Galvin Wants To Penalize Bank Of America For New Checking Fees
BOSTON (CBS) - Bank of America is testing new fees for customers in Massachusetts, Georgia and Arizona.
Customers fought back when the bank wanted to charge them to use their debit card and now they may have to pay for their checking accounts.
Secretary Of State Bill Galvin says Bank of America has gone too far this time.
WBZ-TV's Kate Merrill reports
"It's pilfering, they are stealing small amounts," says Galvin.
So Galvin is trying to hit Bank of America back. He wants to pull the state's money, hundreds of millions of dollars, out of the bank.
According to the Wall Street Journal, citing a memo to Bank of America employees, the company is testing new fees in three states including Massachusetts. Charges are $6-$9 dollars a month for essential accounts like basic checking and $9-$25 for others. Customers could avoid the fee with minimum balances and using other services.
"They are penalizing people for putting money in their bank which they can then utilize to invest in anyway they want," says Galvin.
He's filing legislation that would mean that Bank of America can't hold the state's money anymore.
Galvin says it's time to fight back. "This is a trial balloon and it's important we take out aircraft and shoot it down," he says.
In a statement, Bank of America says they are, "continuing to learn from those tests and has not made any decisions about when, how, or if we would change our fees on new accounts."
