Stupid bank games. Share yours. Here's mine:

[dixiegrrrrl]

Been with local community bank since 2005.
They wanted to charge my current account a new monthly fee, but there is another account type that has no fees.
So I call bank, inadvertently got an apparently new assistant manager.

Can I change my account type?

No problem, she says, all I have to do is come in and "update" all my information, per the Patriot Act.

What????????
"Patriot Act says that whenever you change accounts or CLOSE accounts, you need to provide updated information" she says, a bit snippy.

Really..and pray tell, what information do you need for me to change my account?

" A recent copy of your driver's license, yours on file is 5 years old,
and it says on your form you are retired, we need to know where you used to work,
and let's see....copy of your birth certificate..."
( mine happens to be in the safety deposit box at that bank)

I hung up.
Waited 2 months.
Called the bank, got one of the senior tellers, asked her if I could change the account over the phone.

" Sure, no problem at all, ( tap tap tap click click click keys)
...ok, you are all set, new account, no fees, have a nice day".

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[sakabatou]

1. Newbies aren't the best people to chat with

when you want something done.

[meegbear]

2. Bank of America ...

When they did this, I vowed to change banks. When my credit union got online banking, I switched.

I worked for a year for a company that paid once a month (one of the many reasons I left). I had direct deposit on the 15th and the 18th is when they'd do the monthly charges. Because of the large deposit, no fees.

The third month, I noticed on my online statement I less than I excepted. I started going back and noticed that they changed my charges date from the 18th to the 12th. For that ... $7 a month, and this is back in 2000.

Couldn't fucking believe it.

[Turbineguy]

3. Ranier Bank

Eaten by Security Pacific> eaten by Interstate> eaten by Wells Fargo.

So the plan was to do a home refi. The process was done in a special branch just devoted to home lending. They kept calling with one more question. I finally got fed up and told them: "If you don't think I will pay the loan, my advice would be, not to lend me the money!" I told them I didn't want any more hassles. Two days later they called again. I canceled the application. Apparently nobody ever does this. They were shocked.

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. Bravo on you!

I will NOT tolerate idjits, at any level.

My motto is and has been for over 40 years:

Don't fuck with my kids.
Don't fuck with my car.
Don't fuck with my money.
Other than that, I am a nice person.

And no matter how many times I have said that, aloud, every once in awhile, sometimes tries to do it.
Once.

[louis-t]

4. BoA credit card. Had a floating due date. 50% of due dates were

on Sunday. PNC bank credit card had no penalty if you paid on Monday after a due date was on Sunday. Not Boa. Designed to make you screw up. At least now they can't change the due date every month.

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. Man, that is enough to make you go over the edge.

[mysuzuki2]

6. the patriot act requires none of those things. It requires only that the bank

ascertain the identity of the person opening the account. The IRS requires an SSN or EIN.

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. I know, I read it, I read the banking rules, I read the new "Know your customer"

DHS program to banks.( which is really creepy reporting requirements)

Then I took all my money out of my savings account there, using it now just for low balance checking.

[ronnykmarshall]

11. Yup ....

[Aerows]

8. Stop doing business with businesses that don't share your interests

That's the first line of defense.

[Kennah]

10. I used to work for one in IT

Their IT practices were so slipshod, I didn't keep any money there. Their financials remained solid, and basically they ground through their people to keep things running well. However, some of the fuckups I saw were such that if a depositor with a lot of money ever got burned, they'd raise a public stink and there would be a run on the bank.

[quinnox]

12. on general principles, I always call back when unhappy with a

customer service representative, and it doesn't matter really what field is involved.

I found the same thing, one person will be hard nosed about things and tell you one thing, I politely say thanks and hang up. When I call back and get a different representative, things are totally different and they help me with no problems.

[Yavapai]

13. My story is about "Skank of america".

Several years ago i did all my banking with BofA and went to the teller with my paycheck to deposit and take $100 in cash. The teller counted out the money and gave it to me. I stepped to the side of the teller window to count it (allowing the customer behind to step up and do her business). While counting it I noticed a $5 bill without a serial number on it. after the customer left I returned to the teller and told her that she just gave me a bad bill. she said that she would have to submit the bill to the Fed for an exchange. I left with $95.00 cash.

About 10 months later I was trying to balance my checkbook and there was a $2.50 overbalance that I just could not identify. After several attempts without success, I took my statement to the bank on a trip to town. After submitting it to the bank they returned to tell me that it was the return of the $5.00 bill from the Fed, and there was a $2.50 cent fee for the process. I explained that it was their bill not mine, so there shouldn't be any fee. They were adamant that this was their policy and they wouldn't rescind it. I told them that I was closing both my checking and savings accounts and wanted my money on the spot. after they spent a lot of time of them trying to change my mind, the finally said that they would cut me a check for my balances. I told them that I wanted cash, as their check would probably take 10 days to clear and they refused. I threatened to call the police and they finally gave me cash. I took the $13,000 across the street to their competitor bank and opened an account.

I hate Skank of America so much that even today (45 years later), I will not accept a check written on a BofA bank.

I also hope that with their new policy of a $5.00 charge to uses your debit card to buy something, that people close their accounts and go to another bank. screw those bastards!

