It's about to get more expensive to be a Wells Fargo customer. The bank says it plans to test a $3 monthly fee for debit cards starting this fall.
The fee will be applied in certain states starting in October. Wells Fargo acquired more than 250 Wachovia branches in Virginia earlier this month. Many banks are cranking up expenses following a regulation that reduces their revenue.
This is why we switched to local banks a few years ago. Better service, fewer fees, no sub-prime mortgage ("only make $20,000/year? no problem, sign here for your $500,000 house AND no money down!") mess.
Recommend HomeTown Bank or First Citizens.
More bait and switch. I will donate $100 to the first Congressman and/or Senator who makes a ruckus over this. Needless to say, my C-note will be safely in my pocket.
I realize that banks must make a profit to stay in business. My concern is having to pay for mis-management & fraud. I see branch banks all over the valley that are empty because the bank was taken over by a competing bank across the street, or it did not have enough customers to justify it's continued operation. Then there is the constant remodeling costs of name changes due to mergers, buy-outs & the costs of re-making the bank into the newest owners image.
I also have a concern with a constant stream of offers for credit cards & how easily someone without good credit or even a job, can obtain one. Do the banks ever make the merchants check the ID of a credit card purchaser? Why aren't photos of the card holder on the card? Do they ever check to see if the person obtaining the credit card actually exists? How often to you hear of hackers getting customer info from bank computers? All these over-balance accounts, charges on stolen cards, & other forms of credit card fraud are paid for by you & me, the customers. There's no restitution ever made by the thief because the are usually drug addicts without a pot to p... in.
Maybe it's time to take a second look at local credit unions.
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