Say it aint so! "Study: Banks hiding fee info, skirting law"

There's only one way to get the best price on a service: Shop around. And there's only one way to shop around: Compare prices. But banking consumers who try to engage in this pillar of free market economic activity often simply can't, according to a study released Tuesday by a consumer group.

At nearly one in four banks, consumers can't learn the price of doing business because fee schedules are unavailable before they sign up, according to the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), which conducted the study. Those banks are breaking the Truth in Savings Act, which requires such up-front fee disclosures, it said.

The results are all the more concerning because they mirror results from a similar study conducted by Congress' Government Accountability Office three year ago, which spurred government regulators to reiterate banks’ obligation to offer fee disclosures in 2010.

PIRG conducted an extensive "secret shopper" study to craft the report, “Big Banks, Bigger Fees: A National Survey of Bank Fees.” PIRG sent staff members to 392 banks and credit union branches in 21 states and reviewed online fees at banks over the past six months.

Only 38 percent of banks produced fee schedules after the first request, PIRG found. After three requests, compliance jumped to 55 percent. Still, about one-quarter of banks provided incorrect information and 23 percent never produced fee information at all, it said.

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Once again... All together now;  "BANKS ARE THE ENEMY!"