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California Watch’s Erica Perez reports that a new Los Angeles Community College District student identification card has been the subject of complaints.

The nine-college district, which includes Harbor College in Wilmington, in February signed on with a Connecticut-based company that has linked bank accounts to every student’s financial aid package, Perez reports in a blog item posted Friday.

The colleges gave out more than $117 million in student financial aid last year, Perez reported.

The cards let students more easily access excess financial aid funds that can be used for books and other expenses. Rather than waiting for a paper rebate check, students can use the ID cards as a sort of debit card.

But they’re finding that each time they try to use the debit function, they’re charged 50 cents. (Selecting “credit” at the checkout counter prevents this.)

It’s all in the fine print of the card agreement, which is provided by Higher One Inc. The company, which works with hundreds of private and public colleges, has been the target of complaints, Perez says, adding that there are other Higher One charges of which students should be aware.

There are a few more fees L.A. community college students should look out for. An “abandoned account fee” charges students $19 per month if they go nine consecutive months without any activity. And using a non-Higher One ATM will cost $2.50 a pop. There is, however, at least one Higher One ATM at each campus.

Don Smith, apparently a representative of the company, commented on Perez’s post. He wrote in part, “[W]e believe that our customers pay less than half the amount in fees that the average bank checking account customer pays per year.”

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