Today I read that Bank of America is touting its decision to quit dunning customers with those overdraft fees. You know, the ones that multiply at warp-rabbit speed.

More good news: Soon your ATM will tell you when you’re about to step in a big, expensive pile of bank fee.

Bragging about this service is akin to taking pride in your decision to quit beating your kid. Bank of America, heroic you ain’t.

I should be at least somewhat relieved by this news. I’d been thinking that B of A had it in just for my friends and family. Hardly a month goes by that I don’t hear from someone that they’ve been caught in the maw of the bank machine. If it isn’t a hidden fee, it’s the game of float that means the bank manages to hang onto funds in ways that screw you and benefit them.

A friend told me earlier this week about a flock of $35 insufficient-funds charges that landed on her checking account after someone used her debit card. That’s how she discovered that the card had been hijacked; suddenly her checks for mortgage payment, car loan and babysitter were bouncing.

When she raced over to her local branch, she was told she had to call the Fraud Line. It was not possible to cancel the card in the actual bank. Right there she knew things were going to get a lot worse before they got better. She was right. In the end, she had to close the card AND eat $140 in charges. (The babysitter may someday forgive her for the fact that her rent check subsequently bounced as well.)

There is not a credit union in the land that treats customers like this. When they brag about a new service, it’s actually good news.