I am considering switching banks, due to a fraud fiasco with my current account at my current bank*.
I have it narrowed down to Bank of America and Washington Mutual. I am just unsure whitch is really a better bank, from a customers point of view. I am leaning towards BofA due to their “zero liability fraud, money next day guarentee” spiel. WaMu has about the same policy as my current bank.
So What are your opinions on these two banks… I want to hear the good and bad.
Discuss…
*I was going to post a Pit thread on this on Sunday night/Monday morning after this was all found out… but I was too mad to rant. I am going to post one now though
I have Bank of America. They bought the bank that bought the bank that bought my bank. They are basically just a really large bank with tons of locations and services although it can be impersonal. I actually like them better than the bank (Fleet) that they bought. They have all kinds of internet options, plenty ATM’s, and plenty of branches.
I just had to apply for a rather large home improvement loan through them and they were stellar. They called multiple contact numbers to work out the final details and set things up so I just I have to walk in and sign. This was coordinated with their people from all over the country. This was the best hassle-free loan ever for something as big as some people’s mortgages’.
If you do a lot of routine banking tasks and don’t require a lot of personal handholding, Bank of America should be fine.
Bank of America may be the embodiment of all that is evil, but they helped me through a bad situation and I will be forever thankful.
Basically I bought a $1,000+ ticket from China Air, with the caveat that it was refundable. I decided to go with another airline, gave them a call and cancelled my tickets. A while later I bounce a check. It turns out that this airline doesn’t equate “I’d like to cancel my ticket” with “I’d like a refund of the thousand bucks I spent.” I called them up and they said to get a refund I would have to fax them about five pages of forms and they’d get back to me in six months.
This was, of course, right before a long trip overseas and that $1,000 was my budget for the trip. I was about to leave for three months with no money in my account.
I went to the teller at BofA and said “I know this probably isn’t something you can help me with, but I did something pretty dumb…” and told her the story. She gave me a phone number. I didn’t even have to wait on the line for an operator and it only took one phone call to clear things up. He said they would take over negotiations with the airline (without me having to supply the ridiculous forms they wanted) and they deposited the $1,000 in my account immediately. I never had any problem with the situation and my trip went great.
I used to be a teller for BofA. I have been loyal ever since (about 15 years).
They are very efficient with their processes (even though they usually have a staffing shortage inside branches).
I have rarely had a problem, the problems I had were always very minor and quickly fixed with a quick phone call, online banking is great, and there are ATMs all over the place.
If you want efficient service (as opposed to personal attention where all the tellers know your name) and do most of your banking via ATM or internet, BofA is a good bank.
BofA might be better now, but they lost me as a customer years ago when a fraudulent ATM withdrawal was made from my account.
They were unable or unwilling to comprehend the impossibility that I’d be able to make a deposit at a downtown San Francisco ATM and a withdrawal from a Texas ATM two hours later. That I’d not reported the card lost negated any protests from me that I did not sprout wings and flew faster than any airline to Texas.
I’ve not had an account with WaMu, but I do know that they’ve recently dropped their policy of not charging “foreign” ATM users. So now, anyone with a non-WaMu ATM card will be dinged $2 to get cash.
All banks suck to some extent. You just need to find the one that sucks an acceptable amount for your banking needs. If you just want a place for your direct-deposit paychecks to go to, and an ATM card with a Visa or MasterCard logo, pretty much any bank can handle that.
My experience is similar to Shagnasty’s. I deal with Bank of America almost exclusively via their online banking system, which is quite good, and their ATMs and that’s it. They have ATMs everywhere, which is convenient. I’ve heard enough stories to know that their customer service can be pretty bad, and they’ll jack you with fees every chance they get, but for simple stuff I’ve had no problems with them. (My paycheck is direct deposited into my account, at which point I use their electronic bill payment service to send all the money to other people. It’s pretty straightforward.)
LV, if you’re military or a Federal employee, I suggest you go with Bank of America Military. Their fees and loan rates are lower than the regular BofA and they have other perks as well. For example, you can earn $100 a year just by setting up an automatic transfer of $10 from checking to savings. For every $60 transferred–that’s $10 a month for six months–the bank will give you $50.
I recently got a fradulent BofA check reversed. Fortunately, I had noticed it before it cleared the second time.
Still trying to figure out the logic behind Google ads. Looks like Wells Fargo is set to appear if anyone says “Bank of America” and “sucks” :dubious:
Other ads at this moment are for what appear to be two mortgage loan brokers.
