looking to change banks - need advice

[caitycaity]

what major national bank do you belong to? do you like them?

we have belonged to the same credit union for 10 years. in that time they have gotten worse. if you need them to do something they will screw it up. i can't even tell you the problems we have had. anyways, now that we have cleared out all the loans that we had through the credit union, we have decided we want to switch to a major national chain bank. i'm looking for opinions. i'd especially be intereste dto know how they were in terms of customer service and their online banking interface.

thanks!

 

[disneynutt1225]

I use Bank of America now and have to say that I love them. I love their online banking and their customer service is pretty good. I've used Commerce in the past and I had a major problem with their online banking, so I switched over to BOA.

 

[FSUGrad97]

We used to use a local credit union, but since we got our mortgage through Bank of America, we switched.

We love Bank of America. I like is the amount of ATMs nationwide, which is helpful when you go out of town. We do a majority of our banking online, and I think it's really easy to use, and their customer service is excellent IMO.

 

[bicker]

I'm another happy Bank of America customer.

 

[swanmom]

I can tell you who to avoid.............Chase! Too big, too impersonal, too many mistakes, too unconcerned about fixing errors that they caused, too focused on getting you to 'buy' new accounts, new loans, new services and too little time for good old fashioned customer service.

 

[Annette_VA]

We use Wachovia. Have never had a problem.

The online banking & bill pay are awesome - very easy to use

 

[powellrj]

we had Key Bank for 28 years. The service was getting awful and one day they were rude to DH and he came home and said he had enough, we were changing banks. It was a huge pain, but we switched to National City and have been really happy with them.

 

[Brianne]

We also use BofA. I don't really have any opinions one way or another about them, although I do like the fact that they photocopy my written checks to view online---I'm pretty bad at keeping track of written checks. We needed a bank that was nationwide for multiple reasons, so they seemed the safest bet.

 

[Lisa F]

If it's not important to you to have a brick and mortar branch nearby, check out USAA Federal Savings Bank. They have no fees, free checks, rebate (I THINK 3%) if you use your card as a credit card instead of a debit card, and free online banking. I think their standard checking account is also interest bearing. The customer service is second to none. You can use any ATM and they don't charge any fees, they refund up to (I think again) $15 per month for other banks' ATM fees. Really the only inconvenience is having to mail checks out to them for deposit but for the most part we get direct deposit to our account and the few checks we have are no big deal. The funds are generally available immediately upon their receipt so in some cases they are available more quickly than most chain banks, who put holds on the funds for days.

 

[Texan Mouseketeer]

Here's another anti-Chase person. (Or, formerly BankOne). They really messed up my online billpay and then refused to correct things. Also, I find mistakes all the time balancing my checkbook. What about all the people that don't? Remember that poll on here awhile back of all the people that just look online? Well, if they had Chase, they may be losing money. Scary thought. We're in the process of changing right now, it's just hard when so much is linked to your account!

 

[coolbeans]

I vote for Wachovia, they have great customer service and free checking!!

 

[Jenn Lynn]

We also use BofA. I don't really have any opinions one way or another about them, although I do like the fact that they photocopy my written checks to view online---I'm pretty bad at keeping track of written checks. We needed a bank that was nationwide for multiple reasons, so they seemed the safest bet.

I have banked with Wells Fargo my whole banking 'life'. LOL! We have several different things through them (car loans, 529 accounts, etc.) They have always been great to us. They do the check photocopy also.

 

[Galahad]

Caity,

Does Chevy Chase Bank still exist? We banked with them when we lived in your area and were very happy with them.

 

[cardaway]

what major national bank do you belong to? do you like them?

we have belonged to the same credit union for 10 years. in that time they have gotten worse. if you need them to do something they will screw it up. i can't even tell you the problems we have had. anyways, now that we have cleared out all the loans that we had through the credit union, we have decided we want to switch to a major national chain bank. i'm looking for opinions. i'd especially be intereste dto know how they were in terms of customer service and their online banking interface.

thanks!

We're very happy with Washington Mutual and I was shocked to see they had branches on the East Coast (thought it was a local chain).

Less hurdles to jump through to keep the services free than the other chains and great CS within the branches.

 

[barkley]

i would veto wells fargo-i've had 2 run-in's with them (several years apart) wherein different branches made errors in postings that resulted in overdrafts-while they would reverse the charges they imposed they would be of no assistance (financial or other) in dealing with the merchants whose banks also imposed charges.

we used b of a for several years but i grew tired of only being able to contact a central number for issues that clearly had to be addressed at the local branch level.

i ended up locating a local bank with several branches in neighboring towns. i enjoy the fact that i can call the branch directly and speak to a live person (although they have excellent on-line and 24 service).

we still keep our credit union accounts open though-we have found that they often are much more responsive to loan applications (and often offer lower rates due to their ties to employee organizations and payroll auto pays), and membership often makes us eligible to vacation/rental car discounts.

 

[bsnyder]

I"m not a fan of any of the major banks. In fact, I'm extremely unhappy with my regional bank (that bought out the former community bank that I worked for). I hate not being able to call a direct number and talk to people I know on a name basis when the need arises. If I didn't feel a very strong loyalty to my former boss who is still president of the regional, I'd leave in a heartbeat and go with the new community bank some of my former co-workers have started. Even the start ups now have online banking, and usually give you a number of free ATM transactions. All of the conveniences of a big bank and personal service, to boot!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

May I ask which credit union you've had problems with? You can PM me with it if you don't want to post here. We just joined SECU, since our DD is in college and I'm hoping that's not the one.

 

[tmt martins]

BoA here as well ALL on-line and ATM I haven't seen or needed to talk to a real person in about 2 years.

 

[golfgal]

i would veto wells fargo-i've had 2 run-in's with them (several years apart) wherein different branches made errors in postings that resulted in overdrafts-while they would reverse the charges they imposed they would be of no assistance (financial or other) in dealing with the merchants whose banks also imposed charges.

we used b of a for several years but i grew tired of only being able to contact a central number for issues that clearly had to be addressed at the local branch level.

i ended up locating a local bank with several branches in neighboring towns. i enjoy the fact that i can call the branch directly and speak to a live person (although they have excellent on-line and 24 service).

we still keep our credit union accounts open though-we have found that they often are much more responsive to loan applications (and often offer lower rates due to their ties to employee organizations and payroll auto pays), and membership often makes us eligible to vacation/rental car discounts.

I haven't had problems with Wells. We had a situation where there was supposed to be a loan deposit put into our account and it didn't get in there. We of course bounced a bunch of checks. They wrote letters to each company that got a bounced check explaining that it was their fault, reversed all the charges, etc. I also like the convenience of having branches every where we go so taking out cash, etc is easy.

 

[Regina]

We like Wachovia. We banked with them years ago when we lived in GA. When we moved back to NY, we stayed with our previous bank. Once Wachovia opened in our area, it was a no-brainer to switch to them. We were fed up with our previous bank's constant name changes which always translated to less service.