Stop junk fees

More Perfect Union What are junk fees? They’re sprinkled all over the economy, from bank charges to overdraft fees, even gift cards. Junk fees cost working families billions of dollars every year. In fact, a recent study published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) showed that banks charged about $15 billion in just overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees alone. That's not counting all the other types of fees and service charges many banks have become deeply dependent on to feed their profit models. The More Perfect Union team sat down with Rohit Chopra, the director of the CFPB, to find out exactly what’s happening and what you and I can do to help the CFPB stop these junk fees now. Exploitative junk fees charged by banks have become widespread, and because the most vulnerable are the ones living on the financial edge and most likely to drop below their balance on a regular basis, these banks are preying on the people who can least afford it. To make it worse, too often folks have no other choices, because many small towns, rural communities, and urban neighborhoods have become banking deserts. It’s no wonder that about 90% of all overdraft fees are paid by only 10% of consumers. Fortunately, the CFPB is on our side and they need our help! During this public comment period, the CFPB needs to hear our support for action. We've written a comment to make it easy, but you'll be able to double your impact if you add your personal story on how junk fees -- exploitative, back-end, hidden, or excessive fees -- have impacted your life. Watch the report and hear how these outrageous junk fees have impacted real people, and then sign and send your support by clicking ‘Start Writing’ now.