[dixiegrrrrl]

14. It is truly mind numbing how many banks will be "penny wise and pound foolish."

Nickel and dime you to death and then lose a huge amount of account funds when customers walk out.
Makes me think they rely on the illegal money making so much they don't think they need the checking account customers.

[onethatcares]

20. if you ever find one of those no serial number notes again, call me

pm me, constantly. take it home, call me, p.m. me, I will give you double face for it as long as it's not counterfeit.

seriously, call me.

[Gregorian]

15. Raises hand. Oh, I've got a good one.

The guy I grew up next door to is probably the brightest human on earth. So it's Friday, and he's a carpenter going to cash his check. He has been working hard, and looks like a worker, all grimy and sweaty, etc. He goes to his bank, and walks up to the teller, presenting his check. The teller goes back to the manager, and does some discussing. They wouldn't cash the check.

So, my friend has a brainstorm. And off he goes to the Goodwill store. He buys a collection of stuff including shoes, jacket, sun glasses, and even a mustache and beard. Now he puts all of this stuff on, and even though he probably looks like a 70's porno star, he is for all practical purposes an upstanding and well groomed citizen.

He goes back to the bank, and approaches the teller with his check and asks to see the manager. He asks the manager if he would cash the check. No problem. The check gets cashed. However, then he proceeds to remove the sunglasses. Then the mustache. Then the beard. And from what he told me, the manager turned a different shade of red, out of embarrassment.

:)

[dixiegrrrrl]

17. THAT is a great story!

Next time ya wanna raise your hand...I present you with this handy tool:

[PETRUS]

16. One year after closing my account...

...with Citibank and moving away from NY, I was chased down and told I owed them money and they were about to get legal with me. Why did I owe them? They had assessed fees based first on a balance of zero, then an increasingly negative balance (since the fees were deducted from my account). Explaining that I had CLOSED the account was not enough to make it stop. I was able to clear it up eventually, but it was a giant time suck and cost me some postage - like you, I had to furnish a bunch of documentation. I assume it started out as an honest mistake, but still...

[dixiegrrrrl]

18. Had SAME thing happen with San Mateo Credit Union when I moved out of state

but with a happier ending.
Went in , closed account, arranged for account balance to be mailed/sent to my new bank here.
Fine, no problem, they could do that.

Then got letter, AFTER I moved, with fees because of ..no bank balance.

I wrote the head of the CU a strong letter and cc'd it to the Cal. State Regulator.
Got back a letter from CU that I still have, it is a model "We screwed up and we are so sorry" letter.
Plain, clear, simple language, with many apologies, no excuses.

Which they cc'd to the state regulatory agency....lol.

[mnhtnbb]

19. Don't start me on Citi...turned out they had bought our

home loan...letter was on my desk where to send the next payment when our house burned down in 2007.

OMG. Well, the insurance company also had gotten a copy of that letter. OK.

Insurance co. tries to buy us off for 2/3 of the insured value--issues a check--we send it to
Citi. They deposit it and ignore our request to adjust the INTEREST ONLY loan payments based
on the fact they accepted and credited the check for almost $300K.

Five months later--after multiple calls to India and God knows where--getting our attorney to call with no luck--
I finally file a complaint with the NC Commissioner of Banks. BINGO! Less than a week later
I get a phone call from a senior Citi person "Oh, we don't know why this hasn't been fixed...yes, of
course we're going to adjust your payment (on the burned down house)".

And yes, after hiring someone to represent us against the insurance company (for a percentage) we finally
get out of the insurance company what the house was insured for...and are able to pay off the loan.
We still had to come up with out of pocket money to demolish the house.

[PETRUS]

22. Good lord!

My problem was nothing compared to that.

[dixiegrrrrl]

21. Guess who owns my mortgage now?

Yep..BOA eventually got their hands on it.
We are paying with no problems.

We luckily have NO escrow, we pay our own insurance, every 6 months.
And every 6 months BOA sends us a letter, trying to "force place " their own insurance on us unless we give them proof that we have our own insurance.
"Force place insurance "is illegal, btw.
But they still do it.
So the insurance agency faxes them the copies of paid up insurance, then I get another letter, saying they have not gotten any information.
I had to resort to sending them a registered, returned receipt copy of the insurance proof.
Every 6 months.
Just went thru it all over again this month.
I think I will start paying annually if only to cut down on the aggravation.

There are not enough words to describe my feelings for BOA.

[PETRUS]

23. Any insurance company stories to add?

My father died earlier this year, after a long bout with cancer and several months of hospice care. For many years, my folks paid into a "long term care" policy. The premiums were HUGE (several hundred dollars per month). When he met the requirements for reimbursement, we filed a claim. No response. Called, filed again, called again, filed again, called again, filed again using registered mail, this went on and on, each time we got some kind of a runaround and various excuses ranging from "this is the first time we're hearing from you!" to "sorry, gotta use the bathroom, call us back later." (Ok, that one is a blatant falsehood on my part but you get the point.) We were paying for him out of pocket the whole damn time, and didn't manage to collect anything until after retaining an attorney and complaining with the state agency. Yes, I understand the imperative to turn a profit in our economic system but DON'T LIE TO ME and HAVE SOME HUMAN DECENCY!!