November 5 may be Bank Transfer Day, but we know a lot of you have already been jumping from financial institution to financial institution since the Wachovias, WaMus and other banks went bust a few years ago.
So for those of us who have yet to play switcheroo with our bank accounts, we want to hear the details — the good and the bad — from those of you who have.
While you’re certainly free to answer any or all of the following questions in the comments, our cohorts at Consumers Union are looking to actually talk to people who want to share their stories. If you’re interested, shoot an e-mail to money@consumersunion.org with “bank switch” in the subject line.
So for people who have recently left their banks, we want to know:
How difficult was it for you to switch your accounts?
If you tried to switch but were unable to, what was the biggest barrier?
What lessons did you learn that other consumers would benefit from?
We also want to hear from people who have considered moving their money but opted not to. Was there one deciding factor (ex. it would have been a pain in the butt due to all the linked accounts and auto transactions) or a a range of issues?
Again, tell all in the comments or shoot an e-mail to money@consumersunion.org to share your story.
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I”m almost done switching to USAA from B of A. It wasn’t difficult at all. It just takes time. It takes a few business days for each step of the process: Opening the accounts, verifying the accounts, switching each connected bill, etc. I still have both accounts because I still have outstanding checks written from the old account.
First of all: that picture was taken at the University of Arizona! I use those ATMs on a regular basis.
I opened an account at my local CU (literally across the street) and I’m going to take this weekend to fix all my direct deposits and autopays through Bank of America. I’ll keep a minimum amount in BoA because I have a nice credit card through them. But everything else is going to my CU. Excited!
My worst banking story has to do with Chase. When I first struck out on my own after college, I got a Chase credit card (my first!) and had a checking account with them. I was paying three different companies identity theft protection because I didn’t know any better to opt out. I was living off of almost nothing and paying nearly $35/month on a credit card that had around a $100 balance at any time. So I finally got in to finding the actual numbers for customer service (3 different companies, not Chase). I talk to one woman who seems nice to start, but then suddenly delves into a nearly ten minute long tirade about all the horrible things that can happen without identity protection. She starts with the usual, credit cards, SS number, etc. And then she’s telling me that someone could steal my identity and get an AIDS test, and test positive for AIDS, and then somehow my employers would find out I had AIDS and fire me. I kid you not! I finally grew a pair and got off the phone with her. But it was kind of insane the dramatic tactics they would go to to scare you.
I switched my personal bank account from BofA to US BANK after an incident of ATM card fraud. I felt that not only was BofA poorly equipped or poorly incentivized to deal with such card abuse, but also that they ( presumably like other banks) do a poor job of informing the public of the risks associated with certain bank practices.
You know those TV ads that assure you that you are covered for any fraudulent transactions when you use your card? That’s not always true. It happened to me and I lost almost $3000.00 from my checking and savings accounts. Here is what BofA does NOT tell you, and what I learned:
1) if you discover any card abuse, the bank’s first posture will be to try to go back even further to find another instance of any type of fraud. If they can find one, and it’s greater than 60 days back, then your current abuse is not covered. In my case, an innocent-looking “E-Bill Pay….. $39.00†charge did not stand out as “fraudâ€. When it was later discovered to have been fraudulent, the bank merely said “sorry, that was over 60 days ago , so these people that have cleaned out your bank accounts in the last 2 weeks are going to get away with itâ€. They did not care about my loss or any crime being committed. Learn the “60 Days FORWARD†rule.
2) LINKING your checking & savings account has a risk that is never mentioned. If your checking account is cleaned out, the bank will then continue to pay through your linked savings account. It is convenient for moving funds around, but for the best protection, UNLINK your savings account from your ATM card.
3) The criminals are more motivated and advanced than the banks. In my case, a bank “fraud department†person told me, “these criminals are smart, they know how to sneak these small charges throughâ€. I inquired if they knew this, why couldn’t their Fraud Detection dept. inform me of such activity on my account. I was later told that this person should never have told me that. Of course. Just because your bank has a Fraud Detection unit does not mean that it actually detects fraud and even if it is detected, the bank is under no obligation to pass this information along to you. In my case, BofA thought nothing unusual of a purchase being made with my card in Southern California and Ireland on the same day. Making the whole experience worse, the local branch manager, himself, was unaware of the 60 DAY FORWARD RULE and seemed embarrassed that there were other aspects he knew nothing about.
4) Card abuse/fraud is not something that happens to rich people. My meager amounts were still a ripe target. Especially in this economy, if you have $100.00 in the bank, I can assure you that somewhere, there is a criminal who will be happy to steal it from you.
