Looking for a new bank.

[ajgodson]

When I had WaMu, I didn't know they did this, but their balances listed "available cash", which is $500 more than you have in your account. I didn't realize this, but when you withdraw below your actual cash, they'd charge like $30 per transaction. So I went to an ATM and under "balance" it would say $600, then I got about $300 in overdraft charges as I used my debit card for parking, lunch, etc. Not a happy customer.

[RyDogg66]

Oh this is just too perfect.

Banks Use Overdraft Fees to Fleece Customers

Largest Purchase Debited First

Banks also manipulate customer funds by the order in which they process debits and credits. The bank computer looks at the day's transactions and sees the client made purchases totaling $99.00. A $100.00 deposit was made. The balance before these transactions was $75.00.

Watch these numbers: Spending power appears to be $175.00. Six purchases were made. The biggest is $76.00. There were five totaling $23.00.

First, all debits are charged before the credit (deposit) is processed. The $76.00 is first charged against the account, putting it in overdraft. The other five purchases wouldn't have put it into overdraft so were processed last; each carries an overdraft charge.

There was enough money to pay the five purchases under $75.00 and the deposit (processed last) covered everything. Yet, there were six overdraft charges totaling $180.00. Uh-oh, the $100.00 deposit doesn't cover them and now it's overload mode. A $99.00 trip to WalMart is a $279.00 nightmare..

[Brian the Automator]

My bank, Guardian Credit Union, pulls the same crap. And to top it off, they'll toss in "scheduled maintenance periods" at like 5:30pm where my debit card ceases to work... cuz you know, no one needs their debit card at 5:30 pm.

[MJLiverock]

NADA blue book values are notoriously high so making a 75% LTV based on the too high valuation of a used car is pushing the envelope for a bank. Banks have also tightened credit standards considerably since the default levels and past due payments for all loans are elevated. 2% of loans in WI are in default right now which is 2x last year's level and 3x the year before. The years of giving credit to anyone who walked in for any reason and for any amount are pretty much over for now. Believe it or not banks used to actually require 20% down on a new home and 40% down on a used car.

[bullox]

My bank, Guardian Credit Union, pulls the same crap. And to top it off, they'll toss in "scheduled maintenance periods" at like 5:30pm where my debit card ceases to work... cuz you know, no one needs their debit card at 5:30 pm.

Oh wow...that's horrible. WaMu has scheduled maintenance periods where I can't check my accounts online, but these are typically late at night on weekends, and this has no bearing on the availability of my money. If my bank ever did that to me, told me there were times when I couldn't use the money that I deposited, they would no longer be my bank.

[Chio151]

If you call your bank about the overdraft fees they can usually get a few removed as a courtesy. If it's your first time, then they are instructed to do so. But they put the onus on you.

 

Also, they will usually setup overdraft protection free of charge, but wait for you to ask.

[nate82]

Insurance is required by law, so that should have zero impact. The state minimums are the state minimums, and do not vary by make/model/year. And if you are implying that a new car depreciates slower than a used car, why do you lose 15-20% of a new car's value the second it is driven off the lot?

Yes but you don't have to carry it to drive that car around a lot of people don't carry car insurance just because it is required by law doesn't mean everyone complies with it. Also if you are buying a new car a reasonable person who is buying insurance for that car will put more money on that car than on a used car that is worth less then $10,000. The insurance reimbursement on that used car if it is totaled is going to be far less than what it will be for a new car. The bank is taking on more risk for the lower amount because of the value of the car and there is basically zero protection on that car. While a new car will depreciate 15-20% as soon as it is driven off the lot it is easier to sell and recuperate the loss than it would be to sell that used car.

 

The used car at best would sell for 2 to 3 thousand less than what it was paid for. For your $6600 dollar car if it sold for $3,000 less than what it was sold at that is a 60% loss of value on that car. Even if the bank only needs $5000 of it to cover its loss that is still a far higher risk than that of the new car. Now also take into account that the used car will have a 3 times as likely chance of breaking down than compared to the new car and if the new car does break down for any reason it is under warranty. There is less risk for the bank with the $20,000 new car loan than there is with that $5,000 loan for a used car.

 

If you use the old 40% rule for a used car which the bank would accept and all you would need to do is get a $4000 loan for it would be more enticing to the bank than the $5,000 loan for the used car. There is less risk for the bank at $4000 than there is at $5000 where the bank is taking on more risk.

[dadofandrew]

Credit unions are always better, but obviously, some are better than others.

 

I would not concern yourself with overdraft fees unless you bounce checks and such. Just keep a slush fund in your account.

 

As already said, you are insured up to $100K, so you really have no worries with WaMu. With the other banks, another has just taken them over anyway, on Friday it's one name, on Monday it's another. No worries.

[lcbj68c]

Whatever you do, dont go to Associated Bank. They are terrible. I have them and I am considering switching. For example:

 

They claim they do it so "they dont have to return a large ticket item as NSF" and it is therefore their policy to pay ;argest first.

 

I called them out on that and said [expletive deleted], it is so you can clean out my account the quickest to get overdraft fees. The customer service rep did not refute that.

 

I hate my bank.

