I signed up for Bank of America 's ( BoA ) free online checking XXXX years ago - {$0.00} fee checking account if I do not use the teller. Recently, without my consent, BoA automatically converted my account to a " Core '' account, which has a XXXX monthly maintenance fee associated with it. I only saw the change when I was reviewing my account statement, when the {$12.00} fee was automatically deducted from my balance. I was not aware of the change. BoA buried the change in one of their electronic notices, which they could not confirm that I received, much less read/understood. 

BoA 's policy preys on people who have low balance, and may not have the resources or understanding of their rights. If BoA no longer see that I 'm a profitable customer, it may be their right to cancel my account without my consent. But BoA does not have the right to charge me a fee without my consent and understanding. If banks are allow to do this, they can " bait and switch '' by signing customer up with attractive offer, and then change the policy without customer consent and knowledge to a high fee account. 

This case is different than low introductory APR credit cards in that, low introductory APR credit card disclose their rate hike after introductory period. In this case, BoA materially changed their policy without getting customer consent. BoA could have easily gotten the customer consent/understanding by displaying a simple message during an ATM transaction ( or other touchpoints ) and request customers to confirm understanding, or call their customers to notify. 
