Dunwoody man: Bank of America charging him new experimental fees

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By Jim Strickland

DUNWOODY, Ga.,None — A Dunwoody man said he is being affected by new experimental fees from Bank of America.

The fees are charged to new Georgia accounts, but longtime customer Phillip Holley told Channel 2 consumer investigator Jim Strickland they already have affected him.

The bank flatly denied to Strickland that the fees would soon spread to other accounts.

"I had no idea it was coming," Holley said.

His statements show Bank of America charged him $15 in January for their experimental Enhanced Checking service. Holley said he complained and got a refund.

"I'm unemployed now. I need all the money I can get," he told Strickland.

In February, Holley found a $9 charge for the Bank of America Essentials account, another test account offered to new customers in Georgia, Arizona and Massachusetts. The bank refunded that charge, too.

"My understanding is I'm not supposed to be charged a fee because my account's at least 30 years old," Holley said.

The bank pledged as much last week.

In a statement to Channel 2 Action News,  the bank said, "Bank of America is not planning to increase checking account fees with our existing customers."

Bank of America promised to call Holley directly to address his case, and respond to questions from Strickland. Channel 2's deadline passed with no comment from the bank.

"This is a concept called fee-based income. That's how they're trying to make money off of us," Holley said.

Banking consultant Joe Waites said customers ought to get used to it.

"A bank pays an average of $300 a year to maintain a checking account. They have to bring in revenue to pay for the cost," Waites said.

Strickland has learned Wells Fargo will begin charging a $7 monthly fee to certain Georgia checking accounts.  If you have a basic Wells Fargo checking account, Strickland would like to consider you to be part of his story.  If you are available for a 15-minute on-camera interview, please email contact information to strickland@wsbtv.com.