Susan Tompor: Debit cards hit jobless with 'junk fees'

[Bozita]

Susan Tompor: Debit cards hit jobless with 'junk fees'
May 11, 2011
BY SUSAN TOMPOR
DETROIT FREE PRESS PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST

Michigan's debit card for jobless benefits hits the unemployed too hard in the pocket with "junk fees," a national consumer group said Tuesday.

The group, which did a study of such cards for jobless people in 40 states, took issue with a fee on the Michigan debit card that charges $1.50 each time a purchase or ATM transaction is denied because there's not enough money on the card. Another fee charges $1 to track the balance on the card at an ATM after two free balance inquiries each month at a network ATM. There are no free balance inquiries at out-of-network ATMs.

•See the Chase Card Debit Fee Schedule

Lauren K. Saunders, managing attorney for the National Consumer Law Center, said both of those fees are the highest of any of the 40 states that offer plastic debit cards for jobless benefits.

Michigan's card is not the worst in the survey -- that dubious honor went to Tennessee. But Saunders noted that the two junk fees make Michigan's card problematic.

more...
http://www.freep.com/article/20110511/COL07/105110361/Susan-Tompor-Debit-cards-hit-jobless-junk-fees-?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Are fees subtracted from debit cards that carry unemployment benefits?

[arcane1]

2. Somebody is cashing in n/t

[LisaM]

3. Bank fees are out of hand.

I don't mind paying a fee to get cash at an ATM from another bank than my own. But they've risen to $3 a pop! That's too much. And, in a lot of cases, banks are able to get monopolies for their ATMs in places like airports, hotels, and grocery stores. The consumer doesn't always necessarily get a choice.