Who Owns That Masked Machine?
Have you ever used an ATM in a convenience store or
remote location that did not identify which financial in
stitution owned the machine? Be wary of these machines.
When you get your ATM card, your financial institu
tion makes an agreement with you to not surcharge you
for using their ATMs. But some banks are not living up
to their end of the deal and are charging their own ac
count holders. How are they doing this? With unmarked
ATMS.
According to a recent report in bankrate.com
(www.bankrate.com). Bank of America has been named
in a suit that alleges that they charged account holders
for using the bank’s own unbranded automated teller
machines, in violation of its customer agreement.
The plaintiff in the suit, a Bank of America customer,
was willing to pay a surcharge for the convenience of
using a particular (unmarked) ATM. But, one day, he be
came suspicious when the machine gave him a receipt
bearing the Bank of America logo. He felt sure that the
financial institution did not own the machine; after all, it
was charging him those fees. So, he called the customer
service number on the receipt and was connected to a
Bank of America representative who confirmed that the
ATM did, indeed, belong to the bank.
The bank refunded the plaintiffs money for
the fees charged, but when he returned to use
that ATM, he was again assessed a surcharge.
What did Bank of America have to say about
this practice? Spokeswoman Holly Seagle said,
“I can tell you that Bank of America customers
can avoid fees by using Bank of America-
branded ATMs.”
Bank of America’s ATMs are not alone. All
around the United States there are ATMs that
are not owned by banks or credit unions, but by
independent ATM networks that charge fees to
all users. They then split the income with the
Pruning Evergreens
Around Foundations
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre Co.) Plant
ing evergreens around a house’s foundation is a
landscaping no-brainer, because they stay green
and require little maintenance. But a Penn State ,
horticulture experts says foundation evergreens !
should be pruned to keep them looking good
and scaled to the size of the house.
“So many homeowners plant large yews, juni
pers or arborvitae, and after a few years, the
plants are blocking window views,” says Emelie
Swackhamer, Penn State Cooperative Extension
agent in Lehigh County. “The best time to prune
evergreens is from December to March in the
winter dormant season.”
Swackhamer recommends not pruning heav
ily in the spring, because cuts made during the
growing season will result in very dense growth
on top. “The dense upper growth can shade the
lower foliage so much it will die,” she says.
Swackhamer says many evergreen plants can
grow quite large. Homeowners that do not want
to prune their plants every year should consider
removing the evergreens entirely and planting
shrubs that grow to a manageable size. She also
says an evergreen should be pruned while it still
has manageable size and shape. “Removing
large amounts of growth on an oversize plant
will weaken the plant and give it a ‘chopped
back’ appearance.”
Pruning Methods
Swackhamer recommends using “heading
back” pruning for evergreens. Each longer stem
should be cut back to a point well inside the
plant. Each cut should be made back to an
emerging branch, to prevent stubs. “Branch
stubs can be infected by fungi that cause plant
diseases,” she says.
“Proper pruning allows more air and light to
penetrate the plant,” Swackhamer says. “The
cuts made to an emerging branch will allow side
branches to develop lower in the plant, which
gives the plant denser growth but does not in
crease size.”
Heading back pruning encourages green
growth throughout the plant, while keeping the
natural shape of the evergreen.
Shearing
Shearing pruning, or cutting all growth back
to a uniform level, should be used only if a
homeowner wants the plant grown into an un
natural shape. “Turning a plant into a box or
round shape removes the most attractive green
growth,” Swackhamer says. “The next year, you
will get very dense new growth on the outside,
with very little green left inside.” Swackhamer
says homeowners can reverse the effects of
shearing by thinning out interior branches while
retaining the formal shape of the plant.
Shannon Villa
Pa. Credit
Union League
business owner in return for the space provided for the
machine. But some banks do not put their names on
ATMs they own, trying to pass them off to customers as
some of the non-bank-owned machines.
According to David Sorkin, assistant professor of law
at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Bank of
America is not the only financial institution that does
this. Bank One has also been a leader in the practice.
“They pretend it’s somebody else’s ATM and treat it as
another ATM and it surcharges everybody,” says Sorkin.
ATM Surcharges (www.atm
surcharges.com), a Web site authored by Sorkin, offers
these suggestions to avoid all ATM surcharges:
• Use ATMs that you know are owned by your credit
union or bank.
• Look for ATMs that don’t surcharge. Avoid ATMs
in convenience stores, restaurants and hotels, as they are
more likely to impose a surcharge.
• Plan ahead and withdraw more cash at one time.
• Consider alternative methods for obtaining cash.
• Add a cash withdrawal to your purchase at stores
that accept ATM cards.
• Write a check/share draft and cash it at the grocery
store, if yours offers this service. If there is a charge, it
most likely will be lower than an ATM surcharge.
• Use travelers checks, personal checks/share drafts or
credit cards when traveling instead of withdrawing
from an ATM.
Instead of surcharging consumers, credit unions in
Pennsylvania have taken a different route. There is an
easy way for you to completely bypass paying ATM sur
charges. More than 300 credit unions have come togeth
er to form C Js, a network of no-surcharging ATMs.
Working together, this alliance means that roughly 1.7
million members of those credit unions can go to almost
600 ATM locations and not pay one cent for accessing
their own money.
If you are unsure of your credit union’s participation
in the network, look for the CU$ logo on the ATM. If
you do not see it, ask your credit union to begin partici
pation in the network. It’s not a total fix in avoiding the
estimated $2.5 billion of surcharge fees paid to financial
institutions, but it is a start.
And, remember, the next time you walk up to an un
marked ATM, take a deep breath, then turn and walk
away. It is a short walk to another machine that just
might be part of the no-surcharging ATM alliance of
which your credit union participates.