Does *anybody* here still bank with Bank of America? Why?

[SlipperySlope]

I don't understand why anyone on DU would still be doing business with Bank of America. If you have your checking or savings there then I urge you to do the right thing and find a local credit union to move your accounts to.

It really isn't that hard to open up accounts at a credit union and shut down your accounts at a large bank, it just takes a little time to make sure all your direct deposits and automatic withdrawals get switched over properly.

In return, I practically guarantee that you will receive:

- Lower fees
- Less hassles
- Better (and more personal) customer support

Plus the satisfaction that comes from knowing you are supporting a MEMBER OWNED COOPERATIVE instead of a large for-profit corporate financial enterprise.

I've been a very satisfied CU member for over a decade. I cannot believe the things I hear my friends tell me they have to put up with; fees, fines, bureaucracy. My CU has always made things exceedingly easy and I've got no problem finding no-charge ATMs that are part of the large cooperative network (even if they don't belong to my CU).

Seriously; if you are still using Bank of America for your checking or savings you need to get off your being and move. Not only is it the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do.

[quinnox]

1. I already have a credit union account

I use Bank of America too because they have better atms access. I will drop them if they start charging that fee, but if they don't then I stick with them.

[bluerum]

12. Credit unions give you a debit/credit card that you can use at any cash machine.

For example, I go pay for groceries at the self check out with my Credit union card,and grab 40, 50,100$. If I need a large amount I go to branch to get my cash.

[Gormy Cuss]

15. Not all credit union cards are fee-free at any cash machine.

Most have extensive networks though.

[Johonny]

36. +1

plus BoA across street from house, credit union not.

[Name removed]

48. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bake]

37. YOu need to get out before they go belly up ...

And freeze your account ...

Just sayin'...

:hi:

Bake

[gateley]

2. OR any of the others for that matter.

My brother still does because he's lazy and the ATM is right down the street. So is the ATM for one of our GREAT credit unions, but that would entail actually having to take some ACTION. :spank:

Same with his family - until they start seeing that $5 fee, they'll continue to NOT pay attention.

My concern is that people will just get used to that fee, more will add it, and the excuse will be "well they all charge it".

SOOOOOOO frustrating.

[MedicalAdmin]

49. 1 year ago I would have agreed with this without reservation.

Now. I'm not so sure. Let's wait and see.

[MH1]

3. Never bank, but credit card

because some % goes to the Nature Conservancy and I never get those stupid rewards program things in the mail. Because you see, the % they'd use to woo me with cheap ass 'reward' merchandise from China, is being peeled off and sent to a good cause.

I originally got the card with MBNA. Another 'not-good' actor but I pay it off every month and that % goes to the Nature Conservancy, so I figure overall it's a win.

But I would never ever ever consider actually having a bank account with BoA.

[TwilightGardener]

4. I have a loan with them. My main account is with a CU. No complaints on either.

[DainBramaged]

5. Nope closed in August

[ohheckyeah]

6. You really don't

know everyone's situation. Good for you if you have a CU that's convenient but not everyone does.

[MrScorpio]

8. That's true

Not defending BofA, but some of have circumstances where a CU is not the best option.

[ohheckyeah]

10. Exactly.

I live out in the boonies. Getting to BofA is enough of a hassle but the CUs are all much further away with no easy access to ATM machines. Plus all income is direct deposited and I can't afford to have the direct deposits screwed up. I changed a direct deposit once before and it got completely screwed up and I had to wait for weeks to get the money.

This whole movement of moving your money to a credit union is getting pretty holier than thou.

[Faux pas]

35. Same circumstances here. It's easy for others to plan your

life when they have no clue what it takes to live your life. hiss boo on the know-it-alls.

[MedicalAdmin]

51. And too many have circumstances where they don't bother to check it out.

CU. Small community bank.

It's all the same to me.

[RebelOne]

18. You are right. A CU is not convenient for everyone.

The only CU near me is about 12 miles away. Bank of America is just around the corner, and there is another one about a mile down the road. I do all my bill paying online and have direct deposit, but there are many times I have to go to the bank in person. And I do not want to drive 12 miles through heavy traffic to the CU.

[ohheckyeah]

20. The nearest CU to me is about 25 miles

from where I live. It's just not convenient to get to or economical to drive that far to bank.

[pipi_k]

38. Same for me, although....

I do still have an account there. It's a savings account, though, so I put money in more often than I take it out.

It doesn't offer a debit or credit card, which is OK. I have a debit card through a small local bank (only 12 miles away from me), and another savings account through a larger CU out of state.

