Banking for the Little Guy: Ripping Off the Public Should Come at a Price

National banking versus local banking, maybe this hasn't come home to roost with you as of yet, but maybe, given the economic times we live in, with banks now going through FDIC investigations; maybe a local bank is a wiser choice for you? This came home to me from my personal experience with a major national level bank, who shall remain nameless for obvious reasons; but who, due to their size and locale, has no idea who I am. On the other hand, my local bank, knows me personally, and, because they know me, they are willing to work with me on issues of debt repayment, overdraft charges, and other matters financial which the national level banks treat as an inconvenience.

Consider this example, on Wednesday afternoon we wrote a check for $3.50 to pay for some gum and candy at a local Wal-Mart, and, we left the store to consume our product and live our lives. Little did we know that while we were chewing that gum, the bank was helping us enjoy the wonder of negative numbers to the tune of $35.00? This is the charge for an overdrawn check. Now the night before this, Tuesday, we had deposited $85.00 in cash to make sure that any checks we wrote for GAS (!)- Because we all know what a pleasure that has become, and any other expendable purchases that we had to have which could not be forestalled, would be covered. As a result we felt we were fine- we keep an eye on outstanding checks and balances, and we do check our account daily. But the fun just couldn't be put off by the National Level Bank (NLB) and a check which we had written two months prior for make up for my wife, which had not been cashed, but which we had removed from our current balance, for $75.00 - came into the account. As we gassed up that evening, chewing our gum, we should have heard the NLB's boardroom chuckling as their board of directors all knew, "we got 'em now!" And so- yes, that's right, for $3.50 and an accounting mistake two months past in origin of $75.00, we were about to learn why $15.00 in gas would make the NLB $385.00 big ones! We are in the wrong business my friend- we're missing the return on profit that the NLB's are getting- think of that return on profit- they pay out $3.50 - they get back- $35.00 - nice deal, isn't it? And if it stopped there, it wouldn't be a big deal, but you all know what happened next- and ten checks later- and $385.00 later, as that gasoline debit hit- well, you know the story.

So what are we saying here? Two things, and we want to say them very loudly so that the banks, and the Congress, and the whole dad gum country hears it clearly- this is monstrous ripping off of people- and it is not ethically nor morally correct- furthermore, it isn't even sound business- especially when, the funds to cover the remaining transactions were readily available within a phone call and one hour! But they couldn't be bothered, and why should they be- they have millions of accounts, and believe me, we aren't the only people who overdraft (!)- And furthermore that isn't the point, we can understand why it might be worth $35.00 to put a temporary halt on outgoing funds on an account, while it is adjusted and a simple two minute dad gum phone call is made to the account holder to notify them that additional emergency funds are needed post haste to prevent a financial disaster for them, BUT No- the NLB can't be bothered with such ethically binding and morally correct business decisions, when in that one day they stand to make how many millions of dollars in pure profit, off overdrafts? While our supposed leaders in banking and law makers all yawn about it being the consumers fault for not having enough funds available, as they draw down their six figure incomes, does anybody else see where this is nothing short of piracy? We are talking about one phone call folks, we are talking about freezing a dad gum account for one phone call and two hours to assist people- so you tell me- have the NLB's not positioned themselves with excellence to dip right into your pocket? Second point, told you there would be two: what protection supposedly exists to the millions of users who everyday are subjected to this kind of blatant bad business? By bad I mean the following, no service being provided, no response being made, and in the end, taking funds for no service and no response. Try that at a restaurant and see what happens. Try that at a car dealership and see what happens. Try that anywhere else in any other business and see what happens- this situation with the NLB's is not only out of hand and out of control, it is ridiculous in the extreme and nobody is addressing it. Heard any of our so called leaders talking about all the unnecessary and unearned money that banks are sucking in as a result of this callous and uncaring practice- nope, and your not going to either, know why? Sure you know why, it's the old saying about money isn't it, "money talks, and ..." well you know the rest about "...walks" right?

The solution - go local - my friends - just as Horace Greeley said it so many years ago to the young newspaper man wanting to know how to attain wealth in his business, and Horace responded with that famous quote- "Go west young man." So can you hear that tone now in this statement, "go local my friend." Because at the local level you aren't just another account to be ripped off, you are a person who lives and breathes in the community. Just as the fat and bloated insurance industry of the 1980's got a massive wake up call from A.L. Williams, and today is a better industry for it- so my friends do the NLB's need to receive a little reality lesson on why you don't steal peoples money and laugh at them about it as you profit from their pain. Local banks take care of their customers in a different manner than the pirates of the NLB's, and take it from me, it's far better to save and protect your hundreds of dollars with someone who knows your name, than it is to give it to pirates who could care less.