Well its natural for a bank to be suspisous of you, after all with the ecconomy the way it is, who has that kind of money to make deposits like that, and then they expect you to be late on your bills anyways, how can you blame the bank through all this?

This is a major hassle. I have heard SOME good things about WaMu, but stuff like this really deters me from trying to switch banks. I have had Standard Federal/LaSalle, which BoA bought and I know I should be worried in the future.

Man, I was angry that my bank MADE me sign up online for eBanking, rather than in person. Seems like a huge security risk, and one I'd rather not take with my money.

I'm new at KeyBank and they put holds on nearly everything during the 1st 30 days of having my acct open - I'm almost at 30 days, so hopefully after this they'll quit placing holds on everything....I agree with OP that 90 days is excessive. The day I first went in to make a simple deposit it took 20 minutes (apparently because I opened my acct online and was a new customer) - I almost closed the acct right there and went up the street to Wamu, but the Consumerist was ringing in my ears telling me not to go to Wamu under any circumstances.... even though it's so much flashier and cooler inside and their "tellers" are "listeners" (cheesy!)...

Actually, I have a similar story and I opened my account in person. This was years ago, but the bank I used was being bought out and the branch I had opened the account at (in another city years before that), was being bought by a different bank that was nowhere near me.

I wrote a check from my account before the buyout had finished and used it as an opening deposit at WAMU. A few days later, I received a letter from WAMU accusing me of fraud and larceny and they said that I was going to go to jail. Good times.

I ended up, after going to both my old bank and the WAMU branch I opened the account at and back to my old branch, telling my old bank's branch manager what happened and it took her calling and screaming at WAMU's branch manager to fix it.

What WAMU had done was not process the check. Instead, they had called my old bank, which got routed to the new bank's offices and confirmed that there was a sufficient balance in the account to cover the check. Because that account number did not match-up in the new bank's system, the new bank said, "No." If WAMU had simply processed the check, as normal, this would not have happened because the routing number on the bottom of the check would have told the new bank to look at the old accounts and they would have paid on the check, which is what ended up happening.

WAMU never apologized to me for any of it. Years later, when I went to open an online account with WAMU (great interest rates), I was somehow red-flagged in WAMU's internal system. It took me days to finally get a manager willing to talk to their screening company to figure out why there was an internal flag in the WAMU system on me, even though I had been an account holder for 10 years. Insane. WAMU is horrible, but I like their interest rates.

"WAMU is horrible, but I like their interest rates."

sigh...

We signed up at WaMu in person about 5 years ago and still had issues similar to this. Every single time we would deposit a check (with money in our accounts that exceeded the deposits) we would get one of these wasteful letters mailed to us. Then they started charging us little fees for moving our money across our own accounts. After 2 months, we got out of there. They're so ridiculous, I moved those WaMu accounts back to BofA where at least I know how to avoid their games.

I'm so glad I could move to Navy Federal Credit Union (option not available to the general public). After years of pure hassles with Wells Fargo, I have never had an issue with NFCU, in fact I've never had to pay a fee of any kind, because they will always remove them if asked (at least that has been my experience).

As high as the profit margin is on banking (around 21% for most) you would think they could afford to be a little more customer conscious.

Credit unions, people. Credit unions.

I love my credit union. I haven't had any hassles with them. Granted I've had my account with them since birth (thanks mom!) I don't think I would ever switch. I was able to open a checking account with no problem at all.

I would highly recommend getting in one

@Scuba Steve: I know. It's terrible.

@hillsrovey: KeyBank does not play with Mint.com well. So much so that they lock YOU out of your online account. It is for this reason I dumped Keybank

I opened an account online at Wamu and until recently everything was great. Now they've started putting holds on my deposits. I spoke to cust svc and they said, "just go in the branch and they'll take off the hold." I go in the branch and they say, "since you opened your account online I can't do anything for you" WTF ?..they act like its two different companies.

The same exact thing happened to me and my wife with WaMu several years ago when we opened an account with them.

The first check deposit we made had WaMu put a hold on our account, and we bounced two checks. I canceled the account two days later.

We had about $700 balance, and I deposited a $1000+ check. We then paid a a couple of bills, one about $150 and another one roughly $300 if I remember correctly. I do remember that the checks totaled under the $700 we had in the account. The checks still bounced because of the hold.

It was an interesting experience trying to explain to the bank manager why we were kinda upset. She never got it. We never went back.

@toddkravos:
Thanks for the heads up - I was actually looking forward to getting started with mint.com after reading such good reviews. Bummer!

Shit, I just opened a WAMU account online yesterday.

BTW, not everyone has access to credit unions.

@toddkravos: I found out from Keybank the reason this happens is they have a policy where if you access your account five times without registering your pc, it locks you out automatically. Supposedly they are getting rid of the register step, so this issue should go away.
Back OT, banks do have regulations for flagging large transactions as suspicious, but those are limited to 5 or 10 grand and above, depending on the type of transaction. WaMu's policies seem quite excessive. So much for them being different than the big banks.

