Worst bank out there

[CatholicEdHead]

I have a question, which is the "best" of all the major banks out there? One of my credit cards was shifted from MBNA to Bank of America. I have heard many bad things on many fronts from BOA. Are other major to semi-major banks better? (etc...Citibank, HSBC, US Bank...)

[cyberpj]

1. If you can, find a local credit union - better rates, better service. nt

[Atman]

15. I hate my credit union

I have an account at one which I never bothered to close, and I still keep some money in it...but the people are rude, as if they're always doing you a favor. They think they're an elitist club or something. If you ever have a problem, it seems as if they always feel it is YOUR problem first, and they'll help you if it benefits them to do so. And since they're so small, they MAIL everything, so you can go a week without realizing there is a problem with your account. They seem like their biggest priority is finding a new way to attach a fee to your transaction, ironically NOT what I experience at mega-TDBanknorth.

I know this is about one particular CU, and they're not supposed to be that way, but my experience with them soured me on the whole concept of CU's.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

18. Must be just that one --

Mine has online banking and bill-paying services, low fees or none at all (bill-paying is free if you use it at least 3X a month), and the best interest rates in the area. Very easy to deal with, nice employees.

[BlooInBloo]

21. Wow. Mine rules. 7.5% checking interest, free everything...

... putting in more cash machines...

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. If you can join a credit union, do it!

Most of them are way better than regular banks. I love mine. Great service, interest rates, etc.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

3. I use a locally owned credit union

I get great rates on loans and credit cards, and the customer service is excellent. I also use the credit union for my business accounts, and my monthly charges have dropped from about $300 per month to less than $30 per month.

[wildhorses]

4. here's another vote for the credit union

:patriot:

[scarletwoman]

5. What they said. Support your local credit union! (nt)

[Deja Q]

6. When I did debt counseling, BOA put my APR down to 0%...

The other cards were dropped to 7%, give or take...

Apart from BankOne (I forgot what name they used to be) and those pig*****r* didn't drop the interest rate at all.

[lakeguy]

10. bankone, chase...used to be firstUSA...

they, at least in my experience, are the worst. they use deceptive wording and practices to "help" you miss payments. i used to like them maybe 10 years ago when they were firstUSA but they have steadily gone downhill. i finally had it with them and cancelled all my acounts about a half year ago even though they were my oldest accounts and my credit score dropped because of it. in retrospect, i should have just left them open and never used them so they could eat the cost of keeping them open.

BOA, who now owns MBNA, are pretty slow when it comes to customer service. it's strange though...i'll call my MBNA card and get through right away, but when i call BOA directly after that, i am on hold for 15 minutes or so.

[K8-EEE]

7. Yeah, Credit Unions Generally Donate To Union Supporting Pols

Banks and credit card companies are HUGE GOP Doners, I switched to a credit union after finding that out and found better rates too. Move your money AND your debt to a credit union, that's one of the biggest FU's you can do to the GOP!

[spoony]

8. Chase is whittling away at my sanity

I've never had a bank employ such aggressive telemarketing. Every few weeks they call, and call, and call, trying to sell me the same scam of a service as the last time. As soon as my 0% apr expires, I'm out of there :P

[Justitia]

9. USAA Federal Savings Bank - best bank out there (open to all, not just mbrs)

https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_utils/McStaticPages?key=pub_bank_credit_cards

You must be a member for their property & casualty products (auto ins, homeowner ins, etc), but the Federal Savings Bank is open to all.
They just don't advertise that fact.

They are the easiest bank in the world to deal with - everything can be done online or over the phone.
That is borne of their philosophy of service to the military who are stationed all over the world.
They have every financial account I have, and I haven't set foot in their lobby in well over a decade.

[Turbineguy]

19. I'll give that a big

Second! I have been with USAA for 25 years.

I actually saw their office while driving through San Antonio 5 years ago.

If you are in the Northwest another consideration is Washington Federal Savings.

If you have a brokerage account, many offer banking services.

[SemperEadem]

22. aren't they for military personnel and their immediate families?

they were when I worked in their insurance division 24 years ago.

[Justitia]

30. P & C is for mbrs only, but the Bank, Life Co & IMCO are open to the public.

Former USAAer here too!
My dad is still there, he started in the old Bell bldg on Broadway 35 yrs ago.

