Dear Bank of America

AGREED!

thats why i dont bank with bank of america/jihad they are to greedy and take the customer out of customer service...

Well put!

I have a credit card with them I was a day late with my payment so they raised my interast rate to 29.99%
I have made payments to them two times in the same month now they lowerd the credit amont they are
just like the mofia I think the only way to get there attention We should just make a run on the bank that would
get there attention were they would start thinking about there custumers more.

Bravo to GO TO HELL blogger on BOA. I have been doing business with BOA for over 20 years. First they wanted to raise my credit card rate even though I have never been late on a payment. Then after spending my lunch hour waiting to speak with a Customer Service Rep and being told that to pay off my credit card I needed to pay the amount of the balance on the bill, which I did. Then BOA sends me a finance charge the next month on the zero balance. That is the way it looks anyway. They gave me some BS excuse about the interest charge on the balance prior to payment being made. The bill says Balance due...I pay balance due. Next they will be charging me interest on the interest!!!! I have since closed all accounts (3) with them and changed to a more appreciative bank.

GO TO HELL#2

I feel your pain. Bank of America recently charged my significant other with a late fee of $39. when he paid on time - payment was shown on the statement along with the late fee. When contacted, they refused to remove the late fee. My mortgage was sold to them by Countrywide, and they contacted me about refinancing. They stole $400.00 from me, even though I told them that I did not want to go through with the refinance, and refuse to refund the money. Bank of America should go bankrupt - they "richly" deserve it!

Far as I am concerned Bank of America steals from their customers. The customer service department doesn't give a damn! (I was disconnected 2 times today-not the first time) I truly believe that the way their system is set up allows them to charge you overdraft fees unjustly (on -70 cents I got an overdraft fee of $35.00) and had $1,500.00 deposited within an 8 hour period. I'm fed up with this bank RAPING their customers and I'm done banking with this establishment. I will encourage ever person I know not to bank there and exactly what I think of this bank.

Amen to that...I had a horrible experience at BOA yesterday when I went to cash a $300.00 check from my niece..they refused to cash the check siting that my niece didn't write enough checks and that it was for both our protection? This was after I was grilled as to why I didn't simply take the check to my own bank? what the hell is up with that..I stated that I was here at BOA to cash the check. The branch manager then told me with a smirk on her lips, that if, I opened a BOA account they would gladly cash the check for me...I told her NO WAY IN HELL..that's just plain dirty and very poor customer service.

Sad day and a sad commentary that a bank won't honor their own checks.

Disgruntled in Everett, Wa

I just had a very bad customer service experience, the 2nd time this month. Was tranferred to 5 different ppl with a total of 2+hrs talk time. The did a cold transfer from one rep to another and had to explain the situation (which was a mistake on their end to begin with) over and over again. When I asked for options on how to resolve the issue, it seemed like no one 1) really knows 2) don't even bother to research for it. I have been a customer for more than 5 years and here I am, delaying my international flight due to their mistake. They cancelled my debit card 1) without notifying me 2) with no supporting reason. They won't expedite the new atm process and I am in a state where there is NO branch. What frustrated me the most was on how badly the handle the issue. Kept on passing me from one 'dept' to another and I ended up talking to basic customer service at the end of the 2hrs !!!

I never heard about www.wachoviabank.com like this before. Thank for this.

I never heard about www.wachoviabank.com like this before. Thank for this.

That is just not right.
Banks should appreciate every custom they get.

INESRIVE: Did they give you any reason? I know BOA has done that to few others that I know, mostly because they were not using their credit cards as often.

IHADCALLTHEBANK OF AMERICA FOR HELP YOU KNOW WHAT THEYDID THEYTOOK MY CREDIT AWAY.

Vie Bottger : That is what we are experiencing. Delay after delay and finally we were told that closing will be on Feb 18, This morning the Loan office said we are all set, and 10 minutes ago the attorney said it is not 100%. It is now about 5:30 PM most banks already closed, I don't know if tomorrow is the closing or when ?...has been changed too many times... I have my application with them since Dec. 2008. I don't understand the intention of keeping you there but not finishing the deal. We feel now stuck......if we had an answer, we could have gone some place else......IF YOU STILL HAVE TIME ON YOUR CONTRACT>>>GO SOME PLACE ELSE.

While waitting for BOA to locate my file and missing documents, I got two other properties for which I already got the loans from one little local bank and already closed the deals.

like i said when a REAL bank comes along, iam with them. and i did. when boa goes out of business ill go pee on there sidwalk

Bank of America robs its customers for their money! They have stolen 500 dollars from me and will not let me spend my money that is in my account , further more if i did not have a family i would rob them!

BOA is doing a loan for a property I have under contract. Original closing date 1/30/2009, then 2/6/2009, then 2/13/2009 and then we'll close Tues. today. When are we going to close ? It's a guessing game with them. They don't seem to understand a contract has a beginning and an ending date and you close on or before the ending date. Appraisal wasn't even ordered untill after 1/30/2009. I was told Friday 2/13/2009 we could close as soon as the appraisal with a correction was in,if it was in by 1:30PM, that everything else was done. They had it all by 10:10AM and now say not likely today. This seems to be a really common problem with BOA. Many Realtors groan if they know BOA is the lender.

Denise:
Did your friend also have BOA account? My daughter's bag was stollen in NCY with two ATM cards one with BOA and another with Chase and a Citibank credit card (all three connected to my accounts). The ATM cards were used as credit cards and the charges were directly taken from the accounts. I called both banks. With Chase, I had no problem. Within a minute of my call, the account was closed, the report was generated to show in what stores, for how much with exact time the card was used. My account was credited within 24 hours...no question asked...Chase took the responsibility of investigating. The citibank credit card unauthorized charges were resolved as soon as I informed them. They too took upon themselves to investigate. However, that was not the case with BOA, I have to prove that I did not use the card, took much longer to get any information as where the card was used...and took months before I saw the money back into my account!

