Breaking up is never easy. For those keeping score on the Kelly Dating Scorecard, I had three of them last year. So far this year I have been unscathed. That all changed two weeks ago. I decided I had enough being a Bank of America account holder. The $60 a year fee to use my debit card was really the breaking point. I had originally opened the account way back in 1996 and really hadn't thought too much about it. I knew it would be a pain to change given all the online banking I do, but it was a project I was happy to undertake. Having a handy list of all the online accounts I have, due to my debit card being compromised early in the summer, I set to work.
I went to my local TD Bank one lunchtime and within a very short time I walked out with new accounts and a shiny, new debit card! The make them right there on site. Why do other banks not do this?
Once that was done, it was time to head to Bank of America. The minute I announced I was closing my accounts, the manager came out. He tried to explain it was only going to be $5 a month. I told him that I understood the bank made bad choices with mortgages and that the recent activity in Congress cut the fees they could collect from retailers. He seemed very surprised I had done my research. When I told of where I moved my business, the reply was that all banks were going the debit fee direction. I told him then I would change banks to one that didn't.
It truly was a case of "It's not me, it's you" and was kind of entertaining. But it really did feel more like a breakup that a business transaction. Even to the point where BOA was texting me my balances were low. Given the balances were on closed accounts, it was annoying for a few days.
