Money Facts Archive Get the real facts that will shape your future by having them delivered to your Inbox!

"When 'free checking' isn't free" by David Ellis, CNNMoney staff writer (February 1, 2010):

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/01/news/
companies/citibank_cuomo/index.htm

"NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Free checking will remain free for a just little bit longer for some Citibank customers.

In an announcement made Monday, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said his office had struck an agreement with the banking giant for failing to notify customers about fee changes on several of its free checking accounts.

'Free checking still means free checking,' he said during a press conference.

Cuomo, who has become a formidable opponent of the nation's biggest banks, alleged that customers who opened an 'EZ Checking' or 'Access' checking account with Citibank, were never warned that the company could impose check charges or monthly maintenance fees even if the customer met the basic account requirements.

When Citibank finally did alert its customers to the changes last November however, customers were not given adequate enough notice, according to Cuomo's office. It estimated that the fees would have cost consumers tens of millions of dollars.

Citibank, and its parent company Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), will not pay a settlement as a result of Monday's announcement. Customers who did sign up for a free checking account between Jan 1, 2009 and November 5, 2009 however, will have their free checking extended until the end of 2010."

The truth of the matter is that, across the country, banks are now making TENS OF BILLIONS of dollars on overdraft and other fees imposed on checking accounts.

Banks have become absolute experts at luring folks into thinking they are going to get a "free account."

There's no such thing.

- Ed Smith, Publisher
The EHS Letter Manual