Why I am dropping Bank of America

We spoke last week about Netflix’s disastrous decision to raise service fees so they could put the needs of their stockholders over the needs of their customers. History will prove this was a dramatic turning point for an industry-leading, well-regarded company with brand loyalty that rivaled Apple.

Bank of America has decided to take a similar swan dive with their customers by charging a $5 monthly fee when B of A customers use their debit card. Seriously?  The same company that gladly accepted $45 billion in taxpayer bailout money in 2009 has decided to reward millions of those people by making them pay to access their own money. Like Netflix, there is an assumption that people will still continue to use the service at the same rate, only now the company will be able to collect fees from the activity. Spoiler Alert: not only will millions of B of A customers no longer use their ATMs, but millions more will also decide to take their hard-earned money elsewhere. It doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to realize that’s exactly what is going to happen.

I have been a Bank of America customer for almost 20 years, but that will soon come to an end. Adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it. When the chips are down and a company decides to punish the very customers who gave them success, they no longer deserve my loyalty or my money.

Close your eyes and listen carefully… do you hear that? That’s the giant sucking sound of millions of customers walking away.

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