Everybody hates them, but I’ve always had a good experience with Citibank. Free checking, plentiful ATMs, and the few times I’ve needed to go into a branch the transaction has always been quick and easy.
I also got my mortgage through Citi and had excellent service.
Do you not have a local credit union? Banks suck, period. Credit unions are member-owned, fully insured, and offer everything a bank does without you having to take it up the ass.
This is an honest question. Many people claim that credit unions have superior customer service which I can easily believe but I don’t really understand why people need it regularly in the first place.
I never have to step inside of a Bank of America branch unless it is for something extremely unusual. The money goes in automatically, I can move money around online and see my accounts every second from anywhere, and I can get cash out from tens of thousands of locations. They do have phone customer service if you need it but I don’t really know why that would come up much either unless you have fraud on your account or need to get a loan. They have handled those well when I needed it too.
I keep tens of thousands of dollars there in my accounts with (tiny) interest when I need it and write checks, use their ATM locations, etc. You can see what is going on at any time.
Honestly, why do people need more than that for a bank other than a reliable way to put money in and get it back out? I don’t understand all the complaints if a mega-bank has the infrastructure to do that for you as opposed to a credit union.
I have BoA and don’t have a problem with them. I love BoA’s online banking and all the options. I use their Portfolio option to manage all of my expenses and net worth. Transferring funds is a breeze, as well as the BillPay feature. I get alerts sent to my phone whenever certain thresholds are met on any of my accounts. I also get interest on both my savings and checking accounts.
I can do all of the things you can do with my CU, and can purchase CDs, transfer funds, etc., all on line. My CU has no branch in OR, and I have zero problems with transactions. The complaint I have about big banks is that they are rapacious in their practices and dishonest with their depositors and shareholders. It’s an ethics thing for me.
I hated Chase solely based upon the bulk of junk mail they send me. None of the others compare (except the local cable company). Now that I have an account with them, I hate them more because they have the most terrible website design, at least compared to Wells Fargo and BofA.
Yeah, Chase’s website definitely leaves something to be desired.
I’m with BofA and am generally satisfied. They haven’t messed me up yet, and I’ve had my main checking account with them for almost ten years now.
Their online banking and online bill paying system is very good.
One thing I like is that they have ATMs almost everywhere I travel. They even have agreements with some foreign banks (Scotiabank in Canada, Deutsch Bank in Germany are two I remember) so you don’t pay any fees if you use those bank’s ATMs when out of the country.
I’m with BofA too.
I don’t have to go inside the branch very often, but it does become necessary sometimes. I can think of three such cases:
When I need to access my safe deposit box. I see no alternative but to go inside and talk to a human.
When I need to deposit cash. I could do this at an ATM, but I’m not always sure that’s a good idea.
When I need to deal with coins, either deposit or withdraw them.
None of these things happens often, but all of these happens once in a while. For example, a few months ago we had a garage sale. We needed a supply of small bills and coins to give change. So we needed to go to a teller to get that.
But actually, I think this is besides the point, because none of this is what people mean when they say that credit unions have better customer service. What they mean is when a mistake is found on your statement, or the bank/credit union charges you a stupid fee for something you didn’t do, then if you call up customer service do they fix the problem or not? On average, supposedly, credit unions fix the problem while big banks don’t. I’ve never had a problem with BofA to call up and complain about, so I can’t say if that’s true.
I have had to email and call Chase on occasion and I swear I could be talking to a robot as it sounds like everything is totally scripted rigtht down to when they take a breath. It is horribly artificial. The email is actually worse. Reading it makes me want to scream as real people don’t write that way. It has to be copy-pasted out of their fucking training manual!
I’ve noted several times, at multiple locations, that Chase doesn’t require any ID other than a debit card for withdrawals. I could never trust them with my money after that.
All banks nickle and dime you. At least Wells Fargo does it with a smile and a focus on customer service. I’d rate US Bank second to WF. Bank of America is a giant, unforgiving behemoth. I’ve banked with all of them and I’d take Wells Fargo over the other three easily. Though a credit union is a fine choice for local banking, it’s really limited in most cases, especially outside of their little region. I have an account at a couple and never use either.