It's all about whether you have money or not. I pretty much live paycheck to paycheck. When someone stole acheck out of my mailbox and deposited it into their bank of america account (I also bank with Bank of America) I took the cancelled check (the person who had written the check gave me the copy) to BOA and showed them the cancelled check, told them it had been stolen, and asked if that was a current account they would not tell me anything. They even got mad at me for trying to find out which atm it had been deposited at because I was trying to report it to the police and they wanted to know which atm it was so they would know who had jurisdiction. They acted like I was the criminal. But when a friend of mine had a bank card stolen and someone had taken money out of his account (he had a lot of money) the bank was more than eager to help him out. Within hours of him reporting it, the bank had faxed him a picture of who had taken the money out at the atm. And immediately put the money back in his account that had been stolen. So, it's all about whether you HAVE money or not.

Mary:
I am glad to hear that you got your mortgage from another bank, and that proves my point. If enough people go elsewhere to get products and good service that they want, I think that B of A will get the message and change the way they do business.

yes Anon its fine for a bank to make money. BUT when a real bank acts like they want my business sorry iam with them!!

Anon:
Did you see Ken Lewis in "60 minutes" and hear his interview with Lesley Stahl? The guy was in absolute refutation. That was Oct. 2008. Than there were 100s of blogs and sites criticizing his leadership or lack of. He luanched a bunch of no substance PR campains. They were all only PR campains. A few of loan programs such as "mortage plus", we now call it "pain plus". Things changed but only for the worse. He still has his job.

I hope that, from the current economic situation, we all learn to value our small local businesses .....they don't growth very big but they are there to give their customers good services. After that experience with BOA, I am back to dealing only with local banks...they are still doing fine in spite of all mess big guys created. Every community has one or two of them. They may have a little higher interest rates, but they don't have all those hidden fees of big banks. They check your credit twice before handing you the loan, that is why they don't have foreclosure problem. While waitting for BOA to locate my file and missing documents, I got two other mortages from one little local bank and already closed the deals.

I agree with you wholeheartedly. I hope that, in the economic correction we are experiencing at this time, the 500lb gorillas out there, including B of A, are realizing that they are not invincible and start going back to the fundamentals of good business - Excellent service at a good price. One quick suggestion. Call Ken Lewis himself and let him know of your situation. They're his policies, so he should answer for them. My mother always said "Nothing beats a try but a failure".

Anon:
Thanks for your comments and suggestion. It had worked for me any time I had difficulties with an organization, BUT not with BOA. I went as high as VP, many issues remained unresolved. When an financial institution gets so big, not though a normal growth of the core business but by acquisition of other banks and financial institutions, they end up to be some thing like BOA, collection of disconected offices, no one knows who is doing what? Changing a sign at the door of a bank and calling BOA is not enough. What is seriously missing from BAO is a cohasive managment and leadership. Joining "twitter", hiring a VP of PR and "customer experience", calling for customer satisfaction, investing in fancy web page result to nothing unless there is a committed leadership to bring required changes. Most businesses who engage in satisfaction surveys, they already know that the customer are not happy, but they call anyway , perhaps, hoping they are wrong about their inclinations. When an institution suddenly hire PR professionals, they know they are in trouble, but hoping they are not and the problem is only a problem of perception! A 500 pound gorilla, is a 500 pound gorilla no matter how you paint it. BOA is not very unique in that respect, that is why we are where we are....frenzy economy.

Mary -

You have hit the nail on the head. The quandry at Bank of America is that, as a whole, the associates are all good people, and given the choice, they would refund or waive every fee that upset a customer. But the Bank, being in the business of making money, does not want that to happen, so the power was taken away from most of the associates. Like most big corporations, if you really want satisfactory resolution for a problem, you have to go up the ladder. Whenever I have an issue with a company, and I get told by the person who answers the phone that they cannot help me, I do not ask a second time, I ask for their superior, as they usually have the power to do what I need. It is no different at B of A. Next time you call them about this issue, ask for the head of the Mortgage Division, and I guarantee you your problem will be resolved.

Anon has a few good points. You are right, they have charges and the have ways to avoid them. However, I have had mortgage loan application with them.....that was my bad experience. The people in the front line customer service (e.g. 800 #s) are ok but they cannot do anything about a bad system of the mortgage department. For example when the mortage associate assgined to your case leaves, there is no system of follow up/ or informing the customer, unless the customer gets tired of waiting and keep calling. Than they recognize that the application has not been assigned to another assoicate. To me it is a serious management problem....has nothing to do with the service you receive from a teller in the branch. Even they cannot tell me exactly when he left and what had happened to all the document that are now missing from my file (documents with personal information that I have the records of fax, email, etc.). Ok, here is another example of mismanagment...I have given them authrozation to withdraw $X from my BOA checking for the mortgage application. I check my account online and noticed they took a lot more. They didn't noticed (didn't want to notice) untill I called. They say sorry it was an error, but it is a complex procedure to correct the error and takes time. I don't understand why taking money is so easy, and giving it back is a complex procedure? I am lucky that I noticed it, otherwise I could have been charged for not having sufficent fund for the checks I had written! I wonder how many phon calls this will take to get my money back?! You said their employees incentive pay, particularly the tellers, are tied to their customer satisfaction rating. In my opinion, that is wrong. Usually tellers do what the bank allows them to do. Most customer dissatisfaction has to do with BOA management or lack of. When the system does not allow a teller to refund the money that had been taken because it has to go through a "complex" process... most people get mad at the teller....while that is not teller's fault. If BOA (or any institution) is serious in customer service...they need a real assessment of their system and management and establish some quality control process that point to the source of the problem rather than blaming tellers for customer dissatisfaction. In my life time (long life time), This is not the first time I have applied for mortgage. I have done it too many times to count. i have done through small banks as well as big banks, via my own mortgage broker as well as 100% on-line. I have never had any experience like the one with BOA.

I had read every article on this Blog and I found a lot of them interesting, but I think a lot of people have missed 2 important points.
1. Banks are in business to make money. They are not community service organizations. As long as they can get away with it, they will charge fees for everything. The only time you will really get them to listen is when it affects their bottom line. Their priority is their own customers, not people who do not bank with them, as you do not contribute to their bottom line. Granted, the person who gave you the business check banks with them, but you have the right to refuse to accept the check.

