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credit crunch
Posts Tagged “
Wachovia
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credit crunch
investigations
Wachovia Now Being Investigated For Drug Money Laundering
Wachovia, you old rascal! As soon as you wrap up one unsavory scandal, a new possible scandal comes to light. U.S. justice authorities are investigating the bank for possible money laundering through Mexican and Colombian money-transfer businesses. The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that "the bank is possibly facing a deferred-prosecution agreement with the US Department of Justice that would subject it to 'extensive federal oversight,'" but Wachovia denies that any such discussion has taken place. More »
fines
Wachovia To Pay $144 Million For Bilking "Gullible" Seniors
Wachovia will pay $144 million for helping telemarketers prey upon the elderly. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency spanked the morally bankrupt institution with one of the largest fines ever levied—but before seeing a penny of settlement money, seniors will need to fill out detailed claim forms and navigate a complex bureaucracy. More »
banking
Wachovia Opens Bank Account Without Permission, Starts Charging Fees
John can't understand how Wachovia charged his startup $12 in fees for failing to maintain a minimum balance when his company never opened an account with Wachovia in the first place. Apparently, his former bank manager decamped to Wachovia and, without his permission, opened a new account "to ensure certain money rates," whatever that means. John isn't mad, and the bank manager agreed to close the account, but John is a little worried because a collections agency has started calling and the account now lists $24.05 in fees. More »
banks
Dear Wachovia, My 78ยข Balance Is Not Your Take A Penny Tray
Two readers wrote in with similar complaints: each had left a small overpayment on his credit account, and instead of leaving the balance or issuing a check, the bank zeroed out the balance and pocketed the money. Apparently, banks are now treating small balances like tips. More »
worst company in america
Round 3: Ticketmaster vs Wachovia
This is round 3 in our Worst Company In America contest, Ticketmaster vs. Wachovia. Their crimes?
Ticketmaster's inability to fix their system allows scalpers to buy up all the tickets for a concert within minutes, depriving fans of their chance to get a ticket for a fair price. On top of that, Ticketmaster routinely obtains sole vendor relationships with venues, so that even the initial ticket prices are inflated.
For their part, Wachovia profited in millions by allowing scammers to use stolen identities to drain money from customers' accounts with unsigned checks, despite receiving thousands of warnings about the fraud.
Choose the greater of two evils.
This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2008 series. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america/
STILL OPEN FOR VOTING: Facebook vs The American Arbitration Association, Comcast vs Menu Foods
bank error not in your favor
Wachovia Doesn't Give You Your Money, Then Yells At You
Reader G writes:On Saturday 3/8/08 at approximately 4pm I went to a drive-up ATM at the Wachovia Bank branch located at 951 South George Mason Drive, Arlington, VA 22204. I put my card in and asked to withdraw $80. The machine was acting normally until it was supposed to dispense the money.More »
banks
A woman sued Wachovia last year because it allowed a telemarketing scam company to process stolen payments through its banks, despite complaints from customers and warnings from other banks and federal authorities. Wachovia said it had no idea what was going on, but now documents have been revealed that prove people high up in the company not only knew, but that "the bank, in fact, solicited business from companies it knew had been accused of telemarketing crimes." Why? How about millions of dollars of extra revenue from steep fees whenever a fraud-related chargeback went through? The lawyers for the woman are now seeking class-action status for the lawsuit.
More »
Internal Docs Prove Wachovia Knew About Telemarketer Rip-Offs All Along
A woman sued Wachovia last year because it allowed a telemarketing scam company to process stolen payments through its banks, despite complaints from customers and warnings from other banks and federal authorities. Wachovia said it had no idea what was going on, but now documents have been revealed that prove people high up in the company not only knew, but that "the bank, in fact, solicited business from companies it knew had been accused of telemarketing crimes." Why? How about millions of dollars of extra revenue from steep fees whenever a fraud-related chargeback went through? The lawyers for the woman are now seeking class-action status for the lawsuit.
More »
Reader Saves $950 By Ridding Life Of Fees, Overpayments
Moriconi writes in to tell us how he was able to save $950 this week by uprooting the hidden fees and renegotiating the things in his life he was paying too much for. Awesome! Here's his true story:
Moriconi writes in to tell us how he was able to save $950 this week by uprooting the hidden fees and renegotiating the things in his life he was paying too much for. Awesome! Here's his true story:
squeeze
Banks Make Up For Their Subprime Losses By Charging You $3 To Use An ATM
JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America now charge $3 for non-customers to use their ATMs. Wachovia increased fees at a potion of its ATMs, and the average fee that your bank charges you to use another bank's ATM has risen as well. More »
stupid
Wachovia Hands $100,000 To Fake Armored Car Driver
It took officials at a Washington Wachovia branch 11 hours to realize they'd been robbed after a guy dressed as a Brinks security employee fooled the bank into giving him $100,000 in cash, says WBAL.Lt. William Farr, the head of the D.C. police bank robbery unit, told the Washington Post that investigators are playing catchup.More »
complaints
Wachovia Thinks Its Computers Are Perfect
Terry writes:I'm writing to tell you about the miserable service I've received from Wachovia Bank. On several occasions I've logged into my checking account to sent payments for various things. It seems that more often that not I end up hearing from these businesses wanted to know where the payments are. I know full well that I've sent them, and even having the confirmation codes to prove it. I log in to my account and can find no record whatsoever of these payments.More »
errors
Wachovia Tells Man He Owes $211,010,028,257,303.00
Joe Martins of Georgia got a surprise letter from Wachovia telling him he owed $211,010,028,257,303.00 on his account with them. That's two-hundred and eleven trillion, ten billion, twenty-eight million, two-hundred and fifty-seven thousand, three-hundred and three dollars, and zero cents. The letter also said Wachovia was reporting him as a risky bank customer. When contacted by a local news station, the bank apologized and blamed it on a "word processing error."
preventive measures
Jerks Often Steal Checks And Money Orders From Mailboxes
You probably already knew that, but like Shemika, you probably didn't think it would happen to you. More »
banks
Reach Wachovia Executive Customer Service
Wachovia calls them the "Corporate Service Solutions Team," but it's the same as any other members of executive customer service team; high-ranking customer service employees equipped with superhuman powers to address problems and complaints no matter what their origination or how deeply rooted their cause.
Samuel Hinnant 704-427-8747, VP
Bruce Cusic 704-590-0400, Senior VP
moving
U-Haul Gets Mad If You Follow Their Directions, Park In A Ghetto
Willie wasn't sure why U-Haul told him to park his rental truck in a poorly lit, fenced-off gas station lot that was clearly under construction, but he figured he had the right place when he saw several other U-Haul trucks in a closed pen nearby; Willie parked next to the pen, locked his rental, and got the hell out of there; when Willie told U-Haul he returned their truck as per their instructions, "they try to tell us it is our fault and we would be charged for this....for what? For doing exactly what they said. Exactly." Now U-Haul wants $1,700: More »
student lending fiasco
Student Aid Administrators Are Pleasantly Paranoid
The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators is too paranoid about the recent student loan scandal to allow Wachovia to splash its logo all over the nylon bags it ordered for its annual conference, according to the Chicago Tribune.The group, which represents about 12,000 college-aid officials across the country, didn't want to appear to be acting improperly by accepting money from Wachovia in exchange for the marketing opportunity. The association also ditched lanyards and pens from other businesses — and even cut off the bottom of notepads that featured the name of a financial-services company — forfeiting about $200,000 in sponsorship fees paid by various vendors.More »
