NYPIRG NEWS RELEASE

 

For Immediate Release                                                                   For more information contact:

Thursday, March 30, 2000                                                               Tracy Shelton        (212) 349-6460

                                                                                                            Susan Craine         (212) 349-6460

                                                                                                            Michael Clendenin  (212) 788-7114

 

NYPIRG SURVEY FINDS CONSUMERS PAY TWICE AT ALMOST ALL ATMs

NYPIRG CALLS FOR BAN ON THIS ANTI-CONSUMER PRACTICE

 

            Representatives from the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) were joined today by New York City Council Speaker Peter Vallone to release its 4th annual report and survey on automated teller machine (ATM) surcharges in New York.  Almost all (93%) of the ATMs surveyed in New York State are charging consumers twice for a single ATM transaction.      

 

“Consumers should not have to pay twice to use an ATM only once.  It is almost impossible to find non-surcharging ATMs in New York,” said Tracy Shelton, a NYPIRG staff attorney, “This means consumers can choose between being gouged or forgoing the convenience of ATMs not owned by their bank.”

               

Representatives of NYPIRG called for a ban on this anti-consumer practice.  Specifically, NYPIRG urged the New York City Council to pass Intro. 680, introduced earlier this year by Speaker Vallone, which would ban ATM surcharges in New York City.

 

            “The NYPIRG survey confirms what the Council’s own survey showed.  Banks see major profits with ATMs and they’re doing it with our money,” said Speaker Vallone.  “At the very least, they should not be collecting two fees for one transaction.  Replacing tellers with ATMs was supposed to lead to lower banking costs for customers, yet clearly the opposite has happened.”

 

The report, The Deceptive Double Dip:  Four Years After the Surcharge Ban Ends, included a comparison of the January-March 2000 survey results to the results of similar surveys conducted one, two and three years ago in February and March 1999, 1998 and 1997. In 1999, banks posted their ninth straight year of record profits.  Yet, they continued to increase fees.  The report’s principle findings include:

 

         93% of the ATMs surveyed surcharge in 2000 – up from 79% in 1999, 45% in 1998 and 33% in 1997.

 

·         The average ATM surcharge in New York is $1.33 in 2000 – up from $1.27 in 1999, $1.12 in 1998 and $1.05 in 1997.

 

¸         45% of the ATMs surveyed that surcharge are located on bank premises in 2000.  Surcharging at ATMs located on bank premises contradicts the ATM owners’ claims that surcharges would be assessed as user fees to cover the costs of providing ATMs off bank premises.

 

NYPIRG called upon the United States Congress, New York State Legislature and local governments in New York to pass pending legislation that would ban ATM surcharges.  Specifically, NYPIRG called on the New York City Council to pass Intro. 680, which, if passed, would ban bank-imposed ATM surcharges in New York City.

 

            NYPIRG is a not-for-profit, non-partisan research and advocacy organization established, directed and supported by New York State college and university students.  NYPIRG’s staff of lawyers, researchers and organizers work with college students and other citizens to help develop citizenship skills and impact public policy.  Consumer protection, environmental preservation, fiscal responsibility, political reform and social justice are NYPIRG’s principal areas of concern.

 

- 30 -