Wow! I thought my friend was just overreacting when he told me of his experiences with Regions Bank and how frustrated he had become. I have been walking him through the nightmare of severing ties with Regions and moving his accounts to Space Coast Credit Union (I have banked there almost 30 years with no problems). I cannot even fathom how this bank continues to operate with, not only, illegal charges, but the extremely poor customer service that is exhibited in both the local branch on North Dixie Freeway but also when calling the customer service line.
Saga began in 2004 when my friend entered into Chapter 13 bankruptcy. He had a home equity line of credit with Regions that was included in the bankruptcy. When he completed the bankruptcy, Feb. he went to Regions to get a statement of exactly what was remaining to be paid since the entire amount was not completely covered during the bankruptcy. Well, the balance they related to him was accurate, what they didn't reveal until he went in to pay it off three weeks ago, was that there was an additional almost $1100 tacked onto the account during his bankruptcy ($298 in late fees and $800 foreclosure proceding) which is patently illegal.
He dealt with Assistant Manager Jamie to close this account and she had told him she would investigate what the fees were and get back to him. Yeah, sure, three weeks passed with no info, thanks, Jamie. Yesterday he gets a letter in the mail informing him that he is being charged an additional $320 for flood insurance for the home equity line (that he thought no longer existed) because it couldn't be closed due to the $1100 still owing. Makes your head spin, doesn't it?
I called Customer Service, transferred through main customer service to accounts, accounts to home equity loans, home equity loans to collections, and GUESS WHAT? Collections tells me the same thing that everyone else had, they weren't the right department and they couldn't do anything about it and I needed to call, HOLD YOUR BREATH HERE - Customer Service! One hour and fifteen minutes of my life that I will never get back.
At that point I called the very unhelpful Assistant Manager Jamie, who swore she had tried to get back to him but hadn't received an answer. Obviously Assistant Manager Jamie doesn't realize that there is such a thing as Caller ID and voice mail, yeah, you guessed it, she had never called.in addition, she swore she had researched the charges and that she could not remove them. I'm thinking she may have brought down a world of hurt on Regions Bank because I'm just betting that Mike isn't the only person that Regions has done this to. I'm hoping that anyone who has had a similar experience will please let me know and if you have dealt with Regions during a bankruptcy, check what charges, if any, were assessed to you. Keep the faith, the bad guys can't win them all.
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