Earlier this week we wrote about how BoA told Jesse he could never have an account with them, but they wouldn’t give a specific reason. A lot of readers and tipsters suggested ChexSystems was the culprit, so we asked Jesse if there was something in his credit past causing the problem.
banking
Bank Of America: "That's Why You Don't Open New Accounts Online"
By 7.8.09
After reading about how Jesse was banned for life from Bank of America for no clear reason, other readers wrote in with similarly bizarre BoA stories. Wayne was locked out of his new account after he opened it and charged a $75 overdraft fee. Chris was sent checks linked to a duplicate account and then charged penalties when the checks bounced. Edward’s new account was closed but the CSR refused to tell him why, and he was charged a $60 “research fee” for the closing. When Edward went to a BoA branch to clear things up, he says the employee there told him, “That’s why you don’t open up accounts online.”
Bank Of America Bans Customer For Life
By 7.6.09
Jesse tried to scam Bank of America. No, wait. He tried to open two accounts at once! No, that’s not right either. He did something wrong, that’s obvious. Isn’t it? Hello? Please tell us what Jesse did wrong, Bank of America. Your lifetime banning confuses us.
Study Of Credit Unions Indicates CARD Act Will Benefit Consumers
By 6.25.09
Two Harvard doctoral students in economics compared how credit unions and banks operated their credit card divisions, and concluded that the recent CARD act “is likely to bring about moderate, and even positive, changes,” as banks begin to emulate parts of the fairer business model of credit unions. Specifically, they say, all the doom and gloom from the banking industry about how consumers will get shafted by the new rules is mostly fearmongering.
How The FDIC Is Funded
By 6.20.09
So you know that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) protects your money in deposit accounts at FDIC insured institutions up to $250,000, but have you ever wondered how they pay for it?
Commerce Bank/Metro Bank Shows How Not To Handle A Bank Changeover
By 6.16.09
Commerce Bank in central Pennsylvania is changing its name. Former Commerce Banks in that area will now be called Metro Bank. Yawn, right? Banks merge and change names all the time. What they don’t normally do is cancel ATM cards with no notice, and lock customers out of their accounts due to those changes. Maybe this is a new trend.
Obama To Call For Financial Watchdog Agency
By 6.16.09 — Updated: 2.24.17
Tomorrow, President Obama is expected to call for the creation of a new watchdog agency that would help protect consumers from abusive credit card, mortgage, banking practices. The banking industry is not happy about the idea, reports CNN. But hey, they’re just looking out for us: “It’s bad for consumers,” a banking industry lobbyist told the network. Oh, well, never mind then, and pass me some more delicious subprime!
JPMorgan Chase Wants To Repay Bailout Money
By 5.19.09
JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are seeking permission to repay government bailout funds, says Reuters.
REI Says ATM Photographer Is Welcome In Their Store Any Time
By 5.15.09
REI’s Director of Corporate Communications contacted us with an official statement about the recent showdown between two Loomis security guards and a customer with an iPhone at one of their Seattle stores. She says despite the document Shane says he was forced to sign at the police station, he is not banned from their stores. Below is REI’s official statement.
Here's A Phishing Site Disguised To Trick Wells Fargo Customers
By 5.13.09
Freddie writes that his friend was tricked by a phishing email. All the warning signs were there to tip off his friend—an email saying he needed to click a link, a suspicious url, a page asking for his login info—but he clicked and entered the info anyway. Please do not be like Freddie’s friend, who is now probably on the phone with the real Wells Fargo trying to get his account number changed.
Get Informed About Credit Card Reform
By 5.12.09
As we prepare to talk credit card reform with the Obama folks, we want to make sure you’re all able to follow along at home. Inside, we present a cornucopia of fact sheets, charts, and links about the fight for credit card reform.
Loomis Rent-A-Cops Have Shopper Cuffed, Hauled Away Over ATM Photo
By 5.11.09
While Shane was standing in the customer service line at a Seattle REI, he watched two Loomis employees open and change out the cash in an ATM machine. Shane took a photo of them with his iPhone. This apparently freaked out the Loomis guards, the REI security staff, and then the Seattle police, who put handcuffs on Shane, drove him to the police station, and then made him sign a statement that he wouldn’t return to a REI store for a year. You might have noticed in that summary that they didn’t actually bring any charges against him, which should make it clear to anyone who wants to side with the faux Po-Po that what Shane did wasn’t illegal, that the rent-a-cops should be fired, and that REI and Loomis owe Shane a big apology.
CD Rates May Not Be Honored in Bank Failure
By 5.9.09
If you wanted to close your certificate of deposit early, you’d pay a penalty. Unless your CD were callable, your bank can’t close it early with one exception. Fortunately, it’s an exception all banks loathe.
Federal Government Orders GMAC To Raise $13.1 Billion
By 5.7.09
The U.S. government has ordered GMAC to raise $13.1 billion in new capital. Likely source for that capital? Uh, the U.S. government.
Bank Of America CEO: The Bush Administration Made Me Do It!
By 4.24.09
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office is at it again. They’ve been investigating the circumstances that led to the merger of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch and the subsequent bonus payments to executives. In a letter to Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Cuomo quotes Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis as saying that former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson threatened him with removal from his position and mass firing of the board and senior management if he didn’t allow the merger to go through.
Government To Banks: Why Are You Making Predatory Loans With Taxpayer Money?
By 4.13.09
The bailed-out banks have found a new way to annoy the government, according to the Congressional Oversight Panel, the body named by Congress to oversee the federal bailout. Chair of the committee and friend of the blog, Elizabeth Warren, is concerned that the same people who are subsidizing the banks are being targeted by abusive lending practices, says the Wall Street Journal
Treasury Secretary Is Cool With Firing Bank CEOs
By 4.6.09
Hey, bank CEOs! Need “exceptional” help from the U.S. Government? Get ready to be fired. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told “Face the Nation” that he was open to firing bank CEOs in much the same way that GM chief Rick Wagoner was recently shown the door.
Report: Loan Modifications To Date Haven't Been That Effective
By 4.4.09
Fewer than half of loan modifications made at the end of last year actually reduced borrowers’ payments by more than 10 percent… [while] nearly one in four loan modifications in the fourth quarter actually resulted in increased monthly payments.
