Devon Donovan was just a kid with some cash and a savings account. Cash from hours worked as a lifeguard, when she could have been swimming. Hours working as a babysitter, when she could have been hanging out with her friends. When she was given money for her birthday and at Christmas, she put it away to save towards school trips.
In other words, Devon was a kid who got it right. She didn’t spend wildly. She saved her money. And when she went off to college, she kept what she assumed was a couple of hundred bucks or so in that account to save for a rainy day.
That’s what savings accounts are for.
Instead, a bank unjustly robbed her of her savings and the message was clear: we don’t care about your laudable savings habits, we couldn’t give a flying fig that you’re a kid with the right idea and we couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge such good behavior.
Legally, Citizens Bank was in the clear. But morally, is it right? Is it fair for any bank to do what Citizens Bank did to a citizen who deserved better?
Citizens Bank decided, starting in 2007, that it would begin charging a monthly fee of $5 for balances under $500. The notification, as it turned out, was a small line at the bottom of a statement from November 21st, 2006 referring to the new policy taking effect on January 8th of the New Year.
There were also new limits on monthly transactions and fees for what were described as ‘excessive transactions.’
Obviously, Devon did not see the innocuous notification on her bank statement. Besides, she Read the rest of this entry »
I have this little Monday morning ritual where I take a look at all the comments and claims that come in to LawyersAndSettlements.com over the weekend. Seems that’s when a lot of folks allow themselves a moment or two to think about what’s really pissing them off. Things like defective products, denied insurance claims, whatever. But there are always a few topics that folks write in about that seem to hit a common nerve (or, shall I say, that proverbial last nerve?).
So just in case you were wondering, here are some things that have you annoyed today…
Ok folks—I know I must be missing some here—so feel free to add to the list. Oh, and for the record, health insurance companies are what’s pissing me off today. Try this one on for size: I just received a Statement of Benefits that’s indicates my “Group” is an employer I haven’t worked for in five years—and yes, my medical provider had the correct insurance plan information. So what do you think happened to the claim? DENIED.