2. Which brings me to my next point. We all have choices. If we do not like their policies or choices, then we can take our business elsewhere. They are not the only game in town, and we live in a free society. If you do not like their check cashing policies, then take the check elsewhere, or do not accept their checks. You have options. You have choices. You may not like the choices, pay $6 and leave a fingerprint, or deposit in your own bank and pray it does not bounce, or open an account with them, but you do have choices.

Although some of the practices that the banks have are socially reprehensible, they are not illegal. If you want change, surely you can call your Senator or your Congressman to change the law. That's what we elected them for.

For the person whose ex-wife stole $36000 from his 401(k), why are you not suing the Bank? If they did something illegal, you have recourse. But to my point, you are complaining about the procedures that the Bank has put in place to prevent fraud and theft (someone mentioned that theft is only 1% of the transactions processed, but you would not like it if your account was in that 1%), and yet you are complaining that the procedures are too lax because you got taken for $36000.

Sorry for the rambling, but I have never blogged before. I could actually go on forever on this subject, for I have been on both sides of the desk when it comes to B of A, and although they do nickle and dime you to death with their fees, they always give you options that will avoid most of them. And, believe it or not, customer service is important to them. They regularly poll their customers about the service they received, and the branches are visited by secret shoppers, and their employees incentive pay, particularly the tellers, are tied to their customer satisfaction rating and the results of the secret shop.
This will probably illicit responses that I would welcome, but I would ask that they be civil, and not a personal attack on me, (as I have seen in other responses), as this is just my opinion, and not the gospel.

Ah B of A! Not one of my favorite places. My problem goes back years when I lived in Phoenix, AZ and opened two accounts, business and personal, at B of A and they had the nerve to charge me a fee to open an account. A fee to do business with them! Can you imagine? And then of course their fees were outrageous, charging for everything from an ATM withdrawal to even coning into a branch to do a transacton with one of their wonderful people. I wasn't long in closing the account and would never go back. From the comments it sounds like not much has changed at good old B of A. And now we the taxpayers give them money to stay in business. There is something wrong with this picture.
Tom in NJ

From the number of message you have posted here, I can see how upset you are. How BOA gave your ex the money without a court order or some sort of legal authorization? This is a serious legal issue, hope you can deal with it.

My problem with BOA is their bad service and collection of inapt individuals working there. That says a lot about the bank management and managers. However, if I become Victim of identity theft , i know who to go after..BOA and the two associates that no longer work there. They have all my personal information. I have placed an alert on my SS# to make sure they don't use it to get BOA credit card! !!! Other than that ...life goes on....Of course, I would never ever recommend BOA to any one not even my worse enemy.

well mary iam sad that you had to find out about boa the hard way. i just enjoy ANY chance to bad mouth boa. they let my exwife steel $36000.
from my 401k retirement acct. i cant wait to see them go belly up. i will go and pee on there sidewalk.

I have very bad experience with Bank of America. I didn't have account there, but applied for a mortgage loan. The mortgage office I am dealing with is in Jacksonville, FL.and I am in NY. How my application in NY ended up in FL, I have no clue. It is hard to belive that so many Incompetents working in one office! Cannot happen by chance...one need to work hard to gather so many of them in one place. My mortgage application had been assigned to four different mortage associate and each time they asked for the same documents I have already maild, faxed. Customer service...even doesn't exsist. No matter which number you call, your call goes to the same black hole! Try to use the on-line web to find any name, contact information, any place one can complain...you don't find one. I think they know how bad is their service. That is why , they have nothing on their web other than promises that they cannot deliver. If you are buying or refiniacing, don't be fool by their low rate..no closing cost... you are better of to go with much smaller local bank. Pay a bit higher rate and closing cost but at least your information is safe..... and one way or another you get the result. With BOA you are sharing your personal information over phone , via fax, on-line with a person that you think is BOA associate. Next day you call, he or she is nolonger working there and your application is assigned to some one else. I hope prevent others to fall into the same trap!

Hi Chris,

I too had this happen to me at Bank Of America. I felt like I was a criminal having to give up my fingerprint. I am so pissed off. How is Bank of America going to store this information. I am really worried about Identity theft because we all know how well Bank of America safeguards their information. I will never ever in this lifetime go to Bank of America again.

moe in wichita ks
“Even though the Branch Manager called and verified the clearance of the check does not mean the bank collected on the check, and because they could not collect on the check, we want our monies” WOW!!!
are you saying that at one point the bank manger said the check was good? then changed it to the check was no good? if i was his boss he would be fired. cause if a manger cant tell if a check is good or not, he needs to find a business that matches his skill level, (NONE)!!

Corissa you are absolutely right, as it stand at this moment, Bank of America is kicking me and our ministry out of their bank because we were given a fraudulent check as a donation to our ministry, the branch manager contacted the bank that the check was drawn on and was told "the check had cleared in favor of Bank of America", once that was done they advanced me 25,000.00 against the check, a few days later the check posted to my account cleared, we went about our business and days later they put my account on lock down, reversed the monies back on the account and are kicking me out of the bank on January 25th, 2009. This was one of the worst things that could have happen to this ministry considering we help people all over the world.

I received a call from the Security Department of the Bank and was told "Even though the Branch Manager called and verified the clearance of the check does not mean the bank collected on the check, and because they could not collect on the check, we want our monies" WOW!!!

As a ministry I really feel Bank of America should do more for their customers by making everyone accountable for what they do, Bank of America said we should have known the check was fraudulent when we deposited the check, can someone help me to understand this?

