Report: Bank of America Dropping $5 Debit Fee After All

According to a report from the Associated Press, public backlash has forced Bank of America to no longer seek its plan to charge a $5 debit card fee to cardholders.

In October, Bank of America announced a $5 monthly charge for its debit card users.

At the time, Bank of America spokeswoman Anne Pace told the Huffington Post that other banks were testing similar fees and that Regents and SunTrust are also hiking charges.

But according to the AP report, Chase and Wells Fargo said they were also trashing tests of similar fees.

The proposed fee grew the ire of Bolingbrook residents when Bolingbrook Patch .

"I would go back to writing checks. Merchants such as Jewel are not going to like this as it cost them more to process as well as the banks. Bank of American is making a mistake with the large $5 fee," said , a Bolingbrook Patch reader. "I would have started with a small $2 fee, let it sink in a few years and hike it slowly. Bad marketing."

"I would complain if I was a BOA customer," said , another Bolingbroo Patch reader. "This also reminds me of the baggage and change fees charged by various airlines (except Southwest). Southwest ads are hilarious and I have used SW for all my air travel because they don't nickel and dime you and they are the best for service and are reasonable on fares. I think the marketplace will sort this out and Dick Durbin stating on the floor of the Senate that BOA customers should leave them made me break out laughing since he caused all this with the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd Frank Bill."

According to the New York Times, Pace declined to say whether Bank of America's announcement of the new debit card fee had led to a spike in account closures. She said the decision to scrap the fee was based partly on a "changing competitive marketplace."

Bank of America has three locations in Bolingbrook:

•  at 700 E. Boughton Rd.
•  at 190 S. Weber Rd. 
•  at 111 Lily Cache Ln.

To read the AP report, click HERE.