Bank Fees

[Koolau]

More likely once the check clears to close the accounts, I will write a letter to the bank president of this branch bank and explain why I closed the account. I have access to their deposit information with comparison to other local banks, and they have been losing significant deposits in recent years. I suspect I am not the only one unhappy with them. They used to be just a local bank, and they were purchased a few years ago by a state-wide chain. Since then, they have been going downhill.

The bank account my parent opened with the local bank in the early 50s had handled the small business checking account for perhaps 45 years. It had gone through a few name changes since then, of course. DW managed the family business in later years and we eventually bought it.

We liked the convenience with a bank branch just blocks away where we could do a night drop since there was significant cash business. We never wanted to leave cash in the building at night. So, one day, the bank says there will be a "fee" of $3 to use the night drop - after all, the poor teller has to pull the bag out of a locked bin in the morning and complete the paper w*rk and then mail the deposit slip. We pointed out that we kept an average of 35K in their checking. No sale. We told them that we would close the account. Didn't even respond. So, we closed the account.

Some eager beaver bank exec. from that bank called 6 months later and asked why we had closed the account and asked what he could do to get our business (and $35K) back. THAT was a fun call.

 

[HarveyS]

We have found Fifth-Third bank will auto-renew CD's to pay ~0% interest rate for folks

PSA - so does Bank of America

 

[mathjak107]

i closed out my 401k at voya and to transfer to fidelity was a 50 dollar close out fee and 35 dollars for expedited check delivery .

so charges are common and they are usually a fixed price regardless of amount

 

[mathjak107]

Bank of America stole $12 from me when I left. There was no fee to close the account, and as long as a minimum balance was kept, there was no monthly fee. But when I went to take out my balance to close the account, they withheld the monthly low balance fee. I reported them to the AG, but did no good.

we take advantage of citi banks big bonuses for opening accounts .

when the required stay is over you have to be careful not to just transfer the money out . you need to actually have them close the account first or there is a low balance fee .

sounds like you drew the money out before closing so they are entitled to the charge

 

[Dtail]

PSA - so does Bank of America

Can't imagine that folks on THIS site would have CD's at BOA.

 

[mathjak107]

Can't imagine that folks on THIS site would have CD's at BOA.

and complain about the low interest and fee for using them ha ha

 

[audreyh1]

PSA - so does Bank of America

Yep!

Can't imagine that folks on THIS site would have CD's at BOA.

Guilty. They occasionally have a featured CD with a decent rate. But you gotta jump through some hoops at renewal time.

 

[jazz4cash]

Can't imagine that folks on THIS site would have CD's at BOA.

DW had one auto renew several years. I FINALLY convinced her to move it to NFCU where it has auto renewed a few more times. We can’t find her password and she is always too busy to go into the branch. Meanwhile I just learned she has a huge chunk sitting in her BOA checking at 0%. Bigger concern is vulnerability to fraud. A bit frustrating as I am jumping hoops for a bit of interest but I am so grateful she’s not the BTD type!

 

[sengsational]

sounds like you drew the money out before closing so they are entitled to the charge

I wrote them a letter and asked that the account be closed and the proceeds mailed by check. I figured if I had been standing at a teller, they might have not done the $12 slight of hand, but every time I walked into a local Bank of America branch, it consumed at least 30 minutes, sometimes an hour. Nobody had any authority to do anything, so I was punted to various staff people. Then the one that did have authority would plunk on the computer for 10 minutes, walk out, get someone else to tell them why the system wouldn't let them do something, blah, blah. So, I wrote a letter to close the account and they stole $12. I'd rather pay than waste time with some partially trained staff using a system that doesn't have an easy way to accomplish simple tasks.

 

[Dtail]

DW had one auto renew several years. I FINALLY convinced her to move it to NFCU where it has auto renewed a few more times. We can’t find her password and she is always too busy to go into the branch. Meanwhile I just learned she has a huge chunk sitting in her BOA checking at 0%. Bigger concern is vulnerability to fraud. A bit frustrating as I am jumping hoops for a bit of interest but I am so grateful she’s not the BTD type!