5) I know this is controversial, but this is not illegal. The single, best thing you can do to protect yourself and your ATM linked accounts from being jacked, is to periodically “lose or misplace†your card and ask for a new one. This should be done , IMO, commensurate with your card use, risks and exposure to fraud. Banks & credit institutions don’t like to do this because it costs them money to change it over to a new number, but it WILL keep you safer than having not done it. Credit reporting agencies may even take a few points off your credit score if you change numbers but of course, the criminals know this so they are equally aware that banks like to keep you anchored to one number. This only helps the bad guys. Research any downside risks but it is a highly effective, common-sense approach to personal protection, because banks tend to only look after a select group of their largest customers.
6) read, learn, visit web sites like this one….Google search terms like “consumer protectionâ€, and see what comes up. Don’t just visit government sites as they share an unfortunate trait with the big banks; they have Visa/MasterCard & others involved in their decision making. Also, learn that “consumer privacy†is directly related to “consumer protection†and demand more of each from your elected officials.
7) Go back to cash whenever possible. Most merchants love cash & might even offer you a better price for using it. You have the added incentive of not having the transaction recorded for all time eternal and having your whereabouts and buying habits tracked and later sold by the bank for a little extra profit off of you. Cash really, once again, is king.
Whatever you think you know about how your bank protects your money, I can tell you that you do not know everything. Ask them. When they squirm, just remember they often don’t understand it all themselves. Learn from someone who lost thousands as BofA sat idly by, and charged me overdraft fees of several hundred dollars for THEIR trouble during all of this. YOU must be your own best security.
I had a flawless experience – part of that had to do with the fact that I was smart and made sure to do it at a point that I had plenty of money, and went to a CU that cuts the card right there. No automated payments helps too – only one I have now is my car loan, but that’s to get away from a big evil bank.
I switched away from Wachovia a few months ago, because Wells Fargo is dreaming if they think they’re getting my money. There’s really only one CU in my area, so I looked into them first. Turns out they have an arbitration clause in their online account agreement, so they were a no go. I then looked at about 4-5 other banks, and weighed that and a few other factors to figure out who would get my business.
As vilified as BoA is around here, they ended up getting my business. That’s right — I switched to BoA, because they beat my local CU in terms of customer service. No problems yet, because I actually read the paperwork before I signed anything and gave them my money.
I switched everything after my credit union screwed up and wouldn’t reimburse me for the loss or even admit their mistake.
Getting the mortgage moved was the biggest hassle, having to refinance at a bank, having to go into the CU three times to sign the same papers, etc.
Everything was fine until a few months later. I got an overdraft notice from them because of a recurring payment which I had canceled. I thought was a dead issue because it was a monthly payment, and the CU hadn’t tried to pay it recently. I sent them a nasty letter and told them to contact me through my lawyer. They tried to have the amount deducted from my paycheck. Fortunately, I had, on the advice of others who’d had problems with the credit union, formally withdrawn my authorization for the payroll dept. to allow the credit union to take any more money.
Since then I’ve done all my banking at regional and smallish national banks, and I’ve had no unresolved problems.
I have closed the ING account with partly sums of ~US$ 600. Thing is I have never moved much money from my credit union account for two reasons: no or very minor difference in interests rate (savings account at ING, money manager at credit union); too long of money transfer period from ING.
Now I am thinking of opening account with Charles Schwab and/or perhaps with Vanguard. Opening a savings account with Charles Schwab does not need much thinking; I think I am overly cautious in investing in stocks & bonds via Vanguard.
Reminder to self: the phrase is “paltry sum”, not “partly sum”, baka!
Switching was easy as pie. I applied for membership to a (non-local) CU, waited for my welcome kit with online sign-in information, linked my CU with my old bank and setup a transfer of funds from my old bank to the CU.
I now have a high (well, these days it would be considered high) interest savings AND checking account, free online bill pay, free debit card transactions, and access to numerous surcharge-free ATMs at convenient locations (i.e. Target, Costco, etc.). Should I ever need access to a local branch, there are other local CUs around that I can stop in and access my account at because my CU participates in shared branching.
I have nothing but good things to say about ditching my bank in favor of my CU. I wish I had done it much sooner!
Wow. Its hard for me to pull the plug on my Comerica accounts. Through an agreement with my employer, Direct Deposit of my payroll gets me free checking, free Visa debit, 6 refunds of ATM fees, online bill pay, and probably stuff I don’t use or even know I have.
