Well Fargo Strikes at the Poor

By Cliff Harrison

ADVERSE NEWS FOR MANY WHO ARE ALREADY STRUGGLING.

Wells Fargo is ending free checking account in some cases unless customers can meet new terms.

At a time when people are down and out, big banks that the taxpayers bailed out and kept from collapsing are now punishing those very taxpayer who no one bailed out. Banks are being robbed every day at an increasing rate. People are going off the deep end and committing hideous crimes. Big corporations are establishing themselves as an enemy of the people and creating additional stress. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citi Bank have all been in the news of late. This news is not surprising. At a time when everything is going up except COLAs and raises America is pitted with rich against poor, giant corporations against the people. Now that the 911 uniting of America is over with, we go back to our normal division.

This notice sent to checking account holders this month states:

Upcoming Change to Your Premium Membership Checking Account
September 8, 2011

Upcoming change to your Premium Membership® Checking account The August statement for your Premium Membership Checking account included a message about changes to your account. For your convenience, we've summarized these changes below.

What's changing
Effective November 14, 2011, the options to waive your Premium Membership Checking account monthly service fee will change.

You can waive the $15 monthly service fee when you have three additional linked qualifying accounts/services and one of the following:

• Maintain a qualifying direct deposit of $750 or more1, OR
• Maintain $5,000 or more in combined balances in deposit or qualifying credit accounts, OR
• Maintain a monthly automatic loan payment from this Package checking account to a Wells Fargo home equity/personal loan or line of credit, or Wells Fargo Home Mortgage loan

If you do not meet one of the above monthly service fee waiver options, this fee can be discounted by $2 per month when you set up and receive online statements for this account. What you may need to do
Automatic transfers are no longer available to waive the monthly service fee. Please review the new monthly service fee waivers carefully as it may be necessary for you to take action to ensure your account is not assessed a monthly service fee. What isn't changing

• Your qualifying automatic transfer will continue to waive the monthly service fee on select savings accounts.
• Your account number will remain the same.
• Your automatic payments, transfers, scheduled online bill payments and direct deposits will continue uninterrupted.
• Your account will continue to be FDIC-insured up to applicable limits.

You will continue receiving the same benefits and services including:

• Bonus interest rate on a linked Wells Fargo Money Market SavingsSM account2
• More than 6,300 Wells Fargo locations and 12,000 ATMs
• Free access to Wells Fargo Online® Banking with Bill Pay
• Telephone customer service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

If you have questions, or would like to receive a free financial review to see if you have the right accounts and services to meet your financial goals, please contact your local banker or call us at 1-800-TO-WELLS (1-800-869-3557), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Thank you. We appreciate your business. Sincerely, Wells Fargo Consumer Deposits Group

1. A qualifying direct deposit is a direct deposit of your salary, pension, Social Security, or other regular monthly income, electronically deposited to your account by your employer or an outside agency. Transfers from one account to another, or deposits made at a banking location or ATM, do not qualify as a direct deposit.

2. Bonus interest on the Wells Fargo Money Market Savings account will discontinue when the account is delinked from the Premium Membership Checking Package.

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.

It isn't so much the nuisance of a free checking account becoming a fee-paid account after being lured into doing business with a banking company as it is the timing of squeezing those who have no more room to be squeezed.

In a land of high unemployment, under employment, rising government support and undesirable and unrewarding employment a buck is a buck and the more corporations squeeze that dollar out of the ordinary consumer's hand the most likely the entire economy will collapse.