Debit Card Purchasers Penalized for PIN
Heidi Hansen, a U.S. Bank customer for nearly 10 years, had never seen anything like it. Her October bank statement contained a long string of unexpected 25 cent charges. Next to each was this confusing explanation:
"Purch Made With PIN - Fee."
Hansen, a 27-year-old Colorado resident, figured out what was going on pretty quickly. She was being charged extra for using her ATM card and PIN code to buy things at retail stores.
Here is another interesting read, from Bob Sullivan
Debit or Credit? Here's the answer
4 comments:
Yeah, but there is still a fee charged when you mark it as credit too - the same one they charge for a regular credit card fee. Its an indirect fee called interchange and the credit card companies love it because you don't get to see it on any of your bills. It is charged to the store who then raises their prices to make sure they're making a profit. Unfaircreditcardfees.com has a lot of good background on them who I've done some work with.
It seems to me that these fees just keep going up and up and no one seems to be doing much about them.
Last year Citibank sold all of the accounts in my area to a local bank. I was shocked when I got my statement and the same thing had happened with the new bank. I had them reverse it that first month but now I need to tell everyone to run it through as a credit just so I don't get hit with a fee. It's annoying!
Mike - I guess no matter how you look at it we are paying a fee. How bad would it suck to pay it twice by using your debit card, though!
Christine - I would be so mad if that happened to me. I just wonder how they can do something like that without informing people?
And I agree with Mike... the fees are going to keep going up.
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