10/11/2011
Our society has done an amazing job of making nearly every product we could dream of available at our fingertips. The choices are seemingly endless and now that everything is online, we have even more options. Despite all of our technological advances and choices, however, we're still constantly confronted with misleading promises and advertisements and sub-standard quality and safety. At the end of the day, if we want transparent information, we are going to have to challenge the huge corporations that govern the marketplace.
Rather than getting better, however, many of these problems are becoming worse. As students, we're particularly vulnerable to these problems. Often, we're isolated on campus and have limited financial resources. We’re also new to the marketplace. While we’ve been buying things for years, we now have to deal with bigger decisions, like student loan debt, finding an apartment, and living on our own.
CalPIRG at LACCD is working to stop these problems from happening by educating consumers about the choices that are available and their rights in the marketplace and by advocating for new protections for consumers. Right now, we are working to educate consumers on how to beat high bank fees, including the recently-enacted 5$ fee for debit card use implemented by the Bank of America. Do not be indifferent! Vote with your feet, keep your own money, and take your business elsewhere!
http://www.uspirg.org/bank-tips
Consumers are complaining about the latest big bank fee—a monthly fee to use a debit card, even though handling electronic debits is cheaper for the banks than handling checks. Recently, Bank of America announced it would impose a $5/month debit card fee each month you used the card at a merchant, e...
