Consumer Don’t Want Automatic Overdraft Coverage on Debt Cards.

You haven’t been keeping track of how much you have in your bank account. You use your debit card to make a $5 purchase and discover on your next statement you overdrew your account and you have been charged an overdraft fee of $34.  Sounds ridiculous, but this happens everyday. You should have known in advance that you had gone over your balance and would be charged this fee.

A survey by the Center for Responsible Lending indicates that most consumers want that choice. Moreover, in this age of electronic communications there is little reason why you could not have been presented with this information. The survey found that

83% of consumers want to choose whether overdraft protection on their debit card purchases and ATM transactions is included with their bank account. The vast majority (80%) of these consumers also want their bank to ask permission before enrolling them in such an overdraft program, rather than do so automatically.

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