Bank of America -- this bodes ill

The BBQ Pit
1

Recently, my bank got taken over by Bank of America. Actually, it’s more like one of those cartoons where you see a minnow getting eaten by a bigger fish which is in turn getting eaten by a bigger fish which in turn…

As I recall, my original bank was Connecticut Bank and Trust that got taken over by BayBank that merged with BankBoston that got taken over by Fleet that merged with Bank of America. With the exception of the increased number of ATMs owned by BayBank, none of these takeovers resulted in any notable improvement in service or a more enjoyable banking experience.

Today, I had to activate a couple of credit cards and my new Bank of America ATM card. Let’s compare the process:

Citibank:

  Automated voice:   Please enter your card number.
 Me:   beep, beep, beepity, beep beep beep.  Pound sign.
 Automated voice:   Your card is now active.   Go run up some consumer debt.  Have a nice day.

Bank of America:

  Automated voice:   Please enter your card number.
 Me:   beep, beep, beepity, beep beep beep.  Pound sign.
 Automated voice:   While we have you helpless on the phone, allow us to shill for some worthless credit protection scheme...
 Me:  I'd rather you didn't.
 Automated voice:  Blah, blah, interminable blah, complimentary free credit report.
 Me:   WTF?  I'm entitled to a free credit report once a year anyway.
 Automated voice:   Blah, blah, blah
 Me:  Shut up!!!!
 Automated voice:   Your card had been authenticated.  If you want to take advantage of our offer, please enter 1.  If not enter 2.
 Me:   2.   2. 2. 2. 2. 2.
 Automated voice:   Are you sure you don't want to take advantage of our credit protection offer?    You'd be a fool not to do it.   
 Me:   Shut.  The.  Fuck.   Up!!!!!     
   click!

These are the same goat abusers who think it’s a swell idea to put ads for worthless products on the ATM screen while you’re waiting for a balance to display or money to be spat out.

It’s clear that given the choice of viewing me as a customer to be served, or as a walking piggybank to be fleeced, Bank of America is going for the gold.

Oh yeah, and their logo’s color scheme sucks ass – it’s garish and tacky.

2

Seems I got on the ride on the stop after you – I was at BayBank.

No kidding? I hung up 2 seconds after I heard the automated voice. ValleyGirl was crying and I didn’t have any more time to sit on the phone – I figured I’d go to my local branch if I hadn’t successfully activated the card, hoping that BoA hasn’t fired the really nice people there.

First thing I said to MrValley when opening the envelope, “My god, this card is hideous!” Royal blue, light blue, red, black, white, gold in some bizarre pattern – and gold numbers on top of gold background.

3

I am a long-time Bank of America customer, although it didn’t start out that way. I began a checking account at Barnett Bank when I first went away to college in 1996. I didn’t have a car, so I chose Barnett because they had a branch and several ATMs around campus. Eventually they got bought out by NationsBank, which was more of the same. Then Bank of America gobbled them up, just like so many other smaller banks. I’ve never felt like changing, just because Bank of America is so common and I can find a branch or an ATM almost anywhere, or use unafilliated ATMs at the supermarket without a charge. While they don’t seem to be anything special in terms of customer service, I can’t say I’ve ever had a BAD experience dealing with them.

4

One of my Credit cards has a ‘payment protection plan’ they offer me everytime I call for anything.

Once the offer was worded in a strange way like

“If you don’t want the Payment Protecton Plan, don’t press number 1.”

Wait, what did you say?

5

Me neither, though admittedly most of my BofA interactions have been either through an ATM or via online banking. I can count on one hand the number of times I actually need to go see a teller in person.

6

Bank of America can bite me.

Credit unions are wonderful!

7

I’ve been a BoA customer for a long time. Great local branch and ATM’s everywhere are too much to give up. They are a lot bigger now than they were when I first joined up, but I bought a bunch of their stock a few years ago and that helped me get past the big bank “icky-ness.” I guess it doesn’t bother me as much if I own a piece of the bank that is sticking it to me. :slight_smile:

Jammer

8

I was calling Bank of America about once a week for a couple of months trying to figure out what they’d done with about $2000 when I closed my account with them.

We moved to NY a while back, and there were no nearby BoAs. Right as we were leaving they bought out Fleet Bank, but I at that point I’d switched everything over to NavyFCU.

Here’s what happened.
I called to close my account. They tell me they can’t close it while there’s money in it.
I go to a nearby Fleet->BoA branch to close my account. They tell me that they aren’t fully on the BoA network yet, so they can’t close my account, but they can empty it. I empty the account.
I call again to close my account. They tell me it will close at the end of the month.
The military direct deposits about $2000 in travel allowance for our move to VA. I know nothing about this.
We move to VA.
A FWD’d bank statement fro BoA arrives showing the direct deposit and “Check Issued”.
I call BoA asking them what’s up with this check. Where did they send it? Could they cancel that check and send another to our new address? They say sure.
A week later I call again, explain the whole situation, and ask what’s up with the re-issue of the check. They have no idea what I’m talking about, but, sure.
A week later I call again, explain the whole situation, am transferred, and explain the whole situation again. They’re still not sure what the hell I’m talking about, but they’ll look into it.
A week later, I call again. At this point I have a pretty well rehearsed 3-minute spiel that hits all the relevant points of what’s going on. I repeat this to all least four different people as I’m transferred around… and I do mean repeat- I’ve had a lot of practice.
A week later, a bank statement from BoA arrives at our VA address showing a zero account balance and no activity. I call to make sure the account really has been closed and see what they’re doing about my money.
A bit later, our landlord in NY sends us a packet of any mail we recieved before the mail-forwarding kicked in. It contains two checks from BoA for about $2000. I call, figure out which one is still valid, and go deposit it.

