From inactivity fees to balance transfer fees to double ATM fees and more, banks can really stick it to you with all the lame excess fees.
To avoid fees do the following:
Read the fine print: Of course this is an obvious, but many people don’t read all the fine print information before signing up for bank services. Some people also don’t read the mail their bank sends them later on which may have change of service notices that can include new fees. If you do get mail later that says new fees are active, call your bank and complain.
Ask for one-time forgiveness: If you accidentally bounced a check (or incurred some other fee) ask nicely and your bank may cancel the fee. Keep in mind this is a one-time deal; you really should bounce checks. If you’re guilty of multiple offenses try balancing your checkbook more often.
Stay with your bank then ask for fee waving perks: I recently opened a second checking account, but through the same bank branch. I was totally prepared to pay for new checks, however, the on-phone teller and me chatted for a while, and he surprised me by offering free checks since I stayed with the bank vs. opening my second account elsewhere. Yay! If you’re a loyal customer, you’re more likely to score cool fee waving perks.
Stay a REALLY long time: The longer you stay with a bank, the more likely you are to get fees waved. If you’ve always had a fee-free checking account and all of a sudden the bank decided to charge a monthly fee, you can point out that you’ve had fee-free for five years and want it to stay this way.
Go above the teller’s head: If the first person you speak to won’t cut a fee, ask to talk to their supervisor or call back later to score another teller who may help you out.
Threaten: I’m not a fan of threatening anyone, but banks can be so shady with fees that this is a decent time to get serious. If the fee is lame and on their end more than yours (i.e a balance transfer fee vs. bounced check) tell them you’ll switch banks if they don’t wave the fee. I read somewhere once that it can cost a bank hundreds of dollars in advertising to score ONE new customer. They want your business.
Have you ever had luck getting out of a bank fee?
[Bank near Zion Nat's Park, Utah image via stock.xchng]
[...] may be able to get the bank to offer you a little forgiveness on a bounced check and waive the fees – especially if you’re usually on top of your account and have been with your bank for [...]