When I see threads like these I like to mention that I love banking with Charles Schwab. In two years I have never been hit with any kind of hidden fee, never had funds go mysteriously unavailable, never had my account frozen, etc. Checks are free. Also, they don’t charge any ATM fees - and they pay the competitors’ fees.
Yeah! So what the fuck is up with *that *shit? Huh?!
**Randy Seltzer **I’m looking at you for answers 
I for one hate the whole lot of them. Mother Fuckers. They fuck over mothers all the time, so I can say that truthfully. And apparently they are also parapalegic fuckers. Because jamie can attest to that. They would fuck babies too if they could I’m sure. They are basically human fuckers. They fuck over all their customers at every financially advantageous opportunity. I truly wish there was a better way. But there aint. And it blows.
(quite obviously I am engaging in some fancy wordplay…don’t get all offended now. nobody is suggesting that any parapalegic babies get fucked. that’s just too far.)
So I just follow the old tip my dad gave me - “Never have less than $100 in the bank. That’s your zero, your absolute bottom. Banks screw up all the time.” However, as my bills increase over the years, that amount needs adjusting. To like $1000…and eventually $10,000…ugh.
Not all of us have worked in a bank. In fact, I just found out this was true, from your post, right now.
I remember that book! It was The Spring Break Mystery.
I blame the schools.
Ditto- Webster bank. They transfer money from savings to cover any overdrafts with no fees, the pay other banks’ ATM fees, checks are free etc.
Love them.
Did the old man ever think to call the bank ahead of time and tell them he’d be making out of state purchases? I live in California, but have an office in Nevada (Vegas, actually) that I travel two about twice a month. Eons ago, I called BofA and told them this scenario, they marked my account, and I’ve literally never once had a problem. And yes, when I’m in Vegas, I’m bored, so I spend oodles of money on stupid shit like shoes and spas and fancy restaurants with my friends.
Further, I travel all over the US and the world (just for fun, not business)- so long as I call the bank and warn them where I’m going, all is well. I just got back from Fiji and had no issues because I called BofA the week before I was leaving, told them my travel dates and where I was going. Not one single issue. Same thing last time I went to Peru- though my friend’s card got frozen (he didn’t call his bank ahead of time).
As far as holds: BofA will immediately release $100 of whatever check, then the rest posts by the next morning- I think it posts at midnight, but I never check. Instate, out of state, whether I deposit it at home in California or by my office in NV. If I, for whatever reason, can’t wait until the next day for the funds, I just go to a teller, have them cash the check, then deposit whatever difference I want in my account after I get the cash I need.
(FWIW: When I called BofA about this Fiji trip, the agent made a comment that I’m heads and tails more prepared than most folks- as most people don’t call at all, then call screaming from a foreign country. Also, BofA has a number you can call collect from another country, just in case anything DOES happen with your card).
Yes, but it was a ridiculous precaution we should have never had to take. We originally thought it was just a highly irritating fluke, so we let it go, then began to see a pattern. Bastards. Funny is the first time he decided to nip that silliness in the bud, the phone banker seemed like it was bizarre that he would have to call to say “Please let me use my money.” He had to explain to her that the account had been frozen several times during trips to Vegas, and so he neeeded her to do her teller magic so that we can [del]throw our money into a fire pit[/del] gamble in peace.
There is an “alternative bank” movement afoot, or at least here in the People’s Republic of Minnesota. They have ads out on the buses that read “Your bank is a bad bank. A naughty, naughty bank.” I am thinking about moving my vast holdings therein.
:D:p
I guess I don’t see an issue with the whole process, since I do know of several people who have had their card stolen and used across state lines/ in foreign countries. Like I said, in my case, I just had to call once and warn them that I go to Nevada a lot, so it’s not like I have to call them every two weeks or anything (THAT would make me want to shank a bitch).
I completely agree about getting a credit card. You should always have more than one form of payment on you. If that isn’t practical, take a 20 dollar bill and stick it in your glove compartment – maybe hide it in the pages of the owner’s manual or something. Eventually you’ll forget it’s there, until the next time you find yourself in a situation like the one described in the OP. Then you’ll be glad you did it.
Not that the OP isn’t justified for hating his bank, but:
Yeah. Seriously.
I don’t think you’re listening to other people in the thread. Or you’re bizarrely stuck on the particular rules your particular bank had when you were working there.
With my account, all payroll checks and the first $500 dollars of personal checks are immediately released to “available balance”. I’ve deposited personal checks on a $20 balance, and immediately withdrawn $200. And I think Citibank counts as a real bank.
For someone who has talked about his investment portfolio before, it seems unfathomable to me he had no other means to get $20 for gas.
Like Diosa, I always call my credit card issuer/bank before travelling, especially before travelling to foreign countries. I know people who’ve gotten stuck, and even though it’s generally resolved quickly, it’s a hassle avoided.
QFT. I can’t fathom how any reasonably functioning adult could have ZERO money. Bank account zero, no credit cards, no cash in your wallet, no checks? Really?
Like I said: someone needs to learn some basic adult money management skills.
I remember in Peru when my friend had to make a $4 a minute phone call to his Credit Union back in the States to get it fixed. After waiting on hold for 25 minutes, he was less than pleased. But hey, that’s what he gets for not planning ahead.
I might be able to arrange that for my TD Canada Trust account (never had the need to try), but I do end up with a hold on part of the amount if I deposit a cheque larger than a given amount. It’s been a long time since I’ve needed to (since that doesn’t apply to direct deposits), but in my case I think the limit was $400; anything higher got held for a few days.
I keep at least $1000 in my chequing account anyway to avoid paying monthly fees, so I only knew about holds because it told me when I checked my balance online.
This doesn’t always work. More than once, my sister has made the phone call, gone traveling, and still had her card flagged because of “suspicious activity in a foreign country.” And I know for sure she made the call in at least one case because I was in the room when she made it. And gotten the subsequent phone call from the bank wanting to confirm the charges. Charges in Germany, eh? No shit. No you can’t talk to her, she’s in GERMANY, asshole. Exactly where she told you 5 days ago she would be, and apparently the person who took that call was enjoying having his thumbs up his butt so much, he didn’t bother to pull his hands out of his pants long enough to actually type that up in the computer anywhere. I’m not sure what she would have been able to do to get it cleared up if she hadn’t changed her contact number to somebody still in the States.
American banks often behave strangely; I’ve a few very funny and exasperating stories. (Start a Mundane Pointless thread “Funny Things At American Banks” and I’ll tell them.) In the case of OP, it really is unfortunate that no one at the bank end had the gumption to apply common sense for a long-standing customer.
What a peculiar and asinine way to present your “knowledge.” Had a fight with the girlfriend, hunh?