• clarkhelpsmatthew@yahoo.com - tell us how much you've withdrawn from BOA

Clark talked recently about a Wall Street Journal story he’d read stating that the college people attend has little to do with their success in the future. The story said the two things that matter most are that people get a degree and have the drive needed to succeed. Well, some folks got offended by the report and Clark’s agreement with it. Basically, people said that if you’re going into a profession, such as a medical doctor, the school name matters quite a bit. Attorneys also say the better the school, the more successful their careers are. So, for entrepreneurs it may not matter. But Clark defers to professionals when it comes to their degrees.

Americans spend billions of dollars a year on ATM junk fees. First, people are charged by the machine they choose and again by their own bank. It’s led to a clash between big banks and smaller banks and credit unions. Big banks have the advantage because they have ATMs and branches all over towns, making it very convenient for customers. Smaller banks and credit unions don’t have many branches so people are forced to use other ATM machines and incur fees. But things are looking up in that department for people banking with smaller institutions. Some are starting to offer free withdrawals at any ATM. Or, if you are charged, the small bank or credit union will pay you back. If you are a member of a small bank, ask if there is a “fee-free” option. And keep an eye out for mailings, telling you more about the offering.

By now, you’ve probably heard the story of the San Francisco man who was arrested and jailed when he tried to verify the validity of a check at Bank of America branch. Clark found out about this story recently and today talked with the man, Matthew Shinnick, who spent about $14,000 in legal fees to clear his name. It all started when Shinnick posted two bicycles for sale on Cragislist and received a check from a man for more than the cost of the bicycles. He went into a BOA branch to see if the check was legitimate and verify that there was money in the person’s account. The check was drawn on a BOA account. The teller told him it was a valid account, so he cashed the check. At that point, BOA employees called police and Shinnick was arrested on fraud charges because the check was actually fraudulent. Matthew had no idea that the real criminal had used the name of a legitimate company to fake a check. So, Matthew sat in the bank branch for hours while police figured out what to do with him. Then, they took him to jail where he spent the night. Once he got out and a judge let him go, he had to clear his name legally so the arrest would not come back to haunt him. He had to hire attorneys to do this and it cost him nearly $14,000. He then went to Bank of America and asked that the bank cover his fees because it was the bank’s error. But BOA turned him down. This kind of treatment sends the message that banks only care about their bottom line, not about their customers. It's unacceptable and Clark thinks it's time to fight back.

Wal-Mart has started a new prescription drug plan that is going to retool the entire industry. The company is now taking 291 popularly-prescribed generic medicines and charging just $4 a pop for them. That’s right. Just four dollars. Wal-Mart is going to start this in Tampa and, if it works, Wal-Mart will roll it out around the country in 2007. That goes for Sam’s Club stores, too. As it is now, generic drugs are sold at pharmacies at very high prices. They may not seem expensive but the mark-up is huge. So, Wal-Mart is taking a page out of the playbook of Costco, which only marks up generic prescriptions 14 percent. That is a lot less than most pharmacies. Wal-Mart’s move is going to blow the market wide open.

Clark got a phone call last night that every parent dreads. She was a passenger in a car that had been in an accident. That makes the second accident in two years, and thankfully she hasn’t been hurt in either of them. This time, the car she was in got hit on both sides when the teenager driving the car got distracted and ran a red light. The car was hit on one side by an SUV and the other side by a passenger car. For parents, knowing your kids are on the roads can be extremely unnerving. Clark would like to see radios and cell phones banned if the driver is below 20. Teenagers are so easily distracted that it’s just not safe to add these extras.