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Banks! Really? — Parallax Forums

Banks! Really?

doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,246
edited 2012-10-13 08:46 in General Discussion
Please allow me to vent.

I'm reading a notice form my bank, TD Bank. In that notice is a section for new fees. Banks like to slip in new fees in my opinion but this is over the top. Beginning in November they will start charging a $0.10 fee per $100 cash deposited over a certain amount depending on the type of Business account you have.

Really? Wow. Now a merchant has to pay for the privilege of depositing money into the bank. This seems over the top to me.

It doesn't look like this will affect me but just the principle of the fee angers me.



There. Now I feel better.


Paul

Comments

  • RobotWorkshopRobotWorkshop Posts: 2,307
    edited 2012-10-12 10:33
    I guess they really don't want your business then. Time to look at other banks that may actually want your money.

    This article calls out TD Bank in particular for some of their new fees:

    http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-02-15/finance/31059119_1_overdraft-fee-moebs-services-new-bank-fees/2
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-10-12 10:34
    Never should have given them a computer.
  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2012-10-12 10:39
    It's being considered here too.
    Especially the fact that they make interest on it as well! My shall we call it "annoyance" with banks is that at one time we in the UK were entitled by law to be paid in cash this "truckers act" was resinded by the government in the eighties and we were forced then to have bank accounts, so if the banks finally get their way with charges will we gain the right back to be paid in cash? I doubt it!
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2012-10-12 10:49
    Apparently, success will be punished... I mean, in their efforts to protect us from money launderers and the illegal activities which they support.
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2012-10-12 10:58
    doggiedoc wrote: »
    ...depending on the type of Business account you have....

    The big guys will squeeze us because they know they can get away with it. They don't care because they don't have to. Bankers and their buds on Wall Street have gamed the system and are working hard to game it some more. I liken it to how many commercials there are on cable TV these days. You pay for that TV and yet out of every hour, they're feeding you 20 minutes of commercials. And we endure it. And continue to pay. They look down upon us as though we're cattle. And when we shake our fists and cry out that we're not cattle, they laugh and point to how they get away with Smile like this and say, "Here's the proof. We keep feeding you our $%&@ every day and you keep eating it."

    Bon appetit!


    2c972c1aeac760397c2b348e9d1acb0e.jpg

    BTW, business accounts are not insured like private bank accounts. If somebody hacks a business account and cleans it out, the banks are not responsible and you could be out of the entire amount. If you don't have it already, look into getting insured against those kinds of losses.
    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/business/smallbusiness/protecting-business-accounts-from-hackers.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1350064820-8YMo7NoGgLBeFgF0bvJUNA
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-10-12 11:02
    The big guys will squeeze us because they know they can get away with it. They don't care because they don't have to. Bankers and their buds on Wall Street have gamed the system and are working hard to game it some more. I liken it to how many commercials there are on cable TV these days. You pay for that TV and yet out of every hour, they're feeding you 20 minutes of commercials. And we endure it. And continue to pay. They look down upon us as though we're cattle. And when we shake our fists and cry out that we're not cattle, they laugh and point to how they get away with Smile like this and say, "Here's the proof. We keep feeding you our $%&@ every day and you keep eating it."

    Bon appetit!


    2c972c1aeac760397c2b348e9d1acb0e.jpg

    BTW, business accounts are not insured like private bank accounts. If somebody hacks a business account and cleans it out, the banks are not responsible and you could be out of the entire amount. If you don't have it already, look into getting insured against those kinds of losses.
    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/business/smallbusiness/protecting-business-accounts-from-hackers.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1350064820-8YMo7NoGgLBeFgF0bvJUNA

    Almost Marxist. I prefer Trotsky myself. The sad thing is we need banks, unless I can store all my money in Starbuck cards and an iPhone.
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2012-10-12 11:09
    Almost Marxist. I prefer Trotsky myself.

    Of course, any true capitalist would be happy to watch 59 minutes of commercials out of every hour of pay TV. And deposit money in banks and mutual funds and never expect back a single penny.

    Bon appetit!
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-10-12 11:33
    Yes. First you got to the bank to start your small business, then you need to get a business license to use the bank account (as your business has a name of its own) and then you have to go to an insurance agent to make sure your money doesn't disappear.

