Reform in the Age of Plastic

I have not read the bill but I hope that some of the protections re. fees etc. also protect debit card users. I have eliminate all of my credit cards. It is still safer to use a debit card rather than to carry cash so I am still a user of "plastic" money.



One dirty trick ( I have not been the target of this myself ) is for a bank to allow a debit to exceed the balance in your account then charge your account $35 to cover the purchase even if the overage amounts to a few cents. On top of that some banks then charge your account a fee as much as $5 a day for every day your account is over drawn. If a husband and wife each have a card on the same account it is not uncommon for them to use the card without knowing the other has just reached a limit. Then since they may not get a pay check for a week or two, they find that an over the limit of a dollar will wind up costing them a large chunk of their pay check !



A friend of mine banked at Merchantile Bank who allowed a charge to exceed balance by 69 cents. An over draft fee of $35.00 plus 5 days at $5 per day while waiting for a pay check to deposit resuluted in a $60 fee.
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