Do you both monitor your own accounts separately?
For the DGF and I, all individual and joint accounts are monitored by me, including daily monitoring of the BOA accounts.

 

[jazz4cash]

I wrote them a letter and asked that the account be closed and the proceeds mailed by check. I figured if I had been standing at a teller, they might have not done the $12 slight of hand, but every time I walked into a local Bank of America branch, it consumed at least 30 minutes, sometimes an hour. Nobody had any authority to do anything, so I was punted to various staff people. Then the one that did have authority would plunk on the computer for 10 minutes, walk out, get someone else to tell them why the system wouldn't let them do something, blah, blah. So, I wrote a letter to close the account and they stole $12. I'd rather pay than waste time with some partially trained staff using a system that doesn't have an easy way to accomplish simple tasks.

Unbelievable. Can’t remember last time I went inside my local BOA because it’s always packed. They no longer have greeter person that would take deposits so you don’t need to queue up. Credit union on the other hand is setup so the tellers do almost everything at the window

 

[Koolau]

I wrote them a letter and asked that the account be closed and the proceeds mailed by check. I figured if I had been standing at a teller, they might have not done the $12 slight of hand, but every time I walked into a local Bank of America branch, it consumed at least 30 minutes, sometimes an hour. Nobody had any authority to do anything, so I was punted to various staff people. Then the one that did have authority would plunk on the computer for 10 minutes, walk out, get someone else to tell them why the system wouldn't let them do something, blah, blah. So, I wrote a letter to close the account and they stole $12. I'd rather pay than waste time with some partially trained staff using a system that doesn't have an easy way to accomplish simple tasks.

Heh, heh, time I have. I'd go in and waste THEIR time. YMMV

 

[catii]

Some eager beaver bank exec. from that bank called 6 months later and asked why we had closed the account and asked what he could do to get our business (and $35K) back. THAT was a fun call.

Bet I know which bank that was! Did the same thing to my company, exactly once, before I pulled low seven figures from my accounts! Got a call the same day, wanting to know what they could do, & I just laughed. 30+ years, & they were stupid enough to insist on a $3 fee! Glad we switched, as service at the new credit union was infinitely better. DW & I just didn't know what we had been missing.

 

[mebden]

Farmers & Merchants Bank....it is a bank chain in Nebraska headquartered out of Milford, Nebraska

Hey Bookman51 that same bank (Farmers & Merchants Bank) is in my old hometown I lived in Northern Wisconsin and that bank has been there for over 70 years and when I started 1st saving there, they thought they could charge their customers whatever they wanted because there were only few banks in the area, but I moved to a credit union instead and never dealt with them again.

 

[isisdave]

There's a big fee for "wiring" money and a much smaller one, often zero, for an ACH transfer. There's no difference as far as the customer can see, just a different computer screen.

Also, I've learned that the bank "pushing" money out via ACH might charge a fee, but the one "pulling" money from somewhere else almost never will.

Oh, I remember that once there was going to be a fee if I closed an account. So I left $1 in it, and after five years of sending me mail about it, they sent the dollar to the state as an abandoned account.

 

[Koolau]

There's a big fee for "wiring" money and a much smaller one, often zero, for an ACH transfer. There's no difference as far as the customer can see, just a different computer screen.

Also, I've learned that the bank "pushing" money out via ACH might charge a fee, but the one "pulling" money from somewhere else almost never will.

Oh, I remember that once there was going to be a fee if I closed an account. So I left $1 in it, and after five years of sending me mail about it, they sent the dollar to the state as an abandoned account.

Heh, heh, probably the best dollar you ever spent! $1000 worth of revenge and it only cost you a dollar.

 

[euro]

Oh, I remember that once there was going to be a fee if I closed an account. So I left $1 in it, and after five years of sending me mail about it, they sent the dollar to the state as an abandoned account.

