The most infamous fees of 2011 were some that had targeted millions -- but that few people actually ended up paying.

After Congress limited how much banks could charge merchants in transaction, or "swipe," fees to accept plastic, several banks announced plans to begin charging their customers monthly fees to use their debit cards. The banks said they were forced to do so to make up the revenue lost to the new caps. (Banks had been charging an average of 44 cents per transaction, although a Federal Reserve survey suggested their actual cost averaged 13 cents. The fees are now capped at 21 cents.)

The backlash to the proposed debit card fees was immediate and fierce. Politicians and pundits criticized the banks for being tone-deaf. A $4 or $5 monthly fee might not seem like much to a well-paid bank executive, but it was significant to a customer base struggling with high unemployment, a bad economy and a lingering resentment over multibillion-dollar bank bailouts.

Kelly Weston