Consumers Protest Overdraft Fees

Those who are fed up with bank fees are offering their tales of overdraft woe to regulators to encourage stricter guidelines for when and whether banks can charge them.

Banks often charge overdraft fees when customers attempt to take more money out of their accounts than they have available, rather than blocking the transactions. Consumers can get charged high fees for very small purchases and banks can process transactions in whatever order they see fit.

For instance, say a customer has a $20 balance. Her $100 paycheck clears on Friday, the same day she made five purchases worth $24. If the bank clears the debits before the credit, she could get hit with several overdraft fees -- one for each purchase that was made beyond the $20 level.

Each fee runs $34 on average, according to the Center for Responsible Lending, which is overseeing the campaign to email regulators. The center says that a new rule proposed by the Federal Reserve that would allow consumers to opt out of overdraft programs doesn't do enough. ...