I do online banking and use either my one bank debit card, or my two credit cards.

For me, the distance to my bank and CU are no problem because I do use the cards, and all my accounts are interconnected through my little bank's online site.

But I can understand where having to drive long distances can be problematic for some. I know a couple of people have expressed disdain for those who choose "convenience" over "morality" and/or "intelligence", but it's not that simple.

Especially if it means having to pay extra for gas to get to those farther-away CUs.

[MedicalAdmin]

53. Heres another option.

Keep your BofA and keep as little in it as you need to. Keep the DD.

And then set up an ING account and use it to transfer funds between BofA and your CU. And then use the CU.

BofA then becomes a temporary stopping location for your money.

[gkhouston]

62. Actually, we're looking into Ally Bank.

Like ING, it's online, but you can use any ATM in the country. Ally doesn't charge any ATM fees and will reimburse you at the end of the month for any fees other banks charge. If you have a scanner, you can deposit your checks at home; if not, they provide postage paid deposit envelopes.

[Cassandra]

7. My Dad still does.

He is 88 and the only bank in his neighborhood with parking is BofA.
I would like someone to tell me what credit union in NYC I might qualify for. It seems very opaque. I've been at Citibank for over 30 years. Moved a small account from Chase to TD Bank and am planning to at least move the Citi account over there.

[DebJ]

9. No but they bought my mortgage unfortunately.

[dixiegrrrrl]

11. Same here.

We stopped using TBTF banks years ago
but then BOA got ahold of our mortgage.
they have been a pain to deal with, always trying to illegally force place insurance on us.
Fortunately, I insisted on getting a no escrow, no pre-payment penalty mortgage, thus BOA cannot mess with the escrow payments, we pay our own insurance.
Refinancing with local banks is not an option now, sadly.

[DebJ]

42. Wow. Force insurance on you? See my other post in the Lounge

OMG I have to write a letter to Skank of America

[DebJ]

43. We can't refi either. Home value dropped 40%, underwater.

[JTFrog]

13. The VP of the company my husband works for is taking his money out of BofA today.

He let this slip over drinks after a training event last night.

I closed my account with them years ago and am part of a class action lawsuit against them. I'm sure I'll never see a penny from that lawsuit, but who knows. :shrug:

[Ilsa]

14. We put my name on my brother's account with BofA so I could

help him with transferring money because he is unemployed. It pretty much carries a zero balance, but they take a fee every month.

He lives in another city and only rides the bus, doesn't drive. They are the closest and within walking distance. And they have a branch in my city, which helps. A lot of the banks are not in my town.

[Shagbark Hickory]

16. I know of someone that uses BoA because

they do all this foreign trade and had complicated needs in a bank.
BoA was really the only choice they said.

[Aerows]

39. I missed this post

I need to say "LOL" because I nearly fell out of my chair.

[SheilaT]

17. I suppose I indirectly have an account with them

since I have an investment account with Merrill-Lynch.

My regular account is with another large bank, Wells Fargo. I chose them when I moved to this city three years ago because I wanted a bank with many ATMs around the country. As others have pointed out, not all Credit Unions can give you free ATM usage everywhere. I have that with my Merrill-Lynch account.

[leftstreet]

19. And liberals wonder why the right paint them as elitist

Good grief

[uncle ray]

22. and conservatives wonder why we think they're fucking stupid.

i don't think elitist means what you think it does.

[Aerows]

30. Honey, if you aren't paying attention to the $75T

Yes, Trillion, with a T, BoA derivatives shift, you aren't any better off than anybody that calls themselves a liberal, a conservative or an independent.

Wait for the hand-waving: Economists say "We never saw this coming!"

[leftstreet]

32. When did mods start posting their opinions here? You're deriding working class people

Not everyone has the ability or means to change banks

ffs

[Aerows]

33. You are complaining

about a mod posting on this board? And my *opinion* no less.

I'm not sorry for engaging with the community I mod for. Did you wish for me to be less engaged, perhaps, and have no clue as to the community we are in?

And btw, I'm working class, too. As are most of the mods if you did not know.

[leftstreet]

34. If you think DU is a community of elitist liberals your admonishment is appropriate n/t

[Proud Public Servant]

21. My CU sucks

Worst customer service I've ever had, except for Verizon. Happy was the day I closed that account.

By contrast, BoA has always provided me with stellar customer service. Most of it has been over the phone, but the two branches I use -- one at my workplace, one in my neighborhood -- have been equally outstanding. They also provide me with completely free basic banking: no charge for checking or savings accounts, no charge for ATM use if I use one of their machines -- and in DC, they seem to have an ATM on every block.

