BOSTON – FleetBoston Financial, the nation’s seventh-largest bank, is reducing some ATM and checking account fees in a bid to improve its poor reputation for customer service.

Fleet spokesman James Mahoney said Thursday the bank has stopped charging 50 cents for check and ATM transactions beyond a certain number, varying by account, each month.

The bank also has stopped charging $2 to people who call a customer service line more than four times per month.

“The primary purpose is to make it easier to do business with Fleet, and to avoid some of the transaction fees we were receiving negative feedback from customers about,” Mahoney said.

Speaking at last month’s annual meeting, company executives announced plans to shift the company’s focus away from acquisitions and toward improving customer relations. A Consumer Reports survey last year found that Fleet had one of the lowest levels of customer satisfaction of any leading bank.