We use our Credit Union for just that. Credit. We keep a small savings account there for small emergencies and have a $1000 Visa card for real emergencies. Got a 4.99% loan for my Harley and thats it.
I worked for one of the big banks in Canada for the past 15 years. In August I decided it was time for a change and joined the Assiniboine Credit Union here in Winnipeg, Canada. Already I feel I am doing more for my members but I also feel so much more connected to my community. It is great to join an organization that fits my philosophical beliefs better and that is committed both to Socially Responsible Investing and providing service to those individuals and communities the banks have deemed expendable.
Just cosed my Chase acct for a USAA free checking acct. Don’t know if it will end up being a smart move, but I have grown to despise Chase. Anyone have good things to say about USAA?
Can’t complain about Chemical.
My switch from SunTrust to PNC was painless and netted me $100. First I switched over our direct deposits, ordered checks (first batch was free), and then linked my phone, cable, credit cards, etc. to the new account. I have a pretty structured bill paying system and I made sure to make the switch just after all of August bills had cleared.
Then my wife and I went to a local branch, told them we’re closing our account due to new fees, got a cashiers check and went across the street to deposit it at the local PNC branch.
And as part of opening a new checking account with PNC and hitting certain requirements I got a $100 bonus. Also I’ve really been enjoying their online calendar money management system, it’s almost exactly what I’ve done on paper for years now.
They’ll probably implement a $5 fee soon so a credit union is up next.
I bailed from WaMu/Chase after it became evident they were only after larger bank fees and offered absolutely no customer service. I would also say they weren’t afraid to offend WaMu customers who had been utilizing a free account. They wanted all of us to leave.
I went down the street to a wonderful, friendly, free credit union and I’m pleased to say, I haven’t had a single problem.
Since I left Chase, I’ve received numerous mailings offering me a free $100 (or more) to open a new account. I just laugh and secretly thank them for giving me the boot.
No one gets free money. When more people start using their local credit union, and the banks start losing a lot of money, perhaps their fees will become more reasonable.
The only trouble I had was an initial hold on my deposit with the new bank. Fortunately I was at the beginning of a new credit card billing period so I just used my card for a week and then paid it off when my bank funds became available again.
The only things tied to my bank account are my credit card, student loan, and paycheck, so there wasn’t much I had to change around.
Chase decided that my monthly rent check that came in from my management company as income each month was not considered “direct deposit”. When I went to close the account, I was held up forever by a branch manager who wanted to know what the amount of other direct deposit funding was that I have going to another account at a credit union. I told her it was none of her business.
some people that have been going into the same bank location for years probably tell you who owns the bank now.
A friend of mine has bank four books from the same location with four separate letterheads….
I finally talked him into working with my credit union when the bank was sold for the fifth time in three years
I just opened an account at USAA. They were GREAT!!! My story isn’t as sexy as stomping into a branch, but we were with ING, so that isn’t really possible. I’m actually not unhappy with ING but don’t like that it’s now owned by Capital One. I actually don’t unlike Capital One personally–I have a business credit card with them, but I do want to leave all the big banks.
USAA has some great family programs–we set up a checking account for our teen that our savings account covers for overdraft–we’ll test how THAT goes.
But I really like the FREE pre-paid credit card for my daughter. She’s not as responsible as my son, so no checking for her, but being able to let her manage her money through the credit card seems like a great option.
The fact we can manage these from our checking account and add money electronically is awesome because we never have cash to give them for chores. Now we can just log on and add it to their accounts.
The ONE issue I have with USAA is that unless you have the military account, you cannot use the deposit@mobile or deposit@home! GRR. They do however allow you to make deposits at UPS stores and I don’t have that many checks that I deal with anymore. I just like the convenience of photographing the check and being done with it.
So in one hour, I got 3 savings accounts (two for kids), 2 checking accounts, a pre-paid credit card for the girl, and a credit card for me and my spouse and the CSR rep was AWESOME.
My bigger issue is my BOA mortgage. I cannot get a mortgage with USAA because none of my military family was ever a member there (darn it). However, I think we’re going to go to a local brick and mortar bank in our small town and open a small checking account and move the mortgage there. I’d actually prefer to keep my mortgage separate from my checking account anyway.
I recently switched from one credit union to another due to a move. My process was fairly painless, although my old credit union did hold up the process a bit. Because of the amount of the check that I had written myself, my new credit union said that they had to put a week-long hold to ensure that the check cleared, but that they would call my old credit union after about 3 days and the money would likely be released into my account at that point. Well, my old credit union would not give them ANY information regarding the check. In some ways, I liked this, as they were looking out for my security, but on the other hand, I don’t currently have a credit card, and nearly all of my money was being held up during that time period. It was definitely an inconvenience.
