Consumer Confidential: Debit card fees, cable conflicts, Classmates.com

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Here’s your whip-it Wednesday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

-- It seems strange to compliment a bank for simply doing the right thing, but props to Bank of America for its decision to do away with overdraft fees for debit cards. Beginning June 19 for new accounts and in August for everyone else, BofA will no longer slap customers with a fee of as much as $35 any time they use a debit card to purchase more than they can cover from their checking account. Instead, the bank will simply deny the transaction. This is a sensible and fair approach to such situations (and a solution I proposed weeks ago). But it’s pathetic that it took the threat of more regulation to make BofA do what it should have done in the first place.

-- As expected, cable and satellite companies have asked federal regulators to block broadcasters from pulling their programming amid contract disputes. There have been a number of such smack-downs in recent months, the most recent involving Cablevision and Disney bickering over how much the cable company should pay for Disney shows. The spat resulted in ABC’s New York affiliate going dark until 13 minutes into Sunday’s Oscars telecast (heavens!). Cable and satellite providers say that instead of shows going off the air, both sides should enter arbitration. OK, so programmers are being asked to give up their big stick. I’m a little fuzzy on what cable companies are giving up here.

-- Have you registered with Classmates.com, the social networking site that helps you track down people you knew when you had zits? A lawsuit has been filed alleging that the company has shared members’ personal information with third parties. The suit was filed in federal court in Seattle. It says Classmates.com sent out an e-mail announcing that it was ‘coming up with ways to let more people use Classmates from around the Internet without having to visit Classmates.com.’ To do this, according to the suit, the site planned to make information available on other sites and through smart-phone apps. I’m thinking that if your goal is to send out signal flares to former chums, this probably isn’t a bad thing. But privacy-minded folk may want to take notice.

-- David Lazarus