We were WaMu customers until fairly recently, and thankfully made the switch to a credit union. Much smoother sailing than at any bank I've dealt with in a long time.

I don't really see the big deal here. Chase isn't done integrating everything from WaMu, so you need to continue banking at WaMu branches as you've always done in the past until they've completed the integration.

@Zain: Are any WaMu branches still open? They were never a presence here, so I have no idea.

Just drop them. There is always a new promo going on. Get $30, or some basball tix or something.

Direct deposit is not a big deal to fix, just open the new account and give your numbers to payroll and your done. Quicker than everything you have gone through so far!

Makes me wonder if my Provident-turned-M&T accounts will be as affected; so far, my direct deposits landed ok.

I have a Wamu Account that has moved to Chase, and have had no trouble depositing checks inside a Chase branch. I have deposited roughly 15 checks in the past 3 months with no issue.

I was informed I would be able to deposit them via a Chase ATM toward the end of July. Not September.

This is in San Antonio TX if this makes a difference.

This whole thing stinks.
Several years ago I moved to CA from WA with three wamu accounts and was happy to find that there were plenty of branches in CA.

Since chase took them over I can't deposit checks without them being physically mailed to Chase in Kentucky (!?) first, even when I go to the teller (in CA.)

Chase/Wamu banks all have those pin-verification systems which are handy so you don't have to keep track of your account numbers when you have a bunch of accounts or are just lazy like I am.
Well, those don't work with my business account now, probably won't work with my personal accounts either.

The best part is that I called Chase today to ask what is going on with this crap and they tell me none of it will be fixed until OCTOBER at the earliest because I opened my accounts out of CA and WA has already switched to chase.

So my small business checks are in limbo and I need them deposited for food/rent/etc.

Thanks, pigfucker bankers.

That's so weird. I'm not sure I get it--what's the difference between a cashier's check vs a personal check in terms of making a deposit into this guy's account? I was tempted to think that this was some issue with WaMu routing numbers and/or account numbers, despite the fact that Chase said the transfer of WaMu acct numbers to their system was complete. (That kind of thing can get messy--bank customers aren't meant to see it from their end, but bank employees can, depending on what department they work in.) But now I'm really not sure--the best I can think of here is that this Chase branch is just really, really crappy. x_x

I was a BankOne customer when Chase swallowed them up. Absolutely no issues with the transition.

@Laura Northrup: Yes, we've still got WaMu branches open in Chicago. The signage in the windows says "Chase," but the physical signs on the side of the building still says "WaMu." Except, of course, for the branches they closed/consolidated.

What I can't get is why you're acting like there isn't a different bank on every given corner of wherever you live. Why show them any loyalty? If this is how things started out, why would you think it would get better over time?

Go open an account at a credit union.

He tried seven different ATM machines, all with the exact same result? I think I would get the hint after the first two or three or possibly four.

Chase is quite a messed up bank. Years ago I was a Chase customer (by default from another bank they bought). My credit report started listing an unknown credit card account listed as being with Chase. It had a zero balance. I disputed it with the credit reporting agency, but later they said Chase confirmed it. I got the phone number of Chase's credit card service department, but with the numbers from the credit report they said there was no such account in their computers. I talked to the manager at the branch I banked at and he tried to investigate. He got back nothing. There was an address that came with the credit report information, which was an office at Chase. They never answered the letter. The manager at my branch tried to track down that office, even getting a phone number for it, but no one ever answered his calls there.

Eventually I decided to close my account at Chase, fearing too much of a computer screwup going on. As I was closing the account with one of the assistant managers, she asked me why I was closing. I told her the story. She then immediately said "oh, that's just a provisional account ready to be activated if you ever want to have a Chase credit card". Why is it being reported to my credit record? "That I don't know. Did you activate it?" No. I never did. I was even more glad I closed my checking account. The credit account on the credit report later disappeared, too.

I was with bank of new york before chase bought them out. Still with Chase, no problems what so ever.

One more reason I'm happy to be a BECU member now. As soon as I heard WaMu was being consumed by the dark side I moved to not-for-profit banking.

Something similar happened to me when my mom sent me a check. They closed most of the WAMU's around here (Chicago), so I went to a Chase. After standing there in front of the teller for like 10 minutes (in complete silence) he tells me they haven't converted. He tells me to go to a WAMU down the street (which closed like a month ago) or another Chase by it.

I go there, and they take my check, deposit slip and ID in the back and don't come back for 10 minutes. Then the manager there tells me they haven't converted and directs me to yet another Chase. Head over there, to find they didn't give me my ID back.

So I head back to the second Chase to get my ID and complain. She told me I had gone to the wrong place, as the first teller MUST'VE meant the Chase she directed me to. I asked her why it took so long to figure out my bank can't take my money, as I can't be the only former WAMU customer coming in there. She told me that wasn't actually the problem, but maybe if I'd said I was from WAMU when I got there, it wouldn't have taken so long. Funny, as my deposit slips still say "Washington Mutual."