Corissa you are absolutely right, as it stand at this moment, Bank of America is kicking me and our ministry out of their bank because we were given a fraudulent check as a donation to our ministry, the branch manager contacted the bank that the check was drawn on and was told "the check had cleared in favor of Bank of America", once that was done they advanced me 25,000.00 against the check, a few days later the check was posted to my account cleared, we went about our business and days later the put my account on lock down, reversed the monies back on the account and are kicking me out of the bank on January 25th, 2009. As a ministry I really feel Bank of America should do more for their customers by making everyone accountable for what they do, Bank of America said we should have know the check was fraudulent when we deposited the check, can someone help me to understand this?

a friend has no bank acct. he had a check given him for work done.
we went to my bank, fidelity, the only things they ask for was ONE photo id, and i signed after my friend did. NO CHARGE!!! if boa wants to be a REAL bank they can learn a lot from fidelity AND boa let my now exwife steal $36000. from me before kicking me out. i think boa owes me $36000. untill they pay that money to me, I WILL NEVER STOP BAD MOUTHING THEM!!!!! THEY CAN JUST GO TO HELL!!!! also you note that my first post i did NOT bad mouth boa. i only responded when i was bad mouthed. amamda still hasnt answered my question.

ALL my banking accounts are in Bank of America. I have a small business that is incorporated. That business has a credit card that is three months past due. On December 23rd, my corporate bank card service seized ALL the money from my ‘personal’ money market account. Every cent I had to my name.

Under the obviously mistaken impression that my personal assets were protected from the liabilities of my corporation…I sit terrified and broke and stunned on this New Year’s Day.

Yeah, exactly at your bank where you are a customer. I am sure if you look into it you would see that the majority of banks do charge a fee to cash a business check if you don't bank with them. How about you just deposit or cash the check at your own bank? Wow, there is an idea! By the way, Bank of America is a very friendly bank and is also extremely convenient.

AMANDA you didnt answer my question. if a bank wants anyones business they should take a check on there own bank. it would be like me haveing a co and giving out cupons but not letting anyone use them. its not like they cant check to see if the acc has money in it. maybe they dont know how to run a bank. dua i hope they go under. ill dance on there sidewalk when they do. or maybe we should go to the S.E.C.?

Don't ever get a credit card with them. I have had two. Sent a payment to the wrong one,took them months to fix it. Meanwhile the fees added up and they were not willing to work with me. Now here at Christmas they are taking 500.00 out of my checking account each week. No wonder people are losing their homes and everything else. Hard working, honest people don't have a chance anymore. Just seems they can do want they want. the American people didn't get a 700 billion dollar bailout or we could pay for our bills. Merry Christmas to you all, you have nothing good coming to you. May Karma visit you soon.

well answer me this. why cant a person cash at THE bank the check is on? its like buying new car and when it needs service you take it to the dealer you bought from, and the service writer say they cant work on cause you have an other car thats a different brand. any time a bank lets someone steal $ 36000 from me i WILL NOT have a warm fuzzy feeling to them!!

Charging a check cashing fee for a non-customer is not an unheard of practice when it comes to business checks. The three major banks do this at least. Those three being BofA, Wells, and Citibank.

Is this a good policy? Well that's certainly up for debate.

I have to tell you I have been pretty pleased with BOA until about three months ago. They have repeatedly held over debit charges from the weekend and put through charges that should have never cleared before the others only to bounce all the ones from the weekend and then charge me $35 per transaction. For example, I have an outstanding $13 charge from a Saturday night that shows pending til Wednesday. The money was in the account until they took out their three $35 charges on Tuesday and now are going to put through my $13 charge and bounce that so they can collect ANOTHER $35 charge. I have so had it with them that we are changing to a credit union where if you have direct deposit they give you up to $300 to have insufficient funds with no charges. Oh by the way they also charrged me a $10 fee to withdraw $1.42 from my savings account which by the way didnt even cover the amount of the charge. WHY? I have heard of people going postal and I might be the next one at BOA!

MORRIS, THANKS FOR KEEPING UP. I AM NOT SURPRIZED WITH WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY, IN FACT I ALMOST DIDNT WANT TO SPEND THE TIME WRITING BACK. IF WE GAVE INTO EVERY REQUEST THAT A "NON" CUSTOMER WARRANTED, IT WOULD BE MORE OF A MAD HOUSE THAN IT IS WITH YOU NOT GETTING YOUR WAY. BOA MAKES RULES SO THEY DONT FALL UNDER LIKE MANY OTHER BIG BANKS. I DO BANK AT A LOCAL CREDIT UNION THAT HAS 5 BRANCHS AND HAVE A CAR LOAN WITH A DIFFERENT CREDIT UNION, THEY DO OPERATE DIFFERENTLY. I RESPECT BOTH FOR WHAT THEY ARE AND I EVEN TELL MY CUSTOMERS THEY SHOULD DIVERSIFY. WHY DOES IT MATTER IF PEOPLE UNDERSTAND OR NOT THE REASON FOR DIFFERENCES, IF YOU DONT LIKE A PLACE YOU DONT. ISNT THAT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT? I COME TO WORK EVERYDAY REALIZING THAT I CANT MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY OR ACCOMODATE EACH CSTMR- EVERYONE WANTS SOMETHING UNIQUE TO THEM AND SPECIAL FOR THEM. ALL I CAN DO IS BE FAIR AND CONSISTANT. MOST TIMES THE REASON WHY THEY DONT BRING IT TO THEIR BANK IS BECAUSE THEY'RE OVERDRAWN OR A HOLD WILL BE PLACED, THAT'S NOT OUR FAULT. IF YOU WANT JUST GO IN AND ASK IF THE FUNDS ARE GOOD AND DONT CASH IT. YOU DONT THEN WORRY ABOUT IT BEING RETURNED. IT IS HARD TO MAINSTREAM SUCCESS WHEN EVERYONE HAS AN OPINION. THINK OF ALL THE DIFFERENT BRANDS OF CARS; I MAY WANT KIA GAS MILEAGE, BUT I SOMETIMES NEED A TRUCK. SO YOU EITHER GET BOTH OR YOU BORROW SOMEONE ELSES TRUCK FOR $6 :)

to: amanda only, if you want to raise the bar i can keep up.
a friend of mine got check for some work he did, it was on a boa acc.
he has semi truck drivers license, which is a higher level than most people have, but boa wanted more. after 4 trips and 12 forms of id they STILL would not cash his check. when he turned to go he saw a table set up aimed toward illegals, how much money will you make off them? he says he will NEVER take a check from a boa acc. dont forget WE can chose who gets our business.
if you dont want it just act like asss, oh i forgot you allready ARE! if you do want it ACT like it. like i said in my last post i will NEVER take a check on a boa acc. it will not hurt me, it WILL hurt boa. remember you dont know how much business i am keeping from boa, it might be a lot. i have an idea amanda, why dont you go open an acc at a small bank then you can see how a bank that wants your business treats a customer.