My new credit union has better rates (2.51% APY checking account up to $25k and I refinanced my car loan at 2.74% – compare to .25% APY savings account and 4.75% car loan at the old CU) and a way more sophisticated online banking system. The car loan rates are even lower now but it wouldn’t make sense for me to refinance again. They refund any ATM fees that I may incur, and they offer bonuses for using your debit card at certain locations. No fees whatsoever and more free checks than I will probably ever need. In addition, having nearly all of my money in my checking account means that I never need to worry about overdrafting.
The only time my old CU really angered me was when I bought my car. It was a new car, but a 2008 model year bought in mid 2009 – it had just sat on the showroom floor all that time. My CU would not give me the new car rate, they saddled me with the 2008 used car rate which was significantly higher. I fought it but eventually gave up when they wouldn’t budge.
I changed my bank (away from CITIZENS BANK) to a new bank for the most
insignificant of reasons (well, it wasn’t insignificant to me). And that was that
CITIZENS told me that they would stop sending me a paper statement every
month in the mail. They had been jerking me around for years, changing this and
that, all the while whittling away their good customer service, and and the demise
of the mailed paper statement was the straw that broke the camel’s back. They lost
me after being a customer there for 20+ years.
I found a new bank — one that doesn’t feel like a 50 cent stamp for paper statements
is a price too high to pay for my business.
RBC Centura for whatever reason, held over five deposits in a row, that were cash and local paychecks, for almost a week each. This led to a LOT of NSF fees. Went to the branch closest to my home, and while they were always rude there, they basically blew me off and told me to go to the branch where I opened the account in the next town over. It’s not far, so it was no huge deal, and by this point, I had become accustom to the branch closer to home being run by utterly useless people. Even there though, they said “We have no idea what happened. Now pay the NSF fees.” I said thee nay! I went cash only for a while, since check cashing fees at the gas station were cheaper than checking fees at RBC. Paid bills with money orders though, so I guess that evened out. Got one of those prepaid debit cards later, but fees for that were ridiculous. Lucked out though, and I suppose RBC doesn’t, or didn’t at the time use Chexsystems, and opened up an account at Delta Community CU. Completely awesome. They have complementary coffee and cookies. I am a simple man with simple pleasures.
Cash, and local paychecks that had never bounced. Why these got held over for five to six business days each, when prior to this, they had been credited to my account within two business days, I have no idea. I’m better off in the end for it though.
I got sick of BofA’s high fees so I switched to a credit union. Lower fees, but very few ATMs and poor electronic bill pay. I finally switched back to BofA. All I really had worried about was overdraft fees, which are totally my fault anyway and I just need to watch my balance. I thought about leaving BofA because of the new debit fee, but considering I use my debit card maybe hundreds of times per month, that’s only a couple of cents per transaction. Either that or I will get most of my paycheck direct deposited to a special, fee free debit card (I work for a major credit card company and they offer this option), use that for everyday spending, and have the rest of my check go to the bank for electronic bill pay and ATM withdrawals (all still free, for now.)
I must say, I know BofA is supposed to be this big evil corporation, but they have ATMs just about everywhere and my local branch staff has been nothing but super nice to me and helped me with all kinds of stuff.
I hope people now understand that providing your checking account or debit card to a biller, e.g. ATT, gym, etc. for autopay is not wise. If you have to use autopay (e.g. to get a big discount) then use a credit card instead. If you’re switching your bank, I would wait at least 2 months before I closed by original account and moving ALL my money. In other words if you’re switching from BoA, open your credit union new account, switch/cancel all your autopays with your billers, but leave your BoA account open for 2 months with enough balance to cover the at least half your autopays you think your changed/canceled. If you have several autopays setup its very likely at least one will still charge your old account even if you canceled/changed it.
Even if you never plan on switching banks, letting your biller automatically debit your bank account or debit card is never a good idea. With the main reason being that half the time when you cancel or change your service, you’ll be debited one extra time and waste hours trying to get your money back.
I totally agree. We have one auto debit because unfortunately they won’t let us pay that bill any other way. It really pisses me off. When I canceled our cable/internet when we moved they auto debited for another month a few days later and it took several calls and a month to get my money back.
I totally agree. We have one auto debit because unfortunately they won’t let us pay that bill any other way. It really pisses me off. When I canceled our cable/internet when we moved they auto debited for another month a few days later and it took several calls and a month to get my money back.
