After 19 years, 215 yuan deposited in a bank has dwindled to just 8 yuan. The news of money disappearing from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China accounts has become a hot topic on the mainland Internet on December 3rd.
As reported by Shell Financial, Left Xu from Zhejiang province said, “I deposited 215.16 yuan into an account at a state-owned bank, and after 19 years, only 8.67 yuan remained, without any withdrawals in between.” “Although I didn’t have high expectations for the 200 yuan to grow significantly, it was quite surprising to find only 8 yuan left. It’s really speechless.”
Left Xu mentioned that he opened this Industrial and Commercial Bank account in 1996 when he was still a primary school student. At that time, the bank would enter schools to help students open accounts.
In 2005, Left Xu had replaced the passbook once, with a balance of 215.16 yuan on December 22, 2005. However, he had never used it since then. It was not until October of this year that he stumbled upon the passbook and thought about withdrawing the money. But upon visiting the bank, he was informed that only 8.67 yuan remained in the account. The reason being that the bank had continuously deducted fees over the years under the guise of small account management fees, starting from June 2006, deducting 3 yuan every quarter.
Left Xu stated, “It’s unreasonable to be charged this fee without being informed.” He mentioned that he had no prior knowledge of the small account management fees added by the bank and hadn’t signed any new deposit agreements.
These small account management fees are charged by banks for accounts with daily balances below a certain amount, with different banks having varying fee standards. Banks typically set the balance threshold for fee imposition between 100 to 500 yuan, with a fee of 3 yuan per quarter.
Many banks started charging these small account management fees from 2006 onwards, but for a single account opened by a customer in a bank (not including credit cards, VIP cards), the bank should waive such charges.
On social media platforms, many cardholders from various banks have similar experiences of being unknowingly charged small account management fees by the bank. Some internet users mentioned that they only realized their bank accounts were depleted upon checking, with no prior notifications.
One netizen commented, “Even if there’s just 1 cent in the bank account, the bank will ‘take it away’.”
The controversy surrounding small account management fees has persisted. Opponents argue that this amounts to customers being gradually exploited by the banks.
So, can these small account management fees be refunded? Are these charges justified?
An official customer service employee of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China stated that since June 21, 2006, they had been charging small account management fees for accounts with balances below 300 yuan, including savings cards and passbooks, without providing individual notifications for each deduction. The customer service mentioned that the bank’s system can identify “unique accounts” exempted from these fees.
However, Left Xu’s passbook was categorized as a “unique account” and has been continuously charged fees over the past 20 years.
In response, an industry expert stated that banks should fulfill their obligation to inform customers. Before levying any fees, banks should ensure that customers are fully aware and have consented to such charges.
Fu Peng, Deputy Director of the Shaanxi Funeng Law Firm, pointed out that for exemptions, banks’ announcements are legally valid for depositors. For imposing new obligations such as fees, clear notifications and customer consent are crucial before initiating fee deductions.
Left Xu mentioned that his account has now completed real-name authentication, and the bank has agreed to waive the fees. Currently, he is negotiating with the opening bank regarding fee refund and compensation matters.
Similarly, facing small account management fee deductions, Hawen Yan from Chongqing encountered fees after reactivating a dormant card.
Recently, as her husband needed to use the Agricultural Bank of China savings card for provident fund loans, they reactivated a bank card that had been inactive for over ten years. However, after depositing 1000 yuan, the bank deducted 173.90 yuan as a small account management fee, along with a bank card annual fee from 2010 to 2011 amounting to 15 yuan.
She mentioned that the card was reactivated on July 10 this year, and the fees started being deducted on September 24 without prior notice from the bank about the impending deductions.
“Before card activation, bank staff did not inform us about the need to pay these fees, or else we wouldn’t have activated a bank card that had been dormant for over a decade, giving the bank a chance to deduct money,” Hawen Yan stated. She clarified that this card was not the only Agricultural Bank savings card in her husband’s name, and if informed beforehand about the fees, she would have chosen to reactivate a card with a shorter dormant period.
Customer service representatives from Agricultural Bank of China explained that they charge small account management fees for accounts with daily balances of less than 500 yuan, exempting sole accounts. For non-unique accounts, customers are not notified before the fee deductions but are sent a text message after debiting the amount. For reactivated bank cards, customers are required to pay the relevant fees.
Despite small account management fees being collected for over a decade, discussions on these fees persist.