Anyone use Bank of America?

[UGAFan0829]

My DH and I are thinking about switching banks, and have been leaning towards Bank of America. They seem to offer a lot of good products, and they have tons of locations. Can anyone offer any advice or tell me any good or bad things about them? What are their fees and customer service like?

 

[aaronlisar]

I wouldn't do it. You best bet is to get a credit union. A lot of them can offer just as much products with no fees. We have a Bank of America Credit Card and a Mortgage through them. The interest rate on the credit card went really high so we opted out and closed it to kept the same rate. The mortgage has been bought so many different times that Bank of America just happens to be the last one of that. So far no problems with the mortgage. I have a credit union and love them. I also worked at my credit union for 3 years while going to school.

 

[dturner]

My DH and I are thinking about switching banks, and have been leaning towards Bank of America. They seem to offer a lot of good products, and they have tons of locations. Can anyone offer any advice or tell me any good or bad things about them? What are their fees and customer service like?

I've used BOA for about 10 years now and I like them. My checking is free because I use direct deposit - I also like the fact that if your direct deposit date is for a Monday, it's always in your account on Saturday - that's nice, some banks don't do that, they wait until Monday morning to post it.

Overdraft fees are about the same everywhere - high!! Customer service has been good to me, once I made a mistake and forgot to deposit some cash, I had about 5 overcharges, they charged me one and gave the rest back to me, whew!!!

When they post checks, debit purchases, etc. they start with the highest amount first.

If you use the ATM to make deposits - you can make a CASH only deposit up until 8:00pm on a business day and it will credit your account that day, that's nice.

 

[DVCsince02]

Hate BoA.

 

[aaronlisar]

Overdraft fees are about the same everywhere - high!! Customer service has been good to me, once I made a mistake and forgot to deposit some cash, I had about 5 overcharges, they charged me one and gave the rest back to me, whew!!!


If you use the ATM to make deposits - you can make a CASH only deposit up until 8:00pm on a business day and it will credit your account that day, that's nice.

My credit union has NO overdraft fees!!! Completely FREE!!!! Any ATM deposits or withdrawals are automatically credited or subtracted from our account.

 

[singnring]

DD23 & DSil have had to use BoA for the past several years due to his military pay for some reason (i don't ask why ), and they have had nothing but trouble across the board.

We had a loan through BoA a few years back and hated doing business with them. Simple payments and bookwork were a huge issue for them for some reason.

 

[julluvsdisney]

i hate bank of America!! I used them for about 5 yrs just got rid of them finally!!! im sick of hidden fees and sneaky practices. Shady shady bank!!! I am now with a credit union and I am much happier! If u have a debit card its as convenient as BoA

 

[lovemygoofy]

We have BoA and just fine with it. We have had it for several years. I like the save the change to my savings account and that I linked my savings account to my checking account should there be any over drafts occur.

Ordering checks from the bank is expensive. If you don't have direct deposit or a certain amount in the checking account, there is I think something like $13 monthly fee and a $5 monthly fee for savings account if not a specific amount in there.

We've never had any problems. I prefer them just because of the many locations, especially with my husband traveling so much.

 

[driftwood]

We've had the same checking account since 1980 and in all that time, I don't recall any big problems. The account started with Seattle First being bought out by BOA who knows back when, but since it was opened in Washington state, the rules are different they say. We kept it open this long because my husband being military, now retired, we were all over the world. Funny thing, where we live now, there is no BOA branch. Every time I've called customer service, they have been pleasant and helped me.
But....... right now, I have seriously been considering moving that account to another bank because of the general attitude and audacity of BOA this past year.

 

[Ephany]

We have BoA because of our mortgage. The good thing is there's lot of branches available so it's convienent if you travel a lot. DH uses it mainly to keep his work expenses from our home expenses, but once we're out from this mortgage I think we'll close the account. Our credit union is only located in select parts of the country but even so I would go with them in a heartbeat over BoA. They're so much more customer orientated and pleasant to work with than BoA.

I don't like the fact that every time I've had to go into a branch office, they've tried to sell me something. The tellers have been very pushy about how I need a credit card of my own with them or life insurance or random other things. One lady kept going on and on about protecting myself from when DH leaves and how I'll regret it later. I've had credit for years longer than my DH and my credit score is better than his; I didn't appreciate some lady assuming I was this ignorant little flower. I also don't like that in order to do transactions like deposits they have separate slips depending on what state your account is located in. It's annoying.

I'm with the other posters who suggest looking for a local credit union. We've had ours for over a decade and their service is miles above any bank we've dealt with in the past.

 

[a1tinkfans]

very convenient, tons of ATMS, no fees for checks (with certain balances), excellent customer service, easy online handling...no issues with them....utilize many of the services they offer and have been with them for ions......

