Angry with my bank policies... rant

[DammitJanet]

I use a credit union and I find this awful. I could almost imagine this if you were depositing a check that was from some odd or weird source like an internet scam check but a payroll check from a known company? No way.

My CU puts cash into my account immediately, checks in if I get them in before 2, and they are available the next morning if I get them in after 2. I have never deposited something over 5K though so I dont know about that...lol.

 

[Suz]

I don't know how your cu works but in my day I received a report every morning that listed overdrafts. It was at that point that I reviewed everyone who was on the list and made the decision of whether to pay or return. We also called everyone on the list at that point, especially if it was a longterm client. Shame on them for not extending that courtesy to you.

Good luck!

Suz

 

[donna723]

I haven't had a returned check in a long, long time but back when I was still married to the most financially irresponsible person on the face of the earth, he had plenty! But when something was returned, they always sent a little notice in the mail ... I used to dread seeing those thin little white envelopes in the mail box! I have overdraft protection on my checking account now for if I ever make a mistake. They still charge the fee but they pay the check instead of returning it. Hopefully I won't ever have to use it. It's been much easier to keep up with my account now that I can access it online. My paycheck is on direct deposit and on pay day it shows that amount as 'pending', but still, if a check comes in they pay it and if I wanted to go in and draw the whole amount out that same day, I could.

I don't know if this is automatic or whether our tiny little bank has different policies for different people. I have used this bank for many, many years, they all know me there, and they know that twice a month I have a government paycheck coming in on direct deposit.

 

[witzend]

Call and speak to a manager. Tell them you are planning to close your account. They are generally willing to work with you on this stuff.

 

[DaisyFace]

GCVMom--

If you are paying those kinds of fees and have to put up with that kind of aggravation, then, in my humble opinion you do NOT have "Free" checking...

Not sure where you are located, but if you are anywhere near the SE I would recommend my bank. Not only do they offer totally free checking with no minimum balance....but they waive the fee the first time you overdraft. (I didn't even know that this was their policy until a math error put me overdrawn by a few dollars and they sent me a letter explaining that they covered the check and waived the fee.)

PM if you'd like....

--DaisyFace

 

[DazedandConfused]

Re: Threatening to take your business elsewhere can sometimes work, but having been on the other side, letting them know exactly how much money you will be depositing over a month and then projecting what you will be depositing over a year can have a much more powerful effect.

Years and years ago (pre difficult children) I was treated horribly by a grocery store manager. I don't remember what exactly happened, but I do remember just how rude and condescending he was towards me. So, what to do? He's the manager and who do I call on that? To complicate it even more, a close family member worked at the store. I didn't want to go to her, he was her boss.

So, I decided to write to the CEO of this major supermarket chain and describe in detail how I was treated. I even related the dialog we had and it was even more disgusting on paper. Then, I estimated what I spend in a typical month and then multiplied that number by twelve. It was thousands of dollars! Then, I totaled up five years worth! We're talking major dough. My theory in going right to the top people is that they will hand it off to the right subordinate and instruct them to get it handled, pronto.

I send it off certified and moved on. A couple of weeks later I get a letter from VP in customer service apologizing, blah, blah, blah and an enclosed gift certificate (before gift cards) for 50 dollars in free groceries. Okay, so I decide to continue to shop there, but am ready to do a verbal smack-down on manager if he decides to get out of line again. Plus, there's the family member to consider.

Fast forward about a year or two later, I'm not sure exactly how much time has passed. I'm at a family get together and somehow the topic of shopping and rude clerks is brought up. The family member that works at the store is a part of the conversation and I decide that it is safe to share my story of what happened with that manager. Well, her jaw DROPPED! "OMG! YOU wrote THAT letter?!?!" "Uh oh", I'm thinking, but say, "Yes, why?" Apparently, a group of corporate big wigs came out and just about "served" him that letter. The news of my letter spread like a wildfire in October throughout the entire staff of employees. "He nearly got fired over that letter!" she exclaimed. Further, she said, "He's been walking on eggshells since then!". "Oh really?", I replied, "Guess he should have picked someone else to be condescending and rude to".

 

[gcvmom]

Thanks DF, but I'm on the west coast.

I did find a credit union in my county that looks appealing. Although they do not rebate ATM fees worldwide like my current cu, they have fee-free ATMs in nearly every 7-11, Costco and some CVS stores in the region. That's pretty darn convenient. And the checking account is free with auto-deposit, which we typically do anyway. I don't really care about interest checking because rates are so dismally low right now it's pretty much a moot point. So we'll see how my current cu responds to my letter and then they may be getting the heave-ho later this month.

 

[gcvmom]

Dazed, I'm sure they can look up my account history and see just how much cash flows through them. With husband's severance plus his payroll and bonuses this year alone, not to mention tax refunds... it's nothing to sneeze at.

 

[emotionallybankrupt]

A strategy I started using several months ago is to use my HELOC as my primary checking account. I'd heard this worked to the customer's advantage, and the response when I called the bank to inquire was very interesting....

"Wouldn't that lower my monthly interest accrued on that account since it would lower the average daily debt?".... "Well, yes ma'am, but not by that much."

"Well wouldn't my savings be more than the few cents I'm earning a month on my checking account?" ... "Well, yes ma'am, but you have the convenience of the checks with your checking account."

"But sir, the bank has already sent me a supply of checks for the HELOC. Don't they work just the same?".... [pause] "Well, yes, but then there's your debit/atm card..."

