Hunt for the hidden charges on a basic savings account

A bank publishes its charges, but in a long schedule written for lawyers. The real question is: on this one savings account, which charges exist, what triggers each one, and which of them a student could actually run into without noticing.

• Which one bank and which one savings account will you study, so you are not mixing two schedules?
• Is the schedule of charges you found the current one, and does it say which account types it covers?
• What does a student's normal month look like: how often do they withdraw cash, use another bank's ATM or let the balance run low?
• How will you decide which three charges get a star: by how likely they are, or by how much they would hurt?

A one-page table with every charge named exactly as the bank names it, the event that triggers it in plain words, and a short note on when a student could meet it, with three charges starred and a line saying why.

Copying a generic list of 'common bank charges' from an article instead of reading this bank's own schedule. Your table must match the document you opened, line by line.

• The bank's public schedule of service charges, saved as a file or copied text, with the date you saved it
• The product page for the savings account you chose, for its balance rules and features
• A rough note of your own or a friend's usual monthly banking habits, with no account details

AI must not add charges, amounts or conditions that are not in the bank's document. If the schedule is unclear about a charge, write 'unclear in the schedule' rather than letting AI guess what the bank means.

1. 3.1 List every charge from the scheduleGOOGLE SHEETS

   Why this tool: A simple sheet keeps the bank's exact wording in one column and your plain version beside it.

   Go through the schedule yourself and make one row per charge: its exact name, the bank's wording, and the account it applies to. Do this before asking AI anything, so you know the full list.

2. 3.2 Turn each charge into one plain sentenceCLAUDE CHAT

   Why this tool: Claude is good at simplifying dense wording, and you can check each line against the original beside it.

   Paste the wording of a few charges at a time. Put Claude's plain version in a new column, then compare it with the original and fix anything it softened or changed.

   Prompt to copy · fill in the [brackets]Copy

   Below is wording copied from a bank's schedule of charges for a savings account:
   [paste the wording of three to five charges]
   For each charge, write one plain sentence saying what event triggers it. Use only what the text says. If the text is unclear or depends on a condition it does not explain, say 'unclear' instead of guessing.

3. 3.3 Match charges to a student's monthCLAUDE CHAT

   Why this tool: Talking through a real month helps you spot charges that look rare but are easy to trigger.

   Describe a normal student month and ask Claude which of your listed charges that month could trigger. Decide your three stars yourself.

   Prompt to copy · fill in the [brackets]Copy

   Here is my list of charges on one savings account, in plain words:
   [paste your plain-words column]
   A student's usual month looks like this: [describe habits in two lines]. Which of these charges could that month trigger, and what exactly would cause each one? Ask me two questions about the habits if you need more detail. Do not add charges that are not on my list.

• Every row matches a line in the bank's schedule, with nothing added from memory
• Each plain sentence says the same thing as the original, including any condition such as 'per quarter' or 'beyond a free limit'
• The schedule you used is the current one and covers this account type
• Your three starred charges come with a reason a reader can follow
• Open every source the AI cites and confirm it says what the AI claims
• Mark each sentence as a source fact or your own conclusion

AI often simplifies by dropping the condition, so 'charged if the average balance falls below the required level for the quarter' becomes 'charged for low balance'. That changes when it hits.

• A table of every charge with the bank's name for it
• A plain-words trigger for each charge
• Three starred charges with a reason
• The bank, account and date of the schedule stated at the top

One page: a short line naming the bank, account and schedule date, then the table with the starred rows highlighted, then a two-line note on how to avoid the starred ones.

Say which charge surprised you most, and how reading the original wording changed what you first thought it meant.