[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 171 (Wednesday, November 18, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2794-E2795]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        BANK OVERDRAFT POLICIES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. KENDRICK B. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 18, 2009

  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Madam Speaker, today I rise on behalf of 
American consumers who have contacted me about their discontent 
regarding bank overdraft fee policies. Most, if not all, of these 
individuals are everyday Americans who regularly monitor their spending 
and account usage. Unfortunately, many of these individuals are victims 
of unfair and excessive overdraft fees charged by banks.

[[Page E2795]]

  In light of these many concerns, I believed that it was imperative to 
speak to citizens directly in an open forum about their worries and how 
Congress should act on their behalf. I hosted an online chat session 
this past week where American consumers had the opportunity to share 
their stories with me. This issue was first raised on a local level by 
Mike Holfeld, an investigative reporter at WKMG in Orlando.
  If the Speaker would allow, I would like to relay a few of their 
stories:
  Kathryn McCarrey is a 32-year-old mother of two from Groveland, 
Florida who has been a customer with Bank of America since 2005. She 
complained that she has been unfairly charged hundreds of dollars in 
overdraft fees over the past 2 years. She stated, ``Just last week I 
printed my screen with [my] bank balance 3 days in a row to prove that 
the bank was charging erroneous fees . . . I cannot afford to continue 
giving money to the bank!''
  Lauren Fant is a University of Central Florida student and customer 
at SunTrust Bank. She was fined three consecutive overdraft charges of 
$39 in August for three transactions that only went through a week 
after she made them. Although her overdraft amount was only $12, her 
fees totaled $117.
  David Spatzer, also from Orlando, was hit with over $700 worth of 
charges in the past 2 months. When he went to his bank for help, he was 
told to take out a loan at 12 percent interest. He collects monthly 
Social Security checks while also working at Disney World. His checking 
account, however, approves transactions even when he does not have 
enough of a balance in his account.
  Floridians and individuals throughout our Nation are currently going 
through similar circumstances as Kathyrn, Lauren and David. Congress 
needs to institute proper notification features at the point of 
transaction in cases of possible overdraft.
  Madam Speaker, on behalf of the consumers mentioned above and the 
numerous others who reached out to me about their concerns on bank 
overdraft fee policies, I implore all members of this esteemed 
legislative body to work toward providing consumers with the safeguards 
necessary to make educated financial decisions without being charged 
exorbitant and unfair bank overdraft fees by their banks.

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