Decline my debit card, please

Should bank customers keep better track of their balances so they don't spend more than they have? Of course. But everyone makes mistakes, and the penalty for doing so shouldn't be two or three or four times the amount of the overdraft.

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And banks definitely shouldn't make an overdraft more likely by adding the amount of bounce protection to the balance you see at the ATM.

You can fight back in the following ways:

Sign up for real overdraft protection. Having your checking account linked to another account -- savings, credit card or line of credit -- is a much cheaper than submitting to bounce protection. True overdraft protection typically costs $10 to $50 a year, plus a small fee or interest charges if you incur an overdraft. Read "Never pay another bounced-check fee" for other tips on avoiding overdrafts.

See whether you can turn off "courtesy overdraft." If your credit is bad and your bank doesn't offer overdraft protection linked to a savings account, you may not be able to qualify for true protection. If that's the case, see whether your bank will let you opt out of bounce protection or switch to an account that doesn't include it.

Wells Fargo, for example, offers "Opportunity Checking," an account "that is specially designed for customers who have been unable to open a checking account due to their prior credit or banking history," said Julia Tunis, a Wells Fargo spokeswoman. "Opportunity Checking limits a customer's likelihood of incurring overdrafts by declining debit card and ATM transactions in excess of available balance."

You can also switch banks.

Set up alerts. Many banks' Web sites allow you to set up e-mail or text alerts that will notify you if your balance falls below a certain dollar amount. That can give you enough time to transfer money from your savings account or hold off on future transactions to avoid overdrafts.

Complain to lawmakers and regulators. The Consumer Overdraft Fair Practices Act was introduced in Congress in 2007, but never became law. To urge that the legislation be reconsidered by the new Congress, contact your representative in Washington. You can find the member of the House for your district here. To contact your senators, use the by-state search at the top of the Senate home page, then follow the contact link to the respective e-mail form page.

If you feel you've been victimized by bank bounce-fee policies, you can find the appropriate state or federal agency to contact here.

Liz Pulliam Weston is the Web's most-read personal-finance writer. She is the author of several books, most recently "Your Credit Score: Your Money & What's at Stake." Weston's award-winning columns appear every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions on the Your Money message board.

Updated April 9, 2009

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