It is a huge deal when banks charge everyone and their mother huge overdraft fees. Bank of America was one of the worst. The bank would hold your deposits or allow small transactions to go through prior to the larger deposit being made. Of course, this led to many overdraft fees being incurred by the customer. For every transaction that the customer made, they were tinged $35.

Bank of America just announced though that on October 19th, it will begin laying off the serious overdraft fees and only begin tinging the account once it reaches a $10 overdraft in one day. This means accumulated and not that you can continue to overdraft as long as it doesn’t go above $10 (at least this is the way I understood it). The account holder also has to have the account back in the black in five days time.

That’s not the most exciting news regarding the overdraft fees in my opinion, though. I like the fact that customers will soon be able to opt out of the program just by visiting a Bank of America branch or calling a yet to be determined phone number. Of course, the program I’m referring to is the one that starts the overdraft problem in the first place. I would much rather be declined at the grocery store than begin incurring overdraft fees at the bank. My embarrassment is less than the  $35 that the bank would charge me for the “overdraft protection”.

Bank of America will also be limiting the number of overdraft fees that can be incurred in a day to four. This is down from 10. The rule that it could charge 10 overdraft fees in one single day was put into place earlier this year. It is nice to see that rule gone and a new, better one in its place.

I don’t know if this will position BofA in a more positive light, but anything helps when it comes to the business practices this company has been doing. I know I talk a lot about the company, but I also hold a credit card from them and have yet to see my interest rates spike or my credit limit reduced. I haven’t had one bad experience with the company (knock on wood, right?).

1. The banks are really in survival mode, but they will never admit it.

I recently switched banks. Every single bank I walked into told me they were in good shape. Wow. In an economy that caused some people to commit suicide, every bank in Maryland was in good shape? Amazing! I did a little research and I found out that all but one were lying through their window bars. I started with Wachovia. The account management official told me that Wachovia was in great shape and ahead of the game. (I researched that claim and found out they had recently obtained a bank in the west coast that came with millions of dollars worth of sub prime mortgages and were currently in negotiations with Wells Fargo before collapsing.)

I walked into First Mariner Bank, local to Maryland, and found one teller who was bored out of her mind playing pin-the-tail-on-my-text-messages, so I walked right back out. When I walked into Provident Bank, also local here, there were boxes on desks and I was told they were bought by M&T Bank, also a local bank and sponsor of the Baltimore Ravens. The courtesy Ravens stadium blanket they give you for starting a checking and savings account is folded up in my dresser at home. I was so impressed there I switched my business accounts over too.

2. This is only the beginning of inflated fees.

If you are anything like me, you have gotten more notices than ever from your bank, often included in your statement envelope, about “changes to your account.” Those changes are fees, my friends. The fee you pay for an overdraft is likely at least $35. If you are part of the majority of bank clientele, you are flirting with $40. It is likely that your free account has been changed to “basic”, which secretly comes with fees. Your savings account fee for a low balance has changed from $3 to $5, or, like my last bank, from $11 to $15. (Now you see why I decided to leave.)

3. Interest rates change constantly.

If you are anything like the majority of consumers, the interest rate on your savings account has gone down, and any adjustable rate loan you are paying has adjusted you into poverty. Whether or not you have done anything wrong, you can have impeccible credit and one day receive a notice that your APR has gone from, say, 12% to 27% and your only option is to cancel the card and pay it off at the old rate. (President Obama has begun to rally against unfairly changing rates.)

4. If you’re not a student, your bank doesn’t care.

College campuses are a gold mine for banks. Some students have the option of getting student IDs that double as debit cards, courtesy of bank that is really hoping a few plastic spenders will have a few overdraft fees. Do you spend responsibly? Was your last overdraft 22 years ago when they called it “bouncing a check?” Your bank hates you. You make them a maximum of 3% of the money you put in your savings account and nothing on your checking account because they cannot invest it and have to leave it available to cover checks. You aren’t even worth the free checks anymore.

5. In debt? The courts will not help you.

Have you ever signed an “arbitration agreement?” I signed one a couple of years ago when I took out a small loan. What it does it mean? Well, it means you cannot sue, for any reason. If they raise your rates, charge you early, or do anything, you must see their arbitration mediator that is in their pocket. Even identity theft victims find themselves subject to arbitration agreements that make their situation three times worse than a stolen identity. You can find a lawyer, but you will be reduced comic relief that lightened his day.

