PROVIDENCE—As New England
watched the Fleet/Bank of America merger with intense scrutiny, RIPIRG offers
tips for consumers who are currently account holders at Fleet.
"After mergers, customers
of both banks, but especially Fleet customers, may face serious problems,"
stated Kate Canada, RIPIRG advocate. "Fleet customers should take precautions
as the merger moves forward in order to protect their assets."
Mergers often result in
computer glitches as account numbers and computer systems change. RIPIRG urges
customers to watch out for these glitches.
Specifically RIPIRG recommends
that Fleet customers:
•
Read their bank statements
carefully.
•
Save all ATM receipts,
deposit slips, direct deposit records and watch out for mistakes.
•
Carefully scrutinize
the letters from Bank of America because they could be increasing fees, adding
new fees and changing services.
•
Consider switching
to a credit union, instead of a bank, which consistently have lower fees.
"Big banks usually
mean bigger fees," stated Canada. "Free checking may no longer be
free, minimum balance requirements may change and fess may go up so be carefully
and consider shopping around for a new bank."
