Even if you are diligent about reviewing your bank statements, this one may have slipped by you.

Since March 2011, TD Bank customers are no longer reimbursed for fees charged by non-TDBank ATM machines.  In fact, not only do they not reimburse you, they add their own surcharge of $2.00 in addition to fee the other bank collects.  This new fee of theirs includes WaWa stores, where ATM fees aren’t charged.

Outrageous?  Well, it’s a common practice for many banks, but had never been the practice of TDBank.

Until now.

Now it will cost you $5 to take out $5 of your own money
(i.e., $3 ATM fee plus a $2 TDBank surcharge).

The clincher is that many customers are finding out by surprise.  Sometimes long after they’ve paid these fees.  And that adds up if you use the ATM machine a lot.  There were no cute or clever Regis & Kelly commercials getting the word out about this important change by “America’s most convenient bank.”

If this is news to you, here’s a quick recap of how TDBank presently operates:

1. No More “Fee Free.”   There’s no more “fee free” accounts with TDBank.  The only exception is their premiere checking account which requires a minimum balance of $2,500.  For premium users, be careful not to fall below that balance or you will still get nailed with these new fees.

2.  ATM Fee Record.   So you might wonder, “What exactly is the amount of fees you pay to other banks?”  Frankly, your guess is as good as theirs.  Even though they used to reimburse their customers these fees, they contend there’s no way of getting a report or tally of the amount you’ve paid to other banks for ATM fees.  A good “clue” however is from the $2.00 surcharge fee amounts that now appear on your statement.  Read #3 below.

3.  Surcharge Fees.  In addition to the ATM Fees that other banks charge, TDBank now adds it’s own $2.00 surcharge.  That’s right.  To withdraw money from a non-TDBank teller, you get zapped that bank’s fee, plus a fee from TDBank.  They went from not reimbursing you to even penalizing you for using non-TDBank machines.  It appears on your statement as, “NONTD ATM FEE.”

4.  WaWa Too.  WaWa used to be an exception.  If you don’t live in the area, WaWa is a popular convience store in Philly and surrounding areas (similar to 711s).  Inside each WaWa is an ATM machine that charges no bank fees (courtesy of a deal between WaWa and PNCBank).  This was great for TDBank customers who could run to a nearby WaWa as quickly as the bank to withdraw money without penality.  But even though PNC Bank still doesn’t charge to use ATMs inside of WaWa, regardless of the bank card you use, TDBank now hits their customers with a $2.00 surchage for withdrawing money from WaWa.

How to Avoid These Fees:

1.  Avoid Non-TDBank ATMs.   A sure fire way to always avoid these extra fees is to always use a TDBank ATM machine.  Of course, this is not always very convenient.

2.  Cash Back from Store Purchases.  You can also avoid non TDBank ATM surcharges and fees by getting cash back when purchasing from stores like CVS.  Get the cash you need that way instead of the ATM machine.  And there is no charge for getting cash back with your purchases.

3.  Premier Checking Account.  If you have a premeir checking account with a minimum balance of $2500 you can avoid these fees as well.

Despite this new policy, TDBank isn’t all bad.  Read my other blog post called, “TD Bank:  The Ugly, The Bad, and The Good… In That Order.”

Finally, here are some videos about some of the things mentioned above that may be of interest: