Bank Of America screws its own

My favourite quote from this latest hullabaloo from south of the 49th (so far) is from a Bank of America customer in Baltimore, quoted in the Washington Post. "I hate it, it's wrong," she says, "but $5 a month - that's less than going to the movies." What this person is referring to is Bank of Americas recent announcement that in the new year they will begin charging certain debit card users $5 a month to make purchases using their debit cards. Apparently the thinking is that even though one is being charged $5 a month to use ones own money, that's okay because it is only $5 a month, Right and if someone charged this person $5 a month not to break their windows that would be fine too. Gawrsh, it's only $5, right?

Of course it is folks like this that the banks count on when they toss another fee into the mix and of course the new fees always seem to only apply to those who are regular folks, or in other words, the non-wealthy Joe the plumber types. Why would this be, I have to wonder, and then about a tenth of a second later I know the answer; because they can. With the current attention span of the average member of the paying public clocking in a "don't blink or you'll miss it" five seconds, the banking executives know that after an initial fit of grumpiness folks will be distracted by the latest celebrity "news" or a new "reality" TV show and then they'll roll over and take it. Heck, it's easier hey, and it costs less than going to a movie.

The banking industry claims that a new fee such as this is being forced on them due to over regulation brought on by the economic crisis of 2008. The funny thing is that it was decades of zany monkey business by the banks and other financial institutions that caused the financial crisis in the first place (oh I feel like such a cad pointing that out. You heard me, cad!) So now that somebody has said tot he banks, no, you can no longer act like a booze-hound in a liquor store, they have decided to screw some of their customers over.

Still, they have to be allowed to do this sort of thing. If the customers keep on putting up with it, it must be ok. Personally I've always had issues with banks, it is hard to trust any institution what on one hand tells you how trustworthy they are and how much they care for you, but who on the other hand chain the pens to the desks to the customers can't steal them. Yeah, that's trust.

Really, I suppose it's not like the bank is charging their less wealthy clients to walk into the bank, or to think about the bank. Those activities are still free (and kudos to the banks for that). What the Bank of America will be doing is charging people to use their own money and while I am sure the bank has excellent reasons for taking a huge slobbering dump all over it's less wealthy clients, I cannot think of any reasons why those clients being dumped on would continue to use the services of the Bank of America in any way shape or form. Guess I just can't see the big picture or something. I mean, it is only $5 per month and that is less than a movie.

Anyway... Humouroceros