Both myself and my fiance have been Wachovia Bank customers for over 11 years. We had never had problems w/them, but due to what I assume must be desperation, they have managed to steal over $3K from us in the past 13 months! And what's worse is that they could care less.
I'll be honest, since being unemployed and attending school for the past two years, we have been very tight moneywise. But nothing could've prepared me for the ridiculousness I've experienced. I can trot out several specific instances, but these are the type of antics we have seen;
-Signing up for email alerts; I did this in the spring, on both of our accounts, and I have received monthly notices that my bank statements are ready to view, yet we were never getting the alert emails.in August when my fiance's account was hit with over $400 in NSF fees and I complained, I started getting letters in the mail that they had an incorrect email address on file. I have checked the account info where directed and it is correct. And if it is wrong, how exactly am I getting the emails that my statement is ready?
-The Power of Attorney Letter; I went into the bank to speak with someone in August about having the $400 NSF fees waived on my fiance's checking account. They told me that they needed a power of atty letter to discuss the account with me, which I can understand. I called later to ask what format this should be, and they said just something general signed by him and notarized, giving the bank permission to deal with me. I got this, and the Huncrest branch put it "on file". Weeks later when I went to the Gwinnett Medical Branch, they could not find the letter in their system, I had to wait for nearly 45 minutes for Huncrest to fax it, THEN the Gwinnett Medical Branch said it was an improper format, and refused to discuss the account.
-Chasing a Ghost - Carol Morris. Surprisingly enough, when I went to the bank to start the NSF fee battle, no one was available to discuss the charges. I had to leave a message for Carol Morris, regional branch something or other. She calls me, sounding sympathetic, but all the while pushing additional business; "do you need an equity line?" "you should set up another account so you can use overdraft protection" and several other suggestions. I said we'd think about it and may come in to speak with someone, but we did discuss her waiving $140 of the charges. That didn't happen, resulting in bouncing additional checks, and all of a sudden, I can't reach her - she's on vacation. Later I was told that, from notes Ms. Morris wrote, their offer to waive those fees was based on our coming in to open up another account or get more business from us. I have left additional messages for her supervisor, Mary Hamilton, who has not even bothered to return any calls. Their message form is called "Statement of Committment"? Yeah, right.
Beyond that we have seen;
-Wachovia putting their fees through when our accounts are low, then charging NSF fees on THAT transaction.
-Holding deposits; I'd like to find out why a transfer I did from another bank that was supposed to take 2-3 business days did not appear for a week, conveniently ONE DAY after Wachovia bounces a series of large checks, causing $140 in fees.
-Unreasonable fees; How is charging $35 for transactions under $10 reasonable???
-"For your convenience"; Used to be that if you had a debit card and presented it for a transaction, it would be denied if you did not have the funds. CAROL MORRIS tells me that now the bank pays them "for my convenience", and then charges their exhorbitant fee. Exactly whose convenience is THAT for? Clearly not mine.
-NSF notices by snail mail; Gee, today's technology can shoot a check through and appear on my account before I even get back from the store, yet they choose THE US MAIL to alert you that you are NSF???
-Electronic Funds; again, checks nowadays can get through a consumer's account faster than you can say 'bankrupt', yet why has the length of time on them holding deposits for consumers' available funds not changed at all?
Some of these shenanigans are now common in the banking industry, I know, but prior to this year, I have always been able to speak w/a human at the bank to work things out. Good luck doing that now.
We have four accounts with Wachovia in total... 11 years. We fully intend to close these accounts in the next few days. What else can we do? Once we do, I know the possibility of getting our money back is gone forever, but we don't have the luxury of an entire team of full-time scammers to brainstorm how to bend banking laws and bilk consumers.
We simply cannot afford to fund them any longer and would be eager to hear from anyone interested in a class action suit, (I will continue to possess detailed records to support every one of these allegations) or having information on how to track transactions from other banks or accounts.
Please note, we have other accounts with Suntrust that we do not have these problems with, so it can't just be us!
Gloria
Lawrenceville, Georgia
U.S.A.
0 comments