Ding, Ding, Ding. I just switched for the same exact reason. Long story short around the time of my Dad's death, I had a renewal policy on my Florida automobile insurance. We had just finished switching over new plates/insurance, etc and told the insurance company that I would not be renewing, and alas COULD NOT BE ELIGIBLE for renewal because I no longer was in Florida. Amongst large payments for funeral services, small bills, small transactions, the insurance company went ahead and renewed my policy anyways and hit my checking account for the 6mo policy, around 720 or so. It sent my account into a tailspin and of course the bank claimed we take out the larger amounts first to do you a favor in not having to bounce something BIG AND IMPORTANT LIKE A MORTGAGE PAYMENT. Whatever!!! I complained to the insurance company and they immediately refunded the money, showing my bank that it was a mistake withdrawal. Associated Bank still refused to credit back the 14 items the mistake had caused to bounce. $448 dollars total. I promptly closed my account, leaving that exact amount as a negative balance (14 x $32). They still send me letters weekly announcing some type of action to collect. They can take it and shove it where the sun dont shine. I've had student loan accounts and car loan with Wells Fargo, it just made sense to add my checking/savings there.

[bando1234]

I'll go on the record as saying avoid Wells Fargo like the plague (I've been with them since I was 10, but am shortly going to make the switch to something local). I went in for an auto loan yesterday and, while they are happy to give me a $20,000 loan for a new car, they will not give me $5,000 for a used (with a nada value of $6600). With underwriters like these, I am not shocked that many home and auto loans are failing. They're begging for them to fail.

Did you ask the loan officer his reasons behind the decision? Did he or she actually come out & say we can do a $20,000 car loan but not a $5,000 car loan. Was the car thru a private party & if so was their a clear title.

 

As far as values NADA values go, different instituions have different underwriting guidlines. One place that I worked for only would borrow loan value(the lowest value of the car). One would do loan value if it were 10 years or older or had 90k miles, otherwise it would base it on retail value. Classic cars & salvaged titles are a whole new issue.

 

I guess If I were you I would ask the specific reasons for the turn down. Maybe its due to guidelines but maybe the loan officer missed something or their was a misunderstanding.

 

 

(cleaned up code --1992)

[bando1234]

I fail to see how credit unions are any better than a bank. Customer owned is a huge crock of you know what. I have seen how they treat their "owners" and they can be much harsher than a bank (especially commercial customers). If you want good customer service try to find a locally owned bank, there are plenty of them out there. But if you want the best rates (at least on the deposit side) you pretty much have to look at the larger banks. In this environment small banks can compete in the loan rate environment, but they are behind in depository rates.

Don't believe the credit union schtick, they are essentially banks with less regulatory pressures and less capabilities with worse customer service. They try to get you in the door and once they do you are completely forgotten.

Maybe you have had some bad expierces with credit unions but don't lump them all together. My credit union has a call center that is open from 7am until 7 pm Monday thru Friday with a live person answering the phone. They have online bill pay, 24 hour online & audio access to your accounts.Our nsf fees are $15.00 which seems to be about $19.00 less than most of the bank nsf fees .Since I have been there(8 years ) they give back a check at the end of the year of 5% of the interest that you have paid in on all loans. At the time of the annual meeting they have busses that will drive members from the branches just to come to the meeting plus we usally get fed. They work with middle school with a kids credit union & the importance of saving. They have raised money thru raffels for our Boys & Girls club in town every year.As far as Im concerned Credit Unions Rock.

[dadofandrew]

To be as short-winded as possible, banks have to make money, and basically, credit unions just have to break even. Hence, cu's usually pay higher interest and have lower fees.

[Gobias Industries]

We don't even deal with banks like Wells Fargo and US Bank at the car dealership I work at. Apparently, the banks believe they know more about the car market than the dealers themselves. Right now, a 98 Accord with over 100K miles is worth quite a bit more than a loaded 02 Ford Explorer, but the bank would gladly approve the latter while rejecting the Honda.

 

As others have said, Credit Unions are the way to go for a car loan. Capital Credit Union, if there is one near you, is great for car loans.

[Point Beer Is Best]

No JP Morgan Chase love? I've used Chase (formerly BankOne) for about ten years when I first left for college. I've never had a problem with them (knock on wood). My wife and I have separate checking and savings accounts, a joint savings account, a couple of credit cards, and a home mortgage through them. I think the key for us has been having a relationship with a personal banker. When my wife decided to transfer her accounts to Chase when we were shopping for a mortgage loan, we dealt with an extremely helpful personal banker who has been our contact over the past few years if we have questions regarding our accounts. They'd hate to tick us off, considering the amount accounts we have. We also earn interest on our checking accounts.

 

As for the NSF fee, I'm assuming that those who have been plagued by it don't have overdraft protection where the bank is allowed to draw off your savings account to avoid bouncing a check. Instead of a $35 NSF fee, it's around $10 as a service fee and only charged once. And that's only happened once or twice with my wife, and both times she called our contact at the bank who waived the fee. As far as I know, it's a free service.

[dadofandrew]

Our cu charges $2 to move money from savings to checking, and they'll do it 5x in a month.

[bando1234]

Our cu charges $2 to move money from savings to checking, and they'll do it 5x in a month.

 

Our CU does not charge for over the phone x-fers but you can only do 6 per month due to federal regulations.

[dadofandrew]

I meant if you overdraft your account, our cu effectively charges $2.

[RyDogg66]

So I need to open some accounts for my new business in downtown Oshkosh. My choices are US Bank, M&I, Chase, and Anchor Bank.

 

Which should I go with? I need to open a client trust account, a business account and then may transfer my personal checking and savings there as well for convenience.

[dadofandrew]

Since none of them are credit unions, I'd say you're out of luck.

 

I suppose I'd go with US or Chase, just because they are huge and all over, but I doubt there's much difference. I'd likely go with the one closest to my office.

[RyDogg66]

chase it is then!