I've been a customer with bank of america for many years.in fact, I opened my very first checking account with them when I was 21. It's been nearly a decade later, and I've remained a loyal customer... Until now.
I used to think that Bank of America "rocked." I never dreamed of changing banks, despite the fact that some people tried to convince me that this bank wasn't a good one. I liked the way that Bank of America seemed to make things EASY. They were very convenient and attractive and on nearly every corner of the city where I lived. They even had a branch in Kroger that was open late and on weekends. Wow! What a bank!
If I ever bounced a check back then, it was very rare and I payed every single overdraft fee. Bank then, I thought the overdraft fees were expensive, but they were still less than ther $34 they currently charge. I felt like it was my mistake and never complained.in fact, the only time I never had an account with bank of America was only for a period of about a year... When my husband and I moved out of this state so he could get his master's degree in another state which had no Bank of America branches. As soon as we moved back here, we both opened accounts eagerly with Bank of America (individual accounts).
Then, things started to go wrong. I started having more overdraft fees, all of which I have paid with little or no complaining. But I realized in the past year, that Bank of America does have unfair practices. They have capitalized tremendously on my mistakes (no matter how tiny). They do hold deposits (even cash ones... Cash is CASH, folks... Why would they do THAT?)
I made a deposit once throught the ATM (a CHECK) and it was posted and then later debited from my account (a couple of weeks later) becuase it was "lost." I had wrote checks on that money that I thought was there. It was a personal check from my father for a small amount. Okay, they won't give a break but I countinued banking with them and had to pay the fees that were incurred despite the fact that someone on their side "lost the check." Oh, that check existed. My father made a stop payment after I found out it was lost and advised him to. I know I made the deposit becuase the atm took the enevelope and gave me a receipt for the amount of the deposit. The bank never once said we have an empty envelope from you as in, "yes you desposited an empty envelope with no check in it so it's your own fault. The envelope was simply lost.
Okay, the straw that really broke the camel's back is when, 4 very small items were presented in one day, along with another much larger check that was actually written and sent by mail several days AFTER these "smaller" DEBIT card purchases were made, and the larger check was paid FIRST, causing the other items to bounce. I can accept that I made a mistake in mishandling my funds/account. What is difficult to accept is the fact that this bank is so unethical in their business practices. They have extremely high overdraft fees and they do appear to PURPOSELY try to capitalize on anyone's mistake. They do arrange items to their benefit so that they can get as many fees as they can. They also ignore the fact that I've been a loyal customer for a long time and make me out to be a bad person for bouncing checks in the first place -EVEN THOUGH I've always paid everything I've ever owed them, and I usually felt that I made the mistake and had to pay for it!
I've asked them to take some of the fees off from that day and they took off ONLY ONE. They refuse to take off any more and refuse to close my account until the balance is no longer negative. I refuse to deposit any more money in that account, but I do intend to pay the balance in full soon so that it will not go to collections. I told them that my bills are a priority over their overdraft fees. I've since take my business elsewhere. Most banks probably do rip people off in some way or another, but I can no longer contine to do business with Bank of America and I am glad to be done with them. It is quite clear that they don't care about their customers, and their only objective is to get even more rich and more powerful anyway they can. YES, they are TOO BIG for their britches. The old saying is "the bigger one is, the harder one falls." I hope that will be the case with this bank. I thank God it has not been as bad as it could have been. Now, if only my husband will close his checking and CD with them and go elsewhere...
Mary
kennesaw, Georgia
U.S.A.
0 comments