sick of banks..... my rant

[Monster8V]

Ive had issues in the past with Bank of America. Stupid shit. They have held direct deposit funds from my employer (they didnt previously with the same employers direct deposit) which made me bounce checks ive written so they can charge me $30 each in bounced check fees X 7 checks. I went to war in that bank over that shit. So after fighting with them, they finally did the right thing and credited my account.

Then there was the whole $5,000 check last year that I deposited in the ATM. Something was wrong with the check and it needed to be returned to me. Apparently there is a program where returned checks go to LA first before being shipped to the owner. Somehow it was lost in the mail. They blamed the USPS. I blamed THEM for using the USPS. I had to have a stop payment on that check and have them cut me a new one. Major PITA.

Now I deposited a sizable check last week. My account online shows its there but the "Funds available" is only a grand or so. AND, they sent me an email:

We detected irregular activity on your Bank of America Check Card on 03/30/2008. For your protection, you must verify this activity before you can continue using your card.

Then they give me a number to call. So I call.

Typical recording, push 1 then push 1 then push 2, then enter the account number, then more numbers bullshit. I finally get to hear my account info which shows my purchase of fuel today for the truck. Then it says I need to talk to a representative. Fine, I wait some more.

I get a girl on the phone asking me what she can do for me. I shrug and say, I dunno, im trying to find out about some irregular activity on my card that you sent me an email about. Keeping in mind that a month ago my grandmother died. Sudden plant ticket purchase, hotel, casket, flowers, food, and other eroneous purchases SHOULD have possibly put up some sort of flag on the whole irregular activity thing, right? No, nothing. Not til today that is. I bought fucking GAS.

So now she too wants to verify all my info. I give her all the info she asks. ALOT of info too. So much so im getting leery that this is not a legit number even tho its from MY BANKS WEBSITE. She then asks me if I have direct deposit. I say yes. ODDLY, she asks me how much the last one was? Like anyone knows the exact ammount of the last 2 direct deposits they have off the cuff?? I happened to have the acount open and I was looking at it so I tell her the numbers. She then tells me I have to go to my bank with 2 forms of ID so they can verify who i am and discuss the account with me.

"Is there anything else I can help you with" she says? You havent done shit for me up til now but lets give it a shot, shall we?

Why are you holding my funds that cleared on thursday? It says on my account the check I deposited cleared, yet my account shows I have a much lower ammount available to me. WHY?

Blah blah blah theres a hold on your account.

Ok, so so thanks for wasting my time!

So, Monday im going to the bank and will close my accounts. WaMu is next on my quest for a bank worth a shit.

[JETTAone420]

fuck banks!
same shit happend to me at wellsfargo!!
i had 6$ in my account(yea yea stfu shawn...) and i had a payment that was supposed to go thru. so i called the 800# and explained the situation and she said that no payments get processed until midnite that day. so i according to her as long as the check was in by mindinite i was good. well same day i got paid so i rushed to the atm (since the branch was closed) to deposit my check before midnite like the lady on the phone stated. well i deposited. and on the recipt it showed that the automatic withdrawl hadnt gone through yet. so i was like whew! anyways i went home and when i looked at my acct online it showed that they infact did take the payment out and that i got charged overdraft on it. well it was the weekend and i had to wait till monday.

so i did, when i went to the branch to discuss it i started uprising the voice ya nkow? well so they called the manager over i showed her my recipt and she said that everything has to be posted by 5pm??? i was like wtf i called the 800 wells fargo number and they said its by midnite so blah blah she went and i started gettin irritataed and started holding back the vulgars lol then the security gaurd started walkin towards the desk and just watched me lol like my 140lbs ass was gonna do anything haha. anyways i said fuck this place and i walked out.......so is WAMU any good? i really wanna change banks

[Monster8V]

Ive heard good things from WaMu customers so far. She used to bank at Wells Fargo. I banked there many years ago and they fee'd me to death! Thats when I went to B of A.

Ill try them.

[karl]

wow...many stories like this make me glad i dont bank with these major ones. i bank with citizens business bank, you might want to consider a smaller bank. ive banked with them almost 15 years.

[Streamline]

I closed my account with BofA a LONG time ago because of this exact shit they would do to me.

I openened up my new accounts with a credit union. So far, so good.

Good luck with WaMu that was my first, non-credit union choice.

[EDM]

I have been with Wells Fargo for about 14 yrs now and have never had a problem.

[Nefarious]

I have NEVER heard anything good about BofA.

I had good luck with WaMu but got tired of managing multiple accounts/morgtages/loans/credit cards at different banks and closed everthing except my Navy Federal CU accounts and transfered all my other loans over so I can't comment on WaMu's business practices over the last 2yrs.

[mobbin6]

Wow, that sucks. I had the same situation about my payroll check being held. I started using my card and everytime I used it, I was charged an overdraft fee of $33! As soon as I noticed, I went to the bank, and they reversed everything right then. I've always banked with wells fargo and have never had any serious problems. But then again, I have friends at the bank and If I didn't, then I could see what problems could rise.