That said, I will close my accounts if they go through with the debit card fee. But, frankly, I'll miss them.

[Aerows]

28. Oh, that's delightful

You get good customer service from BoA and all!

Even better than Verizon!

It's swell that you are so committed that you will close your account if they institute the debit card fee.

I'd be far more worried with the $75 T in derivatives that they have just shifted and now the FDIC is on the hook for (and the FDIC isn't happy). Those are the folks that make sure you actually have money if BoA falls apart. Oh wait. Do you honestly think the FDIC, which is funded by taxpayers, can fund $75T, when the GDP of the entire globe is $65T?

Yeah, I'd be pulling my money out of BoA as fast as I could get to a branch. I wouldn't put it in JP Morgan Chase, either.

[FloriTexan]

47. That's a pretty snarky reply. n/t

[MedicalAdmin]

55. So alert it...

... see what happens. :)

[MedicalAdmin]

54. If they are your only viable option, stay with them.

If they aren't, then perhaps you should look around.

Sorry about the CU experience. Mine has been nothing but positive and I have been a CU member in various locations and professions for over 40 years.

[Proud Public Servant]

58. I love CUs, just not teh one at my job.

Others I've belonged to, at various times in my life from childhood forward, have been excellent. Shame this one's so bad.

[taught_me_patience]

23. I do

It's free and there are atms everywhere. My wife and I are looking for a business startup loan... guess who's stepping up with a no money down 150k loan?... yep... that greedy Bank of America.

[Aerows]

25. BoA is the only place you could get a loan

If you could GET a loan with BoA?

I'll just laugh myself silly over here while you just shuffle your feet.

[taught_me_patience]

27. They aren't the only place to get a loan

but, after shopping around, they had the best rates and terms. My credit union laughed in my face when I asked for a start-up loan.

Are you laughing because I'm trying to start-up a business? Because I shopped around for a loan and found BofA to have the best terms? What are you laughing about?

[Aerows]

29. They got a downgrade

And are sitting on $75 Trillion in derivatives. That they switched from their holding company to be insured by the FDIC.

Since you are clearly aware of finance, are you aware of the ramifications of such an action - not for yourself, of course, - but for the global economy?

[Aerows]

24. I don't

And you already know the reasons why I use a credit union, if you have been paying attention :D

[Fuddnik]

26. I dumped Wells Fargo.

Moved to a credit union.

The people in my local branch at Wachovia-Wells were absolutely the best. But corporate really ticked me off to no end on my mortgage. They still have the mortgage, only because the house is underwater now, and I can't refinance with anyone else now, so I'm stuck with them on that.

[MorningGlow]

31. Yes, unfortunately--my credit card

I've had it for decades, but when I signed up for it, it was MBNA, then it got bought by B of A. Now we're carrying a huge balance on it although we're throwing ridiculously large monthly payments at it to pay it off.

The good news is I just signed us up with a local credit union today, to escape HSBC, and I talked with the bank person about getting a personal loan to pay off the B of A MasterCard. Fingers crossed we'll be able to.

[nichomachus]

40. Well, I have an account with B of A

However, our main accounts we moved to a community bank. We keep a small account with B of A for when we travel so we can avoid ATM fees. Our community bank doesn't charge an ATM fee out of town, but many of the banks in the network do.

However, we keep such a small amount in B of A that it costs them more to service the account than they could make off of it. We direct deposit just enough to avoid any fees, but move most of it out right away into the other account. When we travel, we deposit more into the B of A account. They're losing money on us.

[louslobbs]

41. You mean Bastards of America? Hell no! n/t

Lou

[AngkorWot]

44. Convenience

Lots of ATMs, including right next to my work, with no ATM fees

[RebelOne]

57. That is one of the reasons I keep Bank of America.

Lots of branches with one being right around the corner from my house and ATMs everywhere.

[FloriTexan]

45. I bank there and I'll tell you why....

I hate BOA BUT they were the only bank and the only credit union that would refinance my house last year. They bought down 3 points on that refi if I would bank with them. So I switched, and frankly, I'm happy with their treatment of me. They also have a branch in my building so it is convenient. It is my understanding, at this time, that if you have more than one type of account with them, then we would be considered a higher tier of customer and wouldn't be subject to checking account fees AND debit fees. They also completed the closing within 60 days. Of course, I realize that might change, but their online bank is the best I've ever used so $5 a month is worth that too me.