At least in this area, most BofA and WF banks have envelopeless ATMs. In that case, you put in cash, and it counts it for you and gives you the total. If you disagree, it spits it back out. Same with checks.
For all withdrawals or only small amounts? When I worked at a bank, they could take out $500 with just a card and PIN.
I’ve noticed that banking websites password requirements seem to be all over the place. Wells Fargo basically tells you to make a password and then doesn’t bug you again. I don’t know what the requirements are but I’ll guess it’s just 8+ characters and 1 number. BofA has all that passcode stuff and shows you an image that you preselected. I inherited this account from Countrywide so I don’t know if it’s the BofA banking division requirements. And Chase, IIRC, are extremely picky with their passwords, and might even lock you out after multiple attempts.
Bank of America: Has an ATM account and the ATM was down. So I just went inside, told them it was down and made my deposit. Later in the week I go back in to ask if they will sort change for customers and they tell me no. I go home and find out I had two $4 “teller fees” on my account. Go back in and tell them I only went to the teller the first time because their ATM wasn’t working and the second time because I needed a question answer. They said, “Sorry, since we didn’t specifically say we would waive your fee the second time, we have to charge you.” I cashed out on the spot.
US Bank: Had an HSA account there. Started off with a $100 minimum balance. Interest was microscopic, but I was in it for the tax write-off. Pretty soon I start seeing $2.50 being taken out of my account every month. $15 yearly fee? No, that would have been just $1.25 a month and they took the $15 out last December. So I go in to check, “Oh yeah, they raised the minimum balance on your account. That’s a low balance fee.” WTF? How much do I need in there now? “$2000.” $2000?!?!? I want to stash away a couple bucks a month so I can afford a $125 dentist visit, not f-ing retire with the thing. Give me my money.
Chase: Was sitting pretty at 8.99% on my CC. I always carried a moderate but manageable balance and made my payments on time every single month. Should have been the perfect customer. Nope. “Yes, we’re going to raise your rate from 8.99% fixed to 18.99% variable.” Fuck no you’re not. Declined the terms. They canned my account. I paid them off last month. Granted I can’t work up too much vitriol with them, it was just annoying.
Then the CU I moved to after Bank of America got bought out by a big CU chain.
Eventually, both my mother and I moved to a community credit union and have been completely happy. We just wondered the other day about why the hell people would continue to put up with their shit when our area has such strong community banks and CUs.
I got kind of a pre-paid VISA when I went to Europe two summers ago. Just popped it into an ATM and took whatever the local currency was out, I can’t imagine an ATM card from anywhere would be much different. Some CUs will refund ATM fees.
You can send them an email (or several) to tell them to stop. It takes awhile, but eventually they will honor the request. We used to get a half-dozen annoying mailings every week, but now only get one occasionally.
Another vote for USAA. They understand better than most my lifestyle as an International Man of Mystery.
Wells Fargo has a long history of predatory lending, offering loans at higher rates to minority customers, and simply not offering loans to minorities. I have a long memory. I won’t do business with Wells Fargo.
I forgot to mention this important point. Everywhere I go there are BoA banks, ATMs, or banks affiliated with BoA that don’t charge to use their ATMs.
You don’t have to need it regularly to think abysmal customer service is a bad thing. Like everyone else under the age of 100, my pay goes into my account through direct deposit, I check my account balances online, and use the ATM when I need to make a withdrawal or deposit. Surely you understand that there are times when you need to interact with a human being, like making a large cash withdrawal or disputing a charge/fee, for example. It’s these times when you ask yourself, “Can’t there just be a bank whose entire staff doesn’t hate every single one of its customers?”
RIP small banks.
I wish I had some of the e-mails I got from Chase. I was certain I was communicating with a robot. Are you telling me I was e-mailing an actual person? Half of their responses had nothing to do with what I was asking about. It was auto-reply crap from a brochure… I thought.
Find a small, local bank or credit union. You’ll get better service and better consideration.
From the poll there are 6 people who like Wells Fargo. But I don’t see much love for Wells Fargo in the thread. Any comments from the Wells Fargo people?