Banks $1.00 Foreign ATM Fee
Nov 8th, 2006 by Peter
This past weekend my family and I traveled a couple hours away to do some shopping and we spent the entire weekend in a nice hotel. It made for a very nice weekend away. I missed my Tempur-pedic but all in all it was worth it. While we were shopping we stopped at an ATM machine at the mall and pulled out some cash.
Today I was checking our account online and I saw the $200 withdrawl and the rigid $1.75 fee the bank that owns the machine charges. But then to my surprise, a mysterious $1.00 “Foreign ATM fee” was pulled from my account. A few questions came to mind…
1) a. Is the ATM machine operating illegally as an illegal alien?
b. If so, why am I charged for the machine’s wrong doing?
2) Why did I receive US funds if it were a foreign machine?
OK let’s get serious now. I couldn’t believe MY bank whom I have deposited an untold amount of cash into for the past 6 years charges me to use an ATM they don’t own. Is there really an expense to them that they pass to me for using another bank’s machine? I mean, you would think the other bank would welcome anyone to use their machine especially with the lofty $1.75 fee.
Even if the other bank DID in fact charge my bank $1.00 and they passed it to me, does this make sense for the other bank to do? It doesn’t make sense… here is an illustration to prove my point:
Larry needs to rent a car. Phil says “Go to enterprise.” Larry goes to enterprise and rents a car, and the guy asks Larry who referred him. Larry tells him Phil. Enterprise then charges Phil $1.00 for referring Larry to their company.
Sounds quite silly doesn’t it? Well, that’s exactly what is happening if in fact the other bank charges my bank!!! We have been so brainwashed by “Bank Fee Terminology” that whenever we get charged a fee many of us just assume it makes sense. Shame on banks who pray on us like a wolf does sheep!
With all the other ways banks make money off of having your money, you would think three would be no fees at all by your bank. I hate “convenience fees” in general, but that is another topic :)
I hear you both. My son, who is away at school, just received his bank account and was charged $12 in these foreign ATM fees. Just how is a college student who banks at home supposed to get his cash???? Crazy!!!
PamC - That is a wonderful example of how ridiculous these foreign ATM fees are. It is like legal robbery!
Peter
I just clicked on an ad on this site and received this page:
http://spe.atdmt.com/lp/wamu/checking.html
They say they don’t charge the foreign ATM fee! Unreal… also, look at all the fine print at the bottom… it’s almost hidden… if you highlight it, you can read it.
There is another rant concerning tiny terms and conditions… this is also a great example for that rant!!
Peter
I too have been swindled out of a small fortune by these fees. I moved about 300 miles from where my bank is and theres no ATM or banks avail. close to me now that don’t charge a fee for me to use. I know I just need to change banks but I’ve been with them a long time and they have good loan interest rates,etc. Now the Bank that I use or rather Credit union is only for people who work for Johnson Space Center or have worked there and well I fear change. But about two months ago I noticed that extra fee appear on my statments .50 cents a pop! I already have a problem with the $1.75 to $2.00 for accessing my money but there are a majority of the ATM’s that tell me how much money they will let me take out at a time so often I am hit with this fee several times. Outrageous! Here is my treory on why…. people are busy as we all know, and i don’t believe most people(excluding Peter, Jeremy, a few cost cautious people and myself) look at their bills, I mean really examine them. I can’t count how many times Ive found extra fees on my utility bills, I call them and they apologize and take it off. But how many people don’t? Why not add fees to our bills if only a small percentage of people are going to notice and complain. that’s pure profit. I know its wrong but utility companies and the service they provide that would be a whole other rant!