Bank robs customer: a cautionary tale

Americans spend billions of dollars in bank fees every year, and at least one customer, Judith Tremblay, is a little irritated about it. She has good reason. She's been stewing over and trying to fix what she feels is an injustice for over a year now.

Tremblay, 43, had been a customer at Citizens Bank for 12 years when she noticed a monthly fee on her and her husband's bank statement. She asked her spouse about it, and he replied that he assumed it was a standard charge that they had to pay. After all, it was there every month.

Curious, Tremblay called the branch near her Salem, New Hampshire home and learned that the $17.50 monthly fee was an error. Because they had something called Circle Gold Checking, the Tremblays were supposed to be exempt from the fee. But instead, the $17.50 had gone unnoticed.

When Tremblay asked for her money to be returned, she learned that she could, indeed, get a refund -- but only for the last three months: $52.50.