Letters from North
America
A
few weeks ago, I wrote
about all of the extra
charges being proposed
for airline travel. I
heard over the weekend
that another airline was
proposing to charge for
any carry on bag that
could not fit under your
seat. Another airline
was thinking about
having pay toilets.
Neither of these is a
good idea in my opinion.
Soon it’ll become
cheaper to just buy new
clothes wherever you are
traveling. Maybe rent
some, there’s an idea
whose time might be
coming. You heard it
first here.
Of course none of this
should surprise me, look
at the cost of going to
a movie these days. The
ticket to get in is
nothing compared to what
you’ll be required to
pay for a box of popcorn
and a soft drink. Can
you even get a small bag
of popcorn anymore?
Bottled water is over
three bucks a bottle. Is
this crazy or what?
Bottled water costs more
than beer or gasoline.
At least you can drink
the beer.
So, this morning I have
to go to my bank to get
an account opened for a
business I want to
start. As I sit here in
the lobby I notice that
the banks are jumping
into the fee charging
business just like the
airlines. They seem to
have a new fee for just
about everything. I
suppose we’re all used
to be charged for the
use of their ATM. We’ve
been paying for ‘bank’
service charges for
years. Insufficient fund
charges are now over
thirty dollars. I always
thought those were
stupid. If my check
bounced due to not
having any money in my
account, how does it
make any sense to hit me
up for more? I never
have been able to figure
this one out. There are
more signs in the lobby
describing the amount of
fees being charged than
there are signs telling
me why I should leave my
money in this building,
with people I don’t
know.
Anyway, let’s assume you
have some funds in your
account, you pay a
service fee for them to
keep your money, a fee
each time you use the
ATM to withdraw some
money and a fee if you
want to check your
balance to see how much
money you have left. All
the time they’re holding
your money. What’s wrong
with this picture?
If the banks continue at
the same rate as the
airlines, then I don’t
think we can be
surprised to see charges
headed our way in the
future. Let’s take a
look at what might be
coming to us soon.
Charges for a monthly
statement on paper.
Citing the expense of
printing and postage,
they’ll probably charge
more to send you an
actual statement and
copy of the checks
you’ve written over the
past month. Solution?
Don’t write any checks.
Waiting in line. How
long has it been since
you walked into a bank?
Probably a long time.
Since I use an ATM, the
only time I venture
inside is when I need
something weird like a
cashier’s check or
something to be
notarized. Obviously
cashiers checks and
notary services have all
had fees attached for
many years…..so no new
money coming from those.
but wait…how about a
‘standing in line’ fee?
Could work, one dollar.
Express line…two
dollars.
Banks usually have a
security guard who often
opens the door for you,
so I suppose they could
charge you an additional
fee each time the guard
opens the door and makes
certain you make it
safely to your car.
Could call it something
like ‘security transit
fee’….another couple of
bucks.
My bank used to give
away stuff if you opened
an account. Things like
a toaster but they don’t
do that anymore. They
charge for coffee and
cookies. I suppose
charging for water will
be next. So far the
bathroom is still free,
but I hear the pay
toilets are coming.
Well, enough about this,
I’ve got to get out of
here and drive home for
lunch. What’s this; I
got a parking ticket
from the bank for being
in the bank over thirty
minutes. It says ten
dollars will be deducted
from my account. I’m
losing my patience with
these people and start
to drive out but a
security guard at the
booth won’t let me exit
until I pay him five
dollars for parking.
And they say we’re
making progress in this
century.
Comments got to
www.pearyperry.com.
Complaints go nowhere.
