Chill out Wells Fargo. A few days after Wells Fargo announced a pilot program to begin charging for debit cards, I read an article that continues to portray the bank in negative light.
For those that don’t know, I live in Charlotte, North Carolina. Much of the local news revolves around the megabanks – Bank of America and Wells Fargo. On Saturday, I left the bank-heavy city to return to my hometown to play in a golf tournament. I was hoping the short getaway would be an escape from the usual head-shaking news I’m constantly reading; but I wasn’t so lucky.
Read this story to find out why.
http://www.roanoke.com/columnists/casey/wb/296813
If you’re nervous about clicking random links, let me summarize the story.
Government budgets are tight. Municipalities are struggling. Just the other day a small Rhode Island town filed for bankruptcy (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/01/us-rhodeisland-centralfalls-idUSTRE7703ID20110801). School systems are no different…
It doesn’t seem like major banks are going to be the ones to lend a helping hand.
The Roanoke City School System has been banking with Wachovia. Just like an individual, they had overdraft protection on their accounts. They were paying $1000/yr for this service which gives them peace of mind knowing that none of their checks will bounce.
For those not familiar with the “bank formerly known as Wachovia,” it used to place an emphasis on friendly customer service (probably why it’s no longer around).
Enter Wells Fargo.
Wells Fargo recently informed the cash-strapped school system they would be increasing the fee they charge for the convenience of overdraft protection. What kind of increase? They’re raising it to $35,000/yr.
1750% INCREASE!!!
Do me a favor and read the full article to get the full details.
Do you think it’s justified?
