I've had trouble with Washington Mutual for about six months. And everytime I complain, they get worse. About six months ago I was utilizing their billpay service, which was very convenient and worked like clockwork.
Then they revamped their website. Nothing but trouble after that. I couldn't communicate with them. I would enter an email three times before sending it because a message kept telling me my format was wrong. And when I figured out the proper format, my message was too long so I had to edit it. They weren't professional or courteous enough to let their customers know this upfront.
I set up bill pay for my car payment and my rent. These are the two things I had the most trouble with. My two largest - and most significant obligations. Coincidence? I don't think so. I believe certain WaMu personnel were deliberately cancelling or hindering these payments to cause me hardship. And don't tell me they don't have this capability. I work for a bank, and I know from experience that supervisors have almost complete access to all functions.
I would get a confirmation that the payment had been accepted, then subsequently get a call from my auto loan company or landlord asking me when I intended to pay. It was a shock to me since I thought these bills had already been taken care of. So what would I do at this point? I would send a cashiers check to make sure these bills were taken care of. THEN my landlord would send me a check saying that I had paid the rent TWICE.
My gold VISA checkcard was cancelled as a result of one of these "misunderstandings". The company that handles the billpay for WaMu sent me a check. It had mine and my landlord's names on it. I thought I could deposit it to my bank account. No problem. The next thing I knew my VISA didn't work, and when I called WaMu about it, the csr kind of went "Oh, really?" She informed me that my VISA had been cancelled because of improper use and probably wouldn't be reinstated.
This prompted me to fire off a couple of very strongly worded emails which only served to escalate the situation. I've learned that the agents and supervisors have a lot of tricks up their sleeves. I was specifically told by the agent that NO preauthorized payments would be accepted on my VISA checkcard; they would all be returned. Subsequently, WaMu returned my payment for WorldVision and DirecTV. When my bank balance got low enough however (I had opened up another account with my employer since I wanted to phase out WaMu), all of a sudden WaMu decided they would honor a preauthorized payment from Time-Life. I feel that the only reason the supervisor allowed this debit (and I know it had to be a supervisor because an agent doesn't have that kind of authority) was because my bank account balance was so low that the debit would cause an overdraft, for which I would be charged $20.
They haven't been willing to give me an answer as to why the Time-Life debit was honored but the others rejected. I was able to trick them into admitting, in writing - via email - that my VISA was indeed cancelled. Since it was cancelled, I persisted, then why did the Time-Life debit go through? I got no answer. I had them backed into a corner logically so they resorted to their next trick. They replied that they hadn't received the complete email, therefore couldn't answer my question, and that I needed to resubmit all the details to them again.
Washington Mutual personnel are absolutely the worst when it comes to stonewalling.
I've contacted the Better Business Bureau. We'll see what happens there. I've also fired off a letter to the Fed. I don't expect much to come of that. But I'll keep trying. It's not the $25; it's the principal. $20 for the overdraft fee I want refunded, and $5 for the monthly billpay fee - that they have categorically refused to reverse, with not explanation as to why not. After the debacle with the deposited check, WaMu cancelled my billpay account BUT I'M STILL BEING CHARGED FOR BILLPAY, AND I DON'T SEEM TO HAVE ANY WAY TO STOP IT.
Also, WaMu makes such a big deal about no checking account fees but they nickel and dime a person to death on other things. Just like every other bank. For instance, a $6 per month charge for I-don't-know-what (no one will give me a reasonable explanation why it appears on my bank statement) and another $4 charge labelled a "relationship package fee." Once again, I can't get anybody to explain what this charge is for.
Avoid washington mutual!
Thanks for listening.
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