There are several problems with Charter One beginning with their so-called "Totally Free Checking". I was thrilled with what I was told when I opened my account at the Orland Park, Illinois branch. I was told that they don't charge ANY fees for checks, or service, or other banks' ATM transactions (not including what the other bank would charge). But, funny thing, I started to notice these little service and ATM fees popping up on my bank statement. Outright lies.
Then, when I overdrew funds they took several days to even notify me and assessed $130.00. Now I do take responsibility for my stupid mistakes, but when I tried to make payment, they made it next to impossible to do so, even threatening that if I did pay with a credit card they would still charge another $37.00 the next day because they wouldn't be able to process the transaction until Monday, with it being a Friday.
Now I'm no fool. I know that the minute I use my debit card, the money is transferred almost right away, or at least held. And with today's speed and processing technology, there is NO way it would merit charging me another overdraft fee. They have the technology to take money out of the account quickly and they can't manage to process a credit card? Puh-leez! These are predatory practices that make this bank a LOT of money. They count on the ignorance or procrastination of their customer to keep the bucks rolling in.
But I have learned my lesson the hard way, but after trying unsuccessfully to reason with the customer service department, I decided to fight back. I have filed complaints with the FTC and will file with the OCC also.
If you are reading this because you are considering doing business with Charter One, my advice is to steer clear and try to find a bank that cares about its customer, doesn't hide behing a lot of small print and has more integrity. Charter One was just recently acquired by Citizens Bank, so steer clear of them also.
0 comments