Once long ago, when my football buddy Lou Holtz was still in coaching, he arrived around midnight at the O'Hare Hilton and presented his tired self at the front desk. He explained he was worn-out and asked for the room that had been reserved in his name.

The clerk told Lou that he was sorry, that the hotel was already full. "You don't understand, I have a reservation," said Lou, to which the clerk coldly responded, "No, you're the one who doesn't understand ... I got the keys ... and you are not staying here tonight."

Well, as the future Hall of Fame football coach wearily bent to pick up his bags and find lodging elsewhere, he made the desk clerk a promise. "Alright, you win today, but I'll leave you with this; I make about 100 speeches and talks a year. I will now give you my pledge that for the next calendar year I'll tell every audience I address to never stay at the O'Hare Hilton!"

Lou kept that promise, much to the delight of laughing audiences spread from New York to San Francisco, and I thought about that yesterday when a SunTrust Bank just "got me" for $5.00. Within only a few short days, I'll figure a way to tell the world that the SunTrust Bank in Chattanooga, in my opinion, just stole some money that I had earned. I'll also suggest to everybody I know this might be a dandy time for them to start banking at a more respectable financial institution.

Let me explain: I am a writer and one of the publications where I peddle my verbiage uses SunTrust Bank as its revenue repository. On Tuesday, when I took one of their SunTrust checks to a local branch, the teller informed me that in order to cash a SunTrust check written by that publishing company, she would charge me a $5.00 "check-cashing fee" since I had no account with SunTrust.

"No, ma'am, you misunderstand," I responded. "The check is a SunTrust check. I'm just the ‘payee.’" The teller, who I'll admit was suddenly a pawn for my anger and only just trying to do her job, told me that, no, I was the one who misunderstood. But, she offered an "out;" if I wanted to open an account, there would be no fee in the future. Are you kidding me, who wants to be forced to deal with a bank such as SunTrust? I'll never go in another one again.

A few minutes later, at the gas station, I was told that SunTrust regularly bilks "the working man" with the $5.00 check-cashing fee. I was also informed, in my informal poll at the pumps, that it makes no difference if an employer issues payroll checks in good faith, the workers are then nicked in the teller's line, each taking the $5.00 lick on the chin off the other end of the transaction.

Several days ago it was reported by the Associated Press that the chairman and CEO of SunTrust Bank, some Atlanta magnate named James M. Wells III, was paid "about $5.9 million last year," this after the bank reported losing $1.73 billion, or $3.98 per share, for 2009, compared with a profit of $741 million, or $2.12 per share, in 2008.

Well, I recognize that "Jimmy the Third" could care less about a non-customer’s plight and is obviously only interested in increasing the number of $5.00 "fees" but, my goodness, how long do hard-working people have to endure such flagrant fleecing? Is that what banking is now about, “Jimmy the Third” tacking down almost $6 million while people like myself get nicked?

As I am still formulating my "get even" plan and just beginning my search for contact information for each of the U.S. Senators who muscled the $710 billion bailout for our beleaguered financial institutions, it dawns on me that many of the South's employers, those who unfortunately have commercial accounts at SunTrust, surely have no idea the bank is "double dipping," getting a sizable fee up front for the company to process the company checks, but coldly adding insult to injury by nicking each employee as well at every payday.

I don't know whether other area banks are in on the shameful practice, but no other bank in town has ever done me wrong. As far as I'm concerned, my fight is focused on behalf of many others, especially the less fortunate who don't have accounts with SunTrust. Banks talk a lot about "principal" ... well, this is also about "principle." It's wrong, pure and simple, to gouge both ends of a transaction, again this in my opinion.

I am now telling any of my clients and friends that I will no longer accept a SunTrust check for my services. They, in turn, may tell me to go jump in the lake, to swim among hungry predators (wouldn't that be ironic?), but I'll take "The Lou Holtz Pledge" on this one and wherever I go, wherever I can, I'll urge people to please not bank at SunTrust. Why? This isn’t the way you treat people.

People have a choice where they bank. There are many really good banks within an easy reach that have been nice to me. So if you know "Jimmy the Third" in Atlanta, you might send word that when his tellers nick people like me for $5 to cash a SunTrust check, that's neither honest nor honorable. But tell him not to worry, I'll soon figure a way to get my money's worth.

royexum@aol.com