Concealment of checking and card fees by banks say NJPIRG

Banks are making it increasingly difficult for customers to make comparisons of the fees on their debit cards and checking accounts, as per the report issued by the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group.

According to this public interest group, the banks are violating the rules as per the Truth in Savings Act of 1991. Banks were either hiding the information on the fees in their websites or they do not provide adequate information or disclosing enough details at their branches. As per the law, banks are supposed to fully disclose the fees, terms, as well as the interest rates to their customers.

According to Gideon Weissman, Program Associate for NJPIRG, banks are supposed to provide prospective clients with the information on the fee schedule. So, if a customer asks for information about the checking accounts, banks should inform the ATM fees, balance restrictions, as well as debit card fees as well.

But this does not seem to be the case, as most banks conceal all this vital information and customers can only avail this bit of information after signing up for a checking account or debit cards etc.

This concealment of information could prove to be a very costly affair for most customers, he stated.

The fee information should be released by the banks uniformlyon a spreadsheet, so that customers can make an easy comparison of the products from various competitors, stated Weissman.

The information that is available on the website is normally hidden in PDF files that have 90 pages or more and at other times the information is not at all available, he stated.

There were 300 branches that were surveyed in 20 states and out of which 23% had refused to comply with the law while only 38% of these bank branches complied with the rules easily. Another 55% had complied only after more than three requests seeking information.

But banks have countered these claims stating that they are already making the necessary disclosures when their customers seek information. This was stated by John E. McWeeney Jr., President, from New Jersey Bankers Association.

He went on to state that banks generally make all efforts to comply with the rules as there could be serious repercussions if they don’t.

According to McWeeney, around 70% of the bank customers pay just $3 per month by way of bank fees. Maintaining minimum balance, using direct deposit, and obtaining online statements can help reduce the fees, he added.