Walmart's In-Store Banks Charge the Most in Customer Fees

The Consumerist published a story about Walmart's predatory in-store banks, which are among the top five banks that charge the highest customer fees. 

Maybe the reason a customer goes to Walmart is because he or she is poor, in which case the last thing the customer needs is a predatory in-store bank. Some people regard overdraft fees as a type of payday loan, but 300% interest? That's higher than most other banks charge.

No matter how poor you may be, how helpless are you in your choice of where to shop? You could pay a membership fee and shop at Costco, a more ethical corporation that doesn't have the long history of breaking the law in the quest of cheating employees of their wages and rights that Walmart has. I remember the time I went looking for the three class-action lawsuits against Walmart that I knew of off the top of my head and found 71. 

One Latina mother of three was forced to work off the clock flipping hot dogs for three or four hours before being allowed to clock in at Walmart and get paid for her work. That was on the front page of the New York Times. I read about another case where a 33-year-old paralyzed woman employed as a Walmart greeter had her hours shaved. She didn't believe it until her attorneys showed her that Walmart supervisors cut the number of hours she had actually worked and her pay was cut accordingly. It's difficult to find all the Walmart horror stories I read years ago, but I can find some that are just as bad or worse!

If you have a conscience and also wear eyeglasses, switching to Costco in Coralville would be a smart move. My husband paid his membership fee ($55 for a single person and $110 for two people) and got an eye exam for $65. He bought two pairs of eyeglasses for $230, including transition lenses for his regular eyeglasses and a pair of prescription sunglasses ($30 off if you two pairs together). He really liked the optometrist, who is nice and explained everything she did.

The last time I paid for eyeglasses at a Mercy-related facility, the service was terrific, but one pair cost over $500 and the sunglasses were over $600. I might just switch to Costco. My ophthalmologist at University Hospitals and Clinics told me that if she had my prescription, she wouldn't go to a cheap eyeglass production company, but I might just see if I can save a considerable amount of money and see fine.