Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Problems with our bank

So Matt and I have had the same bank account since before we got married. We've had some problems, but overall, I guess it was okay. We have wanted to change our bank to a credit union, but delayed the change, because we were worried about having out standing checks that were going to clear. (Basically we were just lazy.) Plus, There is banks in Washington and Utah, which is where we would travel, so it would be easy to withdrawal money, instead of carrying a bunch of cash.

Some issues we had were: we got charged $5/month for our checking account. When Matt asked what the $5/month was for, the Lady told him that we got special perks, like Money orders for $0.25. Are you kidding me? I can go to any grocery store and pay that amount without being charged $5/month! So Matt asked the lady to cancel that subscription. 6 months later we were still being charged. (We waited a couple months just in case the cancellation wasn't until the following month.) Matt went back to the bank and they said that they had no record of the cancellation order. Luckily, they did work with us and refunded the money and got the subscription cancelled.

We also deposited $12 into our account one time. (It seems like a silly amount, but if we didn't, we would have overdrawn.) Well, the deposit never showed up in our account and Matt lost the receipt so we had no way of proving it. Well, we should have been charged a $34 over limit fee, but they waived that fee for some reason. We still don't know if the teller had taken the money and then waived the fee, hoping that we wouldn't go back and get her fired, or if she just made a mistake and put the money in the wrong account.

This last issue is what finally sent everything over the edge. We received a notice in the mail on 9/18 stating that our account was suspended as of 9/12 and that on 9/25 they would be closing the account. They would send us a check after the 25th in the mail for any amount in the account. (We couldn't wait that long! We have bills to pay!) We received the notice the same day that Matt got paid and they accepted his check, despite stating that the account was suspended. The notice didn't say why or give any explanation. So Matt called and spoke to some lady in India, and she said that it was because we were overdrawn in our other account over $400! What??? (we had 2 accounts, 1 for my ebay business and the other was for our personal checking.) Matt tried to tell her that we hadn't used that account in months and according to our records and their online records, the account was at $0.00. So Matt went to the local branch and they said that our account was still open and we still had access to everything. We had tried the debit card online, because Matt needs a new cell phone, but it was declined. Obviously they aren't on the same page, So Matt just told them to close the account and to give our money to him in cash.

We now are banking at a local credit union. What a mess!

5 comments:

Us said...

WOW! That is dumb and frustrating for sure! Glad you are at a new bank now.

These Four Walls said...

Banking can be so frustrating at times, especially when they don't listen. I'm glad you decided to join a credit union. They are so much better - no hidden fees and they are much more helpful. We love our credit union!

RORYJEAN said...

Wow- sounds pretty sketchy. Which bank was it, out of curiosity?

Courtney said...

wow that sounds like a mess. i am glad you got a new one. ours was crazy for a little while but there good now. and Chase credit is Bad news so if you ever bank with them stop yourself and go somewhere else. they have crazy hidden fees. even when you don't use your credit card. dumb. anyways glad you got it all taken care of but out of curiosity what do you sell on ebay?

Keely said...

Sorry about that whole banking think. It doesn't seem safe keeping your money anywhere these days. Hope you get everything worked out!!! Hey, lets get together next week sometime. Let me know what a good day for you is!! How are you feeling by the way?