Still, a totally free account, with no outstanding checks, and a .01 cent balance should not incur any charges to drop the balance into negative territory

This reminds me of the other side of the coin. Not corporate greed but corporate waste and idiocy.  I closed out an account at a well known national bank about a year ago.  Even though I tried to get my balance to absolutely zero with my last check, some interest kicked in and I had a .01 cent balance.  I told them, don't bother, keep the penny....... but noooooo.

They send me a cashiers check for one cent!!!   Think of the cost for printing this one cent check, the mailing cost, the envelope, the people who processed the check at the bank, the post office personnel who were paid to deliver the one cent check to me then if I actually cashed it the Bank personnel who's time it took to cash, and the bank processing cost and personnel to process. It must have cost ultimately at least two hundred dollars to get me my .01 cent.  It is ludicrous.

I have the check framed on a wall in my office and point it out to my clients when I want to make a point about how much waste we have in our society and how companies can be huge, but ultimately it may the little things that bring them down.