"Can't you send me one for the HELOC?" ... [longer pause] "Yes, I guess that would work."

"So is there anything my checking account does for me that the HELOC can't do?" ... "Well, I guess not, but you have an excellent interest rate, and you won't save much from month to month."

"Ok, thanks," I replied, finally satisfied there seemed to be no holes in my plan.

For about the past six months, I have immediately transfered every paycheck from my checking account to my HELOC, and then I pay bills from there (usually with online bill pay--also available from the HELOC just like from any checking account)--lowering my net monthly interest paid while at the same time giving me built-in, FREE overdraft protection. I also like not having to worry about messing up and forgetting a HELOC payment. I've had no trouble with scheduled online payments from the HELOC, same as other accounts. The ONLY inconvenience at all that I've found is that most bank tellers are initially confused when I go in to make a deposit to the HELOC, if some entity has paid me with a check that I want to deposit. Traditional deposit forms don't work, since it is technically a payment to a credit account. They get help from a more experienced employee and get it done, though.

I've kept my checking account active as the landing point for my auto deposit paychecks, so that I keep both doors open, but so far I've found no glitch in the system. I've been consistently transferring the money online to the HELOC within 24-48 hours after it hits the checking account.

The guy was right that I'm not saving much more than would pay for a happy meal, but it sure is more than the 2-11 cents I'd been earning on the checking account!

Anybody else ever done this? Or...does anybody see a disadvantage I've not found yet?

 

[susiestar]

I have an uncle who has done that with the HELOC for over a decade. He has managed, while being retired, to bank almost double what he earned, with overtime, at his job with a major company. It can be a smart way to handle your funds.

And Happy Meals are NOT that cheap!

Our credit union for some reason gave my bro HUGE amounts of grief over cashing checks from his client's accounts. He does home repairs and tree trimming and sometimes the checks don't clear. He was ending up with over $100 in NSF fees per client check that bounced because the bank kept re-submitting them with-o ever contacting him. He was charged for having it bounce and for resubmitting it sometiems 3 times before anything posted in his account!

So he would go in and give a thumb print to cash it and then deposit the cash. The bank manager finally put a note on the account that he could not do this. I don't know if he had a lot of the checks that bounced or what. Could have been that he is often condescending and rude (in my opinion). Esp when it comes Occupational Therapist (OT) finances he gets this pretend-patient "I am talking with a retard" tone of voice that is highly offensive.

He cannot see that HIS behavior plays any role though. Another bank was more than happy to offer him a no fees account though, and to cash his client checks off of their accounts.

You often have to use hoovers online to learn who the top officers in a company are. CEO, COO, CFO pretty much any of these will usually handle things. AT&T's CEO is a nice guy. He has been horrified with the way our internet has been handled. We are in the country and a couple of times they have just turned it off for the whole street for a couple fo days. Once because the developer didn't pay for something. We were with-o internet for over 2 weeks total. It cannot be turned on in 1 day. They system seems to need a week to get it turned all the way off to be able to turn it on again. Makes NO sense to the CEO. I actually spoke to him. Said it was a problem with a kid. They thought it was HIS kid. It was MY kid. School project we couldn't do even with a paid up account.

 

[Shari]

I'm not sure how it works when you deposit thru the atm, but something similar happened to me, and since they didn't inform me that the check I deposited was being held, the bank was liable for all charges incurred. Including some return check fees at business because they didn't pay some of the overdrafts.

 

[TPaul]

Many years ago, when I was around 20, lol, I deposited my payroll check in the bank I was using then. A few days later I started getting over draft notices on my account. I knew that it was impossible for that to be correct. I went to the bank to find out what was wrong. I took my deposit slip showing that I had deposited my payroll check, on such and such day , for such and such amount. What was the problem?

They had some how deposited the check into someone elses account!!! I said, ok, I understand that someone might have hit a wrong number or something. Asked them to fix it. They said they could not fix it until they found which other person's account they had deposited it in, . Talk about getting really, really angry. I basically said, WTH, I had the deposit slip showing my deposit supposed to go into my account. It took them 6 days to find where they put the DA@@ check.

They checks they bounced where to people I had done business with for a long time. Like where I bought my gas each time. The cleaners I used, a local convience store, etc.. I told them in no uncertain terms that they where to contact each and every one of these businesses and tell them that the bank I made a mistake. I told them they where to explain that I did nothing wrong and wrote those checks in good faith, and that it was the banks fault for humiliating me by bouncing the checks. I also told the businesses to send the bank a letter demanding payment to the business for the bad check fee that they would normally charge someone for writing a bad check. They all did and they all recieved the amounts they requested.

After each one had gotten thier money, I went to the bank. I asked to speak to the branch manager. I proceeded to tell him very loudly, (there several other people their to do business with the bank) that I could understand a mistake being made. What I could not understand was why when they knew the mistakes was thier fault and that I did make a deposit, had the slip, why it took them so so long to fix the problem? Why did someone at the bank not catch it before I did? Why was my money tied up, because of thier mistake, when I had proof. The branch manager sputtered and stuttered and really could say nothing. I demanded the money from my account and another 100.00 for my humilation. All this while each and every person there stopped what they where doing and listened. They gave me my money from the account and the 100.00. I then told them to take thier account and shove it. I heard several people standing at the counter asking to close thier account as I left.

I got my money, they had to fix the humilation to my long used businesses, and they lost accounts because others knew. I felt that I had my revenge and it was sweet,

Seems many of us have had banking nightmares, and we wonder why banks go under, LOL
Tpaul