My husband and I had this EXACT same problem with Wells Fargo. It took about 3 months before they stopped doing it. I still had my old checking account with Comerica open, and I went back to them. Comerica never pulled this crap with me.

He still has his account with them, and hasn't had trouble since the 3 month probationary period. Thankfully, I paid for almost everything out of my Comerica checking account, so we had no bounced check issues.

Switched from WAMU to Chase? Oh man...

I've banked with Wamu for 5 years and never had any problems. I pay no fees. They do hold deposits for a couple days but what bank doesn't? I transfer money in and out of my different savings/checking/CD accounts all the time with no delay and no fees. I bank online with them and also bank in person. I think it's a great bank. Much better than Chase.

I've never had a problem with Washington Mutual in 6 years. Then again, I also know how to use apostrophes. Coincidence? I think not!!

@xwildebeestx: hahahahahahaha!

Fees is the correct plural of fee. I couldn't get much out of the article, because all of the "fee's" kept distracting me. Now I'm not blaming the consumer here, but The Consumerist has an editor, right?

I use a local credit union and highly recommend this option to anybody who gets hosed over by a large bank. You'll never go back!

When I switched to my credit union, I had ZERO holds on anything. I'll never go back to a big bank again.

You should really put the blame on the wonderful US PATRIOT act and BSA, they came up with a bunch of stupid restrictions on cash deposits and transfers.

I'm at a credit union, and I like it all right, but it's not quite the promised land some descriptions would suggest. There are fees, there are frequent holds on deposits, and the "fraud protection" limits debit and credit card usage considerably (I never use the former, and I've gone elsewhere for the latter). It's got smaller overall resources than a big bank, and some of the policies reflect that.

Wells Fargo pulled this crap with an insurance check I got for $15,000 in damage to our house from a storm. When I initially deposited the check, they only credited about $1000 to my account, then would add another $3-4K every 4-5 days.

I never had a problem with holds at WaMu but then I opened the checking account part (which I only have because I needed it to get a savings acct) at a branch. They have never held anything that I have deposited. However, I know they are not sweetness and light and do not doubt the OP's story.

I cannot stress Schwab Bank enough. They are awesome. They have also never held any of my deposits which is important since they have to get all the way to Nevada from the east coast when I mail them. If their interest rate was a little higher I would ditch WaMu and do all my banking with Schwab.

credit unions are the way to go!

Credit Union finder:
[www.findacreditunion.com]

@morganlh85: The thing is, sometimes it's really, really advantageous to have a national bank.

I grew up in Boston. I went to college in western Massachusetts. Then I lived in New York City for several years. My parents are in Rhode Island. I live in Virginia. I work in Maryland. My boyfriend's family lives in North Carolina. So "home," for me, is pretty much the entire eastern seaboard from southern North Carolina up to southern New Hampshire. And the way our society currently is, I'm not the only one mobile like that.

That said, I don't use WaMu. And my bank, other than constant sales pitches, hasn't done anything offensive or evil to me with the account I've had since 1995.

@floraposte: I guess those things vary by credit union. Mine doesn't nickel and dime me with fees, and my debit card has a $5000 limit before the "fraud protection" kicks in. My mom's credit union has a limit of $1000 for fraud protection though, which sucks.

Wamu did this exact same thing to us when we first opened our account. We got this letter after depositing our paychecks from a fortune 50 company. We were waiting for direct deposit to change, so got a paper check in the interim. They told me that it was possible that even the direct deposits could be put on hold. WTF? They never were, but this is what a supervisor told us.

We closed it after moving to a state where there are no Wamu branches. We were told that we *must* got to a Wamu branch in person to close the account. I told them I was not going to drive 800 miles to do that, they could just let that $1.89 set in my account forever. I ended up writing them a letter and they did close it eventually.

I bank with a local community bank now and, while they're nice and have fewer obstacles to speaking with a human being, they tend to be a pain sometimes too.

FWIW, I've also used two credit unions before and those were the absolute worst "banking" experience in my life. So I've come to the conclusion that the process of banking in general destined to be a pain. Having low expectations makes a lot of difference.

Hey Consumerist, if I register ihatewamu.com, and put a banner for it on my house, will you post it? Has the imbalanced BoA hatering come to an end?

@balthisar: Me too. It's like nails on a chalkboard.

[angryflower.com]

Supersonic Purple Dildo, now that's a great name for a rock band!

I use an online bank, so I'm really getting a kick out of these replies.

Personally, I've had the good luck to have no problems with Washington Mutual in terms of serious banking problems. I did have issues with employees of my local branch (and I now go to branches in the adjacent neighborhoods when necessary)

@MissTicklebritches: "BTW, not everyone has access to credit unions."

