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Bank Rank Monitor reports that bank lawyers are turning up in courtrooms a lot these days, "as consumers fight bank transaction fees through class-action lawsuits."
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Credit union members have a much more effective way of influencing fees and other charges--as member-owners, you keep fees down simply by using credit union services. The more services you use, the more cost-effective all services become. And credit union fees are low to begin with, because credit unions are not-for-profit cooperatives that return income to members in the form of lower fees and loan rates and higher savings rates.
Just how bad is it getting? Here are some examples:
- The Florida Public Interest Research Group estimates it could cost nonbank customers at one institution as much as $14 to $25 just to cash a government check or a private check drawn on another institution.
- Nationally, more than 12 million people without checking accounts are using check-cashing stores instead, to the tune of an average $162 a year per person, according to a U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) study.
- Bounced check fees drew a lawsuit for Wells Fargo Bank, based in California. Say a customer has $95 in a checking account, but writes checks for $30, $25, $20, and $100 for a total of $175. Bank Rate Monitor reports, "A bank that pays the smallest check first would clear the first three checks before bouncing the fourth and largest check. The customer would pay one bounced-check fee. But a bank that pays the largest check first would charge the customer fees for four bounced checks."
You and other consumers can keep fees manageable by using your accounts appropriately and by using credit union services. Click here to check out our fees and compare them with your local bank. Call us at (800) 444-5504 about overdraft protection--from your savings or a line of credit--and about service packages that reduce our low fees even more. You're the reason we're here, and we can help you hold the line on fees.
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