Getting your bank to waive account fees

These days, people complain about some bank charges and deductions from their accounts. Indeed some banks are known to charge all manner of fees on services they render; but finance experts say it is pretty easy to get some of these bank fees waived.

An online report on the issue by bankingadvice.com notes that some of the fees being charged by banks may be due to a mistake you have made (such as allowing your account to become overdrawn). Sometimes, the fees are imposed by the bank simply as account maintenance fees.

Here are some tips that will make your bank to waive those fees, according to bankingadvice.com.

Ask them to waive the fee: Simply call your bank and ask them to waive the fee. Or, visit the bank in person and ask to speak to an account representative. Simply taking this extra step can sometimes make the difference in being able to get a waiver of the fee.

Part of this discussion will hinge on whether you are asking your bank to waive a one-time late fee or single transaction fee, or whether you are looking not to pay a monthly or periodic account maintenance fee. Your bank will almost certainly be more likely to waive a one-time charge.

Ask for your account to be ‘grandfathered’. If you are looking for some relief from ongoing account fees because of a change in the terms applicable to your account, then ask whether you can have your account terms ‘grandfathered’ – which means that the prior terms will continue to apply, even though new accounts of the same type will be subject to the less favourable terms.

Switch to a new account. If your bank is not able to waive the account fees at issue, then ask whether they have a different account type that can provide you with the services and features you are looking for, but on a better fee schedule.

For example, maybe you opened a free current account a number of years ago with a relatively low balance requirement, and your bank is changing the fees applicable to those accounts. But now, your account balance may be much higher, so you will be eligible for a higher level of account (with a higher minimum balance requirement) that gets you the terms you are looking for.