I tried to switch banks, but got arrested when I went into the bank to close the old accounts. They refused to serve me, then locked the front doors until the police arrived to arrest me — for trespassing! I was told that “You can’t be a customer AND wear that button that says ‘I am the 99%’”.
I just finished switching to a credit union. Had to make a couple attempts.
Problems
-My 2nd mortgage was paid out of one of the bank accounts, and they are switching systems, so I can stop the automatic payment from my bank, but will be unable to start a new one until sometime next year. I can do billpay at my CU, but they charge $6 a month unless you do 3 billpays (think I will pay the mortgage 1/3 at a time, 3 times a month with billpay)
-Bank refused to close one of my accounts due to a pending transaction (I had withdrawn $100 two days before) and it would take 2 more days to clear?!? This took 45 minutes as the bank opened 30 minutes late.
-Two days later, I closed two checking accounts, teller gave me a form to sign, was upset that I wanted to read it. It was only for office use she said. When I was done, they handed me cash and two transaction slips and I asked for proof I closed the accounts, she said the slips were the proof. After arguing a little, demanding a manager, she checked, and gave me the top part of the form I signed, stamped ‘account closed’ When I logged in to online banking it shows both accounts closed. This took about 20 minutes.
Lessons learned
-Make sure all transactions are clear before closing, stop autopays, get proof so monthly fees are not added later.
I went into Citibank to close my account and all I got was these lousy handcuffs.
Switching was easy and voting with your dollars is highly effective.
Has your mega bank ever given up finding ways to push you around and constantly changing the rules?
The slight inconvenience is worth it. Stop it once and for all, get a credit union or local bank.
The day after I heard Wamu had been bought by Chase I went to my local Wamu to close my account.
The teller asked why I was closing the account. I told him I didn’t want to do business with Chase. He replied ‘I don’t blame you.’ At least the people at the local branch go to keep their job as there wasn’t a Chase branch nearby.
I opened an account at a local credit union. I told the teller I had just left Wamu. He informed me I was the 5th or 6th new account he had done that day – on a Saturday! – for former Wamu customers.
I dropped BOA after I finally couldn’t take anymore of the government bailout. I had five different accounts with them, including personal accounts and a CD. I walked in one day and told the customer service rep exactly why I was unhappy and wanted to withdraw my money. As she processed my forms, she was apologizing and agreeing with me, to a point. I took my cashiers’ checks over to St. Louis Community Credit Union and never looked back. I love my CU. They are as friendly as can be, have a very navigable website, and give me no problems. I’ve been with them almost two years, and don’t regret it. A couple of hours out of your life can make a difference.
I had an account with TCF for many years, but once they instituted a $5 fee every month because I didn’t have a direct deposit set up with them anymore, I made the switch. After reading about USAA from your site for years and asking my military boyfriend for advice, I signed up for a USAA checking account and have LOVED them ever since. Since I’m not in the military, I don’t get all the same perks that he does but what I do get is amazing customer service, no ATM fees, and my direct deposit paychecks clear a day early.
I’m in the midst of switching from B of A to NFCU (Navy Federal Credit Union). I have had a NFCU account since the early 80′s but hadn’t used it in years. My checking account at NFCU has had 2 cents in it since about 1997 and I had left about $100 in my savings account. I have occasionally used my NFCU Visa card and purchased CD’s from them. I could stay at B of A without fees because of my account balances, but my (young) adult children couldn’t. So between five people we will be closing a total of 11 or 12 accounts. I had opened a B of A account originally because NFCU didn’t have a physical office in my city, now they do.
I try to use American Express for most purchases, they have great customer service and I can use their point system to purchase or upgrade when I travel. I also never carry balance on credit cards.
NFCU doesn’t charge fees for debit card use, has great customer service, and beats commercial banks on every rate.
I’m in the midst of switching from B of A to NFCU (Navy Federal Credit Union). I have had a NFCU account since the early 80′s but hadn’t used it in years. My checking account at NFCU has had 2 cents in it since about 1997 and I had left about $100 in my savings account. I have occasionally used my NFCU Visa card and purchased CD’s from them. I could stay at B of A without fees because of my account balances, but my (young) adult children couldn’t. So between five people we will be closing a total of 11 or 12 accounts. I had opened a B of A account originally because NFCU didn’t have a physical office in my city, now they do.
I try to use American Express for most purchases, they have great customer service and I can use their point system to purchase or upgrade when I travel. I also never carry balance on credit cards.
NFCU doesn’t charge fees for debit card use, has great customer service, and beats commercial banks on every rate.