
As for interest rates we care very very competitive and we are insured for up to 250,000 from NCUA - that is the credit union form of the FDIC.
Credit Unions like mine NEVER needed a bail out cause we work FOR out members not steel from them.
Sounds like there is a lot of theft going on in the banks.
Dave - Try a local Credit union where Your money will still be Your money.

The spread between interest paid to depositors and interest charged on loans is the highest *ever*. And their loans are guaranteed by the government. And the government invested billions of dollars at low interest rates. And the fed rate is hovering around zero.

The banks are making large profits as well, but that isn't enough? Forget the "free market" if there is collusion among all players.

I have relied on the "pull" and "push" from paypal, and hope that continues. Otherwise everything is going to the credit union.

Look around to see if you can join a local Credit Union instead of yet another bank. Credit Unions tend to have lower fees, and don't charge fees for certain things banks do. Of course varies from one to another what their policies are. Some Credit Unions require your work for a participating employer, others may be available to residents of a particular area without employer relationship. Ask your boss about signing up with them if needed, I did and got two options out of it. Do some reasearch though and see which ones best suit you. I now belong to three myself, and have not liked one or two Credit Unions and didn't go there.

There is a work around. If you want to transfer money into a particular bank from another one go to the bank's site you want the funds to go into. Then do a transfer to it and it's free because the other bank treats it kind of like when you are paying a bill.

3.00 is not a significant savings, electronic transfers not wires are FREE...electronic transfers not cost the banks anything, it is there way of nickle and diming the comsumer.

Wait.. are you talking about the fee to wire transfer money? Yes, I've been charged something like that for ever. I have a Chase account which i use only to keep miminum and transfer twice monthly to ING - with no charge! I simply go to ING and transfer using their website, and it gets money from my Chase account via ACH. If i go to Chase and ask for a wire out - they always charge.

My second comment which I try not to do ... the big banks in question here would definitely have failed less than a year ago if nature had been allowed to take its course. The reason why Credit Unions (CU) have not been having anywhere near the failure rates (any?) as banks is because they did not make bad bets. It is harder to get credit at a CU, true. However, I am learning if your CU will not work with you then you should strongly consider waiting to get whatever loan you were looking at. One of my Credit Unions (yes, I have backups) allows a Certificate of Deposit or just savings balance to be used to secure a credit card. (Read: secured card). But it is not a rip off like many of the others. I'm am saving up to go this route because I like to have a credit card for travel but do not have perfect credit. Just an example of another service my local CU offers.

In banking, medicine, government, and any other "legalized theft" organizations, laws must be passed and enforced to require cost-estimates along with "actual vs. estimated" analysis, for each hierarchy level within the business. Once web-development is done, online banking transactions are essentially free, so the $3.00 fee is on the order of 300% too expensive. Until greed is capped with laws, we will never climb out of this recession.

Clearly, the bail-out money only emboldened these pirates of finance. The back-office chicanery and accounting slight-of-hand is an old trick of the money-changing profession. Today, with electronic banking and non-real-time account updates, the banks can engineer multiple ways to charge extra fees to their customers, both overt and subtle, that fattens their take. Customers, for the most part, aren't even aware they're being robbed. The amounts are a few dollars here and there which the banks justify as "policy." The customers only option is to take their money and go somewhere else...but, sadly, every banker is sporting an eye patch and peg leg these days.

The last paragraph of the story says it all. If Dave would have known how to properly transfer money between his Citizens Bank account and ING Direct account he would not have paid one dime. The ING Direct website gives clear instructions how to set up a linked account from an outside bank to you can easily transfer money between the two accounts without paying a dime in fees. If Dave would have learned how to follow instructions this story would have been completely unnecessary.

I'm not surprised about the transfer fee. I'm an ING customer (originally NetBank) and I had to find a "brick and mortar" bank to transfer money into ING. ING's business model transfers the cost of depositing checks or cash to other banks (unfairly, in my opinion). The brick and mortar bank is now subsidizing part of the cost of ING's business, and I think there's some justification on their part to recover some of that cost. I thought that Netbank was more honest about that: I could deposit checks directly to them via mail or courier. In the beginning, Netbank provided prepaid mailing envelopes and even tried a prepaid UPS delivery option.

The ability to transfer funds to another institution is a service, code has to be added to online banking systems, or service provider must be contracted. It costs money. Of course banks will take your money with no fee, they hope you'll leave the money with them so they can earn interest on it.

I beleive citi bank provide this service for free,,,,,

Join a credit union and let the banks fail. Car loans, home equity loans, etc., you will get the best rates around. I love them.

What rock have you been under? This is a long standing practice. Some worse than others.

I think it's about time we made it clear to our congressmen "either control in the financial institutions or we vote you out."

I've signed up for the two credit unions I can through my job. It's nothing personal against the banking system, I just can't afford any more expenses. With one free cashier check a day (I rarely get these, but they are free when I do), free inbound international wire transfers (this came in handy once for some inheritance, and would have been a disaster through a bank), truly free checking, and a huge selection of free ATMs through the alliance of credit unions (http://www.freecuatms.org/) I couldn't possibly see going back to a bank. Credit Unions have NCUA insurance which is federal deposit insurance just like FDIC. Definitely the big box banks are getting silly with us on the fees and dinking around with our credit accounts. I'm not 100% weened off them yet but working hard every day at getting away from them. Certainly I don't have any checking/savings type accounts with them. A bank officer had pointed out that smaller banks can offer a similar experience. I've never tried out a small bank so I can't say one way or the other.

If either of my banks institute this, the account will be closed the next day.

ING Direct -- best bank out there, hands down. No fees, no nonsense. Tell these big banks to stick it and check out ING. You'll be glad you did.