Bucks Blog: Bank of America Debit Fee Inspires Protest

Associated Press

An online petition started by a young Washington, D.C., woman opposing Bank of America’s new $5 a month debit-card fee has attracted more than 200,000 supporters — and, according to the organizer, a personal call from a bank executive.

Change.org, the Web site where Molly Katchpole, 22, started a petition this week opposing the fee, said in a statement that Ms. Katchpole got a call from Andrew Plepler, Bank of America’s social responsibility and consumer policy executive. According to the statement, Ms. Katchpole asked him if the bank would drop the fee and Mr. Plepler said it was “premature” to answer that question.

Later, a spokeswoman for the bank, Anne Pace, said in an e-mail: “We plan to implement the fee in early 2012.”

“Please, do the right thing,” the petition says. “Reverse your decision to charge customers $5 each month for using their debit cards to make purchases.”

Bank of America, along with other large banks, will soon add monthly fees to many accounts when customers shop with their debit cards. They have done this, they say, in response to federal caps on the amount banks can charge merchants for processing debit-card purchases. Bank of America said it would start charging the fees on some accounts starting in January, prompting an outcry from customers.

Recently, Netflix reversed course on a change in its service after a wave of consumer outrage.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=083476a2dba0a02c2b68d0c6111b69ff