In early October, financial news outlets began reporting that a number of major banks planned to charge accountholders a fee every month for the privilege of using debit cards in order to access their own money.  At that time, I suggested that we all had choices including “voting with our feet” and taking our money and our business elsewhere.

Today, it was reported that four of these major banks had rescinded their plans to impose these fees on their customers.  One bank went so far as to state that it will refund fees that have already been collected.

While the banks have bowed to consumer pressure, it is no secret that they will continue to look for new ways to collect money from their customers in an effort to replace income streams that were denied to them in recent bank regulation laws.  Consumer need to stay vigilant.  Watch communications from your bank carefully.  When your bank announces plans to impose new fees on you and your account, let them know how you feel.  This retreat clearly shows that the banks DO listen to their customer complaints and respond to them.

My friend David was talking this evening about his wife being on a trip and how it left him with all of the domestic responsibilities; including, paying the bills.  He expressed gratitude that very few bills had come in while she was gone; but, that the few that did come in really caught him off guard.

The first to come was a credit card bill and he actually came across it by accident.  It did not arrive in the mail.  It came via e-mail.  No problem, he figured, he’d go ahead and take care of it.  After all, he knew how to write a check.

So, he opened the e-mail bill and learned that his wife had elected to not only receive the bills electronically; she had also elected to pay them through the internet.  No problem … he clicked on the “pay me now” button and found out that he needed a password.  Now, if only he knew what his wife had selected as the password!

In the ensuing days, David learned that this was not an isolated incident.  If fact, it was the norm.

Suffice it to say that David has discovered one of the first things that family members need to know when someone dies.  What are the monthly bills; how are they paid; what are the websites, userids, and passwords that are used to pay them?

In the coming days, we’ll explore other things that family members need to know when the unthinkable happens.