Overdraft feature causes a chill

Re “Do you feel an overdraft?” Editorial, Oct. 9

Overdraft protection seemed like such a wonderful add-on to a bank account; now, after reading this editorial, I am aware of how crooked the banks can be.

Something that offers protection should not work this way.

There certainly needs to be information on overdraft protection and how it works. This is truly a situation in which ignorance is not bliss.

As a young person with my own bank account, I am now fearful that I will accrue fees that I am not aware of and that I cannot pay on my own.

Erica Rodriguez

Las Vegas

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Your editorial raises the question: Did The Times do a survey of the number of people who were charged an average fee of $34 for an overdraft, and were they asked whether they maintain a balance of their checking account when possibly writing a check in excess of their assumed bank balance?

Why should the government bail them out by changing the law to reduce or eliminate a bank fee because the customer assumes that the “float” is theirs to play with?

And a follow-up question might be: How many of these people can add and subtract to maintain a checking account balance?

Thomas D. Carter

Sherman Oaks