Check Back With Me

I just received a letter from my bank.  Unless I jump through a bunch of hoops, they'll start charging me for checking in 2011. (I'm not special.  Everyone got this letter.) Funny, since the reason I changed banks a few years back was for the guaranteed free checking.

It would seem this is a consequence of new financial regulations.  If there's another reason I'd like to hear it.  The government was mad at banks for "gouging" customers through special fees, so they changed the rules.  At least under the old system, everyone knew what the deal was (or could know if they checked).  If you played by the rules, it was easy enough to avoid the fees.

(This is a bit reminiscent of the latest FCC news, without the First Amendment implications.  The government starts passing regulations to "protect" people and before you know it everyone has to pay.)