See, Corporations Compete, So They Are Efficient

A Washington woman racks up fees on an overdraft of $7.00... oh wait... they've removed the number.
Yes, that's right: overdraw by $7.00, and they'll charge you $363 for it.

I was exasperated by this story when I read it earlier; I'm even more angered by seeing that KATU has apparently removed any reference to the actual amount this woman was gouged by the bank in the story they now have up at this link. The image above is a screen capture from my RSS reader, and can be seen in the "Lockwood's shared items" link near the top of the right sidebar. In fairness, after realizing this was news, the bank has agreed to rescind charges. But how many ridiculous charges don't become news?

I was once charged $37.00 for a $0.04 overdraft... I knew my paycheck wouldn't be deposited before the monthly "service" fee was charged, so I left a few bucks in the account to cover that. What I didn't realize was that they had raised the monthly "service" fee from $5.00 to $7.50. I tried talking to the teller and a pair of managers, but you know, rules are rules. And those with the gold write 'em.

So there you have it... the banks are happy to cover your overdrafts; they're just going to charge you a factor 500 to 1000 times what you borrow. What a deal.