Nice try, federal lawmakers.

Last year, they tried to cap ATM fees at 50 cents.

It NEVER came up for a vote.

Couldn't be that strong bank lobby in DC, could it?

The days of a spate of free services at your bank are LONG gone!

COMING TO BANK NEAR YOU...

Recently announced...$5 to get at our own money at some ATM machines for non-customer ATM transactions at Chase machines in Illinois !!

J.P Morgan Chase, PNC Financial and TD Bank Financial have already changed their ATM policies.

We must say that it's hard to feign surprise because on Dolans.com we predicted that banks, squeezed by regulatory changes, such as a limit on debit card fees, would continue to come up with ways to stiff consumers with additional fees.

To make matters worse - an emerging trend - some banks have stopped reimbursing customers for fees charged by using ATMs from other banks.

Also, some banks are introducing new charges on checking accounts.

Bottom Line:

There is no way to stop bank fee creep...but you can minimize the damage by:

1.  Checking fees at small banks and credit unions, many of which have yet to raise their fees.

2.  Using ANY ATM machine as seldom and possible...but, if you must, only use your bank's ATM ("in-network") or surcharge-fee ATMs

3.  Check out online banks, such as Ally, that often charge lower fees because of lower overhead costs

4.  Try better daily/weekly cash management....plan your cash needs in advance for the week, if you plan to travel, etc.

5.  Go to www.allpointnetwork.com for a listing of more than 40,000 surcharge-free ATMs world-wide.

6.  Use ONLY your bank's ATM machines (check out how much they charge). You can often avoid any ATM fee by doing a certain amount of business with your bank.

The banks made $7,000,000,000 in ATM fees off of you last year alone.  Enough already!

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