Filed under: Bad news, Newspapers, Scandals
According to research released by the Center for Responsible Lending, people ages 18-24 pay an average of $3 in overdraft fees for every dollar they are overdrawn, compared with $2 paid by all adults.
This is likely a result of young people using debit cards more frequently, and for smaller purchases. Overdrawn by 19 cents on that bottle of water? You could be hit with a $25 dollar fee. According to the USA Today, “Congress is considering a bill sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., that requires, among other things, that banks warn customers before they overdraw, so they have the option to back out of the transaction.”
I can’t wait to watch the banks justify their opposition to a bill like that — or to see politicians oppose it in line with their campaign contributions. After all, there is no all-powerful Poor College Student’s Lobby. Poor college students are more likely to sleep in the lobby.
But why shouldn’t consumers be given the option of deciding to forgo a bottle of water and save $25? Can anyone honestly make some sort of rational argument as to why people shouldn’t be warned before they are hit with an overdraft fee?
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