We all deal with things in life that are just annoying,
like brain freezes or looking for parking
or having to trim your nails all the time.
Yeah, because apparently it's cool
when Wolverine grows them out, but when I do, it's gross!
I mean, I don't understand how that's fair.
But nothing is worse
than when little annoyances also cost you money,
which means few things in life
are more annoying than overdraft fees.
You know? And we've all dealt with this shit before.
You accidentally spend
more than you have in your bank account,
so now the bank is charging you
even more money that you don't have.
Even if you go over by a couple of dollars,
your bank might hit you with a $35 fee,
which makes no sense!
Bitch, if I had the $35,
I wouldn't be overdrafting, would I?
I mean, if there has to be a penalty,
it should be a non-monetary one
'cause you know the person doesn't have the money!
They should be like, "All right,
you gotta lick the ATM screen"
or something like that, but not money!
[audience laughing]
And this problem has gotten so out of hand
that democrats in congress are now working on a bill
to reign in overdraft fees, which is good
because people are just about at their breaking points.
This is just wild.
A woman lept over a bank counter
while arguing with the teller.
She didn't wanna pay overdraft fees,
so she went over the counter.
It all happened here inside this chase bank in Beaufort.
In the video, a woman is heard shouting at a bank teller.
Then the woman climbs over the counter
and demands her money.
The bank teller backs up,
and that's when the woman steals $750 from a cash box.
Okay.
[audience laughing]
On the one hand, yes, a bit of an overreaction.
[audience laughing]
But on the other hand,
you're also kind of rooting for her, right?
-[audience cheering] -Yeah?
I mean, that's how much we all hate overdraft fees.
Like, watching this as a bystander
must have been so confusing.
It's just like, "Hello, I'd like to report a robbery!"
"Yeah. Who's being robbed?"
"Well, to be honest, both of them actually.
You know what? Actually, it's balanced.
Nevermind."
And I know what you're thinking right now.
Look, I hate overdraft fees too,
but I'm not pole vaulting over a counter over $35.
Well, once you know more about how these fees work,
you just might.
So let's find out where these fees came from
and how they screw you over
in another edition of "If You Don't Know, Now You Know."
-[triumphant music] -[audience applauding]
So let's start at the beginning.
In the 1990s, a bunch of consultants
pitched banks on overdraft fees.
A cool new way to squeeze money
out of their beloved customers.
And as evil as it is, you've gotta hand it to them,
it's definitely creative.
Yeah, in fact, I bet the executive
who came up with this idea blew everyone's minds.
Was just like, "You know how we usually take money
from people who have money?
Well, what if we also took money
from people who don't have money?"
"My God, you've done it, Jenkins!
Cocaine for everyone! Yeah!"
[audience laughing]
But when they came up with this idea,
they didn't call them overdraw fees.
No, the phrase they used for it
was "overdraft privilege programs."
Yeah, because you see, customers would now have
the privilege of paying extra for being broke.
-[audience chuckles] -And you gotta admit,
that's hella spin right there, right?
They should do that with everything in life.
They should hire these same people.
Yeah, just to give you excuses, like,
"Nah, she shouldn't dump my ass!
She enrolled me in a masturbating alone privilege program!
Everything's great. I'm doing great!
I'm doing real good!"
So you see what happens is basically banks frame it
like they're doing you a favor
by allowing you to take out extra money.
In fact, just listen to what one woman says
she was told by her bank
after she got hit with these overdraft fees
again and again without realizing it.
Look at this $1,400.
Funds obviously were not there.
They had never been there over a period of time.
Why did you continue to accept the charges?
Their response was,
"You have been such a good customer for all these years
we did not want to embarrass you at the checkout counter."
-Wow. -[audience gasps]
Wow, you gotta be kidding me.
The bank kept charging overdraft fees
because they didn't want to embarrass this lady.
Really? They didn't want to cause any embarrassment?
Everyone knows people value money over embarrassment.
That's the only reason that reality shows exist.
Are you kidding me?
[audience laughing]
Also, you know that explanation is bullshit
because it's impossible to get embarrassed
in front of a checkout counter worker, okay?
They've already seen it all.
Yeah, they've seen every single one of us
buying 15 bags of Cheetos.
And we say it's for a Super Bowl party,
but they know it's July.
[audience laughing]
So the banks say this is simply a service
they're extending to their customers,
but the truth is they spend a lot of effort
manipulating you into paying those fees.
Like for instance, did you guys even know
that they're totally optional.
Did you know that?