    This all sounds somewhat familiar. No kind deed is left unpunished.

    The telephone company then wants you to get a business phone because you have a business license. And your social security number is no longer enough, the IRS wants you to have an Employer ID number for your register business name.

    That leads to the State wanting you to register and deposit in advance for State Disability insurance in case you have any emplyees, and the bank now wants a big deposit for a payroll preparation service, and....
  • ctwardellctwardell Posts: 1,716
    edited 2012-10-12 12:09
    I see a monkey or cat in this threads future.

    C,W,
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2012-10-12 12:57
    ctwardell wrote: »
    I see a monkey or cat in this thread's future....,

    Nah. He's too busy watching commercials. Probably the "food" channel. Bon appetit!

    Monkey-Watching-TV.jpg
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,246
    edited 2012-10-12 13:17
    ... unless I can store all my money in Starbuck cards and an iPhone.
    I like your idea. Hmmm. Now to execute the plan.
  • NWCCTVNWCCTV Posts: 3,629
    edited 2012-10-12 13:23
    I was infuriated when I went to BOA and tried to get a cashiers check. I have both Business and personal accounts there. I was told there was a $10.00 fee for a cashiers check. The excuse I got was, "It's becuase it is insured". DUH!!!!!!!! That is why I needed a cashiers check. I took my money and went to US Bank where I am not a customer and was charged $3.00. I have banked with BOA since way back when it was Seafirst. It's time for a change!!!
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,246
    edited 2012-10-12 13:27
    NWCCTV wrote: »
    It's time for a change!!!
    I'm starting to feel the same way. But this has happened before. Small banks seem to get those kind of things right - unfortunately, they get purchased by the big banks sooner or later. Then come the little fees and charges for everything.
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2012-10-12 13:42
    When I was a kid, there were very few banks to chose from. You put your money into a savings account and got about 3% interest. You could go to the bank (for free!) and there were human beings, none of whom was hunkered behind 6 inch plates of bullet proof polycarbonate. People were patient and polite. Since then, there are more banks than ever. There seems to be a different bank on every corner. I would think competition for customers would be fierce, that the banks would be tripping over each other to lure in your business and keep you there. Instead, it's bon appetit. Why? Because they all know they all operate the same way and you really have no choice but to suck up their particular way of lining their pockets. So I would like to know: how come free-market forces aren't driving these bankers out of business? Why, with so much competition, did everything get worse? It wouldn't be like these upstanding business people would be in cahoots, would it? I mean, free-market, freedom-loving business guys would never think of conspiring to rip off average joes... now would they?
  • TinkersALotTinkersALot Posts: 535
    edited 2012-10-12 14:42
    this might some clarity to what you are feeling:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB_2oIKUVks
  • TubularTubular Posts: 4,739
    edited 2012-10-12 15:48
    What you need is a decent class action, to claw those fees (plus interest) back, down the track...
    http://www.financialredress.com.au


  • lanternfishlanternfish Posts: 366
    edited 2012-10-12 16:12
    Here in New Zealand where most of our banks are Australian owned, the National Bank who I bank with and which regularly rates highest in (supposedly independent) customer services surveys has been taken over by and merged with the ANZ bank which regularly rates lowest in (supposedly independent) customer services surveys. So my easy to deal with bank gets swallowed up by the bank I switched from some 10 years ago. Vicious!
  • idbruceidbruce Posts: 6,197
    edited 2012-10-12 16:14
    @doggiedoc

    Very interesting. The banking industry has a tendancy to really tick me off. I could rant for a while, but I would just get excited and have to take up drinking again :)

