New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo got Citibank to agree not to implement its new monthly fees on formerly free checking accounts, at least for some customers. If you signed up for one of Citibank’s EZ Checking or Access Checking accounts between January 1, 2009 and November 5, 2009, the new monthly service charge will be waived until this time next year. If you’re one of those customers, there’s nothing you have to do–you’ll get a notice in the mail from Citibank. [More]
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"Move Your Money" Profiled On NPR
By 2.2.10
Last month, the Huffington Post launched a campaign called Move Your Money that urged people to support community banks. The idea is that by moving your money to a community bank, you can help put the “too big to fail” banks on a diet so that they get smaller, while at the same time help a local bank remain competitive. The NPR program All Things Considered took a look at the campaign over the weekend, and talked to some experts about whether it’s worth making the switch. [More]
Here's A Possible Way To Avoid Citibank's New Account Fees
By 1.12.10
Next month, Citibank will implement its new $7.50 fee on what were formerly free checking and savings accounts. The only way to avoid the fee is to keep a total of $1500 minimum in your linked accounts. John wrote in to tell us that when he went to his branch and asked about the new fee, they found a way to get around it. It may not work for anyone else, but it’s worth sharing. [More]
This Chase Customer Service Rep Is An Impenetrable Fortress
By 12.11.09
Stephanie just encountered a Chase CSR who I’m pretty sure will never fall victim to social engineering, and who would likely be unbreakable in a courtroom cross-examination, too. Of course, in Stephanie’s situation this just means that the CSR refuses to help her in any way at all, which isn’t the kind of thing you hope to find when you call customer service. [More]
You Can Buy Used ATMs On Craigslist
By 11.24.09
Even if you always look for skimmers and hidden cameras when you use an ATM, you still might be a victim of identity theft if the ATM is later sold on eBay or Craigslist. [More]
Sprint Gives Stranger Full Access To Customer's Account, Shrugs
By 11.20.09
When Campbell changed his phone number with Sprint earlier this year, the company immediately assigned his old number to a new customer. They also gave that customer full access to Campbell’s account.
Chase Raises Interest Rate On Closed Account
By 11.13.09
David closed his Chase credit card account instead of accepting a rate increase earlier this year. That should have been the end of it, but it turned out Chase later went ahead and increased the interest rate anyway.
Wachovia's "Way2Save" Account Triggers Over $5,000 In Penalty Fees
By 10.27.09
Wachovia has a new financial product called Way2Save that automatically moves $1 from your checking account into a high interest personal savings account every time you make an electronic bill payment. Susan tried to maximize her contributions by making a lot of little bill payments, but Wachovia cut off access to her funds without notice and triggered an avalanche of penalty fees. Now she owes over $5,000 to her credit card companies, far more than she would likely have ever earned through Wachovia’s complicated savings program, and of course Wachovia is denying any responsibility.
Bank Of America Uses Temporary Hold To Trigger Overdraft Fee?
By 10.26.09
Bank of America got so fee crazy last week that it applied a $10 overdraft fee to Christopher’s account even though it wasn’t overdrafted. I went back and forth with Christopher to try to figure out what BoA could have done to trigger this, but as you can see from the screen cap below, he only had two debits on the day of the event.
PayPal Links Account To Mysterious Email Address, Won't Unlink Or Explain Why
By 10.26.09
PayPal has locked Jessica’s account and won’t release her funds until she pays off the negative balance in her other account. That’s fine, except that she doesn’t have another account. Whatever they linked her to, it’s not hers. Of course, this being PayPal, they won’t give her any information about the other account. She can’t even access it to see what the balance is or who it belongs to.
Bank Of America Will Introduce Annual Fees Next Year On Some Cards
By 10.20.09
Bank of America has announced that it plans on “testing” annual fees on some of its reward cards starting next year. The odds are good you won’t see this—a BoA spokeswoman says it will only be tested on 1 percent of accounts globally—but who knows? Maybe the BoA Fairy will smack you down.
Capital One Invents Its Own Christmas Creep, Raises Interest Rate On December 26th
By 10.20.09
When Wally first got his Capital One credit card, the interest rate was 12 percent. Then they raised it to 22.9 percent. Now they’re going to raise it again—the day after Christmas—to 25.9 percent.
Microsoft Turns A Blind Eye To Phishing Scams On Xbox LIVE
By 10.6.09
William wrote to us this weekend to point out how little Microsoft does to fight phishing attacks on their hugely popular Xbox LIVE network. It’s unfortunate they don’t take this sort of crime more seriously, since so many kids—who by all rights should have less experience with phishing—are on Xbox LIVE. Below is what two different Xbox CSRs told William when he contacted them to complain about phishing attacks.
Why Can't Microsoft Help Get This Guy's Stolen Xbox Live Account Back?
By 9.25.09
Erik has been patiently trying to get his stolen Xbox Live account back for a month and a half now, but all Microsoft has done to help is lie and fail to follow up on phone calls or emails. Oh, and there was that one point where they sent “how to get your account back” instructions to the person who had stolen the account, which sort of defeated the point.
American Express Wants You To Use Lame Passwords
By 9.24.09
We’re no longer indignant about Amex’s weirdly lax security policies anymore, we’re just confused. Why would a major credit card company cold call new customers and insist they give up bank and address info over the phone, or email sensitive data to strangers? Or, we just learned, demand that you use a lame password that isn’t case sensitive, is only 6 to 8 characters long, and can’t contain special characters?
Citizens Bank Now Charging An Overdraft Protection Fee
By 9.24.09
Lynne writes, “Citizens Bank is now charging customers an annual overdraft protection fee. This is a charge for linking your savings account to your checking account. Customers can be removed from the program and can get the fee back.” We don’t know when this started—they just say there might be fees involved and call for details on their website—but if you’re a customer of the bank you might want to make sure you haven’t been enrolled without knowing it.
SoCalGas' Password Policy Makes Passwords Pointless
By 9.23.09
We’re not sure why a company would bother with offering a password feature on their customer accounts if they disable them without warning 3 months later as a matter of policy, but that’s how Southern California Gas Company rolls. Does it really matter, you ask? It might if you’re a victim of domestic violence.
Ameriprise Bans "Customer Advisor" For Posting Link To Consumerist
By 9.21.09
Hey, we helped get an Ameriprise customer banned from the financial company’s consumer advisory panel! Sorry about that, Brendan.
