Melinda Ganziano of McCullom Lake, Ill., wanted to introduce her son to the basics of banking, but he ended up with $229 in fees in two weeks with a balance of just $4.85.

Ganziano, a 55-year-old mother of five children, encouraged her fourth child, Daniel, 18, to set up a savings account at a nearby TCF Bank “out of convenience” due to its location.

Ganziano and her son discovered that the bank offered little convenience due to the growing number of bank fees, as first reported by the Chicago Tribune.

After he put money into the savings accont from his job, Daniel Ganziano’s balance eventually fell to $4.85 and with such a small amount, he ignored it.

However, TCF sent him a letter on Oct. 12 informing him that it had charged him a $9.95 monthly maintenance fee six days earlier because the account had a low balance. That led to an overdrawn account by $5.10, which then led to a $28-a-day overdraft fee. The account was 10 cents over the $5 threshold for which the daily fee kicks in. Young Ganziano’s account was now overdrawn by $33.10.

Ganziano, who works in the nonprofit sector, and her son went to the bank that weekend to close his account, the Tribune reported. But they first had to pay the accumulated fees, which totaled $229.10.

Ganziano said her older son learned “banks are not the way they used to be.”

“You have to check them out really well,” she said.

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Some things you should consider when selecting a bank:

- what types of fees are charged? how much are they?

- what is the minimum balance needed to avoid monthly fees?

- do they have on-line banking? what can you do on-line?

- do you get a debit card? can you get a credit card?