So, while I did eventually get my money, it was not because of BoA doing anything effective to resolve the problem.

9

It’s not so much getting screwed over as it is masturbation, that way. :smiley:

10

All I had to do to activate my Bank of America ATM card (the one that replaced my Fleet ATM card) was go to an ATM, and make a transaction. I believe I made a balance inquiry.

Then I threw the Fleet card in the shredder and haven’t had any problems other than not having enough money.

11

Funny, I had to activate my new BofA ATM card the other day after their machine ate mine. When I called, I had to listen to the same stupid shit. Just let me activate my fucking ATM card, would you??!!

12

In 1966 I had my first job and wanted to open a checking account at B of A because it was the closest bank to my place of employment. Time has dimmed the memory of the red tape the bank tried to put me through, but I do recall asking the banker why they were actively discouraging new accounts opened by young customers. Didn’t they want my business?

I was somewhat stunned when he told me that no, they did not care if I banked with B of A as my income was so small then (around $367 a month). They were much more interested in larger accounts, especially business accounts. I have not had anything to do with B of A since then.

I would like to say that I am now a multi-gazillionaire and B of A fawns sickeningly as it tries to wheedle some business from me. Not true, unfortunately, and I imagine the bank could still care less if I am a customer.

My point? Bank of America sucks, always has sucked and probably will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

13

My father is a retired banker. He told me once that the bank does not want poor clients. The only way to make a real profit off of them is slam them with fees (overdraft fees, bounced checks, etc) whereas with people who maintain large balances and don’t end up emptying their accounts every month, the bank can make the money work for them and make a profit off investments and the like.

But it doesn’t have to be like that. Back in Spain, i had a checking account with a small bank (caja de granada), a debit card and i just didn’t have to worry about fees. the bank would take a few dollars every year and that was it. If i tried to use my card when i didn’t have money, it wouldn’t let me. If i managed to get money out of it anyways (it happened when an ATM would be disconnected from the network because it would trust you for 50-60 bucks) and get myself in the red, i didn’t get penalized in any way, they’d just take the money back when i deposited more of it. Simple, nice, fair.

Those were the days.

14

I’m glad I belong to a Credit Uninion instead of a Bank. :smiley:

15

I’ll just echo what’s been said. Run to a credit union as fast as you can. They might not have ATMs all over the place, but who really needs them with a check card. Just get a few extra bucks when you go grocery shopping.

Hey, even if you use some one else’s ATM it’ll cost less than what Bank of America is going to try to get you with in fees. Keep a close eye on your statements. I memorized their number because I had to call them so many times.

16

Check cards are evil. They have all the drawbacks of credit cards (making it too easy to overspend if you’re not careful), except they drain your money even faster.

At least when I get cash out of an ATM, I can peek into my wallet and see if I’ve been overdoing it at the mall or not.

17

Actually, Lou, the company you’ve been dealing with since Barnett got bought out has been the same one – NationsBank and BoA merged, but with NationsBank the “senior partner” in the operation – HQ moved to Charlotte, CEO of NationsBank the CEO of the new firm, and so on – but they kept the BoA name due to its greater name recognition value, and as a sop to the former BoA customers and stockholders. (Same thing happened more recently with FirstUnion and Wachovia – the new company is named Wachovia but run by the old FirstUnion crew. Much the same thing also happened up in Ohio, involving BankOne and another big regional bank I don’t recall the name of. Go figure!)

18

I thought Bank of American kept the NationsBank Chairman of the Board (Hugh McColl at the time), but the Bank of America Chief Executive Officer. Of course, that still put NationsBank (formerly North Carolina National Bank) at the top of the corporate heap.

19

If I remember correctly, Nations bought out Bank of America, but they opted to keep the name of the latter because it was better-known.

20

I’m not going to activate my new ones. No I just have to remember not to try to use them before I pay them off. (Fleet had bought a couple of smaller banks that I had had cards from.)

But what galls my pedantic sensibilities is that the identical form letters I have received from their Senior Vice President, Mark E. King, state, " Rest assured, your account number and PIN number will remain the same. "

You would think thank the 2nd (?) largest bank, and all its employees, especially all its vice presidents, would know that the N in PIN stands for NUMBER and that to say PIN NUMBER is redundantly moronic. Stick that CODE in your Automatic ATM Teller Machines, BOA constrictors.