The local angle on overdraft fees

By Margy Lynch KATU News and KATU.com Staff Published: Sep 26, 2009 at 6:49 PM PST
U.S. Bank continuous overdraft fees on a bank statement
U.S. Bank charged a Battle Ground woman $8 per day in continuous overdraft fees on an original charge that took the account $7 into a negative balance. On Friday, U.S. Bank joined other banks in announcing it would curtail at least some of those fees for all its clients down the road.

BATTLE GROUND, Wash. - Jacqueline Keeney remembers the offer from US Bank: open a checking account and get $75 in free groceries. She got the groceries, but says her experience turned into a nightmare.

"I was frazzled, I was shaking, I was crying, I was sick," Keeney recounts now to KATU.
    
It started Aug. 18 when she accidentally overdrew her account $7.61, and US Bank started charging her $8 a day on top of a $35 overdraft fee. So her fees continued to mount.

"We had a hard time doing the math," she said. "That's outrageous that's unthinkable."

She admits the original error was her own. "But i don't think anybody out there should be charged $8 a day for not knowing what's going on with their account," Keeney said.

The local branch finally agreed to waive the fees if she would keep her account open. Bankers there wouldn't comment on this situation on camera.

But in a press release this week the bank's corporate office announced planned changes that will eliminate overdraft fees when an
account is overdrawn by less than $10. The release also said it would limit the number of overdraft fees to no more than three per day, and offer an opt-out ability for customers with insufficient funds who would rather their debit card be declined than have to pay overdraft fees.

Keeney said she's afraid that this rearranging numbers won't be enough: "I think at some point at time they have to understand these are people's lives," she said.

She admits she overlooked a couple notices. She said she uses the account so little, she never imagined there was a problem with it until she finally got a call.

Other banks also are making changes under government and public pressure to change. Bank of America and Chase on Thursday announced planned changes to their overdraft policies.
 


 

Ready for an outrageous debit card story? Check out "Man charged 23 quadrillion dollars for pack of smokes."