Found out my bank was charging me $15 a month for a 'premium' account I never signed up for

I was looking through my statements last night and noticed a $15 fee every single month for the last 18 months, totaling $270. I checked their terms and it turns out they auto-enrolled me in a premium checking account when I opened it back in 2021. Has anyone else found hidden fees like this from their bank and actually gotten them refunded?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancyn6914d agoMost Upvoted

Just a heads up, that $270 they owe you is actually $270, not $280 like some folks might think. 18 months at $15 is exactly $270. Probably worth calling them and asking for a supervisor, since front-line reps might try to say it's your fault for not noticing. Banks usually refund hidden fees like this if you push hard enough and mention filing a complaint with the CFPB.

emma_flores13d ago

Yeah I read some article about how banks have entire departments just for handling complaints from people who threaten to go to the CFPB... they basically bank on people giving up before they even try. @nancyn69 is right about the math too, $15 times 18 months is definitely $270, not $280. It's wild how they make you jump through hoops to get your own money back, like you're the one who did something wrong. I figure if enough people actually follow through with those complaints they might finally stop pulling this stuff.

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wilson.joseph14d ago

Yeah, I gotta say that comment about mentioning the CFPB is exactly what changed my view on this. I used to think you were just stuck with whatever fees popped up and it was your own fault for not catching them earlier. But seeing how many people actually get refunded by just pushing back and threatening to file a complaint made me realize banks count on people not bothering to fight it. Idk, it's kind of scummy how they set it up so you have to do the work to get your own money back. Might just be me, but I think a lot of us are trained to accept these charges when really we should be calling them out.