The brouhaha over Bank of America's $5 debit card fee has not gone away just yet.

The bank's customers continue to voice their displeasure, thought the big question remains: Will they ultimately punish the bank by voting with their feet?

An online spot poll from TheStreet.com has found that, out of 7,000 voters who participated, 83 percent said they were "sick of being nickeled and dimed" and would stop banking with what is the nation's largest bank by assets. Another 11 percent said they will seek to avoid the fee by using cash. Less than 5 percent said they would simply accept the fee because they were "too lazy to switch banks."

To be sure, you can debate the merits of such instant polls all day. It's doubtful one would readily admit that they were "lazy". And one could argue that people angry with the fee are going to be more likely to participate, which could skew results. As the reality of the fee sets in, the anger may well abate and more people will fall into the category of will-not-switch. Bank of America is betting on that.

Customers are as busy as ever these days, and it is not hard to envision more people simply paying the $5 a month, which is a couple of cups of coffee for a lot of people.  Whether Bank of America bet correctly that even the disgruntled will stick around will not be known for awhile. The fee does not kick in until next year. We'll see if the budding protest of the fee swells to Occupy Wall Street proportions or whether the CFPB decides to push the issue. 

For more:
- here's the article

Related articles:
Bank of America defends right to make a profit  
Bank of America defends fee, small banks see opportunity