Stupid Bank Fees

We were charged a $5 maintenance fee on our savings account this month at Bank of America. I check my transactions online every few days and as soon as I saw that erroneous charge I called the bank. The guy who answered said he couldn't refund it and he gave me the number of the people who could. Turned out to be the 800 number on the back of my debit card. It was an automated system and I was getting nowhere in trying to get to an actual person. After many minutes of listening to options and pushing buttons, my call was disconnected prematurely. That made me mad! I asked Craig if he could watch Alisa and I raced out the door to go to the bank in person. They closed in 15 minutes so I had to hurry. (Another thing I hate is that the lobby closes at 4 PM).

I was waiting in line when the greeter lady asked if anyone had a transaction not involving cash. I did because I just was depositing some checks and asking for a refund on that stupid fee. She said she could help me at the customer service desk so I went there with her. She gave me a receipt for the deposit and then looked at the issue about the fee. She said we were charged a fee because we didn't make a deposit to our savings account that month (a requirement for our account). I said that we had automatic deposit set up for the same day every month so that we would never be charged a maintenance fee and it had been fine like that for over a year. She looked closer and said our statement this month closed 1 day before the automatic deposit went through. I thought, "Now that's a dirty trick!" She said she' d go ahead and issue the refund this time as a courtesy to us. Oh geez, a courtesy...like we didn't deserve it and won't get it next time something funky like that happens. She ended up changing our account from a Custom Savings to a Regular Savings so that wouldn't happen again. She said the interest rates are the same but now we can make more than 1 withdrawal per month and won't be charged a maintenance fee as long as we have a balance of at least $300.

After all that was resolved, she got really excited and started telling me about a credit card offer that appeared on the computer screen. She acted like it was such a great card and great deal that that I would definitely want to get it. Craig and I have a joint account but when she clicked over on Craig's name he also had an offer, but it was slightly different so she was comparing the two. I almost laughed at her speech and attitude because she was so excited but I was not impressed at all. First of all, we already have 2 credit cards from them (used them for 0% balance transfers for a year and don't use them now but just haven't cancelled them yet) and we get offers all the time for more. How can one company/bank keep offering you more and more cards when you already have 2 of theirs?! (Her reason was that this card was better...that you earn reward points faster. Well that may be true, but if you are constantly seeking a better card then you'd be opening a new account every year and that is not good for your credit rating.) Second, the limit on these new offers was for $2,000 and $3,000 (we're used to $10,000 and $12,000). Third, the 0% interest rate was only for 6 months (we're used to 12-18 months with no transfer fees).

It stinks that Bank of America charges monthly maintenance fees to have a savings account (unless you meet special requirements) when the interest earned is so puny. I miss Tulsa Teachers Credit Union in Oklahoma. They never charged me fees and they had better hours. The best savings account I have found is with ING Direct (online account that can be linked to your local bank account) . I opened an account in 2003, and their interest rate has been mostly around 3-4% since then (that is AWESOME for a simple savings account!). There are no fees or required minimums on my account. I love it! (Note: If you want to open an ING savings account nowadays and have $250 to put in it, I can send you a link that will get you $25 free...just let me know).