I never found out if the third Chase could deposit the check. Took the check to a Charter One, opened a new account and moved all my money. I was going to let the Chase account sit open (just in case of... something), but after getting the new account terms today and seeing that if I let it sit idle they'll start hitting me with a fee, it'll be closed tomorrow.

i mentioned this in the thread yesterday. chase has my money and i can't get to it directly due to having opened the account in CA and living in WA.

what i thought was most bogus is that i cannot deposit to the account or even cash a check without it being fedexed on my dime to california to be processed. if cashing a check they will fedex the money back to me, on my dime.

wells fargo, with whom i have another minor account, says they will be _MORE THAN HAPPY_ to accept the funds from my WAMU/Chase accounts. they have even indicated the funds would be available the day after deposit regardless of the amount, which is pretty considerable as it has been my main account.

however, i am highly considering a local credit union and giving a middle finger salute to all banks from here on out.

@HiPwr: That's because Chase ended up adopting the BankOne system.

Original Chase Manhattan and Chemical Bank customers were the ones that experienced issues actually.

@Joseph Beck: The Chase near where I live has big signs saying if you are a WAMU customer to bring your transaction/deposit inside... looked like standard marketing material that is probably at more than one Chase.

just open the chase account and do as they suggest.
I will cost them money and you'll have what you want.
sorry for them -f'em is what i really mean- if they can't get their shiznitz together until september

@Skaperen: This happened to me too! The first credit report I requested when I was in college, before I even had a credit card or any kind of credit history, showed a Chase credit card account that had been open for years. At first I thought it was identity theft, but it had been open for several years with a zero balance the entire time, so I just called up and closed it. To this day, I have no idea how they got my personal information or how the account was opened.

I live in CA and have not had a problem with my Wamu debit card at former Wamu branches, deposits or withdrawls. Just used it last night.

We're having some minor snafu's as well. We've been Wamu customers for 20 years, but are now going to switch to a credit union. This is crazy.

This may sound crazy... but why didn't Chase just leave WaMu brand as it was.?

And when the internal changes were complete... THEN change the signs and tell people that they could now go to any Chase branch.

I've also been a WAMU customer for years - now is definitely the time to switch to a local credit union.

This problem is very frustrating, however it is happening because you currently reside in a state that is different than the state where you opened your WaMu account.

For example, you opened your WaMu account in California. California is using the WaMu computer system and your account is a California WaMu account. You have moved to Washington State and are now trying to bank at a Chase bank. All of the Washington WaMu banks have been transformed into Chase banks and use the Chase computer system. You cannot make your WaMu deposits at Chase banks.

There is one solution. Open a Chase account using the Chase computer system at your local bank. Then transfer your money to the Chase account. It is better than waiting until your WaMu account is converted to a Chase account several months from now.

Another example, is if you opened an account in Washington and you now live in California. Your account is now on the Chase system, however your local bank is on the WaMu system and you cannot deposit your checks at the local California WaMu bank(which now has Chase signs but still uses the WaMu computer system).

The solution is to open up a California WaMu account and transfer your money to it. This way you can deposit checks and have access to an account at your local bank.

People who still live in the state where their WaMu accounts were created are not having any problems.

My boyfriend just told me that while he was in a WaMu/Chase branch a couple of days ago, a woman was complaining about the exact same thing. I'm so glad I left WaMu in 2004.

This happened to my Mom and Dad's account yesterday. He wanted to deposit $700 cash and they said they had to make a cashiers check and send it to their original WaMu branch in Utah by US Mail and that it wouldn't get credited for 4 days! Guess what, they are changing banks tomorrow to a local bank, so screw Chase!

@rhys1882: I suspect that is because you have a CA account and live in CA. They are still using the WAMU computer systems. If you lived in another state you would be in the same situation as those of us who can't use ATMs, deposit checks, withdraw money in the bank branch, or cash a check. The Chase computer software systems do not communicate with the WAMU ones.

I was told I won't have access to my money at a WAMU/Chase branch until October here in Washington. If i want to close the CA account to open one in WA I have to physically go the the originating branch in CA.

They won't let me write a check on the CA account to open a WA account. How bogus is that?

@ShadowWylde:

Go ahead. It's not like anyone's going to hold a gun to your head to stop you. Do whatever's easiest.

OR, ID, WA, and UT banks that used to be WaMu are now Chase. All accounts and branches in those states are Chase and thus play nice with all other Chase banks, but don't play well with states that are still WaMu. So if you have a WaMu account in Nevada and are used to doing business in Washington, you've got to deal with the special process. But if you had a WaMu account in Washington, you can now go to any Chase nationwide to do your banking.

