Tuesday, December 15, 2009

How Banks Fleece the Unemployed

By Barbara Koeppel
December 16, 2009

Just when you thought the big banks had maxed out their chutzpah account, think again.

Read on.
Posted by at

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

What you say? NSF Charges are around $35 per check, no matter how small the item, with no upper limit, at least not at any bank I've ever heard of, not 1.50. Don't know where you got that. And they will approve debits on your card even if it goes below zero by doing it. This is the biggest racket going. You could rack up enough charges to break your account overnight, hundreds of dollars, but if you do you either pay their ransom to keep your account open or you get reported to Check Systems and can't get another acccount for 5 years anywhere else. On slipup and you lose. They do this by playing the guilt game, which essentially pays them your money to punish you for your evil "wrongdoing," bouncing checks. Instead of paying out your payees, they pay it all to themselves, and your payees are left empty handed.

Wed Dec 16, 01:31:00 AM 2009
David said...

Debit cards are an even more pernicious scam, and fantastic money-makers for the banks, than credit cards. It wouldn't surprise me if these 'debit' card deals have been the principal source of the banks' 'income' that has allowed them to 'pay back' to the federal money pit the $$$ they so eagerly took from us in the first place.

Why are state governments so eager to outsource their responsibilities to their own citizens? And the savings they achieve by doing this: chump change!

Wed Dec 16, 10:24:00 AM 2009
Jack said...

Puh-leeze! This is an example of a win-win-win undertaking. The states save money, the banks make some money (they certainly aren't making much interest on the use of funds), and the user gets the card "recharged" almost immediately and can avoid the dark underworld of high-fee predators such as check cashing stores and payday loans. As you pointed out, there are tons of places where the users can get cash for the card and virtually any retail establishment will accept the card which minimizes the need for cash in the first place.
I've never read your column before, but one could surmise that you are against any capitalist endeavor that actually truns a profit.
There are certainly some nefarious practices in the banking industry as you point out later, but paying unemployment benefits via a debit card is not one of them.
BTW--I have no connection to the banking industry.

Wed Dec 16, 11:08:00 AM 2009
sharonsj said...

This is why I'm moving my accounts to a credit union. Also, I have refused to use an ATM machine for years. I do not have a debit card. And I only shop at stores that take my checks; some stores can do immediate automatic withdrawals at no charge.

Wed Dec 16, 11:37:00 AM 2009
Michiel said...

Here is a post I made in another blog that describes the level of service I received a year ago when I was unemployed and had to deal with Chase for a customer service issue. It is actually humorous, in a sad sort of way.

http://skippyslist.com/2008/05/06/so-many-levels-of-irony-why-outsourcing-has-to-stop/

Wed Dec 16, 02:46:00 PM 2009
BDM said...

The Trickle Up Theory:
http://bigdaddymalcontent.blogspot.com/2005/10/trickle-up-theory-part-1.html

Wed Dec 16, 08:01:00 PM 2009
Anonymous said...

Bookmarked this. Thank you against sharing. Definitely worth my time.

Sat Jan 09, 08:59:00 AM 2010
Anonymous said...

This is a celebrated article as they all are. I tease been wondering nearly this an eye to some beat now. Its vast to get this info. You are fete and balanced.

Sun Jan 17, 04:29:00 PM 2010

Post a Comment