    Bruce
  • TubularTubular Posts: 4,739
    edited 2012-10-12 16:29
    @Lanternfish
    Yep, got to keep on your toes. I've had dealings with most of the "big four" at various stages, but the second tier ones have been far less "offensive" over the years.
  • JLockeJLocke Posts: 354
    edited 2012-10-12 16:41
    Canceled all my accounts with Wells Fargo some years back and moved everything to a local credit union. The rates are better and they treat me like they actually appreciate my business!
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,246
    edited 2012-10-12 17:06
    JLocke wrote: »
    Canceled all my accounts with Wells Fargo some years back and moved everything to a local credit union. The rates are better and they treat me like they actually appreciate my business!
    I'm thinking about doing something along those lines.
  • TinkersALotTinkersALot Posts: 535
    edited 2012-10-12 20:42
    I will never do business with wells fargo again. don't ask me why, but I have witnessed just how broken their machine is.
  • Martin HodgeMartin Hodge Posts: 1,246
    edited 2012-10-12 20:47
    psst... credit unions.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-10-13 03:13
    Banks? Could these be the first generation of robotic tyranny? Won't keep my daily cash in Wells Fargo or BofA or American Express as they are really upsetting. But what really scares me that these may be good stock investments at the present. After all, owning a monopoly is rather appealing (in a selfish way).
  • bill190bill190 Posts: 769
    edited 2012-10-13 04:19
    I have a near perfect credit rating. Pay all my bills on time, etc...

    Anyway I have a credit card with one of those large banks. A couple of years ago they sent me a notice saying they were increasing the interest rate on that card to 21%! And no reason to do that other than their greed as I paid all payments on time, etc.

    Anyway that was a BRILLIANT thing to do to someone with a good credit rating! I simply walked to the credit union across the street and easily got a credit card there for a much lower interest rate. Then paid off the big bank credit card and did not charge anything more on it...

    After a year of me not charging anything on the big bank card, they decided they made a mistake and sent me a letter lowering my interest rate back down. I still did not use that card...

    Then after another year of not using the big bank card, they sent me a letter saying they would charge NO interest (0%) for one year. I read the fine print and no fees either. So THEN I made some large purchases with the card and am taking my time to pay it off. I'll pay it off before the end of that year, Then I will not charge anything else on that card after that.

    Anyway I am enjoying getting these monthly credit card statements which show "Interest: $0.00".
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2012-10-13 07:37
    bill190 wrote: »
    ... they sent me a letter saying they would charge NO interest (0%) for one year. I read the fine print and no fees either. So THEN I made some large purchases with the card and am taking my time to pay it off. ....

    Be extremely careful about when your "one year" is up. Credit card companies are notorious for playing some kind of strange game with the timing of that "one year." My wife got sucked into a scheme like that and though I can't remember the details of how they did it, it had something to do with their billing cycles. She was intent on paying off the entire amount before the one year was up, but even after she exercised the utmost caution, they almost fooled her in the way they did their billing cycles. It was a very clever ruse, as I recall. And if she had gotten caught by it, then the interest payment for that "free" one year would suddenly accumulate when the one year "no interest" was up. In other words, sure, of course you don't pay interest for one year, but that doesn't mean you won't owe the SOBs interest after the one year is up - if you don't pay it all off by the deadline. In any case, she detected the ruse almost at the last minute, paid off the debt in the nick of time and avoided getting caught in their web of deceit.

    You can't trust these financial people anymore. As a culture, they have become so used to thinking and operating like predators, they can't seem to think any other way. To them, it's just a way of doing business. If they can figure out a way to trick you, then you deserved to be tricked. They are smart and you are dumb. They see themselves at the top of a food chain and you are at the bottom, you shameless parasite, you.

    I, too, suggest people shift to credit unions. But I fear that sooner or later the amoebas of the financial world will figure out a way to engulf them and raid their treasures, too. After all, we cattle just don't deserve to keep what we've earned. If the big guys can figure out a way to steal it within the "law", then we don't deserve to keep it. Right?
  • bill190bill190 Posts: 769
    edited 2012-10-13 08:27
    Right. I read all the fine print. Actually I'm going to pay it off about 4 months before that year is up.

    Also speaking of 0% interest, I noticed with one home improvement store card, they charge you a percentage on each purchase! Then offer 0% from time to time. Not such a good deal!

    Again in that fine print...
  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2012-10-13 08:46
    Not sure what your credit unions are, a bit like our building societies? Anyway the banks muscled in on that by taking over the societies by offering those that had accounts £100 free if they voted for the takeover, of course lots of people went for the free money and a lot of the building societies became banks :(
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