Bank of America International fees upset Expats

A few days ago people started reporting they were getting new International ATM fees using Bank of America debit or credit card when there were none previously.   This prompted one Expat in Mexico to write to BoA and this is the customer service response.  Needless to say people are furious.

Thank you for your inquiry dated 11/14/2013 regarding the international transaction fee. We will be happy to assist you.

We understand your concern regarding the unexpected fee assessed on your account.

The International ATM usage fee is $5. This fee is assessed for each withdrawal, transfer or balance inquiry performed at a non-Bank of America ATM or non-Global ATM Alliance bank located in a foreign country.

In addition to the ATM usage fee, Bank of America assesses an international transaction fee for debit card transactions in foreign currency or in U.S. dollars with foreign merchants in the amount of 3% of the U.S. dollar amount of the transaction and 3% (Effective November 8, 2013) for all ATM transactions processed in foreign currency. The fee is assessed as a separate transaction fee on the posting date of the purchase or withdrawal. The ATM operator may charge an additional fee for cash withdrawals.

Please be informed that using a Banco Santander ATM in Mexico will waive the ATM operator fees or Non-Bank of America International ATM Fee of $5. An international transaction fee of 3% may apply when converting your currency..

Kindly note, using a Scotia Bank ATM in Mexico will not waive the ATM operator fees or Non-Bank of America International ATM Fee.

Bye, bye Japan

David Suzuki has issued a scary warning about Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, saying that if it falls in a future earthquake, it's "bye bye Japan" and the entire west coast of North America should be evacuated.

David Suzuki's Fukushima Warning Is Dire And Scary

Earth Under Water in the Next 20 Years

Earth Under Water explains the science behind the prediction of sea level rise and shows what will happen if the levels rise with increasing speed. Then, we fast forward to the twenty-third century to see how resourceful humans fight back and adapt using hyper engineering, vast dams, and even the construction of floating cities to cope with the after-effects.

Earth Under Water - DVD

GOP secretly changes the rules

The GOP's little rule change they hoped you wouldn't notice

Late in the evening on September 30, 2013, the House Rules Committee Republicans changed the Rules of the House so that the ONLY Member allowed to call up the Senate's clean CR for a vote was Majority Leader Eric Cantor or his designee -- all but guaranteeing the government would shut down a few hours later and would stay shut down. Previously, any Member would have had the right to bring the CR up for a vote. Democracy has been suspended in the House of Representatives.

The Fight Remains About Obamacare

The Republicans just don't seem to understand that Obamacare is already law but keep calling it a Bill.   These morons are lost to another world and will eventually find themselves there all by themselves.

This week's government shutdown has consequences for all of us, costing an estimated $300 million each day that the government is closed for business. Many Americans have voiced their frustrations with the fallout from the shutdown on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using the hash tag #DearCongress. Here, Bill Moyers shares his own frustrations, admonishing the Republican Party for holding the country hostage via an irrational "ransom list" of demands — while sabotaging democracy in the process. "When the President refused to buckle to this extortion, they threw their tantrum," Bill says. "Like the die-hards of the racist South a century and a half ago, who would destroy the union before giving up their slaves, so would these people burn down the place, sink the ship." He goes on to tell us where the "reckless ambition" of the Republicans could lead us.

The Fight Remains About Obamacare - from the Red State Website

Surrender should not be an option. This fight has been and remains about Obamacare. A Republican Party fretting over polling should consider that polling will rebound in their direction with a victory. The GOP should also consider that some of the negatives in the polls are from their own side angry at their reluctance to actually fight the good fight.

Republican leaders who have never wanted this fight have tried at all costs to avoid fighting it. They have tried to wrap the continuing resolution into the debt ceiling then into a grand bargain.

Conservatives should keep the fight squarely on Obamacare.

What is most eye opening is that the Republican leaders have grown so detatched from their base that they will willingly push a medical device tax repeal on behalf of K Street lobbyists while ignoring the very people who actually vote for them.

Republicans reeling from polls should consider what the reaction of their base will be if they have gone this far and surrender with nothing — or with only a sop to special interests on K Street.

Speaker Boehner has previously said he would stop doing back room deals with the White House. He should do as he said. He should keep the government closed until Democrats agree to delay Obamacare.

The Fight Remains About Obamacare - from the Red State Website