Saturday, July 17, 2010

Unfair bank charges

Do you feel that banks are imposing unfair and excessive charges for basic banking services, such as:

  • $40 to $50 for a bounced cheque or for a rejected cheque due to a minor mistake?
  • $200 or more for the annual fee on credit card?
  • $40 or more to make a small remittance overseas?
  • $50 to receive a foreign currency cheque?
Although the bank is willing to waive the annual fee for the credit card when the customer calls in to cancel the card, it is quite dishonest for the bank to try to earn the fee from unsuspecting customers, who may not be aware that they were being charged the hefty fee. 

If you have been the victim of excessive bank charges, please share your experience in this survey. I will need actual case studies. If there are sufficient cases, I will ask FISCA to organize an appropriate response on behalf of consumers. I take this opportunity to encourage more consumers to join FISCA.

Tan Kin Lian

3 comments:

Tan Kin Lian said...

Posted in the survey:

One time, I inadvertantly wrote an OCBC cheque on which the numerical amount did not match the written amount. It so happened that when the cheque was cleared the balance amount was below the cheque amount. The cheque was returned with explanation that there was inconsistency in the amount and there was insufficient fund (there was a penalty fee of $60). I had to argue with the service agent that the cheque should not even have been processed in the first place because of the inconsistency in the amount indicated on the cheque. The bank finally relented. But the lesson learned is: if they can get away with slapping hefty charges, they will.

Tan Kin Lian said...

Here is another feedback. In this case, I feel that the $5 is reasonable (and not excessive):

-----------------------------------

Charged $5 for replacement of faulty ATM cards. I possibly could agree if penalty are imposed for replacement of lost cards, but not faulty cards.

Tan Kin Lian said...

Posted in survey:

A minimum of SGD$30 for a TT transfer. Very expensive for sums lower than SGD$1000

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