I was just reading an article  the Consumerist on some bad customer service over at Bank of America. If you haven’t heard, here’s the meat of it:

When Paul Kelleher called Bank of America to let them know his mother had died, the BoA reptried to get Paul to pay off her account, even though he’s not legally obligated to. When he pointed out that BoA could go through the standard probate procedure like everyone else, the rep tried a different approach:

CSR: Oh, that’s really not the way to look at it. I know that if it were my mother, I’d pay it. That’s why we’re in the banking crisis we’re in: banks having to write off defaulted loans.

I also saw a post on the Bank of America Overdraft Fee Class Action Settlement.  If you are or were a Bank of America customer, see if you qualify.   

bank-guard

Photo Credit: Brad & Sabrina

It reminded me of some past problems I’ve had with banks. Let me take you through them:

Reduce and Eliminate ATM Fees

Basically I wrote this when I discovered how high some Bank of America ATMs were charging for out of network withdrawals: $3. I understand trying to make some profit, but $3 is extremely high. Benjamin Bregman , a Director of Business Development at Allpoint, pointed out:

 The average surcharge has grown over 43% since 2004 and exceeded inflation by 500% in 2008. 

I don’t see them lowering fees anytime soon, even though some of these banks have received some bail out money.

Another Reason Why I Hate Bank of America

Ana from DebtFree Revolution brought this scheme to my attention. Business Week released a story about the credit card rate hike.  Bank of America had sent out a letter to its customers notifying them that their rates would increase. In fine print there was an opt-out clause requiring them to send a letter to Bank of America. Interestingly, calling the bank is not an option. If they did not do this then their old balances and new balances would increase.

Banks and Credit Unions Are Not Doing You a Favor By Giving Back Your Money

 This was the second time that money was taken out of my savings account and I called customer service to see why this happened again. After seeing it was their fault, I was niformed what they were ‘going to do for me’. They were going to refund the money! I would’ve been okay if they returned the money but to present it like a favor made me upset.

Some Good Customer Service is Still Out There

I’m Frustrated with My Credit Union (Ok, They Fixed My Problem)

I had money taken out of my savings account for a third time and I’m a bit frustrated. I contacted customer service to get to the root of h problem.  After she confirmed what I found out, she said they’ll have to mail me paperwork, have me fill it out, mail it back to them, and THEN they’ll refund the fee! I explaind why I didn’t think this was acceptable, but I requested the paperwork sent tome as soon as possible to get started.

The credit union contacted me later and they fixed the error on their side. There was going to be no paperwork for me to fill or mail. Not perfect, but much better than what they offered.

I got some good customer service from my bank and wanted to share it. I noticed earlier this week a fee from my free checking account. That seem wrong so I contacted the bank through email link since I was pressed for time and didn’t want to take a chance on waiting on the phone. The result?

Customer Service explained was a charge with Quicken pulling my data and after asking me if I wanted to continue with the fee, she deactivated it and apologized for the confusion. It was quick and simple and I appreciated it.

Laura Martinez

Laura Martinez