My sister used to work at a bank for many years, and one piece of advice she always gave me was: Always deposit your checks in person, never through an atm, never through direct deposit.

[v2rocket]

i'm with sdccu pretty happy with them.

but when i need a bank WaMu is definitely my choice for non-credit union type stuff.

[thefiercewaffle]

Yeah man I feel your pain haha that's why I switched from BofA! I work for Wells Fargo now but I've been banking with them for a while... a little word of advice, the phone bank people are pretty useless most of the time, the people with all the correct info are the branch staff. As far as all the 5PM time bullshit, it's only true if you don't deposit your funds over the counter. The good thing about Wells is that they don't hold every single check you ever put in like some of the other banks do... the tellers are nice people! Give them some job security!!!

[sdsilverm3]

BofA will sometimes place a hold on certain deposits if the total amount is more than your average daily balance, even if they are from certified funds. Sometimes up to 10 business days. :tdown:

I went through a similar situation a while back. Deposited a large amount and figured shit would clear within a few days like it always does. Fucking bastards, two weeks and it was still on hold. I wrote a check to my dad after the first week thinking I would be okay and it came back with insufficient funds. FUCK THAT! :bs:

They at least credited one of our accounts the insufficient funds fee but one of us got left hangin with the fees, don't remember if it was me or dad.

No offense to the poster above me but Wells Fargo was by far my worst banking experience.

[g60racer]

Wells Fargo is the devil. They screwed me over multiple times, for the same type of crap mentioned here. Customer is always wrong mentality.

Been using credit unions ever since, and have been very happy with the level of customer service.

[DTolo]

Have had WaMu for about 4 years now... I don't have a single complaint.

Wells Fargo.. had problems
BofA... had problems

[NaKoRuRu]

well... all banks have their problems... you only hear about the bad stuff... but nobody ever comes online and says " hey just wanted to let you know X bank is doing a good job for me..."

with that said... BoA customer since 2001... Not 1 single problem :)

[madisonry]

I'm so glad I've been with a North Island Credit Union since I first opened a "junior bank account" in middle school. I've never, ever had a fee or any problems.

[zRockstar]

Banks suck. Credit Unions are where it's at. You should switch to a credit union, usually no bullshit and better rates on loans.

[creanium]

Make sure when you close your account at B of A, it is CLOSED. Sometimes they'll mysteriously reopen if you have an automatic payment go against your account or check card, and then charge you NSF fees.

You can give Mission Fed a shot if you're looking for a CU, I know people who have been happy with them.

But for what it's worth, I've been happy with WaMu the last three years.

[madajb]

My policy has always been if it's over about $50, it goes to a person, not a machine.

Also, and you can call me paranoid, but I never have all of my money in one bank.
Currently, I'm using 1 bank, 1 credit union, and an online bank to store funds for different purposes.

-ajb

[CALL AAA]

Sudden plant ticket purchase, hotel, casket, flowers, food, and other eroneous purchases SHOULD have possibly put up some sort of flag on the whole irregular activity thing, right? No, nothing. Not til today that is. I bought fucking GAS.



Sorry, I had to laugh when I read this. Although it's good that it happened later, and not while you were tryinig to take care of a funeral. That would have been crappy timing.

And speaking of BofA, you reminded me that I have to activate my government credit card. The card I fought against getting for years. The card with the account held by...gulp...Bank of America. I can only imagin how much could go wrong with this. And of course, one little thing goes wrong, and my command will know before I do. Good times.

My in-laws use BofA for either their personal account or their company's account. Twice they either got someone else's check in their (personal or company) account or their check went into someone else's account. More good times.

[GTi_01]

been a wamu cust since 2002 and no complaints. my g/f and her mom had b of a and had multiple problems. they both went to wamu now with no problems.

i'm thinking of going back to reopen the credit union account i had back in 2003 just to have as a savings account. since is far for me to drive to, then i wouldnt be tempted to transfer funds to a checking account :o

[idrivea2002golf]

you know what sucks... i had a good response for you to read and the forum server crashed.

anyway in a nutshell it said that BfoA sucks. and Wamu isn't any better. they play the same games and scams as BofA. The customer service... well doesn't exist and you have to fight over every little thing.

do yourself a small favor and look into First Republic. They are a small Cali based bank that has little overhead due to the fact they do most transactions either online or by mail. They reimburse ATM surcharges so you can use anyones ATM and they don't' have to install their own. If you have direct deposit that's easy, if you take checks they have a machine that hooks up to your computer and you deposit the checks online from you home. The service is fantastic and the people are always willing to work with you. Take this into consideration, at 23 i have my own personal banker that i can call up directly if ever there is a problem or a question.

[protijy337]

when I was in boston, bank of boston got bought by bank of america and it all went to hell...

I kept the accnt till I moved out here and dropped then like a bad habit!

BofA SUCKS!