Retirement News & Advice

Bank of America is now assessing fees to checking account holders who receive images of their canceled checks in the mail along with their statements.

Bank of America spokesman Don Vecchiarello says inserts were included with customers' statements back in September alerting them that the change would be coming, but it seems that some customers were still caught unawares, if the venting on Twitter is any indication.

"It doesn't affect the majority of our customers," Bank of America's Vecchiarello tells WalletPop. If you are one of those affected and you don't want to pay the fee, you can still see images of your canceled checks online for 180 days. Vecchiarello says customers can also enroll in Bank of America's "Check Safekeeping" program, which archives check images for seven years (you can see two free images a month; after that, it's $3 a pop).

Here's the scenario: You're in the elevator, or perhaps the office, when the smartphone dings (or vibrates or whatever you have it set to do). It's one of the notices you set up with your bank, where you do most of your business online. The credit card bill is due – tomorrow. Or maybe the mortgage. Or the car loan. And, for whatever reason, you haven't paid it. What do you do?

Well, the first thing you should do is call the biller. If you're never late, they may be willing to give you a few days grace. They may also (assuming this is not a credit card bill) be able to take immediate payment over the phone at no charge. But sometimes these aren't options. Then, you likely have a $35 late fee staring you in the face.

Back in December, we told you how the Federal Reserve paved the way for sweeping changes -- and likely reductions -- to the fees merchants pay banks for the privilege of accepting your debit card when you make a purchase. Exactly how much money banks stand to lose from this is an open question, especially because the Fed won't issue its final ruling until July, but that hasn't stopped one bank from dialing back its debit rewards program.

Local news outlets in the state of Washington are reporting that legislators there are considering launching a government-run bank to compete with the "too big to fail" banking behemoths. The idea might sound strange, but it's not without precedent: North Dakota has had a state-run bank since back in 1919, and by all accounts, it's successful.

Other states, including Illinois, Virginia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida, Michigan, Oregon, California and Hawaii, have looked into the idea of creating their own state banks, intrigued by the amount of money North Dakota has been able to earn through its bank.

You're not imagining it: Banks, especially big ones, have been overhauling their offerings and piling on the fees lately. And while some banks have started dishing out goodies like coffee and danish, don't be distracted by the tasty treats -- they're just there so you won't notice just how crazy this fee-creep has gotten lately.

As we reported recently, Bank of America will start rolling out a new account structure this month -- with some fees -- in three states, a pilot program that's set to go national later this year. Under BofA's new format, account holders will have the option of signing up for one of four accounts. The most basic is an electronic banking-only option that won't charge a fee -- unless you want to do something radical like talk to a human teller. In that case, you'll pay around $9 a month for the privilege. Other fees for the BofA accounts range from a low of $9 to as much as $25 for an account with all the bells and whistles.

These days, it seems as if everyone's trying to squeeze every penny out of us. From banks to colleges, American consumers are being nickeled and dimed like never before. Here are some of the biggest offenders, and your best defense against them:

Banks

As banks try to shore up their balance sheets to make up for the billions of dollars in revenue they stand to lose from new regulations this year, they're tacking on more and more fees. The nation's largest bank, Bank of America, which does business with half of all American households, gets an easy 12% of its revenue from fees, according to financial services firm Sandler O'Neill. From account service fees, transaction fees, surcharges to overdraft fees, consumers are paying through the nose. And it doesn't stop there. Banks are now raising fees on the old standbys (like stop payments and wire transfers, for example), and dreaming up new fees for 2011. Expect to see monthly fees on checking accounts (a hot topic right now), fees if you don't bank electronically, fees for paper statements, fees if you want to speak with a bank teller, annual fees on debit cards, and even monthly debit card fees unless you meet certain -- high! -- thresholds.

The United States Postal Service is nosediving. In its last fiscal year, it lost $8.5 billion, which was $4.7 billion more than the year before. In an attempt to stem some of the losses, it's planning on hiking rates in April. With the use of postal mail dwindling, America's massive infrastructure of post offices can remain useful by imitating the diversity of products sold by the Post Office of the United Kingdom. I traveled there, where the local Post Office is innovating its services to stay relevant to its citizens.

You might not think you have a lot in common with the largest banks. But in some ways you do, which is part of the reason why individual checking account holders and debit card users can expect to see their bank fees increase this year.

First, some history. Over the last couple of years, as the savings account interest rates at many leading banks have moved into the not-at-all-appealing category of slim-to-none, a new sort of bank account made headway: the high-interest rate checking account. These accounts, offered by smaller community banks and credit unions, were distinctly different.

The U.S. Treasury is getting into the prepaid debit-card business, launching a pilot program targeting 600,000 taxpayers who receive tax refunds and inviting them to receive that money on a debit card instead of a paper check. To be sure, Uncle Sam is no relation to the Kardashians, who received a lot of scrutiny recently when they wandered into a PR disaster with their fee-laden offering pitched at the youngest and least savvy consumers out there.

In a statement, Treasury fiscal assistant secretary Dick Gregg says the department's goal is to keep Americans without bank accounts from paying exorbitant fees to check-cashing outlets and other unscrupulous businessses that operate outside the financial mainstream.