Bank of America to charge customers monthly fee for using debit cards, could spark trend among banks

[Tokkemon]

Even the cost of living within states are drastically different. COL in New York City is much higher than, say, Schenectady, NY

[Trainmaster5]

With all due respect but as an individual one has to realize that they must live within their means. Some one with a salary of 30K who gets approved for a loan for lets say 90k for BMW M3...should use their common sense that, that loan is far beyond what they can reasonably pay back after rent, food etc... Sure the banks may propose a bad situation but their not putting a gun to the consumer's head forcing them to sign. At the end of the day people need to use their common sense (even though it's not so common lol)

 

A responsible banker would never approve such a loan. The only way a consumer would get that money from a responsible lender is if the CONSUMER had the gun. Many people seem to forget that it's the lender, not the borrower, who has the say in these situations. The consumer may be stupid in applying for such a loan but the (responsible) bank would have to be even dumber to agree to it. The bank has all the power in such a transaction while the borrower has none. You can't live outside your means without an enabler.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

A responsible banker would never approve such a loan. The only way a consumer would get that money from a responsible lender is if the CONSUMER had the gun. Many people seem to forget that it's the lender, not the borrower, who has the say in these situations. The consumer may be stupid in applying for such a loan but the (responsible) bank would have to be even dumber to agree to it. The bank has all the power in such a transaction while the borrower has none. You can't live outside your means without an enabler.

 

True, but the consumer also has to use common sense. I mean there is no way in hell that I am going to get a mortgage from Chase that I can't afford, not matter what Chase tells me. Now I was pre-approved for a mortgage, and I had the loan officer run the numbers for me to include what my mortgage would be with taxes, maintenance and so on each month and that's the number we agreed on in terms what I would be borrowing from the bank when I'm ready to buy and have enough for the downpayment. Then again, I guess folks with my credit score are the only ones that think like me.

[youngblaze]

True, but the consumer also has to use common sense. I mean there is no way in hell that I am going to get a mortgage from Chase that I can't afford, not matter what Chase tells me. Now I was pre-approved for a mortgage, and I had the loan officer run the numbers for me to include what my mortgage would be with taxes, maintenance and so on each month and that's the number we agreed on in terms what I would be borrowing from the bank when I'm ready to buy and have enough for the downpayment. Then again, I guess folks with my credit score are the only ones that think like me.

 

Indeed, I don't know about you but so far I have maintained a credit score within the 720's and I'm damn proud of my self...no late payments...no charge-off's ...nada! I just learned from the mistakes my parent's made and made sure I didn't end up like them.

[SubwayGuy]

The burden still falls on the bank to loan responsibly. The bank is the one that hopes to get it's money back.

 

If a consumer doesn't do their due diligence, they will have bad credit and their life will be a financial nightmare. For many Americans it has become one. They will have to live with the consequences of their decisions for the rest of their lives.

 

However, for the banks it's only fair if they make bad loans they lose money and their executives who make those decisions lose a slice of their income. It's NOT fair they get taxpayer bailouts and the executives who greenlighted this chicanery continue to be paid top dollar while America crumbles under the weight of their mismanagement, and customers who were responsible and paid back what they borrowed are saddled with "fees" so the banksters can keep making their millions. They have escaped culpability - financial and criminal - so far, and it is sickening. WE WANT JUSTICE.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Indeed, I don't know about you but so far I have maintained a credit score within the 720's and I'm damn proud of my self...no late payments...no charge-off's ...nada! I just learned from the mistakes my parent's made and made sure I didn't end up like them.

 

Yeah my FICO score now is a 747. It would be higher, but I applied for a few things recently and was approved. I had to switch to Verizon in September, so that cost me a good 5 points for the hard inquiry and then I applied for Bill Me Later since I wanted a new laptop, but wanted to pay for it later at 0% interest and was approved, which cost me a few more points, so I'll get those back in the next few months as the inquires become less relevant.

 

Amex has been pushing me to get the Platinum card, so I called in to see what it was about and I'm not bothering. If I was traveling back and forth to Europe a lot as I would like to, it would be good because it offers concierge service in the airport and such, but I don't feel like paying the $450.00 yearly fee up front, so I'm sticking with my Gold card, as the fee is just $175.00 a year which I can cover easily with the amount of points that I rack up each month. They did say however that they may offer some sort of promotion to get me to join, because I wanted points like I got when I got my Gold card. In any event, I'm quite happy with my Gold card. I've filed several claims and have gotten my money back each time, except for once for my Ray Ban shades, only because the Insurance timeframe had passed. I may have to file another one though, as it looks like I lost these American made earbuds. They're a pair of Weston's and they're like $200.00 and I may have to replace them if I can't locate them at home tonight because that would mean that I lost them in the cab I took last night. :mad:

 

Update: Found Weston's in a Whole Foods bag... :cool:

[Trainmaster5]

The burden still falls on the bank to loan responsibly. The bank is the one that hopes to get it's money back.

 

If a consumer doesn't do their due diligence, they will have bad credit and their life will be a financial nightmare. For many Americans it has become one. They will have to live with the consequences of their decisions for the rest of their lives.

 

However, for the banks it's only fair if they make bad loans they lose money and their executives who make those decisions lose a slice of their income. It's NOT fair they get taxpayer bailouts and the executives who greenlighted this chicanery continue to be paid top dollar while America crumbles under the weight of their mismanagement, and customers who were responsible and paid back what they borrowed are saddled with "fees" so the banksters can keep making their millions. They have escaped culpability - financial and criminal - so far, and it is sickening. WE WANT JUSTICE.

I know that I would be preaching to the choir in your case but I think that Via G and youngblaze are seeing my point at last. Because Ive finally reached my 60's and was raised by the Depression generation people my outlook on finances and such may seem dated to some people but it has served me well to this point. In the last 25 years or so banks have seemed to stray far from what my perception of traditional banking is. Mass marketing of credit card offers and the banks issuance of them to everbody was just the start of their downward slide. Credit approvals to individuals and businesses with little or no real capital sped up the process. The mortgage and securities debacle only solidified their failures. I don't absolve those consumers who tried to play the game and lost. Lack of common sense is no excuse for some people to be in the predicament they find themselves in today but BofA, Citi, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Countrywide, and a few others were the ultimate enablers in this debacle. Therefore I think it would be fair to see some of those enablers, individually or institutionally, pay the price. They ceased to behave like responsible bank and money managers and acted like casino operators. Even after this debacle and remaining solvent with Bernanke's printing press and our tax dollars their balance sheets and bonuses have grown while refusing to lend OUR money to individuals and small businesses who qualify even under the stringent rules in place a generation ago. Although Herman Cain and I may be political opposites on everything else,I ,and my older family members are definately Black and conservative on money matters. We, like you SubwayGuy, think that the re-regulation and/or breakup of some of these wanna be casino operators who call themselves banking institutions is long overdue. Some of us who supported Obama and the Democrats in the past are wondering where are the " perp walks" that are also long overdue. IMO this transcends political persuasion and all spectrums from left to right SHOULD support it. If they can't or won't support it then the voters should take that into consideration in 2012. Wasn't there a recent POTUS who said something like "you're either with us or against us" in a different situation? Well what about today in this situation? Shouldn't the same question be asked? Pardon my rant folks. Carry on.

[Shortline Bus]

An update. Due to public pressure BOA has dropped it's controversial plan to charge monthly fees to debit cards.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/credit/story/2011-11-01/bank-of-america-drops-debit-fees/51026748/1