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banks
It Takes Two Subpoenas And A Contempt Threat To Get A Response From WaMu
By 4.24.08
Washington Mutual will give you a copy of the check that you’ve been requesting for a year, but first you will need to subpoena them twice and attempt to have them held in contempt of court. That’s what one reader experienced when her employer, a law firm, needed a document from the megabank. As she puts it: “If a law firm with the power of a subpoena behind them can’t get WaMu to cough up a document in a timely manner without a massive amount of headache, I’d hate to see what the average consumer has to deal with.”
WaMu Reverses Decision To Exclude Subprime Losses From Executive Bonus Calculations
By 4.22.08
Activist shareholders forced big changes at a Washington Mutual stockholder’s meeting last week, especially the reversal of a much-criticized decision to exclude subprime losses when calculating executive bonus pay. Washington Mutual was one of the lenders cavorting the most eagerly in the refuse trough of subprime lending, and has endured some of the largest losses as a result. Other key shareholder wins included splitting the CEO and Chairman position, and the resignation of several key board members. Nice job, activist shareholders, way to wake the hell up long after the damage was done.
Commerce Bank Workers Only Allowed One Courtesy Fee Reversal Per Customer?
By 4.21.08
Fun fact, it seems like Commerce Bank employees only get one fee reversal per customer account. I had three fees, two cycle-service charges and an “account inactivity” fee. The supervisor agreed to waive the two cycle service charges but wouldn’t budge on the inactivity fee. I popped back in a few days later and tried speaking to a different rep to see if I would have better luck. He wasn’t able to do it for me and he was even surprised to see that the two cycle service charges were gone. “I’ve never seen more than one of them waived before,” he said. “I guess they must have had two different people punch in requests…” So that sounds like the normal rule might be only fee reversal per employee per customer account. Just something to keep in mind should you be doing fee battle with Commerce Bank.
Rude Service Costs Bank Of America Yet Another Customer
By 4.20.08
Jim over at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity closed his Bank of America account after a teller forced him to fill out a deposit slip. Jim doesn’t care for deposit slips, calling them “a wasted branch on a tree we’d otherwise like to keep around,” and likes tellers to double-check his math. Even though Jim yielded and started to fill out a slip, the teller tapped a reserve of rudeness that inspired him to close his account.
By 4.18.08
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From a Digg comment on our post about a WaMu branch telling a man saying they didn’t have enough money on hand to let him withdraw $4200: “funny because i had the same experience at a Wamu. My wife had trouble cashing a $5000 check and we had to drive around to three branches until finally, after insisting continuously, that they finally cashed it!”
Blame The Subprime Meltdown On The Repeal Of Glass-Steagall
By 4.17.08
A lot of blame has sloshed around for the sub-prime meltdown, from greedy borrowers to greedy mortgage brokers to Alan Greenspan, but if you want the real culprit, it was the repeal of the Glass-Stegall Act. On November 12, 1999, the champagne must have been shooting from the walls at Citigroup, which had worked behind the scenes for over 30 years to get the act overturned. After recovering from their hangover, they and their banking buddies went on a sub-prime lending orgy. But what was Glass-Steagall and how did it use to protect us?
Bear Stearns Bag Found At Knickknack Shop
By 4.4.08
I spotted a tote bag for Bear Stearns, the investment bank that recently nearly collapsed and JP Morgan Chase purchased, on sale outside a used goods store here in Brookyln. No doubt it was pawned off by one of the many recently liquidated Bear Stearns employees in the New York area (hey, that Tivo doesn’t pay for itself). I didn’t check the price tag, but it was probably more than $10, which is more than can be said for a share of Bear Stearns stock. Note the new Chase bank sign reflected into the store window.
Why Did Advance Auto Still Have Customer Credit Card Numbers On File From 7 Years Ago?
By 4.4.08
From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Advance Auto said a computer hacker may have gotten financial information of up to 56,000 customers at 14 stores in Virginia and seven other states. The Roanoke company said the customers shopped at the 14 stores from December 2001 to December 2004.
Why would a company have customer info on file for so long? I found one credit card processor’s FAQ which said that the max for chargebacks is 180 days, which is only in the case of when a merchant has violated merchant rules (otherwise it’s 120). So Advance Auto was about 2375 days overdue for a records wipe. It’s time to start tightening up the lax security standards on the retail level that have created a playground of plunder for identity thieves.
(Thanks to Volksaddict!)
By 4.3.08
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A roundup of some of the most popular banks for high-yield online savings accounts. [Five Cent Nickel]
By 4.2.08
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Citibank’s online banking site was down all day yesterday for some readers. Some folks were told a server went down, others were told it was a system upgrade. The site is supposed to be back up today.
Dear Wachovia, My 78¢ Balance Is Not Your Take A Penny Tray
By 3.31.08
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.
Citigroup Developing Citi-Branded Phone That Can Make Contactless Payments
By 3.28.08
Do you wish you had a way to spend your money more easily, without all that opening-the-wallet or punching-the-pin-number manual labor? The trade publication Cards & Payments (registration required) says that it’s received a copy of a report filed with the FCC that indicates Citigroup is developing a Near Field Communication, or NFC, mobile phone that would allow its customers to make contactless payments at participating retailers.
Citibank Uses Sneaky Way To Keep Sending You Junk Mail Even After You "Opt Out"
By 3.25.08
After he continued to receive mailings for months from his bank after he thought he opted out of their mailings, reader Perre asked Citibank if they had honored his request. They said, “yes you’re opted out of Balance Transfer offers and Cash Convenience Checks.” Then he cleverly thought to ask which mailing lists he was still opted in. Citibank told him he was still on “Sales and Marketing” and “Third Party Sharing.” They explained this by saying when you call to opt-out, they only take you off “in-statement offers.” We’re not sure what that means, it sounds like they’re just agreeing to not put additional marketing offers in your billing statement envelope, which is definitely not what any normal person would have in mind when they call to opt-out. Sneaky. When you call a company to opt-out of their mailings, be sure to also ask which lists you’re opted in, and then ask to get off those as well.
Bad Voodoo: Transforming Student IDs Into Debit Cards
By 3.21.08
Cash-strapped colleges are partnering with banks to transform student IDs into debit cards. The deals are a windfall for the institutions, but force students to open accounts laden with hefty penalty fees and surcharges.
By 3.20.08
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Bank of America announced it would be cutting bonuses for top company executives this year. They must have realized you shouldn’t not reward someone for losing tons of money. [NYT]
HTFC Mortgage Company CEO Has A Potty Mouth
By 3.20.08
GMAC Bank is suing mortgage company HTFC for selling improperly secured loans, which lead to the hilariously blue and aggressive deposition from HTFC CEO Aron Wider. Wider dropped the f-bomb 73 times, frustrating the opposing counsel’s attempts to get him to answer difficult questions like “Where are you currently employed?” Some of the more colorful and creative expletives from the testimony of Mr. Wider, who, according to his company website, serves as company Coprorate Information [sic], CEO / Senior Underwriter, and Radio Engineer, inside…
