I always pay my WAMU Washington Mutual Visa bill on time (usually early) in full to maintain a zero balance and avoid finance charges. Last August (5 months ago) I mistakenly used my VISA instead of my WAMU ATM card (they look identical) to get some cash from an ATM machine. The resulting charges for 2 withdrawals totalling $400 on my next bill was ~ $50! I rolled my eyes and paid it off to zero as usual on the next bill but, I did notice that finance charges were now added to my entire balance not just this advance.
I continued to receive finance charges every statement thereafter even though I had no more cash advances, or ATM transactions and paid my balance to zero in advance every month. I even went in several times to my WAMU branch and had them check the current balance including the "cash balance" which never seemed to go away. Even though I would pay to zero each of those times, asking that the cash balance be also paid, it never was. Their customer service (located in the Phillipines I think) has a prepared script which never allows them to answer the question, "How much do I owe and can pay today to close this cash balance and restore my card to it's normal state? I've been put on hold for several hours trying to get the answer.
So, WAMU refuses to close this cash balance and continues to charge finance charges even after in-bank payments to zero balance. I will probably close all my accounts with them including my mortgage, checking, and savings. I don't feel comfortable doing business with a company that engages in this kind of BS.
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