I no longer sponge off of the economically distressed and/or chronically disorganized

[botias]

My checking account is not free anymore. It hasn't been since around the time there were laws passed dis-allowing banks from a number of mean practices such as A) charging an exorbitant fee for each individual item that they clear on a overdrawn account, and B) posting withdrawals before deposits so as to increase the chances that an account will be overdrawn, even if only for a fraction of a second, but nevertheless plenty of time to trigger A) I'm sure. So I was getting free bank services on the backs of people living from paycheck to paycheck. It irks me to pay for something I got free for so long, but I wouldn't go back. Still, I've been considering switching to one of my local banks which still offer free checking. The down side: they are not faceless corporations that let me get away with all sorts of hijinks because I am too small to matter. Oh, and Happy New Year!

Comments

[elynne.livejournal.com]

Is Coast Central still around? I still miss them with a passion...

[botias.livejournal.com]

Coast Central is going strong. Problem is that I make a number of deposits every month. No direct deposit when you're self-employed. Stagecoach to Hell has fancy ATMs that take deposits and spit out receipts with scanned check images. With CC I would have to go in and stand in line. Plus, people can make our checks out to Minnie Mouse and Wells Fargo doesn't care. Local banks actually follow the rules which might be why they don't need bailouts.