No other bank would refinance my home because "we weren't financing enough." See, my modest home is only appraised at about $90,000 right now and we only needed to refinance $60,000. We got the money we needed, the rate we expected, we lowered our payments and we pay the house off sooner. I never got past the phone call to the credit union in my town nor to the other banks because then minute I told them how little money we needed to finance they were done with me. Talk about making someone feel poor. "I'm sorry m'am. Our financings begin at $150,000." We never even got to credit checks which would probably have sent the other institutions walking as my husband has been unemployed for over 2 years (knock wood, because he just started temping 40 hours a week, hourly, no benefits or insurance but its a job in his field with good wages).

Now. Please don't bash me or call me a troll for being honest with you.

Edited to add that we were with Countrywide so we were already at BOA but we did go shopping around because we didn't want them to have the note. It was really irritating to go with them.

[MedicalAdmin]

56. Have a real estate lawyer go over that contract with a fine toothed comb.

This is the advice I give to every home buyer.

The closing company, etc, may not like it but you shouldn't sign ANY contract until it has been vetted by someone in YOUR employ. And given the financial problems BofA is facing, if you leave them any wiggle room, they will drive a mack truck through it and stake your heart to the door.

[MilesColtrane]

46. I dropped BoA like hot brick after they hosted the secret conference call to...

explore strategies to defeat the Employee Free Choice Act.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/27/bank-of-america-hosted-an_n_161248.html

[bigwillq]

50. Never have (nt)

[LadyHawkAZ]

52. Dropped BofA in 1994 n/t

[begin_within]

59. For only one reason.

My Mom is 93 and receives a pension from the VA, but because of her age and condition the VA judged her as incompetent to handle her own finances. So they appointed me as the custodian for her VA pension, and required me to set up a separate, custodial account for the payments. Also known as "payee" accounts. I have to provide an accounting of the payments and expenses once a year, in addition to all the original monthly statements from the bank, and annual balance statements certified by an officer of the bank. The title on the account is (My name), custodian of (my Mom's name.) I tried to set up this account at the credit union where our savings accounts are, and I have a checking account, but they refused to set up the account this way, saying they don't offer custodial or payee accounts. So we had to set it up at a commercial bank, and the nearest one to us was a branch of B of A. We set this up 4 years ago. B of A does make a monthly charge of $9 off of us. I am probably going to just leave it there, as I don't have an alternative at the credit union.

[gkhouston]

63. This might be an alternative.

We're been looking into switching to Ally Bank. When I saw your post, I wondered if they'd cover your situation, since our parents are getting older and we might need that service some day. I did a little searching and found this:

https://secure.ally.com/allyWebClient/resources/custodial.html?env=gmacmortgageallybankprod\

I don't know what their fee structure is, but there's a toll-free number you could call for info.

[begin_within]

64. ok thanks

[Raine]

60. You can't always dump your bank if you have a CD with them

thru no fault of your own. I had a CD with a bank that changed hands three times and ended up with Wells Fargo. Do I like Wells Fargo(?) ... NO(!) but I don't want to be penalized by having money taken from me if I cash the CD out. :yoiks:

[Sarah Ibarruri]

61. I'm switching, but I gotta plan it first. nt

[Iggo]

65. Yep.

For now.

[slackmaster]

66. I've NEVER intentionally opened an account at B of A, but have had several including my mortgage

...for which the loan was originally made by a company called Mortgage Select, which immediately sold it to Countrywide, which was acquired by B of A in 2009. Several other accounts of mine have ended up at B of A through mergers and acquisitions. I've closed them all except for the current mortgage.

Right now I have an open conflict with B of A - A credit card opened some time in the past by my ex-wife of 11+ years and is now delinquent bears my name as a co-borrower, even though I did not apply to be a co-borrower. The card wasn't opened at B of A either.

I'm getting derogatory credit reported against me for an account that I didn't consent to be on, for which I have never received any correspondence, and for which I have never been billed!

I challenged Bank of America to produce a credit application or ANYTHING with my signature on it to prove their contention that I am a co-borrower, and they couldn't find one. But they are still reporting a delinquency against me, now at 90-day status and rising.

I have an attorney working the case. I expect to get my credit cleaned up soon.

I'm tempted to pay off my B of A mortgage with my Wells Fargo equity line. The only problem is that the latter has a variable interest rate. Maybe Wells will work out a fixed-rate deal with me after I get the credit history problem fixed.

[Speed8098]

67. I do and here's why

The company I work for uses B of A for our payroll and rather than deposit my check and wait 3 - 4 days for it to clear I keep a small amount in a free account so I won't be charged each payday to cash my check. And when I say small I mean $40.00 or less.