My "Totally Free" checking account is now $11 per month?

CincinnatiKid · Mar 18, 2015

Received a letter from bank stating title of thread.
I've continually kept minimum balance, (or more). I don't have paper checks. I only use debit card. Primarily for fueling work trucks. Not much, app $2000 per month.
Well, the bank says if I don't enroll in direct-deposit, my totally free account will cost $11 per mo. True, it's not much $, it's the point of being forced.
Soooo, I went to a different bank to inquire about their "free checking". Sure as rain, they will provide my needs without fees.
Here's the kicker..! I notice a CoinStar machine. No fee for account holders! Hope it can handle alot of dug coins.

Peace ✌

bigfoot1 · Mar 18, 2015

a silver(or clad)lining...cool.I would not hesitate to let branch mgr.know why you are switching..in fact..both branch mgrs.

rick67 · Mar 18, 2015

Look good my last bank had in fine print somewhere in the mess. For first year only.

Msbeepbeep · Mar 18, 2015

Ya watch out for yourself, it's all about the money!

CincinnatiKid · Mar 18, 2015

Thanks.
Been at initial bank for 7yrs.
Will look into that darn "fine print".
Peace ✌

TommyB · Mar 18, 2015

Credit unions are good as well. But mine decided to charge 5% for coinstar type machine they have. They said it was a maintenance fee. I now just use a regular coinstar at the grocery store for my beach clad
and get an Amazon gift card ( no charge ). Your old bank wants to charge you for them using your money to loan to others and collect interest.
Great work if you can get it, I guess

Gold Maven · Mar 18, 2015

Don't get me started on the whole banking mess.

Over draw your "over draft protected" checking account, it's $35. It is very nice of them to notify you 2 weeks later, after you've written 4 more checks.

They stopped my wife from depositing cash INTO my account. Banked there 40 years, we have CDs, heloc, checking, health sav. acc, there, two Grandads sat on their board of directors, and I get no respect.

0.3 percent on CDs, but charge 20 times that to lend it out.

My mom is a stock holder in the bank, and their annual financial report is off the charts, V.P.s making $250k plus bonuses....but can they give anything back to the loyal customers that provide all this money?

HELL NO. Only more rules and regulations.

SusanMN · Mar 18, 2015

My local bank did that, started charging for what used to be relatively no strings free checking, and discovered that they lost tons of customers. A couple of years later, they are back to their old free checking.

motel6.5 · Mar 18, 2015

If you are a veteran you can get a free Checking account at Chase, you do not need a direct deposit or certain amount to keep the account.

texasred777 · Mar 21, 2015

When I lived back in Texas, I banked at a local bank that regularly charged me a monthly fee. When I retired, I went in and talked to one of customer service ladies. I told her I liked doing business at the bank, but I wouldn't continue to pay the fees if I kept banking with them. She said she could help me with that problem. She said the bank had a '55+ Account' that I could use and pay no fees. I asked what the '55' meant. She said, "Oh, when our customers turn 55, they can join the '55+ Account'." I told her that I had been with the bank since I was about 44 years old. Why was I not told about this account? She said it was just common knowledge. I told her that I had no 'common knowledge' of it. She said well, it wasn't really advertised; but it was there if someone wanted to use it. I asked her if I could get a refund of all the monthly fees that I had been paying for all those years after I turned 55. She said that she was sorry, but no, she couldn't do that. So I went to the cashier, withdrew what little I had in my account, and placed with another bank that had free checking. I got several letters from the bank later asking me to return and do business with them. I answered one of the letters and said I would come back if they'd refund all those fees that I paid after I turned 55. Never heard from them again.

fistfulladirt · Mar 22, 2015

Understand that once you deposit your money into a bank account, it's no longer "your" money. You gave the bank an unsecured loan.

Free checking is free until it's not.
Direct deposit minimums are constantly raised.

Msbeepbeep · Mar 22, 2015

Then there's the cards that they collect on both ends from! It never ends! No wonder they are trying to do away with cash (which is just a promissory note of the Feds anyhow!)

MUD(S.W.A.T) · Mar 22, 2015

Well,

If you don't want to pay, find a new bank with free checking. :dontknow:

However its very hard to find banks that offer free accounts these days. :BangHead:

Aufish · Mar 24, 2015

Gold Maven said:
Don't get me started on the whole banking mess.

Over draw your "over draft protected" checking account, it's $35. It is very nice of them to notify you 2 weeks later, after you've written 4 more checks.

They stopped my wife from depositing cash INTO my account. Banked there 40 years, we have CDs, heloc, checking, health sav. acc, there, two Grandads sat on their board of directors, and I get no respect.

0.3 percent on CDs, but charge 20 times that to lend it out.

My mom is a stock holder in the bank, and their annual financial report is off the charts, V.P.s making $250k plus bonuses....but can they give anything back to the loyal customers that provide all this money?

HELL NO. Only more rules and regulations.

The secrets to banks being able to give out loans for money that doesn't exist outside of the context of a loan contract, is due to fractional banking. Banks are allowed to take 90% of the money you give them to hold to use for loans in any form. Essentially you give them $10, they say ok we can use $9 to make money on loans but when the customer wants their money back we have to give it back... so they take it from someone other persons $10 deposit and make up the difference on paper by getting a fractional loan from the bank above them. It's a giant pyramid scheme that people know about (not nearly enough), but realize we are so far caught up into this mess that its like a house of cards, breathe on it the wrong way and it's all going to come crashing down. Just no politician wants that to stain their career so we just up the budget deficit at the top (fed reserve; also a privately owned bank / company for profit) and pretend like everything is cool. Meanwhile we are in a period of hyperinflation that is being kept quiet from the masses, less they know that their paper money is losing value every second of every day for the past almost 3 years.

This is ultimately what turned me onto gold. I realize that this house of cards is coming down in my lifetime, soon. It would be wise to stock pile a currency that will actually hold value globally.

CincinnatiKid · Mar 24, 2015

Thanks Aufish.
What are your thoughts on purchasing silver as savings.
Peace ✌

MUD(S.W.A.T) · Mar 24, 2015

This post took an interesting twist. :thumbsup:

I use banks for 3 things, holding a little cash (under $100), buying coin rolls for CRH and returning coins from CRH !! :laughing7:

Buy silver, keep most your cash under your bed with some guns and granola.... :occasion14:

fistfulladirt · Mar 24, 2015

Aufish said:
The secrets to banks being able to give out loans for money that doesn't exist outside of the context of a loan contract, is due to fractional banking. Banks are allowed to take 90% of the money you give them to hold to use for loans in any form. Essentially you give them $10, they say ok we can use $9 to make money on loans but when the customer wants their money back we have to give it back... so they take it from someone other persons $10 deposit and make up the difference on paper by getting a fractional loan from the bank above them. It's a giant pyramid scheme that people know about (not nearly enough), but realize we are so far caught up into this mess that its like a house of cards, breathe on it the wrong way and it's all going to come crashing down. Just no politician wants that to stain their career so we just up the budget deficit at the top (fed reserve; also a privately owned bank / company for profit) and pretend like everything is cool. Meanwhile we are in a period of hyperinflation that is being kept quiet from the masses, less they know that their paper money is losing value every second of every day for the past almost 3 years.

This is ultimately what turned me onto gold. I realize that this house of cards is coming down in my lifetime, soon. It would be wise to stock pile a currency that will actually hold value globally.

Problem is, gold is not used as currency in the US, and has lost about 30% of it's value in the last 3 years.