Corporate thuggery

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In my country, a member of parliament has caused a stir amongst the population which has resulted from his insistence that legislation should be enacted to limit the banking sectors activities as it relates to imposing fees and penalties on its customers. The banking sector, in its resistance to this move, is arguing that it's a free market economy and the government should not interfere, but most citizens disagree with this notion because they see the banks actions as nothing more than corporate thuggery. The banks impose fees for cashing cheques, for withdrawing funds, for balance inquiry, and for issuing a statement, amongst a number of other fees, but most alarming penalty is the deduction from accounts that has been dormant for a certain period of time and also a penalty deduction if the balance in an account goes below a certain amount.The banks do not inform the customers of these penalties beforehand and they only become aware after the fees have been deducted. All fees are plus tax. One of the major concern is for those older folks and pensioners who may deposit funds leaving it for their "rainy day." Many of these folks do not save on a regular basis, and after depositing the funds, may not return to the bank for many months or even a number of years. They are devastated when they return to the bank and find that their balance had been significantly reduced or have been wiped out because of dormancy penalty. There is usually no alternative because there is mostly collusion amongst the banks in regards to the enacting of these fees and penalties, therefore, one will always see a similarity amongst the various entities in regards to these fees and penalties. It seems there should be good grounds for a lawsuit against these banks because they did not forewarn the customers of the penalties. The Central Bank has remained silent on this issue despite the outcry and one has to question their role has a regulator of the banking sector.