I JUST WANT TO CLEAR UP A FEW THINGS... I WORK FOR BANK OF AMERICA, WE GET THE BEST AND THE WORST REVIEWS. I DO SIDE WITH SOME OF THE COMMENTS MADE, BUT IT'S NOT BANK OF AMANDA OR BANK OF CHRIS. OUR CUSTOMERS PAY FOR THOSE TELLERS TO BE THERE EVERYDAY, YOU ARE MAKING OUR LINES LONGER. I HOPE YOU DONT FEEL OFFENED WHEN I SAY SCREW YOU FOR YOUR ATTITUDE, NOTHING IN LIFE IS FREE. I DO KNOW MY CUSTOMERS BY NAME, I'VE EVEN GONE TO FAMILY REUNIONS WITH MY CUSTOMERS. OUR CUSTOMERS MEAN ALOT TO US, IF YOU FEEL YOU TREATED WRONG LOOK PASSED YOUR OWN NOSE AND REALIZE YOUR NOT THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD- AND IT DOESN'T REVOLVE AROUND YOU. GOOD NIGHT

People telling Chris to "get over it" are missing his bigger point about the way businesses conduct their businesses and how they retain customers and earn their loyalty.

The ongoing shake-out in the financial sector has its underlying roots in the fact that financial institutions got away from being totally focused on serving their customers, and instead became focused on taking as many short-term windfall profits as possible

I've had it with banks as well. Not only do they take your money, they make up the rules on how they will do business with you. I don't think they even try to make a good impression on the public other than "we make a lot of money with your money". Even then, we have to bail them out. Smaller banks or even Wal-Mart money services would be better for you.

to: Customerhater only
i dont care if you hate me. up till now we have a free market system, so far we can pick who we deal with. it is EASY to find banks that are better than boa. on my first post i didnt want to flame boa. but now you have forced me to do it. before my ex kicked me out in 2006 boa let her steal $3600 out of my 401k retirement acc. it has cost me a lot of money. from now on i will NOT except ANY documents from, bank of america, chase or wells fargo. as far as i care you can stick boa up your @#$

I am with you on your point of view of BofA. They steal $6 from me once a month and somehow it is legal despite state law saying my paycheck is to be cashed immediately without discount or fees. Also, I am a veteran and they refuse to accept my federal ID as valid while they do accept the Matricula Consular card. I called their corporate office and was told that each branch is permited to choose what they will and won't accept as ID. I say if it is issued by our federal or state governments and has a picture it should be valid but they will do their best at manipulating you into becoming a member with them as if that will save you money. They are the Bank of the Un-American and if one were on fire I would get out my marshmallows for a celebratory treat.

Wow i'm sorry to say but everyone here is a stupid idiot with the IQ of a fruit loops box. You don't spend money while a check is hold, don't like it? deposit cash. Want to cash a check and not pay a fee become a customer, It's called recourse you morons look it up, thats called a dictionary. And B.o.A. is the super power like the US so get used to it because if you don't have B.O.A. you will have one hell of a time trying to find banks or ATM's for that matter. On the matter of customer service if you deserve customer service you will get it. Just cause you feel like you are god on this earth doesn't warrant customer service

moe in wichita ks. i have been using fidelity bank. one time my mom gave me a check, i was out of deposit slips so i used a counter slip. i put my moms number on it insted of mine. a few days later i got an over draft notes, and a $30 charge. i went in cause i didnt understand what had happened.
i said i didnt under stand. he looked at the paper work and explained it to me. he had make out new paper work, and REMOVED the $30 charge. also being over 55 i get chashers checks free, as many as i need, i pay all my bills with them, and the tellers know me. love this site

You are not alone in your bad bank experiences.. ;-)

http://www.aadjemonkeyrock.com/2008/11/banks-ar...

I just changed my email signature

Sincerely,

Go to Hell!!!!

Was not expecting that one, Great Post

Hilarious post. Reminds me of a recent post by Tim Ferris about a company foolishly threatening to sue him for being mentioned in his bestselling book. I wish the rest of us had a powerful way to vent out our frustration for receiving bad service, etc.

Chris,
Wow! Tons of things to think about here. I'll just add one more. I think there are two kinds of poor customer service:
1. "Don't Know"
2. "Don't Care"
The first kind can be trained. The second kind needs to be fired. And by "fired" I mean "not tolerated." Your example may be "policy" but when a policy results in poor customer service, it needs to be changed. Everything is marketing and affects perception. But affect enough perception and you affect reality.
ahg3

What a great posting and all the lovely responses too.

Me thinks a global twitter tweet tsunami is in order. Anybody care to join me?

I'm thinking this will create at least 5 new corporate communications jobs at BofA given all their layoffs. Heard about all the layoffs that affected long-time employees just weeks away from being eligible for pensions?

Chris, You're blog is working!!! Read latest hypothetical headline regarding the matter...LOL

THIS JUST IN:
"BANK OF AMERICA DECIDES TO ONLY ACCEPT DEPOSITS"

UNIT SENIOR VP OF ANTI-CUSTOMER SERVICES SUGGESTS WE GET OVER IT. DECIDES TO EXPAND KEEP CHANGE PROGRAM AND KEEP IT ALL SO THAT WE AMERICANS DON'T OVERSPEND OUR WAY FURTHER DURING THIS FINANCIAL CRISIS.

WITHDRAWALS EVEN BY THEIR OWN CUSTOMERS ARE DISCOURAGED OR YOU WILL BE REDIRECTED TO ONE OF THEIR ULTRA-HIGH INTEREST RATE CREDIT CARDS FOR DAILY PURCHASES AND BILL-PAY.

PEACE!

I can appreciate your frustration Chris. And you have me saying "Amen" throughout this entry - and every other entry in this blog.

