I just have to put my 2-cents in to the forum of complaints against Wachovia Bank. I am close to 60 and I NEVER had a problem bouncing checks until Wachovia Bank bought out our local South Trust Bank here in Alabama a few years ago. I banked with South Trust for a decade before the buy out. I never had any problems with them. Prior to that I had checking accounts since I was 16 years old in other states. I NEVER bounced a check!
I banked with Wachovia for about 2 years after the buy out of South Trust and finally closed my account with them. I learned to really hate them, and all the double talk I got from their rude customer service department as well. I have a Master's Degree so I am not stupid! Imagine how it feels to be talked down to, like some kind of a flake/looser, or an idiot (and a flake/looser) after all the years I have managed by finances adeptly with other banks!
I was to the point of nearly having panic attacks every time I checked my on line banking statements after I had SEVERAL runs of bounced checks with Wachovia Bank. Their NSF fees cost me HUNDREDS of dollars over the short time I maintained my old South Trust Bank account with them. They were doing all kinds of funny stuff to cause NFS fees to start accumulating while I was frantically running around town trying to deposit more and more money to stop the snowball from rolling downhill each time. And remember, if they send a check BACK, you end up paying not only your Wachovia NSF fees, but NSF charges to the other party, as well!
Because other banks are starting to adopt the same banking practices as Wachovia bank uses to flisk their customers now-a-days, and because NSF fees are going up and up every year, I simply opened a savings elsewhere and got myself a pre-paid debit card. I deposit my money on the pre-paid debit card and I can use it at the grocery store, all discount and department stores, and to pay my utility bills online or by phone.
My CASH deposits instantly onto my pre-paid card, no more waiting for Wachovia bank to post my cash deposits! (After 2pm on a Friday your CASH DEPOSITS at Wachovia Bank won't post to become "REAL CASH" until after Midnight the following Monday!) Using the pre-paid debit card, I do pay $9.95 a month for unlimited transactions. I realize that's not free but it's a whole lot cheaper than even one NSF fee at any bank. Plus, the peace of mind I now have doing my banking this way is PRICELESS to me!
Maybe if everyone started pulling their checking accounts out of the banks and doing business MY way, the banks like Wachovia would take notice and start doing business they way they used to, years ago. I think banks in general have just gotten real greedy these days and are looking for more and more ways to turn our money into THEIR money. Oh, and if you deposit into a PayPal account, you can use their debit card the same way. They don't charge transactions fees so no $9.95 a month charge like my pre-paid card. Also, they GIVE you 2.3% Money Market Interest on your funds when they are in there. There's no minimum balances to maintain if you use a pre-paid debit card or a payPal debit card, either. Remember interest on checking? I do! Where the heck did that concept go? Maybe it's time we took back our financial power from the big banks like Wachovia and close our checking accounts in protest!
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