#242: Whispers & Screams (Friday, August 19)

"Listen to the whispers before you hear the screams." -Reverend Run

I once heard Reverend Run use that quote in the context of relationships, but I think it can be applied to any situation. He was basically trying to say that when you don't address the little things, they turn into big things.

It's an appropriate quote for our current economy: the housing crisis, the debt crisis, the job market...they all began as whispers. Even consumer practices that we've now come to accept as commonplace (ATM fees, paying for checked baggage on airplanes, no meals on airplanes) all began as whispers.

So, it was with great alarm that I watched a report on CBS yesterday about banks "testing" debit card fees. Wells Fargo is testing a $3 debit card fee in some areas, and JP Morgan Chase and a couple of other banks have already implemented these fees in certain areas. It was only a few months ago that I talked about banks testing exorbitant fees to non-customers who use their ATMs.

This is eerily reminiscent of when the airline industry started their testing, a tiny little whisper which got very little resistance from consumers who were willing to forgo certain conveniences for a lower ticket price. Now we have to deal with the screams: numerous fees that cancel out the lower ticket prices we originally thought we were getting anyway.

If you're one of the increasing number of people who rely on their debit cards rather than carry cash, then this may ultimately affect you. (Once one bank tests the fee and do not get consumer push back, other banks will start to implement it too.) Listen to the whisper: be proactive and monitor whether your bank is testing a similar fee and be vocal about it.