But is it wise to take it out on the client who has a BoA checking account? Won't this create frustration with your business? Are you telling them that you don't want their money? If it was my check, I wouldn't be able to understand why you couldn't just deposit the check in your account.

You like Provident Bank because "they treat me nicely, they appreciate my business, and they don’t charge me to interact with their customers."

Is your new check policy more like BoA or Provident?

you should start a countdown clock to see how long it takes BoA to get back to you on this. I see this becoming another lesson in the necessity of listening to Social Media (a la David Alston and Uhaul).

The quality of service and competency one can expect to receive from a bank is lower than that of a second rate fast food chain.

Two stories. Six years ago my controller walked into our business bank dressed up like a hippie on Halloween and got a personal banker to sign over our line of credit, which was then promptly drained.

Last week, my business partner and I walked into a bank to open up a new checking account and the person helping us did not even know if they accepted credit card payments through merchant accounts and then proceeded to read all the services straight off the brochure.

Chris,

I did the same thing just the other day. I had a check from a BoA customer and I went to BoA and cashed a check while not being a customer of theirs. I was not given this $6 charge that you're talking about. Is this maybe enacted over a certain value? I dont know, and I'm not saying that would be right either, but I'm interested.

The thumbprint issue doesnt seem like that big of a deal to me, but I certainly have a problem with them asking for money to cash a check.

@michaelcummings

Thankfully doing business with banks in the UK isn't quite that bad, yet...

Having said that, I've banked with my bank (Lloyds TSB) since 1994 and their customer service has taken a serious nosedive over the last 3 years, even to the point where they screwed up something as simple as a change of address.

With the market collapse and comments like these, it is clear that we will see the comeback of the local bank with personal service. I actually have had some good service from BofA the past few years, but feel that is a function of the local branch and the branch mgr i had in Wellesley. The branch near me now in Stratford, CT has a very good mgr too.

My account has gone through 5 acquisitions since 1979 before ending up with BofA. Worst part has been the lack of systems being integrated causing some ridiculous process issues between personal and business accounts. Oh well ...

I just left BofA after 8 years of business. I had 1 personal, 2 business accounts, 2 merchant accounts and 2 credit cards with them. They only recently became so big that they started acting like Chase. Where I drew the line was when they were putting my debits before my credits on the very same day JUST so they could charge me a $35 overdraft fee. This went on for months. I'd never show a negative balance in my account, and when I called to asked why they'd say that the debits went out the same day the credit came in later. That is crap. They told me its automated so they can't help it. I think they SUCK, and while they won't miss me because they are enormous, I will definitely not be missing them. I wish everyone would rally and leave their asses so they realize its the little people who make their bank go round.

I swore off BofA after they acquired MBNA credit cards. They did such a horrible job of integrating it and making my life miserable that I closed the card and moved on.

I have a BOA checking account because I help people who have bad credit, judgments, mortgage foreclosure, and other debt related problems. I teach them how to get rid of judgments, stop garnishments and other debt and credit related problems.

I need a way they can pay me and so I just have them make a direct deposit into my BOA account from wherever they live. It makes a convenient way for customers to pay and it does have a few other advantages but they just love to figure out ways to ding me for money. Overdraft charges are outrageous but not nearly as bad as another bank I deal with known as UMB Bank. They are so bad I made some movies about them and put up a blog about UMB and their horrible treatment of customers.

If any of you have web sites and blogs I hope you will put a link to my UMBSUCKS.Blogspot.com

I'm going to put a link to this web page on my umbsucks.blogspot.com blog too.

I left Bank of America about a year ago and still am upset about their policies. I had a small taco stand (the name was literally Taco Stand) in Mexico place a carbon copy underneath my receipt to collect my signature. They then charged me $15.00 for my meal and five minutes later they used the second signature to charge me $500.00 on a separate bill. The fraud department of BofA refused to drop the second charge even though it was clearly fraudulent. Several times they also processed a recurring payment, scheduled for two days after my direct deposit, prior to the deposit so that I would incur a late fee.

Had the same thing happen at a Wachovia. They had bought the bank the check I presented was written on. I was told only after they had run the check through their machine (imprinting the check with time stamp & branch) that it would cost $5.00. I asked to see where it was written (no signage ANYWHERE stating this policy). They could not produce documentation. I asked for a receipt showing I PAID for this. I was told No receipts are given. I asked how they reported this, to who (I had quickly calculated that with hundreds of branches with just 10 fees per week per bank it adds up fast a conservative estimate is 1.3 million per year). My questions were not appreciated & was told to leave with my money or take the check back or I was atrespassing if I did not. Now unable to cash that check anywhere I took my money (less the Five spot) and left. My gut tells me these are earnings that are not reported to IRS ... free money so to speak ... my opinion of cource.

Well Chris, your certainly opened a can of worms here! :) and thanks for doing it. I have an ongoing issue with SunTrust Bank and frankly have been afraid to use my 'social' voice to put it out there. I believe you have given me the courage! These large banks have their procedures. and while i understand the reasons for some of them, they strictly follow procedure and never consider the person.
Thanks for doing this!

When banks start requiring rectal scans, I'm outta there!

I have banked in the same small town bank since I had my first newspaper route (25 years ago). Everyone who works there knows me. As I've moved around to various locations and jobs, I have had accounts with other banks for one reason or another (free accounts subsidized by employer, locally accessible ATM, etc) but I have always maintained and will always maintain my accounts with "my" bank. And although I've investigated investing in BoA, I've never considered becoming a customer (nor any of the other large corporates). You and the readers have validated this decision.

Oops - I'm mistaken. I have an account with Wells Fargo, but that was the result of them acquiring Norwest. Still corporate, but certainly not top tier like BoA, Citi, Chase, etc.

Señor Brogan:

FYI... Your blog post and everyone's comments are making the rounds at BofA...LOL. Nobody there, of course, knows what to do or say about that there DAMN SOCIAL MEDIA thingy!! hehe luv it.

Probably going to cause the top 10,000 BofA VPs to have to meet on this one. New mandate: require TWO thumbprints PLUS doubling of the check cashing fee to cover a new ad budget to combat this incorrect perception of bad customer service.