6. Your bank is more excited about your trip to London than you are.

If you use a foreign ATM, your bank alone (not counting the foreign bank) will charge you upwards of $7 for a foreign currency transaction and using a competitor’s ATM. Visa and Mastercard charge 1% of the transaction for converting currency. Check and see if any of your cards, for instance, Capital One, waives the foreign currency fee. Also check and see if your bank has an agreement with a foreign bank it has good relations with to waive customary fees.

7. For all the fine print, banks sure leave a lot of things out. Everything you should really know is nowhere to be found.

Banks hand you all sorts of meaningless paperwork with lots of fine print. The Government Accountability Office sent investigators around to many banks to test their information disclosure. One-third of them failed the test, leaving out information altogether or informing the person after ten minutes and with a little prodding. More than half did not disclose information on their websites or brochures. Consumers just have no idea what they are signing up for until two years later when they are at home receiving letters that make them use four-letter words.

8. Your money is better off anywhere else, maybe even under your mattress.

Banks offer savings accounts, CDs, IRAs — all sorts of ways to invest your money. Unfortunately, most savings accounts offer no more than .5% interest. Even in this economy, you can find places as high as 3% to put your money. I wouldn’t mind multiplying my interest by five, would you?

9. When it comes to banks, smaller is better.

I am part of a small bank. After five years with a semi-national bank and a year with a regional bank, I decided that smaller banks were the right way to go due to more personalized service, lower fees, and higher interest rates. I was right. Even though larger, nationalized banks have more convenience and more ATMs to choose from, they make 54% of their revenue from fees while smaller banks make 28%. Also with low overhead, they can offer higher interest rates for interest baring accounts and lower maintenance and problematic fees. Somehow with low fees and higher interest rates, my bank still has enough money to sponsor the Baltimore Ravens — so much so that the Ravens’ stadium is named M&T Bank Stadium.

10. Your online account information is probably inaccurate.

If you are like me, you used your bank card to buy gas, sent two checks out in the mail and deposited a check in your account, all of which are currently pending. With a good online account system, that gas purchase is holding for $1.00 and will only show the true amount when it posts. Let’s say your balance before those transactions is $1,219.48. (I’m making these figures up.) You just bought $45.28 of gas for your Ford Expedition at Exxon. You went to Wal-Mart and bought $62.48 worth of hair care products, office supplies and clothing. You stopped at the post office and sent out a $65.72 cell phone payment and an $800 payment for rent. Before arriving at home, you deposited a $600 check. You just checked your bank information online like you do every couple of days and it said you have $1,218.48 in the bank. You liked how that looked so you bought a $350 Pez dispenser on eBay.

Oops. Your gas held for $1.00 if you’re lucky. If you keep your checkbook accurate, you know that your balance before the deposit, which will probably post last, was $246.00 and you wouldn’t have bought that pez dispenser until the deposit cleared. You will likely overdraw and a $38 fee will come out of that deposit when it posts, leaving you only with $458. It is a good idea to check your online statement, daily if possible, to safeguard yourself from identity theft, but keep your checkbook accurate and spend from that balance, not your online balance.

As of tonight, no deal has been reached between the two companies.

So, at 12:01 tonight (or in the morning?) 15 million Time Warner customers will no longer receive these channels.

Time Warner Chief Executive Glenn Britt on Wednesday called Viacom’s demand for a 12 percent increase in fees — an extra $39 million on top of the estimated $300 million it pays Viacom annually — extortion and outrageous given the recession. Viacom countered that the requested increase amounted to an extra $2.76 annually per subscriber.-AP

The problem is that Viacom is asking for a fee increase of 22 to 36 percent per channel, that would increase the customer’s bill and Time Warner doesn’t necessarily want to have to charge their customers the extra.

Viacom said the increases would cost an extra 23 cents a month per subscriber — which works out to $35.9 million more in total. It said that Americans spend a fifth of their TV time watching Viacom shows but its fees make up less than 2.5 percent of the Time Warner cable bill. – AP

The channels included in the dispute are:Comedy Central, CMT, Logo, Palladia, MTV, MTV 2, MTV Hits, MTV Jams, MTV Tr3s, Nickelodeon, Noggin, Nick 2, Nicktoons, Spike, The N, TV Land, VH1, VH1 Classic, and VH1 Soul.

Source

The new rules will prohibit payments not be late until the borrower is given a reasonable period of time to pay, playing “too-high” fees for exceeding the credit limit because of a hold on the account, double cycle billing, and making deceptive offers.

