[November 18, 2005]

Some banks charge fees just for checking your balance

Nov. 18--IF YOU STRAY, YOU'LL PAY. That's a good general rule of thumb to keep in mind when going to an ATM at a bank that's not your own.

Sure, you probably know that you run the risk of paying $1.50 to $2 to your bank and the bank that owns the ATM where you withdraw money.

But, did you also know that there are several banks that charge you just to check your own balance?

So, for example, if you're a Bank of America customer and you use a J.P. Morgan Chase branch, you'll have a $1.50 less in your account because you checked how much was there -- even if you decided not to withdraw any cash.

"They charge just for information -- you're not getting anything," said Brooklyn resident Gary Madovoy, who discovered the fee when he read over his monthly statement from Bank of America.

Last week, the Daily News described Bank of America's unusual ATM denial fee. Here's how that one works: If you're a Bank of America customer and you ask for more than your daily limit, or more than your available balance, at the ATM of another bank, you have to pay a $1.50 fee.

Our readers responded to this story by expressing similar concern over the fees their banks charge for checking their balances.

"Using another bank's ATM opens you up to all kinds of charges, whether or not you get money from the machine," said Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst at research firm Bankrate.com, who's an expert on ATM fees and other checking-account charges.

Numerous banks charge for the balance inquiry -- including Bank of America and North Fork.

A spokeswoman for Bank of America confirmed that it charges either $1.50 or $2 for each balance inquiry at someone else's ATM -- and an additional $1.50 or $2 for each cash withdrawal. And her bank's not the only one.

North Fork also charges $1 for each balance inquiry.

Wachovia charges its customers one fee for balance inquiries and another fee for withdrawals at other institutions' cash machines -- except in Manhattan, where it's a newcomer to the market and has just 21 locations with ATMs.

"We are still building our ATM network and brand in New York City," said spokeswoman Christine Shaw. "We need to be competitive, so we are waiving all the fees for the use of other banks' ATMs."

Wachovia has 5,100 ATMs throughout its network, which spans the East Coast. In places outside Manhattan where they're easy to find, the bank expects customers to use its machines or pay extra for going elsewhere.

Customers get mad when they read their bank statements and find out how much extra they pay, said Goldi Ward, a New Yorker who moved south to Charlotte, N.C., and worked in consumer banking for Wachovia for two years. Customers called every day to complain about the balance inquiry fee, she said.

Ward doesn't blame them for being upset when ATM fees add up. "It's understandable," she said.

"You don't know about them until the last day of your statement cycle. You can be bouncing checks because of your ATM fees."

The bank says it tallies the account balance requests and withdrawal fees at the end of each monthly statement -- and deducts the money then.

Some banks -- including J.P. Morgan Chase and Citibank -- don't charge customers for checking their balances at other banks' cash machines, though they do charge for withdrawals.

Citibank spokesman Mark Rodgers said it costs the bank money when a customer asks for his balance on another bank's ATM -- but Citi absorbs the cost instead of passing it on.

Bank of New York doesn't charge for balance inquiries at other banks' ATMs -- or for withdrawals either, unless the customer's balance falls below the required minimum for that account, said spokesman Kevin Heine.

Still, even some banks that are very customer-friendly go for the balance inquiry fee -- as retiree Alfred Gullo was surprised to discover.

The NewMil Bank branch in Sharon, Conn., takes such good care of him that it even accepts UPS deliveries for him when he goes out of town, Gullo said. But it charges the fee -- which he's careful to avoid, now that he knows better.

If you're not sure whether your bank charges a fee for making a balance inquiry at another bank's ATM, check your balance with a free phone call to your bank's service line, Bankrate.com's McBride suggested.

Better yet, he recommended, "manage your withdrawals so you only use your own bank's ATMs."

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