Quoted for truth. If you are a resident of New York City, with no special connections and would prefer to do business with a local credit union (reasonable accessible by walking/driving/mass transit), you're more or less out of luck. Your only options involve credit unions with either: 1) no internet banking option or 2) have rates/fees that are outright worse than big banks.

I used to bank with WAMU. I switched when they stopped maintaining/refilling their ATMs last winter. I would have to go all over NYC looking for functional ATMs with cash in them, or else go wait in the huge line with everyone else who already tried and failed to use the ATM. Not to mention, if you needed cash on the weekend you were just screwed.

Not that Chase is any better. I signed up with them online (they claimed it was quicker and easier) and it took me 6 months to get the account working properly. Seriously. First they claimed my transfer from WAMU was bad (probably WAMU's fault), then they claimed I had opened the wrong kind of account, and then they took 4 more months to send me my first set of checks. Now that it's finally working, I'm so tired of trying to find a decent bank that I just gave up and stuck with Chase. And no, I can't switch to a credit union. NYC doesn't have any good ones (i.e. ones with more than 1 ATM/branch in a 10 mile radius)

@johnfrombrooklyn: What bank doesn't put holds? Citibank. I think they only put a hold on me once, when I closed an account at a different bank and had a $5000 check to deposit. And even then, they only put a hold on half of it. I've never had to avoid insane fees at Citibank; all you have to do is keep a minimum balance, which in some accounts is $1k (I think) to avoid all fees. That's why I recommend them to all my friends.

@johnfrombrooklyn: I have the same experience with WaMu...had an account with them now for about 2½ years. Never had a problem with any kind of a hold at all on my money. I've deposited $1000 (USD) checks drawn on a Canadian bank and they let it go right through with the money immediately available.

Plus no fees, free checks, no foreign ATM fees charged by WaMu (although they don't make up the fee that the other bank charges). All in all I've been pretty happy.

Is it possible that they like me more because I have direct deposit coming into that account? I seem to recall that banks trust people with direct deposit more. Or perhaps they treat you better if you walk into a branch to set up an account.

The only other explanation is that WaMu has some kind of freaky multiple personality disorder and it's a roll of the dice which one you're going to get.

I will agree this is pretty crazy but the last part where the rep threatened to hang up on Brett because he was being insulting is entirely fair.

ALL BANKS SUCK

All of them.

/They just suck in different areas, which is why I have accounts at multiple banks.

IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIGHT BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you have a problem with WaMu, please call the Office of Thrift Supervision at 1800-842-6929 and let them know about it.

They oversee WaMu from a regulatory standpoint and are in a much better position than you or I to actually force WaMu to take the appropriate actions in your case.

When you talk to WaMu next, be sure and mention that you have called the Office of Thrift and Supervision - it kinda takes the wind out of their sails. And, tell WaMu I said "Hi".

If you have a problem with WaMu, please call the Office of Thrift Supervision at 1800-842-6929 and let them know about it.

They oversee WaMu from a regulatory standpoint and are in a much better position than you or I to actually force WaMu to take the appropriate actions in your case.

When you talk to WaMu next, be sure and mention that you have called the Office of Thrift and Supervision - it kinda takes the wind out of their sails. And, tell WaMu I said "Hi".

Sorry about the double post - the first hadn't shown after 3 refreshes and a post to another WaMu article so I re-submitted.

I have the following banks that I deal with on personal banking needs for my household.
BofA is really nice if your an advantage checking customer. Never a hold.
National City- HORRID bank for the first 90 days you are with them. I've had to keep an imaginary $1,000 float in the checking account to avoid holds & over draft fees. I've had them charge overdraft fee's while positive because a teller posted a cash deposit as a check.
5/3 Bank- Opened the account, offered first box checks free, charged for checked, charged overdraft fee for the charge for checks, Wouldn't reverse the OD fee, but gave the checks for free.
ING direct. I like them the most, wish I had a faster way to get money deposited into their accounts.
Chase- Has been rather good to me. Gave me a mortgage when no other bank would touch me. helped me save my mom's house from foreclosure.
Local credit union- 10 business day hold on *every* deposit, funds transfer between accounts, etc for the first 180 days of account opening. Previous CR closed my account because a large deposit check bounced.

Are any of these WaMu people from Florida? Because I've never experienced any of these problems and hopefully I never will.

Also, I used to have WaMu, I had my debit card cloned nearly $300 in charges before it was caught. I filed the proper paperwork to get everything refunded within 24 hours of noticing all the money missing out of my account. Faxed it back to them as well as mailed certified return receipt.

30 days later they pulled the money back out claiming they never got the form. I faxed that form every day for nearly 45 days to every fax number I could locate for WaMu. They put the money back. 120 days later (to the day, actually the day Consumerist posted WaMu could no longer afford soap for the employee lounge) they pulled the money back out, claiming the same thing, they never received the paperwork. I handed them copies of my phone records showing the faxes, and the original faxes, and the certified return receipt. They said it was to late, they couldn't open a claim, I was screwed. I let them close the negative account.