The new rules will require lenders to give consumers 45 days notice before changes are made to the terms of a credit account. That includes increasing the interest rate or giving higher rates for penalties.

Until I read the article, I didn’t know there was such a thing as opting out of an overdraft program. I just assumed that an overdraft fee was a form of punishment that a bank could deal out. When I had my first job and was banking at a local bank, it would often hold my deposits for several days before making them available. I got an overdraft once or twice, then I switched banks and haven’t had one since…it’s no coincidence.

FDIC: Bank overdraft fees hit young, low-income customers

At the same time, I don’t carry cash, I can’t carry cash. When I have any cash on me (more than $20) I don’t feel safe. And if someone were to take my cash from me, there is no way to get it back…there is no protection associated with cash, unlike credit cards or most Visa or MasterCard backed debit cards, which can get your money back if your card is stolen or a charge shows up that can be disputed.

If you are going to be using cash for now, be careful, because there are stories coming out about how customers aren’t using cards anymore and I’m sure this will lead to some unsavory behavior by some members of society.

Now, Delta is announcing they will be imposing the $15 first checked bag fee, as well as the $25 second checked bag fee. These fees came directly from the Northwest Airlines playbook.

The fees will begin taking place starting Dec. 5th. Customers who already purchased tickets will not be charged for the first checked bag, but will be charged for the second ($50). Those flying first or business class or members of SkyMiles Medallion or WorldPerks Elite will not be charged for the first 3 bags checked (up to 70 lbs each).

The bill from the resort had $200,000 in room fees, $150,000 for meals, and $23,000 in spa charges…

What does AIG have to say for themselves?

It’s normal. It’s just a retreat for top independent sales people.

Impressive….really impressive. Remind me when I graduate college to attempt to sell insurance. It sounds like I went into the wrong field.

So there you have it America, your tax dollars hard at work. I wish there was someone I could write a very angry letter to about this because I’m quite angry. If AIG is working to "cut the fat" perhaps they should start with expensive Californian retreats.

The latest wave of new fees by Ebay gives ample reasons to list with greatly lower listing fees and the new 30-day listing features which where previously only available to Ebay Store owners, however it comes with a range of final value fees that differ by category. Before FFV where pretty much standard across all categories except autos now they differ “GREATLY” depending on your listing category. Click here for the new listing fees.

With sellers constantly having to come up with ways to save on listing fees and FFV fees, PayPal fees and etc we are left with fewer and fewer options as our costs rise. I and several other Power Sellers are experimenting with listing our items in different categories than what they actually are. Because of this I wouldn’t be surprised if the category “Computers & Networking” has a spike in listing because that category carries the lowest FFV, almost half of every other category, as long as you target your keywords right you should reduce your fees without harm to your over sales volume.

Who can really blame people for leaving? After all, they are providing the same service (which doesn’t cost them any more than it did a year ago) at a higher price. Ebay says that the changes in fee structure was made to encourage sellers to list more items. They cut the fees for listing, but raised the ending commissions on a completed auction ending lower than $1000 or a fixed price sale under $100.

What it seems like eBay has successfully done is allow “diamond power sellers” to flood the market. One of the largest “diamond power sellers” is Buy.com. There is speculation that because Buy.com has so many fixed price auctions on eBay, they are being charged nothing or next to nothing for these auctions.

To appease disgruntled sellers, starting September 16, eBay says they will begin allowing sellers (in the U.S.) to list an unlimited number of identical items for a month at a time for $0.35.

Will this really make people happy? Well perhaps for some, but I don’t list unlimited identical items…ever. I occasionally list a few things. There have been times after fees from eBay and PayPal, I could have gotten more for it at a thrift shop. With the fee changes for auctions, sometimes it’s just not practical to sell things auction-style, and I find that buyers don’t always like paying what you’re asking in a fixed-price auction.

I have also had nothing but wonderful experience with the airline. The only complaint I have is that seating is first come, first serve. However, it is still a small inconvenience when compared to the cost of traveling on a different airline.

We live closer to Memphis, TN which does not have a Southwest terminal in the airport. However, with other airlines charging more for fares and bag fees, it is cheaper to drive to Jackson, MS or Little Rock, AR to get to an airport that Southwest flies to than to fly on Delta, Northwest, American Airlines, etc…

I am getting tired of extremely small measures airlines are taking to cut costs. They are nickel and diming the consumer to death. Hopefully I never have to fly US Airways on a long trip and get thirsty. The next thing they’re going to do is charge to use the toilet. Ridiculous!