NOTE TO MR. STEVE: The new daily (and nude) bodyscans at the bank ultimately yield to faulty employee thinking. And they like it that way too. Keeps ya scared and cuts down on turnover costs.

i've banked with BoA since i opened my first checking and savings accounts when i was 16. (also had VZW cell service since i first got a cell phone. i suppose i'm a creature of habit, but i digress.)

never had a problem with BoA customer service or their policies myself.

Ha! Enjoyed this one immensely. Had my own "Go to hell moment" with BofA last week and yes, I blogged it, too. Yeah, I'll admit most of my problem was my own fault. But many others caught by arbitrarily hiked credit-card interest truly are innocent victims.

BofA increasingly is reminding me of the early days of online banking, when my bank at the time wanted me to pay a fee to use the "service." How's that? You want to charge me more so you have the pleasure of never seeing my smiling face taking up teller time in your lobby? No, thanks!

BofA wants to charge you for everything just short of breathing in their office. And their check holds are ridiculous -- except when it's in their favor.

J.P. Taylor is absolutely right: Too big. Except I'd add "and too arrogant."

Although historically I'd expect a bank to honor its check, according to

http://www.helpwithmybank.gov/faqs/banking_chec...

they don't have to (and can charge a fee even, they point that out alot). I get the idea that these sorts of things may protect against theft, but ultimately we're looking at checks just not being as useful as a medium of exchange. If I received a BoA check I may not accept it either (or expect an extra $6 and something to clean my finger) but in the long run checks may just become less used.

If you're a business, needless to say you should consider how your "business partners" impact your customer experience.

I just sent you a check from Keybank. Let me know if you have the same problem, hehe.

Chris,
I couldn't agree with you more. Sadly, I must say that I am a Bank of America customer and will be switching very soon. They have done nothing but piss me off with their uninformed operators, slow banking transactions, holds on checks, and a genuine sense that they really don't care if they lose me as a customer or not. They are way too big. They are gobbling up every floundering bank and mortgage company. This is getting out of hand. They are one of the most powerful banks in our Nation, right up there with Chase. I'm taking my business to Sterling Bank very soon.

Great Post.
Stay safe in your travels.
Keep on truckin.
You are an awesome person...

All my best,
J.P. Taylor
" 4four1ones "
#Gnomedex hallway conversator - meritflorist

Of course they don't want your business. They're Bank of America. I closed my account with them a year or so ago.

@Steve - I've got a customer service background. I quite understand what it's like. We get many opportunities to see the more interesting humans in the world. No worries. Your contributions actually got me to think a bit more about it. I didn't change my mind, but it certainly helped me hone my thoughts in a better sense.

Thanks!

But wow..90-something comments, most of them angry about the state of policies and customer service perception (definitely the perception).

Amazing, eh?

I used to bank with BoA, both personal and business accounts. 3 checking accounts, credit cards, ATM cards...quite a lot of business. I was never "happy" about the fees, service, etc. but it was reasonably acceptable. Then a few years ago it seemed like they made some major policy changes. They started putting holds on deposits for 10 days (does it really take 10 days for checks to clear, I don't think so), they started charging fees for fees, at least it seemed like it. The final straw was an incident with a cashiers check (you know, guaranteed funds) from my business partner. We moved some funds from one non-BoA account to our operating account to fund a time sensitive investment...when I deposited the cashiers check they didn't say anything but put a 10 day hold on the funds. Two days later when I tried to send an international wire transfer they informed me of the hold and refused to remove it. I spent the better part of 3 days trying to make sense out of their actions both on the phone and in person and eventually got the hold removed...no apology or explaination. Holding certified funds did it for me. I moved all my accounts to Union Bank of CA, a smal bank, not some many branches but they're friendly, they don't charge me for everything and their policies are reasonable and consistent.

@Ellen

I don't work for BOA. I can't stand Bank of America. But you're free to think what you want.

@ Ellen:

I don't know who ya are, hon, but I think I'm in love!

Response Specially Designed for "Steve"

Steve,

Everything about your postings magnify the issues even further. Fraud is such a huge problem...try less than 1% of all transactions! Banks and bank tellers are incorrectly trained to try to manage risk by basically treating nearly all customers like criminals. Not only unmerited but what other business segment carries on like this?

I'm gathering from your tone and content that you're one of the Bank of America PR stooges...there are many layers of that plus they hire outside media consultants to help massage away the rough spots. Read the news lately? Most of the so-called fraud is from insiders NOT the average Joe six-pack walking in to cash a small amount check.

You mention that you work with many upset customers...I wonder why? Perhaps its the third-degree given to consumers while Wall Street-types walk away with billions and nobody asks them from additional fingerprinting and fees....and if they do...the average consumer pays their way too.

May I suggest you seek employment in companies away from the deck-of-cards financial world? Maybe you'll deal with less complaints. I personally suspect you enjoy the implied power you have over honest, hardworking folks. Bank of America is truly pathetic. Good luck working there.

You make a good point, too. Perception is reality.

I'm not really sure how this situation could be changed, though. The extra ID and the fingerprint are quite necessary.

The fee obviously isn't necessary and that COULD be changed. Frankly, the main reason it's there is to get people to open accounts. I can't tell you how many people come to the bank to cash their check every week - paying that fee each time - until they finally decide to just open an account.

I also want to apologize for calling you an idiot before. I happen to work in a position at my bank where I spend a lot of my time dealing with upset customers, and it can get under your skin a bit. It was rude of me - especially anonymously over the internet - and I apologize.

Chris,

I'm a surprised you would take this stance - coming from someone who positions himself a veteran of technology to build digital relationships.

Rather than sending the check back to the sender, why not educate the sender about BofA's online direct deposit check payment program?

I'm not a customer, but I have out of state partners who make their payments to me this way; no checks, no waiting for the mail, no need to go to a BofA branch - the payment is made to my account right away, and its available.

Hi Chris,

This is both interesting and disturbing. My experiences with my previous bank (the late WaMu) were so consistently nightmarish that I moved to BofA after angrily closing my WaMu account one day and then realizing I needed to hurry up and find a new bank (BofA happened to be directly across the street). I didn't think I'd stay with them for long based on the horror stories I've heard, but as it turned out, the various minor problems I've had have been almost a relief compared to what I was used to and what I was expecting.

