holley4734
If you could un-invent something, what would it be? Discuss why, potential repercussions, or a possible alternative.
Overdraft fees are a bit ridiculous, aren’t they? You’re being charged money for not having money. You’re already in the hole and with overdraft fees the hole gets deeper and deeper. It’s one of those vicious cycle things.
Who came up with the idea?
According to Wikipedia, the Royal Bank of Scotland awarded the first cash credit or overdraft loan to a merchant in 1728. The overdraft loan really helped this merchant stay in business. However, I don’t think he received an exorbitant fee each time his account was overdrawn. This overdraft loan was something very different than the overdraft fees that are plaguing many of us today.
Where did the idea for fees come from? Whoever came up with that idea was a cruel, cruel person, who saw an opportunity to take advantage of people. They were also an evil genius . . . a wealthy evil genius.
Here is an article that might be helpful. There really is some useful information in this article that could help us all from paying $20 or more for a cup of coffee.
I love coffee but not enough pay $20 for one cup.
Overdraft fees should be undone completely. Let’s forget they ever happened.
http://lupitaronquillo.hubpages.com/hub/Never-Pay-Overdraft-Fees
I have also included a lovely letter from a woman to her bank. It is priceless.
I could tell you about the time I went on a vacation (of sorts) to the middle of nowhere and found in the middle of said vacation that I was overdrawn by $.02. You read that right, two freakin’ cents. And, since I was in the middle of nowhere, there was nary a bank to be found. I could explain how I stood out in the knee deep snow because that was the only place I could get a phone signal and immediately called my bank to see if we could rectify the situation, because by the time I realized I was overdrawn, I’d racked up $99 in overdraft fees and I still had over two weeks in this vacation. I could tell you how, standing in the snow and over an hour long conversation, the only advice they could give me was to deposit enough money to cover the overdraft, and all would be well. But, since I was in the middle of nowhere, that couldn’t be done. I could go on and on about how unhelpful they were.
By the time I returned from this trip, my overdraft fees totalled over $300. Needless to say, I closed that account. I could tell you all of that, but since it still pisses me off, I won’t.
Oh my goodness Willow. You should totally tell. . . that is quite a story. And as my boyfriend would say “Sounds like some shite indeed.”