Times are tough. We know that. If it were at all possible, I would stop dealing with the banks period. But life does not work that way, and you can't survive without at least a little credit in this country in these times. That said, I have gone through quite a few banks trying to find one that seems to care about the customer and it's long term 'relationship' it has with them. Big dream, I know. And yet again, I have failed to make it come true.
My latest venture was with a local bank. I figured 'small means more personal'. Boy was I wrong. Perhaps too big for their britches now, 1st bank is the anthesis of small in it's handling of customers. It was made quite clear to me that one person's problem is not their concern. Too bad too, because I have a feeling that it might be more than just one person. But for now they seem utterly content collecting their money and scolding the bad, bad behavior of their obviously careless and irresponsible customer. Example? Sure.
Recently, I have run into the problem of finding enough hours in the day. Working two jobs, most days I am unable to do anything besides quickly eat and get back to work, leaving home around 7:30 am and getting back home around 9 pm. (Clearly I do not work for a bank.) I wanted a bank that had a good website to do online banking, accessible via smartphone applications, and lots of locations for ATM's. My reasons should be obvious. So I chose 1st bank because they advertise strongly all of those things. I set up automatic deposits into my account, set up a savings, and a secondary spending account to avoid overdrafts, and asked that none of my debit card purchases be authorized if the money was not in the account. Good, right? Apparently not good enough.
Just last week I was hit with an overdraft fee...twice. And it all came down to timing. I was looking at my account on a Friday, when I noticed one of my checks had not gone through. I called the person I wrote it to, and they said they just deposited it that day. So I went to deposit into the ATM. The sign on the ATM stated that any deposits made after 3:30 pm would post on the next BUSINESS day (Monday). This was at 7:30 pm. So I waited, and put the deposit in the bank via teller Saturday morning. I have been told numerous times that they post cash deposits first so this, to me, meant that I would have enough money in my account to cover my outstanding check that, by the way, was not showing in even the pending transactions on my account. GOTCHYA. Monday comes, and by 5 pm, I had been assessed a $31.00 fee and the check had been returned. Alright. Let's try this again. So Tuesday I call and ask if the check is going to be reposted, and I am told that it is up to the bank that it was deposited at. I then get money in my savings account and transfer it via online banking to my checking to cover the $31.00 fee that was assessed so that the check might clear if processed again. Only, in the time it took for me to call, and then transfer via online, then have that transfer post...I was hit with another $31.00 fee for that same check trying to clear again. Really? So I call customer service to have them explain to me yet again how this can happen with the era of technology we have today and they use to lure customers into their bank. They proceed to tell me that I should keep better track of my money and that I should never write checks for which I do not have the money in the account for.
Mmmm hmmmm. I see. Bad, bad customer.
But trying to stay on top of the money would be easier if it would actually stay in my account long enough for me to keep track of it. You see, when it's flying out of my account into the 'dunce fee' account that you label overdraft before you give me an opportunity to make it right...well, that's just not playing fair. And it's a good thing I don't rely on the paper 'whoops' notice you send in the mail before I do anything to update my account, or you would have to take my month's salary to cover the charges accrued within that time line.
I guess I just want to say this... I am not claiming to be perfect, and I will gladly accept responsibility for not being able to check my account every time I make a purchase. But when I do 'stay on top of it' and follow the rules, and you still manage to maneuver another fee into the mix, that behavior is no longer going to fit under the 'bad, bad customer' category. And you won't have any 'bad, bad customers' left if you keep that up.