If you’re trying to cut back expenses, the last thing you need is to get hit with a bunch of unexpected bank fees. Nonetheless, many banks are finding new ways to increase their earnings by charging their customers for their services. Each of these fees have to be disclosed to the banks account holders, but the disclosure is often buried in pages of account mumbo-jumbo. You may have no idea what fee will be charged by your bank until you get your first bank statement.
Here are a few of the latest ones I’ve discovered:
Statement Charges – Sure, your new checking account may be free, but what happened when you need a copy of your monthly statement? What will you pay if you need one of your cancelled checks (rather than the copy that is printed in your statement)? Many banks charge for these services that used to be part of having a checking account. If you use these services and your bank is going to charge for them, that checking account isn’t really free.
Overdraft Fees – One of the perks of using a debit card is that you can control your spending, right? After all, if there isn’t enough money in your account to pay for something, you card will be declined. That may not be true, though. Some banks will simply charge you an overdraft fee and allow the charge. And, since you didn’t know you were out of money, you may keep spending and incur more charges. It’s imperative that you know how much money you have before using your debit card.
Debit Card Transaction Fees – Do you use your debit card to get cash back when you shop? Many people skip their bank’s ATM and opt to get cash back from the cashiers at Wal-Mart or Target. I love getting to cross one more errand off my list by combining it with another. Unfortunately, some banks have retaliated by charging a transaction fee for cash-back transactions.
On a final note, don’t think that bank accounts you’ve had for years are exempt from charging these types of fees. Banks are allowed to change their fee structures as long as they give account holders sufficient notice. Keep an eye on any disclosure notices that show up in your mailbox, and make sure that you know what’s changing.
