Banks retaliate over ATM fees

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO -- Bank of America will cut off access to its automated teller machines in San Francisco to everyone except its own account holders if it fails to overturn a city ordinance banning ATM surcharges.

Bank of America and Wells Fargo & Co. also said today they are cutting off access to ATMs in Santa Monica, where a ban on the ATM fees takes effect Thursday.

"No business should be expected to provide free service to noncustomers," said Gene Taylor, president of Bank of America's Western region.

The Santa Monica City Council voted last month to prohibit banks from charging noncustomers the typical $1 or $2 surcharge for ATM use, the first such ban in the nation to be enacted by a city government and part of a growing consumer backlash against the surcharges.

"We built our network of ATMs for our customers," Wells Fargo spokesman Larry Haeg said today. "It's a service we provide to them, and we believe that is only fair for noncustomers who want to take advantage of the convenience of the network to help support it."

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