May 23, 2015
Ever since the 2008 financial crisis, Americans are unhappy with their banks for putting their shareholders’ interests over their customers.
Given this general sense of negativity, poor customer service and high fees can make matters worse for you.
But that’s not all – here are 4 reasons why you might just hate your bank:
#1: ATM Fees
A number of banks charge you an amount if you withdraw money from an ATM outside their network. According to Bankrate, the average cost of doing this amounts to $4.35 for every transaction. This is also the same amount that banks charge non-customers for using their ATMs.
#2: Overdraft Fees
Fees for an overdraft protection program are the highest and amounts to $32.74 for every occurrence. If you don’t opt for this service, you could possibly be declined for having insufficient funds. Yet the ridiculousness of this type of product is that the bank charges you an additional fee based on the temporary loan that they offer you just in case you use these extra funds.
#3: Minimum balance requirements
This is yet another fee that is charged by banks towards customers who cannot maintain a minimum balance in their accounts adding insult to injury. Of course, most households now live from paycheck to paycheck and in having to maintain this minimum balance is always a reminder that they don’t have enough of it.
#4: Monthly Service Fees
Most big banks charge their customers monthly service fees just for owning a checking account. Of course, this fee is very less if you own an account with a community bank or even a credit union. In fact, less than 40% of non-interest checking accounts and 4% of interest checking accounts are completely free of cost.