Comments | pittsburgh: question about ATM fees at area banks for non-account holders

dabroots in pittsburgh

question about ATM fees at area banks for non-account holders

Aug 07, 2007 11:10

I'll probably open an account at Citizens Bank, because comments on other posts regarding local banks seem to to lean toward it as being the most customer-friendly ( Read more... )

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DEBIT fees.... cpdavngr August 7 2007, 15:38:52 UTC

On a related topic to this, has anyone noticed various stores around town charging fees for using your bank card as a DEBIT instead of a CREDIT card? I usually see signs for charges such as these and use CREDIT instead accordingly. However, I noticed some charges on my bank statement of like $0.30 or so that I couldn't account for. I figured out that Steak and Shake was one of the charges, but I know that they have a sign explicitly telling you that they charge for DEBIT transactions. Has anyone else had any experiences where they used their card as a DEBIT card and UNKNOWINGLY got charged a small fee for it?

Re: DEBIT fees.... deadinplastic August 7 2007, 15:52:11 UTC

it is a common practice by banks to charge you for using your debit card for purchases because it makes them liable if your money is stolen, but if it is used as a cc there are some provisions where visa pitches in. also it is just another way to make money on fees(a large portion of bank's profits come from fees).

Re: DEBIT fees.... cpdavngr August 7 2007, 15:58:06 UTC

I'm not sure if I understand your reply... Are you speaking from the store's point of view? As in the BANK charging the STORE a fee for them to process the CARDHOLDER'S card as a debit card and therefore the STORE passes that fee onto the CARDHOLDER?

My statement is referring to the STORE charging the CARDHOLDER a fee for the CARDHOLDER using their card as a debit card, not the BANK charging the CARDHOLDER a fee (directly).

Re: DEBIT fees.... deadinplastic August 7 2007, 16:11:12 UTC

sorry, i am only on one cup of coffee. my understanding it that some banks chose to pass that fee onto the stores instead of consumers. I have seen that range anywhere from .30 to .75. The caveat here is that at least in michigan where I lived before it was a policy change letter sent junkmail telling you that you have the right to opt out of this "security" feature on the personal side of the transaction. This may not have been the 100% guaranteed thing for the banks.

Re: DEBIT fees.... (the protection racket) internautte August 7 2007, 16:32:56 UTC

so i know this isn't what you are asking about, but re: the banks fees, those charges add up to a hefty $17.5B a year. i just read read this post and it's like, whoa:

http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/2007/08/protection-rack.html

from the comments:

Say you've got that $100 balance, and the $10, 30, 45, and $110 withdrawals - but also a $200 deposit. The bank can (and I've had this done to me) deal with the withdrawals first ($110 withdrawal first and etc) and THEN deal with the deposit - because, the other way around, no overdraft fees.

Re: DEBIT fees.... (the protection racket) cpdavngr August 7 2007, 16:58:09 UTC

Yea, I've gotten screwed like this before. The charges went through before the deposit did making me overdrawn and hece receive the $39 overdraft fees. :P

Re: DEBIT fees.... _orz August 7 2007, 16:33:49 UTC

According to merchant agreements with the credit card companies, a business is not allowed to charge customers fees for using a debit or credit card. Stores are also not allowed to set a minimum balance (e.g. "We only accept debit/credit cards for purchases over X amount"). If stores tries to charge you a fee for usin a debit or credit card, then they are violating their merchant contracts and scamming you. Report them to your bank and credit card company (I just did this yesterday actually).

Banks on the other hand...I've had friends get hit with debit card fees from the banking institution itself. Can't say much on this subject other than to check your bank's policy.

Re: DEBIT fees.... cpdavngr August 7 2007, 16:10:24 UTC

http://www.fwweekly.com/content.asp?article=3125
"Just be sure to bring along cash. Credit cards are not welcome, and there’s a 69-cent fee for anyone bold enough to whip out a debit card."
That article's old (from 2002), but I think it illustrates what I'm referring to. :)
There's also this article about the Debit Card fees in general:
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Banking/Betterbanking/P86737.asp

Re: DEBIT fees.... dabroots August 7 2007, 16:22:00 UTC

That MSN article is especially good. Again, thanks.

One of the very few good things that I found in Lubbock, Texas was the Texas Tech University Federal Credit Union--very user-friendly, and they have not been charging me for having used my debit card probably at least 200 times over the past seven months. Alas, it's not practical to live in Pittsburgh and maintain a checking account in Texas--at least I don't think it is. The only truly impractical part is depositing checks, although direct deposit would be no problem.

Re: DEBIT fees.... cpdavngr August 7 2007, 17:02:42 UTC

The weird thing is that it doesn't seem to happen ALL the time, so I think it depends on what stores you shop at. For example, if I use my card as a debit card at like BP or something, I won't get charged a fee (that's just an example, don't quote me on that! ;) ). However, if I go to Steak and Shake, I WILL get charged a fee for using my card as a debit card (that one you can probably count on).

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