That's really odd that this happened to you. I too am a WaMu/Chase customer and I actually deposited a check through the ATM just this Saturday. And two weeks before that. I wonder if they somehow just bungled the transfer of your account to Chase.

This is funny. I actually had the same expirence last week. I have a MA WaMu account thst I opened in FL. The account sits idle,,, and last week, I was in Washington State and tried to deposit money into the account just to have some activity on it. I tried three different ATMs and couldnt find the option for a deposit (and it was a Sunday, so I couldnt go into a branch)

So, this poor fellow isn't the only one having issues with the new transition...

It's inconvenient, to be sure, but I'm not sure that having to deposit at the teller window inside constitutes "an elaborate workaround."

@OneTrickPony: Sounds like the teller couldn't deposit it either, though, and had to convert it to a cashier's check and send it to their processing plant. That's pretty elaborate by me.

@bkdlays: Um, just how would he go about this if he's a freelancer? It states clearly in the story that this was a check he received for freelance work.

I had similar problems when North Fork changed into Capital One. I left Capital One after they charged me nearly $300 in one day for overdrafts when I had checks deposited from local banks and significant funds in my savings.

GO TO A CREDIT UNION! (if you can)

I've never heard a good thing about WaMu. I would just close my account and take my business elsewhere. If they can't handle something as routine (these days) as a bank merger, what else are they screwing up?

@Ouze: Here, Here!! I'm not sure if it's out of loyalty or laziness (not pointing fingers, we all do it), but changing banks isn't a big deal, really. And you'll be pleasantly surprised at how accomodating most Credit Unions can be.

I say drop them like a hot potato, and Move On!!

@Zain: too bad most of them have CLOSED.

@MyPetFly: I only had a WaMu credit card - originally Providian, but stayed after the last changeover. I thought this changeover would be roughly the same, but Chase is insanely disorganized, and has AWFUL service policies. The employees I've encountered are really great (I feel so bad for them), but that doesn't change the fact that the policies suck. My 10% interest rate was just bumped to 25%. An hour on the phone and four employees later, and it's "down" to 23%. So, after surviving one changeover I'm opening a Visa through my credit union, and Bye-Bye Chase!

@bkdlays: The story specifically states that the OP has no issues with direct deposit, just with a personal check.

Reading is fun!

@LadySiren: And also states clearly in the story that he rarely has personal checks and that his job is direct deposit. Maybe he has a steady gig with direct deposit and also freelances?

@Skaperen: 100% agree. Chase is one of, if not the most horrible bank. From my past experience with them they seem to do fairly well with business' accounts, but as for individual banking - total shitfest. They managed a similar screw up with my accounts, a computer error or Chase employee who can't type - whichever - anyway it involved my soc. # - not good. they were all like: "bring in your passport" I'm all "I don't have one, bitch", etc. M

@katstermonster: Yes, it is... it's amusing to read snarky little tag-lines on comments that suggest that the commenter perhaps didn't read the original post or earlier comment all that carefully...

@Zain: I've heard from mutual customers at my bank that many people in Washington are having these issues too, and all of the WaMus in WA are now officially Chases. My co-worker has checking there and when she asked if checks written on her WaMu account from her old checkbook will still be ok, since she hasn't been reassigned a new checking account number yet, she was told, "Yeah, we think so." Very reassuring.

My wife gets paid in personal checks exclusively from her playgroup's parents (except for the one couple who pay us in cash, bless their hearts, which helps a lot with the tax avoision), but we've had no problems bringing the bundle of checks to our regular WaMu branch. They clear right away, too. Plus the tellers are friendly, knowledgable, and speak English (with just the faintest of accents in one case).

We're waiting for Chase to poop all over the punchbowl, but in the meantime, we're sticking with them.

@Zain: Typically there are signs telling you when they will be able to do transactions for you.

I am surprised they didn't just send this person away, that is what I had to do when I worked at one bank and we merged with another. So the fact that this person even got what they did was great customer service.

I am dismayed at how many comments are attacking the customer. Customers are the reason for any business. There is no justification whatsoever for an unacceptable customer experience, and this customer experience is unacceptable. It is the enabling milquetoasts that accept an unacceptable experience as 'just the way it is, I guess...' that let piss-poor companies like Chase stay in business. WHY? And, by the way, many WAMU branches have been closed. And, by the way, many WAMU employees that previously provided a good customer experience have lost their jobs, or have lost their souls and become Chase drones. For goodness sakes, go to a local bank with a good affiliate ATM network. They will know your name, they will treat you like a human being AND like a customer, and you can still access your accounts from the huge network of affiliate ARMs. For example, my community bank uses the Wells Fargo ATM network. You do not have to put up with crap like this from crap banks like Chase.