Speaking of Wells - my doctor’s happy with their anti-fraud folks. I was at his office a few months ago, and he said how Wells called him earlier that day to inquire about suspicious activity on his account. IIRC, it was checks written for atypical amounts. I have no idea if they do this for basic personal accounts, or if they only scrutinize business accounts.
I’m not sure about normal banking, but if you are also contemplating mortgages and car loans, then WaMu have the reputation here in the Pacific NW of being evil bureaucratic heartless psychotic hose-beasts. I’ve had a couple of friends purchase homes recently, and WaMu seems to make a special extra effort to ignore filing deadlines and lose faxes and paperwork.
I’ve had a bad taste in my mouth about BofA since college, when I tried to cash in some US savings bonds (they were the closest bank, and I had no car), and I got the supreme run around.
I had to talk to three people who tried to tell me I had to have an account, or a processing fee, or some other bother, before I got to someone who would cash them. Those people were quite snippy, too.
Partly for this reason, I bank at Washington Mutual. Which I’ve always been happy with, but can’t sing any particular praises for.
I am a BoA customer and cannot recall a bad experience. (As other posters describe, I started at Suburban Bank of Md., who were acquired by Sovran Bank, WWAB NationsBank, WWAB Bank of America.) However, like many banks, they have started to add a lot of fees, like a fee to return your cancelled checks with your statement. They do have very good online banking, but I’ve not used online banking with any other bank so I can’t compare.
I must also add that three years ago I also refinanced my mortgage there, the amount of which put me up into the level of being a “premier” customer, so I may see better service than the average accountholder.
My recommendation is that if you in any way qualify to join a credit union in your area, do so. Sometimes all you have to do is live in a certain area; others are specific to certain employers or industries. If you are related to anyone with a credit union account, you automatically qualify to join. You get the best service for the lowest fees at credit unions, as a general rule of thumb.
Now, if that isn’t feasible, I guess I’d lean toward WaMu (I’m there now) over B of A (was there years ago). I like the free checking, without all the restrictions B of A puts on theirs, like requiring that you have direct deposit, etc. I’ve never had any problems with my account; when we have had an inquiry or needed extra service, they’ve been pretty good to us.
When I was at B of A, I found them very impersonal (their attitude could be summed up this way: my account there was only free if I never darkened their doorway to talk to a human being). But I have to go there on a daily basis for my employer now, and I’ve noticed they’ve worked pretty hard to become more friendly and welcoming. I still see them as more fee-oriented than WaMu, but that may be based on out-of-date information.
I have a state bank now. I had thought about a credit union, but they are limited in their locations, ATM’s and hours, pretty much M-F here.
I have direct deposit for my paychecks and do most of my banking by ATM or online. Occasionally I have to go into the actual bank, but that is only a few times a year at most. So on that aspect BofA might be OK.
I was also offered a checking account through USAA, but I don’t know about banking without a actual bank in my area for the times I do need to go into the actual bank, not just deal with the ATM.
My husband banks at BofA and he thinks it is OK but has no other point of reference, as it the only place he has ever banked.
about what I am going to do. More research to be done
When we were going through our adoption process early this year, I went to my local credit union branch because I needed (I forget the exact numbers) about $8000 in cash and $5000 in traveller’s checks. The teller gave me a funny look and told me I had a max withdrawal cashwise of $500/day. This to me was very stupid because, you know, it’s MY money.
I went next door to the Bank of America and asked them if I made a deposit, could I do this? They also gave me a funny look and said ‘of course, why shouldn’t you’? I went back to the credit union, closed out my account with a cashier’s check, opened up an account with BofA, and after waiting one day to ensure the money cleared, was able to complete my request.
In addition, because I am a ‘preferred’ member by keeping a certain balance in their account ($5,000 maybe?), we get free checking, a free safe deposit box, and some other perks I cannot remember. We do all of our bill paying online and only need to visit an actual branch when we need to access our box or to deposit a check.
I have heard horror stories and have reconsidered banking with them, but for now, not only do I have no complaints, but I could not be happier with them right now and would not consider switching.
WAMU almost made us lose out on the sale of a house because they and their subsidiary delayed providing us with a mortgage payoff amount. They’re notorious for their slimy loan practices. We’re part of a class action suit against them because of our experience with them.
I cannot, however, speak for their normal baking (checking, savings) practices. Maybe they treat those customers well.
Yeah, I should specify: WAMU is good for your regular banking needs (I don’t know how BofA operates, but most of the WAMU services are free where other banks make you pay for them), and having a credit union is good for loans.
about what I am going to do. More research to be done 