4 ms·

You're being downvoted because it looks like you're blaming the victims. Everyone would seek out good information for making decisions in a perfect world. But w

by mkr-hn 15y ago

You're being downvoted because it looks like you're blaming the victims. Everyone would seek out good information for making decisions in a perfect world. But we don't live in that world. Sometimes it's necessary to protect people from the worst tendencies of corporations.

kstenerud 15y ago
The fact that banks collected 38 BILLION from customers in overdraft fees would seem to suggest that people AREN'T choosing to change their habits, even on such a simple thing as this. Yes, by all means, make the banks stop gouging people like that (especially maximizing fee collection by ordering largest-to-smallest). But really, once you've suffered overdraft fees once, there's no excuse for suffering it again and again; especially not when there's such a simple solution as cash. As George W. Bush once said, "fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — You can't get fooled again."
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- cosgroveb 15y ago
  I'd be interested to know the stats on how many people have had overdraft fees and never let it happen again (or seldom) vs. those who get them routinely. It's happened to me. Once. Never again.
  - maxerickson 15y ago
    FDIC studied it in 2006: http://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/overdraft/ http://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/overdraft/ They state that the sampling wasn't random and shouldn't be extrapolated, but for the banks with automated overdraft protection that they studied closely, 4.9% of customers had 20 or more overdrafts per year and paid 68% of all non sufficient funds fees collected by the banks. An additional 4% of customers had between 10 and 19 overdrafts and paid about 16% of the fees (so as a group, people with more than 10 overdrafts a year paid 84% of overdraft fees). The people with 20 or more overdrafts averaged about $1,500 a year in overdraft fees.

4 ms·

You're being downvoted because it looks like you're blaming the victims. Everyone would seek out good information for making decisions in a perfect world. But w

by mkr-hn 15y ago

kstenerud 15y ago
The fact that banks collected 38 BILLION from customers in overdraft fees would seem to suggest that people AREN'T choosing to change their habits, even on such a simple thing as this. Yes, by all means, make the banks stop gouging people like that (especially maximizing fee collection by ordering largest-to-smallest). But really, once you've suffered overdraft fees once, there's no excuse for suffering it again and again; especially not when there's such a simple solution as cash. As George W. Bush once said, "fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — You can't get fooled again."
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- cosgroveb 15y ago
  I'd be interested to know the stats on how many people have had overdraft fees and never let it happen again (or seldom) vs. those who get them routinely. It's happened to me. Once. Never again.
  - maxerickson 15y ago
    FDIC studied it in 2006: http://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/overdraft/ http://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/overdraft/ They state that the sampling wasn't random and shouldn't be extrapolated, but for the banks with automated overdraft protection that they studied closely, 4.9% of customers had 20 or more overdrafts per year and paid 68% of all non sufficient funds fees collected by the banks. An additional 4% of customers had between 10 and 19 overdrafts and paid about 16% of the fees (so as a group, people with more than 10 overdrafts a year paid 84% of overdraft fees). The people with 20 or more overdrafts averaged about $1,500 a year in overdraft fees.