…I have a savings account and small checking account (balance about $25 at all times), which I don’t use very often, at Chase Bank. On last month’s statement they deduced $12 last month for fees and services. That was OK, they do that once in a while. Today I got another statement and it looks like they deducted another $12. I think. It’s unclear. I can’t look into it until Monday. Maybe I should have read all those little pamphlets full of gobbledy-gook? Am I misreading, or is this bank going to charge me every month now?
Two words: Credit Union.
My bank started charging me in February too. I closed them then I just opened a new account at a bank with free checking. Fortunately in Chicago it’s not hard to find a bank to give you free checking.
My bank doesn’t charge me a monthly fee, but they have started charging people who can’t keep a $1000 balance a fee. That seems kind of evil to me, charging people who can afford the fee the least 
I liked them before they were taken over, since I left my first bank to escape monthly fees that one charged everyone regardless of balance.
Call the bank, and see if they have a checking account that does not charge a monthly fee. At some point, I thought my old checking account was free of monthly fees. They charged me, I noticed, and was able to talk to them. They switched me to a no-fees checking account immediately, and I think they reimbursed the last fee they took. It’s been a while, but worth a call.
I especifically got the current checking account after being reassured I would not be charged a monthly fee unless my balance dropped X amount. My account is in no danger of that.
Have you considered reading up on fees here?
I think it depends on your account type. I had an old account at my bank that was the “Totally Free Checking Account” - no fees whatsoever but the interest rate was really low. There is another one that charges a low balance fee if your balance goes below $1,500 and the interest rate on that one is higher.
I belong to a credit union which does not charge me fees.
Most banks have a “minimum monthly balance” you must maintain to not incur fees. Generally it’s something like $1000-1500. $12/month does sound high though.
Well, I think I’m either going to shop around for a free checking account at another bank, but most likely transfer some of my savings into the present checking account to avoid paying a fee, at least a high fee.
My checking account is not only free, but if I use my debit card 10 times a month, I get 3% interest on the account and they pay for ATM fees up to $20 per month.
Shop around. Small banks and credit unions, hurrah!
Could I ask which bank this is?
Thirded / Fourthed “credit union”, it’s not terribly hard to find one that will have you. Ours charges us no fees. Well, if we bounced a check they would but we have an overdraft line of credit, which is free; before I had that on my personal checking I accidentally overdrew on two occasions (both TOTALLY my fault, no transaction-ordering shenanigans) and I chalked the 20 dollars up as a stupidity tax.
Not only low-to-no fees, but better rates on loans etc. The only things mine is NOT competitive on are mortgages (they’re a bit higher than most Big Banks), and sometimes CD rates (ING supposedly has higher, but the credit union’s are certainly decent). Oh, and mine doesn’t offer Quicken Direct Connect so I have to manually go to their site to initiate the download.
12 bucks a month is highway robbery - I’d bet you don’t even have much in the way of transactions on that account.
We’ve gotten nailed with monthly fees for a small savings account we maintain at a bank very near our house - if the balance drops below 300 dollars. And the interest rate is pathetic; we got perhaps 50 cents in interest last year. But we keep that account since the bank has safety deposit boxes, and having an account slashes the rental fee by 50%. So I can see there might be reasons to stay with your current bank even if they are being greedy about fees. I’d concur you should ask them if they have a free account that would be more suitable.
On my current (=checking) account I voluntarily pay a fee to my bank (Barclays), and in return, I get a package of extras such as automatic multi-trip family travel insurance, vehicle breakdown recovery, mobile phone insurance, identity theft assistance, extended overdraft, etc.
When I’m in credit, they pay me (very modest) interest. The account is available without any of the fees, for those that want it (I’m not sure if there’s a minimum monthly deposit to qualify for it)
Not in my experience, but I guess YMMV. I usually only see it for accounts where your deposit collects interest.
Business accounts are another matter.
I recently closed my old bank account because of this. I kept it open for a year or so with no balance, except to pay for a linked credit card, so it wasn’t something I looked at regularly. For years it was a free checking account, then a few months ago they charged a small monthly fee. Small, except for the overdraft I had to pay because of it. They never sent me ANY notice that my account would be changing, so I paid off the credit card and closed both accounts.
I’m much happier with the credit union I’m with now.
My bank was kind enough to change the fees for the accounts without telling anyone. For years we had the “powerchequing” account that had a fee, which was waived if you kept $1,500 in the account. Unlimited transactions. No problemo.
Suddenly, I notice twenty bucks in “service fees” Hmmm. February, January and December all have these fees. Nothing earlier. Turns out that they’ve changed the account (not that they’ll admit to it) to $3.95 fee, waived with $1,500 in the account, but that only gives you 15 transactions. 65 cents after that. We’re told we need to switch to the “One” account, which has $10.95 fee, waived with $3,000 in the account. Fine. They also removed the fees paid for two of the months. No real harm done. What pisses me off is they keep fussing with the account types. Trust me, I would have noticed if I was paying twenty bucks a month in fees for the last ten years - don’t pretend it’s always been like this.
It’s actually the second time in a couple of months, too. Turns out I didn’t have the “high interest” account - oh no. That’s no longer the best one - there’s this new one…
Gah!
They don’t charge for the base account, although it’s pretty bare bones. I have a better account that bears interest and gets you free bank checks and such. I avoid fees by having an automatic transfer from checking to savings of $75 each month. I don’t think there are any repercussions if you move it right back the next day.
My bank (online only) has no minimum balance and refunds unlimited ATM surcharges.
Most banks have many types of checking accounts. Perhaps the one you are in now was the right fit for you when you opened it, but life changes and circumstances change. Us bankers know and understand that. We’ll help you get into the right account. But it’s up to the customer to tell us. Some customers wait months and months and months, getting angry, then they storm into the branch and demand 10 months of fees be refunded. We can’t do that. But if you come in with a month or two worth of fees, and are willing to work with us (as opposed to “get my money back and run” kind of thing), we can help you out with that.
Basically, it’s easy for someone to avoid fees by simply being proactive about your finances. If you keep your checkbook register and included everything (checks, debit card transactions, etc.), if you meet with your banker to discuss any personal financial changes, etc., you won’t get a single fee from the bank. The press hypes it up to “every bank is charging everyone tons of money!” but in reality, the ones who are getting charged are usually the ones who are taking charge of their own money by making sure they don’t overdraw their accounts, telling us when they no longer get direct deposit (so their account incurs fees), etc. We’re not psychic and we don’t look at every single customer’s accounts every day to see if you’re no longer meeting requirements. It’s your money, you’ve got to be responsible for it.
(Sorry that was a bit ranty… I get annoyed with people who feel so entitled that they won’t take any responsibility for their finances and blame everything on us. Seriously… it’s not my fault if you overdrew your account buying $200 boots or spending $300 at the casino. I know that’s not wherer you’re coming from, but that all just came out!)