‘It’s so expensive being broke’: Man has $1 in his account. Now the bank is charging him a $5 fee for ‘being poor’
A creator is going viral for highlighting the fees banks charge people for having very little money in their accounts.
In a TikTok titled, “Oh you’re poor? That’ll be a $5 fee,” actor Christopher Vieira (@chrisdvieira) calls out banks for charging low-balance fees.
Vieira uses the audio from the wildly popular song created by @lewky____ using a “terrible” exchange between two people on Tinder. In the messages, a man repeatedly asks a woman how many “baby daddies” she has in spite of her repeatedly telling him she has one daughter.
In Vieira’s take on the viral sound, the text overlay reads, “Bank: do u have any money?/Me: yes I have 1 dollar hbu?/Bank: we’re charging you a fee bc ur poor/Me: but I have 1 dollar/Bank: I understand but we need it/Me: I have ONE dollar [crying emojis].”
His post is all too relatable for many viewers. As of this writing, it has more than 360,000 views. Anger towards banks and the wealthy oozes from the hundreds of comments.
The Fees Banks Charge
Simply put, a low balance fee is a charge for not maintaining a minimum amount of funds in your bank account.
The practice is not without controversy or, as Vieira illustrates, resentment. Many people agree that there shouldn’t be a fee for having money. Period.
However unpopular they may be, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau notes that maintenance fees are perfectly legal.
Yet some banks do charge these fees, sometimes called “maintenance fees.” On its blog, Bank of America notes that you can avoid maintenance fees by keeping a minimum amount of money in your account or linking a savings and checking account.
That’s not the only fee you may accrue simply by having a bank account. You can be charged for using out-of-network ATMS, having excessive transactions, overdrafting, and doing wire transfers. Some banks even charge you for closing your account too soon.
The high price of being broke
People who weighed in on Vieira’s post shared their own banking fees horror stories.
One said they were charged $75 for having a negative balance of $0.75. A second person shared that their bank charged them $50 for having a negative balance—even though they thought they were safe from such fees.
“I have protections on my account for withdrawals or bills that will put my account into the negative AS WELL as protection on my account against charges for…. Negative account balance,” they wrote.
A stay-at-home mom said she’s charged $12 a month for being “broke.”
“Years ago my bank took a fee and overdrew my account,” said another. “Then charged me a fee for my account being overdrawn.”
Others wondered how such fees are legal.
“Overdraft and late fees being $35-$50 nowadays is actually wild. Idk how that’s allowed,” wrote one.
Many people raged against banks.
One TikToker opined, “Banks are the biggest scam on earth.”
“They literally hate poor people,” another agreed.
A third wrote, “It’s so expensive being broke.”
Vieira didn’t immediately respond to a direct message sent via TikTok.
@chrisdvieira Oh you’re poor? That’ll be a $5 fee. #banks ♬ original sound – Lewky____
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