Chixe

How big do you need it to be? For example, because you travel a lot do you like to go in a branch where you travel to?

I've been hearing some scary stories about Bank of America lately.

I have Bank of America, too. Ugh. My boss banks there too and has complained time and time again that they would say that there's overdraft protection on his account (if the balance isn't in his checking it'll automatically draft the balance from his savings) but time and time again he's gotten charged on overdrafts. It's amazing because his account is one no bank should want to lose.

I regret leaving Washington Mutual. That bank would be my suggestion. I have heard bad things about Wells Fargo so I would caution against them, too. Citibank would be the next I'd try because all the ATMs at the 7-elevens around here are with Citibank. I guess it depends on where you are because the number of banks of one branch varies depending on which region you live in.

There are good banks? Almost like good cellphone companies.

@Tyme: What have you heard about BofA that's scary? Anything specific?

I agree with Scrivs in saying "there are good banks?"

Credit Unions seem good but usually don't have locations all around.

What about online banks? I don't have experience with them but I've heard that they can be good and being online, you can bank anywhere you have an internet connection.

Have you tried First National Piggy Bank? They give you a system by which you can carry your actual cash with you all the time, and make free withdrawals. And the customer service is amazing, very personalized.

/Yes, I kid.
//I've been with BoA, and like them only because of their online tools.
///Thinking about trying out WaMu and Citi, as Estarla mentioned.
////Credit Unions are good, but generally inconvenient.

I'm on Wells Fargo, as is my dad (though he has National City too, and uses them more). Neither of us have any complaints. They seem to be pretty good to me but I don't use money much.

estarla: What've you heard about them? Just curious.

My boss banks there too and has complained time and time again that they would say that there's overdraft protection on his account (if the balance isn't in his checking it'll automatically draft the balance from his savings) but time and time again he's gotten charged on overdrafts.

Are they overdraft fees, or the surcharge for the overdraft protection? I have the service and if I use it, BoA deducts an extra $10 service charge.

I have never had a single problem with Bank of America that wasn't my own fault.

I have never had a single problem with Bank of America that wasn't my own fault.

*Sigh* Justification of an abusive relationship. So sad. So very, very sad... ;-)

My business account is through Wells Fargo. They are by far the worst bank I've ever dealt with. Worse than BoA.

I had washington mutual and was pretty happy with them, but there's not one very close to me now. That's not a big issue really and I may go back.

It's all about customer service. With most any bank the services you can get are about the same. Some have better online offerings, or more branches, more atms, or other perks, but it comes down to being the same basic stuff. It all falls apart when you have a question or something slightly out of the ordinary occurs.

I want a bank where I can talk to a person and get an answer.

@alexsuraci: Stuff I've heard includes being charged up the wazoo for every little thing, meaning every little service incurs fees. People complain about BofA regarding the same thing.

@jensized: No, they said they activated the overdraft protection but the balance kept going below $0 and they charged him NSF fees for each transaction that kept making it go below $0 til he was a huge sum of money below $0 yet his savings funds remained untouched.

I've been with Chase for about two years, and haven't had one issue with them. And their interface for their online account management is really nice.

I have Chase, but I only like it because it's where our business accounts are, so when I have a problem with my personal stuff, I just call our banking manager. Because of the work connection, customer service is excellent.

I had a good experience with Wachovia. Their customer service was top notch. The only reason why I'm not using them is because they aren't local and although rare, there are times when I have to walk in the bank.

I've had BofA for years, and have not had one single problem with them, including customer service. I have always been able to get through to customer service and speak with a representative.

LorriM,

I find that amazing and unbelievable. I don't doubt you, I just think that you're very lucky. In the past year I've had to call in about something about half a dozen times. No time was I able to get an answer in any shorter than an hour. Usually I had to speak with more than two people to get to someone who even knew how the answer the question (or had authority to.)

A prime example. I had a $1730.90 dentist bill, paid it with a bank of america debit card in the office. Later that week I saw it twice on my statement, a couple seconds apart. Obviously we were double charged, either by the dentist's machinery or a mixup in BoA. I called about it. After 20 minutes of hold time I got to a very friendly CSR. He agreed that it was an obvious mistake, didn't know if it was on their end or at the dentist's office, and it had to be handled as fraud so he was transferring me to the fraud department.

Fine so far, though every handoff is a failure of customer service technically.

Well... I Didn't get to the fraud department, I got to something else.. I explained the situation again and then was told "oh we don't handle that here, let me put you through to someone else."

It took 4 more transfers to get me to the fraud department.

I finally got there and asked for a temporary credit in the meantime. They said ok, that'll take 7 days to post. What? Sorry sir, that's our rules. That's unnaceptable, can I speak to someone higher up? No.

Turns out the temporary credit posted that day... so I was defused. I'm pretty curious though so I go out to the dentist and explain what's happened. They're very friendly. I was invited back to an office while the financial person investigated. They gave me some coffee and apologized. Turns out, it wasn't their fault, they weren't credited twice, and the machine's audit record only has one transaction going through. Great. Thank you. Can I have your card so I can have my bank verify with you to get this whole mess sorted out? Yes.

So I call my bank back. Go through another ordeal to get to the fraud department (4 transfers!) Explain what I've done and give them the information. They won't take it. I explain I'm just trying to expedite the process so it can be resolved, they say they have to do it their way. Fine, when will I know? 60 days. You mean up to 60days? No, you'll receive a letter after 60 days explaining what we found.

Lovely. Oh well, I have the temporary credit. After 60 days I did get a letter. It explained nothing, but told me my temporary credit was now permanent. Ok great, I knew that was the resolution already. Out of morbid curiosity I called up the nice lady at the dentist. No one from bank of america ever contacted them in regards to the matter.

That's the worst experience I had with them, and it ended up fine... except really wrecks my state of mind as far as to how disorganized and impotent they are at actually solving problems.

Funny, I left Wachovia for much the same reasons you mentioned to go to Bank of America. From what I've heard, you're not going to find good customer service at a national bank. Period.

I swear they all use the same crappy call centers. I'm just thankful I can understand the people on the other end.

As Scrivs said, they're like cell phone companies. You pick the least evil one and hope for the best.

Ozone42: It sounds like a nightmare, and I would definitely feel the same way, if it had happened to me.

@Ozone42: That's a bad situation. I had a similar experience with BoA and I closed my account. With Wachovia when the account was opened up I received papers in the mail regarding my account along with the business card of my account rep. I very rarely had a problem but there were a couple of times when I had a temporary authorization that would not remove itself. Depending on the amount I either called customer service or the account rep. and it was resolved.

But I don't doubt someone else had a negative experience because that is the way it goes. For me, when I hear a lot of bad stories I move on, which is the case with BoA. There was a note within the past couple of weeks where someone was complaining about BoA.

I've been with HSBC for like six years and I love them. Thing is they're only in a few cities (in the US). When I moved here to the Bay Area I had to get a BOA account and I'm getting beat like a redheaded stepchild.

I'm now considering the possibility of using a BOA account to handle the small things I need a local branch for: Deposits, cashiers checks, etc, and keeping the bulk of my funds in a small bank with a good online system. I can always transfer money between accounts if needed.