The Costco Connection - October 2018

CHRISARUSNAK

Getting help

If you think a bank has been
unfair or misleading, dis-
criminated against you in
lending or violated a federal
consumer protection law or
regulation, you can file a
complaint with the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau
( consumerfinance.gov); the
appropriate federal
regulatory agency listed at
the Federal Financial
Institutions Examination
Council’s Consumer Help
Center (; ec.gov); your
state’s bank regulator
( consumerfinance.gov;

search “how do I find my state bank regulator”) or your state’s attorney general ( naag.org; click on “ Attorneys General”).—AH

fers and payments that can be made from savings accounts. If you exceed six per monthly fee period, you could be charged an excessive-activity fee.

• Keep at least ;; percent over the minimum balance required on an account to avoid accidental overdrafts.

• Sign up to get low-balance alerts from your bank by email or text to avoid overdraft and nonsufficient fund fees.

• Ask your bank if other account types could reduce your fees. Shop banks or credit unions for account alternatives.

Disclosure requirements

Although, ultimately, you are responsible for understanding what you are signing up for, your bank must disclose the terms of an account and the fees associated with a deposit account when it’s established and give you advance notice about fee and term changes. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the main disclosure exception is for variable interest rates; banks are not required to give you notice.

Mind
the fees
Be aware of bank
fees you’re paying
and take steps to
minimize them

by AMANDA HOROWITZ

ou can’t totally avoid bank
account charges and ser-
vice fees. What you can do
is be aware of the options
available to minimize them.

Here are some tips from Fight
Back! and the executive team of
business management firm
Gettleson, Witzer & O’Connor:
• To avoid ATM fees, choose a
bank with owned and affiliated ATMs
(called “in network”) close to places you
frequent. If you travel within the U.S.,
check whether your bank has multistate
branches or affiliates. If you must use an
out-of-network ATM while on a trip, take
out larger amounts so you won’t have to
pay multiple ATM fees. Also, you can try to
avoid ATM charges by opting for cash back
when using your debit card at a retailer.

• Don’t get charged for closing an account early. Make sure you keep a balance for the minimum amount of time the bank requires, generally ;;; days. Check with your financial institution for details.

• Be mindful of how your activities could result in bank fees. Examples are returned-mail fees from undeliverable mail because you moved without telling the bank, paper statement charges because you did not elect online-only alternatives, wire fees when you could use ACH (Automated Clearing House, a financial network used for electronic payments and money transfers) or a check, or inactivity fees because you kept an old and unused account open.

• Use a third-party check printing service instead of banks’ typically higher costs for printing checks.

• A federal regulation places a limit on the number of certain withdrawals, trans-

Y
Federal law states that bank
fee disclosures must be
presented in a format that
allows consumers to readily
understand the account terms.

JE R R AD M AT T H EW / © A M AN DA H OR OW I TZ M E D IA

Amanda Horowitz

is a writer, businesswoman and owner of Fight Back! She is the daughter of Fight Back!’s founder, David Horowitz. Fight Back!

has received multiple Emmy Awards and over 400 awards from government and citizen groups and has helped to draft over 50 pieces of consumer-related legislation in America.