Bluntness

I've also been told I have little tact, so if this offends you simply ride on.

Saturday, May 21, 2016

First National Bank goes to hell


Twenty hears ago, when I moved from the East Shore to the West Shore, I changed banks.  Commerce Bank was about 3/4 of a mile away and was a decent, small bank, but as time when on Commerce grew... so did their customer service (drive through on Sunday).  About 8 years ago Commerce was bought by Metro and instead of cutting back on their services, they increased them.  Their lobby was now open on Sundays.  Metro Bank was very popular.  But then Metro was purchased by First National Bank and the cutbacks started.  They mailed out reams and reams of information about how things were going to be so great... and Sunday hours totally disappeared.  They began to put charges on everything.
A few years back I had used my debit card at a retailer whose data was hacked.  Wow, I had to get a new debit card.  As a result, I now keep as little in the checking account as possible - the debit card is not linked to the savings account.  Under First National, however, the balance in the checking has to be higher... or there's a charge.  Where as before I would transfer money from the savings account to the checking account when I needed to... well, now there's a charge if you make more than 5 transfers a month.
When Honda Financial popped through that double car payment?  That's right, it took out more then what I had in the checking account.  I'd had breakfast with my brother that morning and he gave me a check for his Paul McCartney ticket (yes I'm going to see Paul McCartney).  However, those funds were not going to be available in time to prevent First National from charging me an overdraft fee:  $37.00, not much, but it pisses me off, you know?
Failed Bank
When I talked to First National I was told by Ashley that Honda needed to reimburse me that charge.  Honda will reverse the second car payment, but they're not going to give me the $37.  Of course, Ashley pretty much said 'tough shit.'  So, I went into my little spiel about Customer Service, and Doing the Right Thing, values I practice daily, and it was like talking to a wall.
And it's not just me.  I said something to Bill, one of my paint associates, and he said "I pulled all of my money out of that bank last month."  Evidently he went to deposit his paycheck and told them he wanted to keep $100.  First National told him they couldn't do that, the monies from his paycheck were not going to available until the next day.  If he wanted $100, he would need to write himself a check in to withdraw that amount from the money already sitting in his checking account.  Now, keep in mind, this was a paycheck from the Number One Home Improvement Retailer in the World.
Anyway, I told Ashley that I was probably going to change banks and I got... a shrug.  So, I gave her a shrug back, my way of politely saying 'fuck you.'  This morning I closed out my Savings Account.  The Checking Account will go after the last house payment is made.  The only way they're going to change is if you  make it difficult for them.

4 comments:

  1. Maddening! I hope you find another bank that will treat you right.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I knew there were going to be problems as soon as the 'buy out' was announced.

      Delete
  2. I have used a credit union for the past 5 years. I am THROUGH with banks and their shitty rules!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was a member of CPFCU for years, until I'moved to this side of the river and there was none near by.

      Delete