 

[Planogirl]

I opened a checking account at BOA only because they have so many locations. We spend a lot of time running around DFW and it's handy to be able to find a bank from time to time. DH's bank, in contrast, only has a few locations which drives me crazy!

 

[rsschneck]

We have been BofA customers since 1991. We left them once to go with US Bank and had a very poor experience. Went back to BofA after 6 months. We have no fees because of my hubby's employer. We have several accounts and even a credit card with BofA and are very happy. We do have a credit union account that we have had since 1988 and keep the account open in case we need a loan (best rates and very easy fast on approving the loan). We travel a lot and can usually find a BofA ATM machine nearby.

 

[Dsnymouse]

I couldn't wait to post this - I was a "former" customer. I have a Southern Living business and ran my account through BofA. I had a customer bounce a check through my account and they closed my account and charged me tons of fees. I can no longer bank with them due to this. Makes me wonder what the people who wrote the check did. Still, bad customer service in my mind.

 

[bookgirl]

Been with BofA for years. Like any bank half the time I like them and half the time I hate them. However, because I moved my IRA there when I changed jobs I rank high with them as they count it in my daily balance, so I get a ton of stuff. No fees (monthly/stop checks/moneyorders, etc), free safety deposit box, free checks, and some other stuff I never use. None of the local banks or credit unions will give me the same perks. So even when they annoy me I still end up deciding to stay put.

However, they bought out MBNA credit. They then turned over thier cc division to MBNA. I hate MBNA and no longer use that cc. They uped my rates, then when I told them they were my highest and that I was going to transfer my balance they told me "go ahead". So I did and two months later they're calling me and asking "why'd you transfer, why haven't you activated your new cards" then they were falling all over themselves trying to get me back. I still don't use it and told them as long as MBNA was administering the accounts I would not be back. That was three years ago.

But you can't beat the locations and the online banking is supurb. So I stay with them.

 

[JB2K]

My DH and I are thinking about switching banks, and have been leaning towards Bank of America. They seem to offer a lot of good products, and they have tons of locations. Can anyone offer any advice or tell me any good or bad things about them? What are their fees and customer service like?

PROS - as you said, tons of locations (in over 2/3 of the U.S.), 17K + free ATMs, and free ATM usage at select banks overseas via the "Global ATM Alliance". The Saturday-instead-of-Monday direct deposits are also true.

You can also make deposits at many BofA ATMs outside of your local area. Plus, BofA has plenty of branches near both WDW and DL.

CONS - fees (which are about the same as other big banks such as Chase, Citi, PNC, etc.). Also, to this date, branches in CA, WA, and ID are still not fully-integrated into the BofA network, meaning if you make a deposit while visiting one of those states, you may experience a delay until the deposit posts.

 

[tmarquez]

We have used BOA for a long time, maybe 15 years. Never had a problem. The only fees I've ever had to pay is overdraft fees, and that was my fault.

Once we overdrew the checking account with several small debit transactions and I called them and they only charged us 1 overdraft fee instead of a possible 7. That's also when I learned about overdraft protection.

I also like their billpay. If you have a bill due on the 9th of the month, you set it up and the money comes out of your account on the 9th and is also delivered on the 9th so you have your money in your account the maximum amout of time.

Once my credit card company said they didn't get it on the 9th and BOA called them and worked it out...got the late fee removed and all.

 

[pantherlj]

Been with them for years and very pleased! Love their online banking experience. Very user friendly.

I have had 2 experiences with customer service and both were very positive. Once, they let a $3.00 transaction go through on my debit card when I didn't have enough money in the account (pathetic, not having $3 in my account, huh?) It ended up costing lots of money in subsequent bounced check fees. I had lots of money in savings and was under the assumption that they automatically transferred money over. Turns out it was a feature I didn't have turned on that I thought I did. They waived all the fees and set it up for me.

2nd time I had $2000 (yes, $2000) stolen out of my checking account - some overseas company ended up with my debit card number. They worked very well with me to recoup the money and help me avoid any transaction fees.

Highly recommend despite the bad rap they get.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

BoA is the worst! Run away! FEES! FEES! FEES! I opened an account once for one of their "deals", then a short while later the terms and conditions changed and I was held to an entirely different fee schedule.

They are also the ones that soooo many people on the Dis have posted about having them jack their credit card rates to 32%!

 

[marie1203]

We have BoA for 2 years now and we haven't had any problem we have 2 checking accounts, a money market and a credit card with them. I love the fact that they are everywhere and you can do deposits in their ATM that are posted immediately. We don't have to pay anything for our accounts because we have direct deposit and I love their program of moving your left over cents to your saving.