Bank of America is Eating Debit Card Crow

The consumer outrage that forced Bank of America to cancel its new $5 a month debit card fee, is a victory that all Americans should be celebrating, regardless if you’re Democrat or Republican, right or left, black or white, Christian or Muslim or whatever. The American consumer stood up together and said NO in a loud voice because enough was enough!

The Bank of America plan was to start charging that new monthly fee in 2012. But unlike other banks, the BOA plan came without any testing in the market place. When the news spread in September, many BOA customers said it was the last straw because of a growing number of bank fees from the company.

Bank of America had already announced new checking account fees, ranging from $6 to $25 a month in Georgia and two other states. The monthly charge for a basic checking account is now $12 at BOA—up from $8.95. Other banks were watching and also crying the red ink blues, saying they are losing money because of new federal regulation that limits what banks can charge merchants when a customer uses a debit card.

In protest, thousands of BOA customers moved their money over to credit unions and other institutions that don’t charge you for being able to access your own money. A nationwide petition drive was launched on Facebook and other social media to oppose the new charges, especially from a big bank that got billions of dollars in federal bailout money. The bad publicity took on a life of its own and recently Wells Fargo, Chase, SunTrust and Regions Bank cancelled their plans for new debit card monthly fees.

On Tuesday, Bank of America also gave in with this statement from co-Chief Operating Officer David Darnell. "Our customers' voices are most important to us. As a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so," he said.

This consumer victory isn’t about class warfare, or someone trying to make demons out of those who are fortunate enough to be wealthy. This is a powerful example of how Democracy also works for the consumer. Yes any bank or business has the right to raise the fees or prices that it charges. But we consumers have the same right to vote with our feet and take our business elsewhere.

Now would also be a very good time to look at all of the fees your bank is charging you to use your own money, especially if you have direct deposit into a checking account. There are many other smaller banks and credit unions that still offer FREE checking, with no strings attached because they want your business. It’s time for us to stand up and hold these companies accountable!

Meanwhile here’s a little advice for all those big banks who claim their profits are being slashed by the new federal regulations. If business is really that bad, you might want to rethink your big end of the year bonuses for the top executives. If you really are “losing” money, why would you still be rewarding their failure?

http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/01/pf/bank_of_america_debit_fee/index.htm