There Oughta Be a Law Against Some Bank Fees

I learned of an "alert" system, available via Bank of America online banking, that sends unsecured email to customers, with information such as daily balances, low balances and overdraft notification -- but only if the customer activates the system.

Why should the customer bear the responsibility of arranging electronic notification? Many financial institutions clearly don't have a problem sending promotional messages via email.

Why not require banks to immediately notify consumers of an overdraft via email -- even one that alerts customers to log in for a secured, important message about their balance? I could have incurred $35 fees repeatedly, for days, until the snail mail notice arrived.

Another consumer law that would have saved me considerable agita this month would require banks to block debit-card transactions -- with no fees attached -- in the event a customer's account is overdrawn. Or, at the very least, the law could require a message to appear on the debit PIN pad, alerting the customer that a $35 fee would apply to complete the transaction.

A customer service representative told me that the bank honors debit card transactions as a "courtesy" when a customer overdraws an account. "How is charging me $35 for an $11 transaction a 'courtesy?'" I asked. I suppose that's a tough question to answer if you represent the bank.

The good news is that the bank reversed three fees -- $105 -- after a bitter conversation with a customer service representative, and then a supervisor. The fact that I hadn't overdrawn my account for many years helped my case.

The supervisor, however, defended the bank's fees as consistent with industry standards. He also said that some other banks even assess a daily overdraft penalty on top of the per-item fee.

I'm not expecting consumer-friendly banking legislation to pass anytime soon. So, in the meantime, I've activated the online banking "alert" system to notify me of my daily balance.