October 14, 2009

• B of A Reintroduces CC Membership Fee, Pt.2
   Consumers' pockets empty; stockholders' stuffed.

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  Bank of America is not the only credit card company to reintroduce the so called membership fee, JP Morgan Chase began assessing an annual fee on many of its credit card accounts including those they acquired from Washington Mutual earlier this year. Although many consumers do not object to an annual fee if kept within a reasonable amount, most object to the manner and time frame in which the fees were implemented. Some individuals paid the annual fee and then in the next month receive notices that their credit card accounts will be shut down. Others say they received a notice of an assessed over the limit penalty only to find out the reason is they were hit with an annual fee that pushed them over their limit.

  Although the new credit card reform legislation is aimed at inhibiting lenders from participating in these types of deceptive and unfair practices, lenders have until February 22, 2010 to get the jump on the new law. Credit card companies warned Americans that the new law would limit the availability of credit and hurt consumers in the end. Nearly every lender has followed through on their threat to find other means to rip apart consumer pockets in support of stockholders profits. Bank of America expects to begin the test program in January 2010, surprise, surprise, just in time to beat the February deadline that would limit such greedy action.

  It is expected that other credit card companies will follow suit with Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase. Bank of America does attempt to soften the blow by saying it will only be targeting the higher rewards programs which would only affect approximately one percent of the company's total rewards open accounts. The fees will range from $29 to $99 and is likely to affect customers with good credit who pay balances off in full each month. These accounts typically do not generate any income except those derived from interchange transaction fees. Bank of America is based out of Charlotte, North Carolina and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BAC.
  
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