New debit card fee for Wells Fargo customers

[Swimalie]

Clark says it best, as always.

http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/cla...argo-testing-3-monthly-fee-debit-cards/nDKRr/

 

[mtblujeans]

DH has a checking account and credit card with WF. For years, he went round and round with them that he did not want a debit card (he doesn't use them). First they told him he had to have one to bank with them. Then, they told him all his accounts were tied to the debit card and he would have to wait longer for his banking transactions to take place (standing in line or sitting in drive thru) if he didn't have the debit card.

He finally got them to stop asking him to sign up for the card when we got 3 debit cards in the mail: 1 for DH, 1 for me, and 1 for teen DS. DS was in another town in college so we don't know why they sent one for him. I called them and talked to a local branch manager and she couldn't figure out who had sent them and why they had sent them since we didn't request them. So, then, they put a 'note' in DH's accounts that he would not authorize debit cards for anyone.

This week, he got a notification that they will now be charging him $7.00 a month to utilize what has been, up until now, a free checking account. He will now be closing his checking account and credit card. I would have closed these accounts a couple of years ago.

 

[Swimalie]

DH has a checking account and credit card with WF. For years, he went round and round with them that he did not want a debit card (he doesn't use them). First they told him he had to have one to bank with them. Then, they told him all his accounts were tied to the debit card and he would have to wait longer for his banking transactions to take place (standing in line or sitting in drive thru) if he didn't have the debit card.

He finally got them to stop asking him to sign up for the card when we got 3 debit cards in the mail: 1 for DH, 1 for me, and 1 for teen DS. DS was in another town in college so we don't know why they sent one for him. I called them and talked to a local branch manager and she couldn't figure out who had sent them and why they had sent them since we didn't request them. So, then, they put a 'note' in DH's accounts that he would not authorize debit cards for anyone.

This week, he got a notification that they will now be charging him $7.00 a month to utilize what has been, up until now, a free checking account. He will now be closing his checking account and credit card. I would have closed these accounts a couple of years ago.

This is not good news since my husband and I refuse a debit card as well. They had better not send me one or I will close my account, too. I've been told, so far, that I can keep my ATM only card.

 

[Irin997]

My DH has been with Wachovia for years and is not pleased with the WF transition. We just got married 2 months ago and were going to go with WF but after reading about all of the changes, we switched over to PNC's Virtual Wallet account.

If we don't like PNC then we'll go back to my USAA account.

 

[eliza61]

Credit unions Folks, credit unions. Find one near you. Almost all of them have wide acceptance policies (not like the old days when you had to be a member of a union or a special job).

Big banks are in business to make money, not service the customer.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I am with Suntrust and also got the notice for $5 a month. Luckily, my father was accepted into USAA recently and I was able to get an account as well. I think I am going to switch everything there. Does anyone else use USAA.

I do and have been VERY happy with them. No fees, they refund the charges the ATMs charge you for "out of network" withdrawals (I think there is a monthly limit on this, but not sure as I haven't ever hit that)

And when you call they have HUMANS! What a concept! (Something BOA seemed unable to provide!)

 

[Swimalie]

Credit unions Folks, credit unions. Find one near you. Almost all of them have wide acceptance policies (not like the old days when you had to be a member of a union or a special job).

Big banks are in business to make money, not service the customer.

My husband was a member of a credit union for about 30+ years. They started charging us a monthly fee. Not all credit unions are good. Wells Fargo account is free vs a credit union that wanted to charge a fee? Simple answer there.

 

[Thumper_Man]

Appearantly, this is a test program for WF customers in GA, NM, OR, and NV.

Full details here.

Just checked my account and sure enough, the notification is there. Guess it's time to switch banks. DW and I have most of our accounts with our local credit union anyways. I think I only have one recurring bill that is actually linked to my WF debit card. Everything else is an auto pay through my checking account, not necessarily my debit card.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I don't see this in my statement or online yet..But..I agree..this makes me mad since they encouraged us to USE the debit..and then when they get everyone pretty hooked they charge us? I'll use cash or charge everything and if Billpay stops being free I'll go back to checks. (yes and get stuck paying for postage, but it's the principal)

agreed!

Credit unions Folks, credit unions. Find one near you. Almost all of them have wide acceptance policies (not like the old days when you had to be a member of a union or a special job).

Big banks are in business to make money, not service the customer.

my credit union. I have had an acct there my whole life. Got married to DH and he was with Wachovia. Our joint acct (most of our money) is with them. Now I am in charge of the monies in our home and we will be switching everything over to my credit union. Bye bye WF!

 

[kerplop]

What I hate is that they seem to keep finding new ways of charging you fees, but the customer service level keeps going down. I can't even tell you the last time I actually dealt with a human being at my bank.

 

[eliza61]

My husband was a member of a credit union for about 30+ years. They started charging us a monthly fee. Not all credit unions are good. Wells Fargo account is free vs a credit union that wanted to charge a fee? Simple answer there.

wait, if wels fargo is free, what the heck is this thread about? am I missing some thing?

http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/16/pf/debit_card_fee/index.htm

Please don't believe that this will spread to all Wells fargo banks after the supposedly "test" period.

 

[willowsnn3]

For those saying you're going to switch banks.....most of the banks are doing this now due to the new government policies on fees....etc. Suntrust is going to charge 5.00 a month....again while 5.00 isn't much it's 60.00 a year and it's a FEE to use what's already mine? I can write checks for everything, but I would think that checks cost them more money to process than a debit card......so if they force me to carry more cash, write checks and charge everything to my credit card during the month to avoid the fees....who's really winning?

