Poisonous work environment

> We have banked at Wells Fargo for years....

I use Wells Fargo as well but haven't had the same experience. WaMu, on the other hand, was real experience.....

I bought some sunglasses online about a month ago. Since then I've been getting emails from Sunglass Warehouse every d..m day. Now they want me to offer my opinion of their product and service - which would be favorable except for the torrent of spam.

I went into a Lamps Plus store about a year ago to buy a bulb. In a moment of weakness I gave them my email address. Now I get spam from them twice a week. I promise you I will sit in the dark for a long time before I buy anything else from Lamps Plus.

Do these "managers" who dream up these marketing campaigns actually subject themselves to their own treatment?

Bruce,

Big thumbs up from me on Credit Unions. Unfortunately when we moved to Washington about 15 years ago, no local credit union available. I got hooked up with USAA in San Antonio, TX and haven't looked back. In the beginning it was all by mail/phone but most of it via internet now. These folks understand SERVICE which seems to be a bit of anomaly these days. If you want to stay local find a credit union, if that's not important, check out USAA.

Doug

I dropped Fargo too and went to a credit union.. For me it was small fees for this and that while service was garbage and then getting rid of the free checking. I had a teller set? Either up to avoid fees and they made an error and they refused to drop the charges, so I closed the account.

I avoid chatty bank tellers by making most deposits and withdrawals from an ATM.

> Two big checks came in today...

I thought that was the best part:-)

Credit Union are not better.

I got tired of BoA raising fees and nickle and diming other fees every since the bank reform bill passed (... I could go on, but I'd probably end up in P&R) and switched to a local Credit Union. Well, after two weeks of using this account, I got burned. I do all my banking "online" and check my balance everyday. They have a policy of holding check deposits for up to 5 days (even though it posts to the online statement instantly), but applying debits instantly (and even retroactively) even though they may not post to the bank statement for up to 5 days. The result was I had $52 in overdraft fees, even though my day-to-day balance as posted on THEIR website never dropped below $700 ... I can assure you that with Bank of America, that never happened. Their overdraft policy was based on the order that debits/credits posted to the statement, not a secret accounting method ...

Here's a redacted copy of my statement, note that the first overdraft fee occured when my statement shows I have $808 in the account ...

And to make matters worse, my wife called their 800 number for an explaination and got what she said was the rudest customer service person ever. She eventually went to the local branch and they returned half of the fee ...

Anyway, I'm in the process now of switching back to BoA... I guess nickle and diming doesn't seem so bad when opposed to overt stealing.

Well, I gave up on Wells Fargo almost as soon as they took over 1st Interstate. My ATM card stopped working altogether and I decided that if they couldn't handle something as simple as that, I sure didn't want them handling my $$$.

I switched to Hughes Federal Credit Union and have never looked back. They actually have almost everything free (as in in costs you nothing) and - gasp! - they pay you interest on ALL of your accounts. The only time I have been advised was once when I made a very large deposit and the teller encouraged me to deposit into their highest-yield account. They are very personal and if you have a question or problem, you talk immediately to an actual person.

Fie on banks!!

I bank at a community bank, and they treat me just fine. Same tellers, no sales, and free lollipops!

> I avoid chatty bank tellers by making most deposits and withdrawals from an ATM.

Same here. I use WF but for 90% of my deposits I never go in the branch. Stop and the ATM and drop the checks in. No envelope no deposit slip no chatty teller. WF doesn't charge a fee on my business checking and they have a branch a mile from my office. Works for me.

> I bank at a community bank, and they treat me just fine. Same tellers, no sales, and free lollipops!

DITTO!!!

The only time I have had problems with a chatty teller was my Sister-in-law wanting to know where the ambulance or fire truck went. The drive in window was caddy cornered to the fire station. She didn't care how many were waiting in line, She wanted to know.

James

Bruce: Poisonous work environment

I bank on line, and have for years and years. Traditional Banks have always been a problem.
I pay bills OnLine and since I use mostly cash, I drop by one of the numerous ATMs for withdrawal. Never, ever any issues (yes, in Mexico)
I do not go inside a bank building more than once or twice a year, I have no need or desire.
Primarily I use Mission Federal Credit Union... I prefer them.
I also use Patelco Credit Union...

Bruce: Patelco Credit Union allows me to Scan a Check and deposit! Simple software, easy to do, interacts with my scanner, no issues!
AND it gets credited to my account on the Same Day!
I keep the original check, the bank does not need it...

Banking laws vary State by State... relocating from Ca to Az was a shock, not a good one. My banking is now California based.

I opened an account here at a Traditional Bank a few years ago. I have no need for it but have not bothered to go withdraw my minimum deposit and close it out.

Bruce: Poisonous work environment

We have accounts at four different local banks in four different small towns. The charges are minimal. The service is great. Have a few small savings accounts for the grandkids with another bank in a fifth small town. When we need something, we get it with a single phone call, we get it quickly and we get it done correctly.

No one banker has a serious clue as to what is happening with my accounts elsewhere. In my opinion, it really is none of their business. I refuse to carry a bank credit/debit card. If someone doesn't like cash or a personal check, they don't need my business. Mrs. Cow keeps one credit card for use when we take trips. We use it to guarantee the motel, then pay cash when checking out. BTW, we don't waste money at resorts and such. We can do a fine enough job of that without leaving home.

This morning at the ATM

I was back this morning, first to deposit a personal check at the ATM. Two poor old souls in their 80s were trying to figure out how to deposit a check in an envelope (you can't). I gave up and went inside to deposit the business checks, and the nice teller also deposited the personal check for me. Then the poor old souls came inside and asked for help. The teller kept saying, "We are envelope free," which is a catchy phrase but told the poor old souls nothing. Geez.

Holy, thanks you for subsidizing my .....

Holy, thanks you for subsidizing my 5% cash back credit cards. I used to used cash but just yesterday I bought $50 worth of gas for $45.

Local Credit Union and we've had great service. If that were not available, we'd be with USAA.

By the way, I use a local bank named Regions. They may be nationwide, but their headquarters is in Birmingham.

Perry, No Problemo

A fellow was telling me about that one day last week. Apparently this is one of those gimmicks they use to get you focused on doing things their way so that when this special deal ends you will keep on doing it over and over for years to come out of pure habit.

I've been saving roughly ten cents per gallon for the past six months at the station where I buy probably 90 percent of my gas, regardless of price or special deals. Any purchase of at least $35.00 saves you a dollar off your total. That has taken about 10 gallons of gas that I was going to buy anyway.

Meanwhile, at a different place the other day I overheard a girl, maybe 19 or 20, asking the sales clerk how she could get a refund on an obvious error from the day before. She had been there and spent approximately $10 for a little gas and a bottle of pop. This showed up on her card statement (computer access) as $75. She wanted her $65 back ASAP as that was about all the money she had to last her to her next pay day.

Perry, No Problemo

I hate to get all P& R on this thread, but ...

stores should be allowed to offer cash discounts but the credit & debit card companies have too much power.