Payday Pundit

Ryan Cooper, a freelance writer, is convinced more than ever that the free market offers consumers the most choices: 
The decision haunted me as I read the online bank statement. A combination of holiday spending, personal property taxes and a recent job loss caused me to overdraw my checking account.
If I didn’t come up with $200 […]

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What’s All This Fussing About? has an interesting (if lengthy) diatribe against increasingly pervasive and arbitrary fees from banks and credit cards.  A taste:
Examing banks further; the fees we’re paying for accounts have nearly tripled in the past decade. Beyond the familiar maintenance fees and minimum balance fees, a NSF (nonsufficient funds) charge has reached $45, and […]

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I’m not exactly sure what it means, but Bloomberg is reporting that a U.K. court has “ruled today that overdraft fees are subject to laws regulating unfair terms in consumer contracts.”

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The Payday Pundit loved this story.  One 19-year old bank customer is highighted: 
He accidentally overstepped his overdraft in January by £25 and he calculates the penalties and interest so far incurred from being pushed further and further into debt now total £292.66.
He said: ‘I have paid the fees back twice, once borrowing money from […]

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CBS MarketWatch offers 6 tips to avoid overdraft fees.
“If you have been on the receiving end of this practice, you know that a single $5 transaction can trigger a $30 to $35 overdraft fee, while a series of overdraft purchases in a single day can rack up hundreds of dollars in fees. The people most […]

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According to this story, one bounced check led to $3000 in overdraft fees. Where are Center for Responsible Lending and nanny-state lawmakers?  Shouldn’t they be holding hearings, calling for rate caps?   

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A new documentary takes at look at overdraft and bounced check charges. 
According to Bankrate.com, the average NSF fee is now $28.23 and the average overdraft protection fee is $29.00. 
Knowing that those fees hit whether the overdraft is for $3 or $300 and that the fee for a payday loan is typically $15-$17 per $100…it becomes very […]

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