-Uh, yeah! -Yeah Totally optional.
Ever since a 2010 ruling by the Federal Reserve,
customers have to opt in to overdraft fees.
And now you're probably thinking,
"Wait, I never did that," but you probably did.
Yeah, you just didn't realize that's what you were doing
when the bank gave you that stack of papers to sign,
because nobody actually reads that shit, right?
Most people see the size of the agreements
and you're just like, "I'll just wait for HBO
to turn it into a miniseries.
-I'm not gonna read that." -[audience laughing]
And it gets worse, because once the banks trick you
into signing up for overdraft fees,
some of them will literally reorder the events of your life
to make sure that you pay the most.
[Narrator] Some large banks will manipulate
the sequence of customer transactions
to draw more overdraft fees.
This is how it works.
Take Joe.
Joe has $100 in his checking account.
He buys breakfast on his way to work,
paying for it with his debit card.
Joe next fills up his gas tank.
Later he buys lunch, and then an afternoon cup of coffee.
Finally on his way home,
he stops at the supermarket to buy groceries.
The last purchase leaves Joe's account overdrawn by $15,
but rather than charge him one overdraft fee
his bank rearranges his purchases from highest to lowest
and charges him three overdraft fees.
By clearing the highest purchases first,
banks are able to get to the overdraft quicker,
thereby maximizing profits.
-Goddamn, that is evil. -[audience complaining]
It's bad enough that these billion dollar corporations
are charging poor people overdraft fees,
but to make it worse, they're manipulating the numbers
so they can charge even more.
Yeah, the third purchase came before the first purchase?
That's not how you count, right?
Either these banks are robbing people
or they learned numbers from "Star Wars."
"It goes four, five, six, one, two, three, seven!
That's just math! That's the math!"
[audience laughing]
And this is another example of how corporations
can commit crimes that none of us can, right?
'Cause this is theft, but they'll be like,
"Oh no, it's just the way-"
No, it's theft!
No individual can get away
with rearranging the sequence of time.
-[audience chuckles] -You try this.
Every single one of you in this room, you try it.
You try it at home, yeah.
Try stealing something from the store
and then when they catch you be like,
"No, no, no, I know I took it today,
but I already paid for it next week.
Now, if you'll excuse me!"
[audience laughing]
But like most evil plans,
there's big money in what the banks are doing.
In fact, they collected more than $8 billion
in overdraft fees last year.
Just overdraft fees. Yeah.
One bank made so much money off of overdraft fees,
the CEO actually named his boat "The Overdraft."
-[audience complaining] -Yeah and that's rubbing it in.
That's like if Elvis had a boat
called "Black People's Music."
I mean, I get that's how you got rich,
but maybe you don't advertise it!
♪ Ho ho ♪
[audience laughing]
Imagine that on your boat!
It's like, shit, where's a Somali pirate
when you need one, you know?
Just for him to be like, "Look at me, look at me, huh?
This is a bad name for a boat, huh?
Look at me!"
[audience laughing]
Now, the good news is some banks
seem to be getting the message
that customers and congress are fed up with these fees.
Bank of America and TD Bank are settling major lawsuits,
while some banks have started ending
their overdraft programs voluntarily.
Which is good, but until congress passes this law
protecting customers from the most
egregious overdraft policies,
we figured that there was an opening in the market
for a bank you can rarely trust.
[Narrator] Sick of overdraft fees that drag you into debt?
Wish there was a bank that treated you like an adult?
Well, now there is.
-[machine beeps] -Nope, you're broke.
[Narrator] Introducing Broke Bank.
At Broke Bank, we're not gonna let you think you have money
and then surprise you with an overdraft fee.
When you're broke, we'll let you know.
-[machine beeps] -$7 for coffee?
Just get a tap water.
[Narrator] Is it embarrassing? A little.
Insulting? Definitely.
But we're committed to honesty.
Like, really committed.
-[machine beeps] -Come on, we both know
you didn't win the lottery.
Just walk away.
-[machine beeps] -What's in your wallet?
Nothing.
-[machine beeps] -Are you renting a jet ski,
mother [beep]?
You only got $12 and you need that for a shirt!
[Narrator] With Broke Bank, you'll never get tricked
into opting in for hidden fees.
The only thing you'll get from us
is the truth about how poor your broke ass is.
[Machine] You can scream at me all you want,
but at least I'm not charging you overdraft fees.
[Narrator] Broke Bank.
You deserve honesty.
-You broke. -[audience applauding]
[upbeat music]