Screw you Mr. Potter... And BoA Too!

January 7, 2010

Screw you Mr. Potter... And BoA Too!

By Michael Chavers


"I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore" was the anthem in the 1976 film Network. I'm going to make this my anthem and do something to take my two cents out of the coffers of the to big to fail bankers we just bailed out who have controlled the financial policies of this country since the Reagan years.

I have for the last several years have tried to buy local, from non-corporate entities, shopping at the chains when it was my last option. Where I failed to do this though was through my banking.

Well that's over now. What has driven me to write this was over Christmas I needed to buy some booze for a party I was giving and I had left my debit card home to try and keep from overspending. Well since booze is essential for my existence and that of my friends I needed to use my credit card.

I figured that I was close to the limit so before I left work that Friday I made a credit card payment on my Bank AmeriKa Visa from my Bank of AmeriKa debit account for a hundred dollars to avoid the hefty over limit fee the banks charge now.

Purchase approved mission accomplished. Well I looked at my Bank of America account Saturday and I see no record of the payment I made. My purchases where close to the limit but not over so I figured I must not have hit the confirm payment when I put the money into my credit card account.

Well I make a $25 dollar payment just to keep a few dollars on the card and decide I should do that too on my other credit cards figuring I have a hundred dollars to use that had not been taken from my checking account.

Well come Monday I look at my account and there goes the $100 bucks to Bank of America and payments for all my other credit cards which puts me in the red for about $64. Then on Tuesday I get 3 $35 dollar overdraft charges for payments I made on my credit cards and an $18 purchase.

Well I go into my closest Bank of America and sign the list to wait for several minutes to speak to a banker who tells me that it is my fault that the payment didn't post until Monday because they only post on business days. I tell him that my other cards take payments made before 3pm post the same day and after 3pm to the next. Then the banker tells me that that is not how Bank of AmeriKa does it and since it is my fault I am going to get charged with 3 $35 dollar over draft charges case closed.

Now so far I am out $110 dollars and 2 hours time. I'm mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore.

This is a call to action and this really makes sense. You can kick your big banker in the place that really hurts their purse. Suze Orman thinks that the banks are screwing its customers and has suggested a back to cash movement. I think that is a great idea she has a web site and a movement has been started.

Even better than this we all should go even further and this is what I will be doing this week. I am going to close my Bank of AmeriKa accounts and move all my money into a local FDIC insured bank like the one we all probably saw Jimmy Stewart run in the Christmas movie It's A Wonderful Life.

If enough people do this we can make an impact. Check out these web sites and Viva la Revolution.

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/4/move_your_money_project_urges_people

http://www.suzeorman.com/index.cfm

Screw you Mr. Potter