Bank of America to Deny Overdrafts With Debit Cards

Something like this puts it all so perfectly into perspective. Bank of America (and dozens of other large banks) had been letting debit card charges go through when they knew perfectly well, right at the point of sale, that it would cause an overdraft. Of course, they happily allowed this so that they could nail their customer with a 30-40 dollar fee. So what often happened is that people would get socked with $40 fees for trivial purchases that only overdrew their account by a few dollars.

Those banks could easily have denied those charges but figured that it was far more profitable to play "Gotcha!" with their customers. The same principle applied to over-the-limit fees on credit cards.

Nobody should think that Bank of America has suddenly found a conscience and is doing this out of goodness of their hearts. This is only happening due to the fact that we no longer have a President and Congress that serve their interests. The banking industry knows that they are sitting in the crosshairs right now and are quickly modifying some of their most abusive practices.

How was such a thing ever legal in the first place?

What really causes my blood to boil though is to take it a step further and to think about just who the people are that are being hit here. They are the people who are the least sophisticated and the least able to afford it. They are the people who are living paycheck to paycheck and often just scraping by that are getting hurt.

This is just one of the clearer examples I can think up of how people are willing to take advantage of other people who are struggling.

What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts.

"Am I my brother's keeper?" It seems that more and more people feel the answer to that question is a resounding "no" - even among those who profess themselves to be Christians. Undoubtedly some would say, "Well, if they'd only been more responsible, they wouldn't have to worry about those fees". To me though, this simply sounds like an excuse to justify kicking someone who is down. Why is it that these banks will deny these charges if they are overdrawn by $100, but will allow them if they are overdrawn by $1?

And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God — he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor..."