(4/1/99)

Ninety percent of all banks in this country charge fees if you use a competator's ATM. And now, your own bank often charges you for using that ATM, too. News specialist Richard Piatt has more on this trend toward charging you to get your own money.

We use them without thinking nowadays. They're everywhere-- so convenient, so easy.

But more and more, you're seeing something that makes you think twice. It's a warning that you're about to withdraw more than you're asking for.

ATM user, Ray Hall, says, "The problem is that my bank might also charge me a fee, too. So I'm being charged double."

That's where consumer watchdog groups come in.

A new study accuses banks of double-dipping on ATM fees. It amounts to an average of $3 per transaction sometimes.

Ed Mierzwinski, of the Public Interest Research Group, says, "The growth in bank profits is coming from fee income. Banks are inventing new fees, they're raising existing fees, they're making it harder to avoid fees."

Banks vigorously defend the fees. It's the cost of doing business, they say. It's the cost of convenience.

Less fees, they warn, may mean fewer ATM's.

And a lot of ATM's aren't even owned by banks. They're operated by business people who are part of the ATM network.

But to average consumers, all they know is that it seems to be costing more to get their own money.

There are ATM's that don't charge access fees. But they're increasingly rare.

And of course, if you use your own bank you won't have to pay extra.

Scott Maddox says, "I try to plan ahead if I can. That's why I use my bank and take it with me."

Most ATM's do clearly display what they charge. Last year, ATM surcharges cost consumers an estimated $2.1-billion-- $1.50 at a time.

Banks also defend their fees by pointing out that many institutions like credit unions are also starting to charge ATM fees.