Posted on 01/06/2011 3:22:47 PM PST by ninonitti
Bank of America will begin testing a new slate of checking accounts in Massachusetts and two other states later this month in an effort to generate more revenue from customers..........
A second new account, called “Premium,’’ will cost $15 a month unless customers either maintain a $5,000 minimum balance, use a Bank of America credit card at least once a month, or add $2,000 to the account every month.
A third new account, labeled “Enhanced,’’ will cost $25 per month unless holders maintain at least $20,000 in deposits and investments in certain accounts or link their accounts to a Bank of America mortgage.
The bank is also testing the accounts in Arizona and Georgia
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
PS - can see where this might be going too. Imagine you have like $3 in your account and here comes the monthly $5 charge. Guess what? You’re now overdrawn and here come the OD fee.
Well, I don't know about the state where you live, but here in California, BofA gives you the ability to tie accounts together for making minimums ("Prima" account it's called here).
I have tied my wife's and my checking and savings accounts, along with my brother's and my checking account we use for property we inherited from our parents, plus my IRA (with Merrill-Lynch), and a couple other things. Between the total of the accounts, we are well over the minimum to pay any fees.
If you read the original article, it's the tying of the accounts to get minimums that are also being pushed in Massachusetts. Trust me, demand deposit accounts (totally liquid accounts like checking and savings where you can take your money out "on demand") are loss leaders for the banks. Even more so now between the low interest rates on money and the government's curtailing of fees that can be charged.
My point was that the banks (BofA is not alone) is in the same position with checking accounts that they were back in the 90s when the "Fair Housing Act" said you had to give a loan to anyone who could fog a mirror, regardless of whether they had the means to pay it back. How else do you explain my friend's retired father getting a $450,000 mortgage on a house in Stockton, CA a few years ago?
I was with BofA when I lived in CA too, and was happy with the arrangement. When I moved to WA, I switched to WaMu after BofA screwed things up (failed to pay interest on several accounts for months, then refused to correct the situation... it amounted to a sizeable amount of money lost).
Anyway... I spoke with Chase last week about this, and it’s now much harder to link various accounts.... don’t know how BofA will handle that.
“I loaned him the money to get back on track “
You’re an irresponsible fool!
“Seems like a great way to transfer customers to other banks...”
Until they legislate the honest banks (if there are any) out of existence. What we have here is a new feudal society being born. You’re witnessing history.
LOL !!!! Naa, just a good mom.
I conquered the impulse to “help” until I was certain he learned his lesson. It wasn’t easy to not rush in, mind you. But I held back until he got good and petrified.
It worked. :)
Amen!
BoA, the illegal alien's best friend.
Find yourself a local home-town bank.
They did it to me this month. I was surprised to see the $15 charge as I had not received advanced notice that I need to use my check card or maintain a minimum balance. I am also gone.
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