I think it's irritating to pay a fee to have access to my money.....just saying.

Exactly. Just got a notice in the mail yesterday from SunTrust. States 'Due to changes in the industry......' My over 55 account will no longer be free. $7.00 monthly fee now or a daily minimum balance of $500. $5.00 a month for unlimited debit uses. Will probably check around but got a feeling this is the new norm for now. Wonder if online bill pay is going to be affected???? Or will there now be a fee for that too? Could go back to writing checks for bills but would have to remember to mail them in time, lol.

 

[willowsnn3]

wait, if wels fargo is free, what the heck is this thread about? am I missing some thing?

http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/16/pf/debit_card_fee/index.htm

Please don't believe that this will spread to all Wells fargo banks after the supposedly "test" period.

Didn't see the original post about Wells Fargo being free but my notice said effective Nov. 10th. Maybe they haven't gotten their notice yet.......

 

[disney1990]

BTW, SunTrust at least will offer free debit card/checking if you sign up for a type of account where you agree to keep a balance of at least $5k in it. So that's something, I guess, if you can afford to keep $5k just sitting in a non-interest-bearing account.

I agree with the PP who said this was going to affect everyone, though. Banks are competitive, and even if the regulation didn't force them to, you can bet that they will follow suit if one or two of them are making extra revenue this way. Their shareholders will demand it.

I have no problem with providing a bank with SOME kind of restitution for keeping my money safe. But I really think that could be covered by the interest they earn on investing it when I'm not using it.

Who said anything about the money being in a non-interest bearing account. I have 3 Suntrust accounts and they are pay interest. I have not received any notice of a monthly charge for having a debit card and I think they would be very unhappy if we closed our 3 accounts and our retirement account which are all through Suntrust. We too are reimbursed when we use our debit card to withdraw money from an ATM which is not a Suntrust bank. I don't know how many times a month they will reimburse, because we have only done it a couple times, ever.

As far as Wachovia, I saw the story on the news. The charge is for having a debit card - even if you never even use it during the month.

I can see a bank charging for using a debit card at a store, but to charge to just take money out of your account -- that is not acceptable.

 

[Swimalie]

wait, if wels fargo is free, what the heck is this thread about? am I missing some thing?

http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/16/pf/debit_card_fee/index.htm

Please don't believe that this will spread to all Wells fargo banks after the supposedly "test" period.

I don't use nor own a debit card therefore my accounts are free, for now. It doesn't mean they won't change that in the future but as of now I won't be paying their debit card fee.

By the way, I have an ATM only card. You can request one and save the fee. I pay for things with either cash or credit card (which I pay off at the end of each month).

 

[disfan07]

I went onto the notices the other day for California and there is absolutely nothing in there that mentions a fee at least not through 2012. They have other changes but no fees as of now.

So it looks like we are fine out here

 

[t2simon]

Someone posted a link to the document that explains the fees. It is a test program in several areas, so not everyone is being charged - yet.

One of the things it states is that if you have a PMA - thats their Premier something or other - that you won't be charged. Basically, if all your accounts add up to a certain balance (don't know what that is) you won't get charged. I have my mortgage, and two deposit accounts, so with the total of those once those fees come to AZ, I shouldn't get the charge. Unless they change the rules, which they probably will.

All these new fees are thanks to the Dodd-Frank law the the Congress put through. Don't know all the details, but it was to protect the consumer from some fees. So, they are just putting in other ones. Honestly, that is how banks make money - from the fees they charge. I work in commercial banking, so all I hear all the time is about my lenders collecting fees on the commercial loans....

 

[Jeff_G]

The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act;

The Durbin Amendment also gave the Federal Reserve the power to regulate debit card interchange fees, and on December 16, 2010 the Fed proposed a maximum interchange fee of 12 cents per debit card transaction, which CardHub.com estimated would cost large banks $14 billion annually. On June 29, 2011, the Fed issued its final rule, which holds that the maximum interchange fee an issuer can receive from a single debit card transaction is 21 cents plus 5 basis points multiplied by the amount of the transaction. This rule also allows issuers to raise their interchange fees by as much as one cent if they implement certain fraud-prevention measures. An issuer eligible for this adjustment, could therefore receive an interchange fee of as much as 24 cents for the average debit card transaction (valued at $38), according to the Federal Reserve. This cap—which will take effect on October 1, 2011 rather than July 21, 2011 as was previously announced—will cost banks roughly $9.4 billion annually, according to CardHub.com.

 

[eliza61]

I don't use nor own a debit card therefore my accounts are free, for now. It doesn't mean they won't change that in the future but as of now I won't be paying their debit card fee.

By the way, I have an ATM only card. You can request one and save the fee. I pay for things with either cash or credit card (which I pay off at the end of each month).

then really this won't effect you but for a great many people in the world, this does as most folks are now debit card dependant. Not sure I'm understanding your point. If you use cash only, none of the fees are a concern.

 

[Swimalie]

then really this won't effect you but for a great many people in the world, this does as most folks are now debit card dependant. Not sure I'm understanding your point. If you use cash only, none of the fees are a concern.

How will it affect me? As a 2 week old customer of theirs, I'm interested to see if they will add fees on to the every day banking that I do. They seem to be a bank that will be fee-heavy. If they start adding fees on to my account, I will leave. So while the debit card fee does not affect me, other fees might in the future. Not sure why that is confusing to anyone.

By the way, I said I use my credit card, which I pay off at the end of each month, or cash not cash-only.