Yes, this has happened to me before also. I used to have DRIPS for about 10 companies with an outfit called "computershare". When I decided to consolidate everything at Fidelity Brokerage, Computershare would not let me transfer fractional shares and they charged $30 for cutting a check on each of the fractional share leftovers. So, for those that had a balance worth worrying about, I sent them enough cash to buy a full share which I then transfered out. For those with only a few dollars, I just walked away. They did quit sending reminders and nastygrams eventually.... I should check the State abandoned money list - maybe that is where they ended up too. Thanks for the tip!

 

[bookman51]

Hey Bookman51 that same bank (Farmers & Merchants Bank) is in my old hometown I lived in Northern Wisconsin and that bank has been there for over 70 years and when I started 1st saving there, they thought they could charge their customers whatever they wanted because there were only few banks in the area, but I moved to a credit union instead and never dealt with them again.

There are about 20 banks and credit unions in Kearney, Nebraska, now. For another reason i was i all of them this past fall. Farmers & Merchants is a ghost town compared to what it used to be---and so is Wells Fargo. However, some of the other banks are pretty busy. Farmers & Merchants claims that it is because people are doing electronic banking. Maybe, but the reports show they are losing deposits. My local credit union will match the best rates in town, which most of the other banks will not.

 

[Dash man]

I’m happy with USAA, Ally and Synchrony. Occasionally use PenFed or NFCU. Everything is done online. I keep a few hundred in Citizens Bank in case I need a local bank for larger cash needs, but that is rare.

 

[jazz4cash]

There's a big fee for "wiring" money and a much smaller one, often zero, for an ACH transfer. There's no difference as far as the customer can see, just a different computer screen.
.

My experience has been different. ACH xfers take anywhere from 1 to several days to execute. Wire transfers are instantaneous. ACH can sometimes take add’l time per receiving banks funds availability policy. I have never paid for ACH but I paid $30 for a wire xfer.

 

[mathjak107]

My experience has been different. ACH xfers take anywhere from 1 to several days to execute. Wire transfers are instantaneous. ACH can sometimes take add’l time per receiving banks funds availability policy. I have never paid for ACH but I paid $30 for a wire xfer.

yep , that is exactly the difference…a wire is cash on the spot like western union used to be

 

[iloveyoga]

I just had $125 deducted from my Ameriprise Simple IRA when I moved the money to my Vanguard IRA. Seems crummy to me, but it sounds like it is a common way to collect revenue when a customer is going out the door.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I just had $125 deducted from my Ameriprise Simple IRA when I moved the money to my Vanguard IRA. Seems crummy to me, but it sounds like it is a common way to collect revenue when a customer is going out the door.

You might try contacting Vanguard and have them reimburse you for the $125 deduction.

When I moved my investments from Edward Jones to Fidelity I contacted Fidelity and they reimbursed me the fees for closing the accounts at Edward Jones.

You might start out with an assumption question. For example: "Is it true that Vanguard reimburses people that transfer their investments from a brokerage that charges account closing fees?"

 

[iloveyoga]

You might try contacting Vanguard and have them reimburse you for the $125 deduction.

When I moved my investments from Edward Jones to Fidelity I contacted Fidelity and they reimbursed me the fees for closing the accounts at Edward Jones.

You might start out with an assumption question. For example: "Is it true that Vanguard reimburses people that transfer their investments from a brokerage that charges account closing fees?"

Thank you, I will try that. I have a decent (for me) amount at Vanguard.

 

[Koolau]

There are about 20 banks and credit unions in Kearney, Nebraska, now. For another reason i was i all of them this past fall. Farmers & Merchants is a ghost town compared to what it used to be---and so is Wells Fargo. However, some of the other banks are pretty busy. Farmers & Merchants claims that it is because people are doing electronic banking. Maybe, but the reports show they are losing deposits. My local credit union will match the best rates in town, which most of the other banks will not.

I have two credit unions and one bank. For most things, the credit unions are better. I DO like having an in-state bank for in-state bill paying. I avoid fees by playing their game. Not as many fees at the two CUs. YMMV