I say "interesting" because it occurs to me that while my BofA experience has been unacceptable by almost any reasonable standards, I've accepted it because the banking industry has created such low expectations going in. That's just sad.

And I say "disappointing" because any poor soul I've written a check to might be having to go through what you described. But now that I think about it, I almost never write checks anymore anyway (aside from the rent check, nearly everything else is paid electronically in one way or another). Your experiences will probably make me even less likely to write checks going forward - particularly to individuals.

@Steve - okay, that's true. It is the policy not the actual carrying out of the policy that I disagree with.

And yet, as evidenced by the hubbub in this tiny little blog, you'll note that I'm not alone in my feelings on the perception it's left me with. Should a bank change because someone perceived a policy made them feel unwanted?

I guess we'll see.

I understand that the preferred process is to deposit the check in my bank, have both banks bounce the funds back and forth or whatever they do for a handful of days, and then give it to me when they're good and ready. Given that this was a situation where I was leaving the country nearly immediately, I couldn't quite wait.

Was that worth the perception based on the policy?

I dunno. Still say no.

Chase does this too and I find it very annoying. They once charged me $6 to cash one of their own money orders that I received.

I couldn't get my money out of boa and into a local bank fast enough. Bastards would hold my paycheck from a well known international company for a week, while finding excuses to charge me fees so that when they did give me my money, they kept some. I could deposit a check from one of my other banks and see that it was cleared in one or two days at the most, but they still held my my money hostage for 5 days. They will also allow you to take cash out of an ATM when your account doesn't have cash in it. Now what kind of business would give you money from an account that they KNOW has nothing in it, or pay out a charge on an account with nothing in it. Their excuse...we wouldn't want to embarrass you by declining your card. NO...YOU WANT TO CHARGE ME THE OVERDRAFT CHARGE! (I wonder how fast they would be bitching if I held my payments to them...oh yeah, they would just add charges on.) I won't even go into the fact I am asked for my social security number, yet an illegal alien w/o one is able to open an account...

Bastards
of
America

"I’m an idiot because I’d prefer to be treated better by a business?"

It doesn't sound like they treated you poorly. They weren't rude to you. They have policies that are in place for a very good reason and you're upset at them. That's not treating you poorly.

"Other places that aren’t banks also don’t have my signature on file, and yet they accept my signature."

Well, yes...like you said, they're not banks. If you don't work for a bank you don't have any idea how much fraud goes on. It's unfortunate, but we have to take measures to protect our customers money.

Yes, the fingerprint is only used in the event of a court case, but it's also been exceedingly useful as a fraud deterrant.

"if your version of growing up means accepting service that I deem inappropriate"

Again, it doesn't seem like there was anything wrong with the service, it seems that you are adverse to the bank policy. Customer service and bank policy are two seperate things (and the people who work in a branch have no control over policy, which everybody should remember before being rude to them).

Like it or not, non-customers walking into a bank attempting to cash a check drawn on that bank is the single largest form of fraud we face on a day-to-day basis, and you are always going to have to provide additional identification and you'll usually pay a fee. It's usually easier to just cash it or deposit it at your bank to avoid all the hassle.

Angry. Stupid. Irrational. Emotionally flawed. I am all of these things for not following you sooner, Chris... Loved the passionate post.

Deon

Amen! I also bank with a local bank here in Chicago and refuse to do business with BOA or CHASE because of all of the hidden charges.

@Steve (not really Steve) - I'm an idiot because I'd prefer to be treated better by a business? Clearly.

Do I resent the fingerprint? Absolutely. Other places that aren't banks also don't have my signature on file, and yet they accept my signature. Further, does the bank have my fingerprint on file? No. So, then how will that help unless there's perhaps a court case? (Maybe that's the deal, but then that presumes the worst up front, n'est pas?)

So, to quote Toys R Us, I don't want to grow up, if your version of growing up means accepting service that I deem inappropriate. I'm crying all the way to the (other) bank.

AMEN! I cannot believe the structure that banks are using to crank out these unwarranted fees. I'm seriously thinking a safe under my bed or digging a hole in the back yard and burying my money is looking like a better option now a days.

I have a great relationship with PNC- I have gotten some unwarranted charges, but I went into my local branch, talked to the manager, and they solved it right away. Likewise, in terms of security, they flagged a check my husband wrote, because his signature had deteriorated so much, it no longer matched the signature card! (I write all the checks here... I'm CFO!) It was a nuisance, but I felt like they were looking out for us, so I'm pretty happy.
The point here is that my local branch managers have made sure that any problems or unusual issues are resolved quickly and easily, and this customer service keeps me happy and keeps me from switching banks.
Good customer service and attention makes the mistakes just "cost of doing business" instead of a make or break issue. It smooths out the rough spots.

Your experience, unfortunately, rings true Chris. The bigger the bank, the smaller the customer is to to them. Last I heard I didn't think banks were in the position to treat customers so poorly.

Many of my friends have gone to Credit Unions, who they say are vastly superior in efficiency, customer service and banking in general.

Since moving we've had to consider changing our bank from Wells Fargo - after reading your post, I think we'll be passing on Bank of America.

Thanks!

What is it with big banks? I agree with you Chris. They clearly don't want your business and that's unfortunate.

John P. Kreiss
MorganSullivan, Inc.
http://wwww.morgansullivan.com

Bank of America has perhaps the most dim-witted, anti-business, non-customer responsive banking model on the planet.

Can we get a Seth Godin profile on "What Not to Be As A Bank Attempting to Service the Public"....

Chris, sorry you went through that and yes, return all payments to make a statement. We've done that for years and it's a great thing.

How unfortunate that as taxpayers we have to shoulder even one red cent to this clowns. It used to be a great brand many moons ago but now....just banking buffoons or should I say bofa-oons...LOL!

What's with the fingerprint?? I think its so payday lending...probably scanning for future database or to match up with GITMO guests. GOOD LUCK!