fees. an illinois mother says her son s bank charged him $200 after he let the account drought to near zero. the small balance triggered a wave of fees. and she says bank officials refused to close the account until she paid the fees. gerri, you cannot let the balance get real low because then there are all kinds of charters, overdraft, and this is not new information. gerri: but it really stunned this kid. this kid, his mom wanted him to learn about money so he got a checking account. the balance fell to $4.85. right? so that triggers the positively fee because now he is below the limit you are supposed to have to have free checking and he is stung by a $9.95 monthly fee, and that makes the balance negative. and then that means you have overdraft fees. $28 a day. each and every day.