Met my hubby there - both of them (hee, hee).

USAA is a great company, dedicated to customer svc.
Not as great (from an employee standpoint) as when McD ran the place, but still a great place.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

26. They are my insurance company and have never given me a problem

With what few auto claims I've had over the years, they've always been very prompt, attentive, and have offered me the highest possible reimbursement for a loss. My personal experience with them has been very positive, and I'm a person who tends to not like the fact that insurance companies are even necessary in this society. I don't use them as a bank, but if they're as good to work with as their insurance services, then it might be worth looking into.

[fidgeting wildly]

31. Everyone I know says that!

I use USAA and their service after my car accident (the only one I've ever had) in 2005 was wretched! I wanted to cancel and go with someone else but couldn't find rates that good anywhere else. I do have several family members who also have USAA insurance, and they've only ever had wonderful experiences. I guess my horrible experience was a freak. :shrug:

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

11. I've Actually Been Very Pleased With BOA. I Like Them.

All in all though, not really a such thing as a 'best' major bank probably, since in the end they're all out for your mulah.

[lakeguy]

12. Switch to a credit union! nt

[Atman]

13. I'm amazed to say it, but I actually like TD Banknorth

They're huge...but their customer service is very good, their online banking is very good, and they refund any ATM fees you get hit with from using other banks' machines. I'm only with them as a result of a merger, but this is one bank that actually got BETTER after a merger.

.

[badgerpup]

14. Don't know if this will help...

...but saw on my AOL opening screen the other day about the absolute WORST credit card...it was the VISA Aspire card.
:thumbsdown::thumbsdown::thumbsdown::thumbsdown:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/results.asp?q1=ALL&q4=&q6=&q3=&q2=&q7=&searchtype=0&submit2=Search!&q5=Aspire+

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff213175.htm

Not sure how to search for the original AOL article, but these links might help.

[Rosemary2205]

16. I have never had a bad experience with BOA not even during bankruptcy

I've had my credit card for 19 years with BOA with a 5.9 rate and no balance due and never a late payment. I had to declare bankruptcy because of a long term medical crisis. BOA did not raise my rate or reduce my credit limit and allowed me to keep the card.

Wachovia, my rate was 6.9 with no balance due and never a late payment but I can't use it.... even long before the accident. They sent me a letter saying they were raising my rate to 34% and I declined in writing. My rate stayed at 6.9 but the card was not usable. I kept it open because of my good credit score. After the accident, when I declared bankrupcy they closed the account and reported it to the credit bureaus as if they had to write of my entire credit limit. I'm still fighting with them.

[Xithras]

17. Unless you're still writing checks, there's no point in a national bank.

As I see it, there's only two reasons to use a national bank. If you travel a lot AND you still write checks, a major bank is a good choice because many businesses still don't take out of area checks.

Most people don't write checks nowadays. If you use a check card for purchases, it really doesn't matter WHERE you bank, because they all go through the same set of authorization networks. If you're worried about having access to bank balances, computers are ubiquitous nowadays and even the smallest credit unions usually have online account management tools. If you're worried about ATM cash access, just find a credit union that's a member of CUSC or one of the other networks (shared networks allow you to get money from partner credit union ATM's without fees).

95% of the time, credit unions are a better deal for the consumer. I have interest bearing savings AND checking accounts with my local CU, and I've never paid a fee for anything, ANYTHING. No account fees, no atm fees, no online billpay fees, nothing. According to the tax statement I just got from them, keeping my personal accounts in a credit union actually PROFITED me about a hundred bucks last year. Find a traditional bank that will match that.

Business accounts tend to be a different story. My company accounts are all held at Bank of America for various reasons. I know there are some complaints out there about them, but I've used them for 15 years with only one complaint (an atm machine once shredded a deposit envelope). They will try to nickel and dime you for off network transactions, but since my business is still entirely paper check based, it's not an issue for me.

[TwilightZone]

20. Bank of America was just fine until they acquired MBNA

MBNA is the epitome of evil. I've dealt with dozens of banks in my personal and professional life, and they are by far the worst.

BOA unfortunately switched many of their accounts to MBNA's system post-merger and promptly screwed them all up. My balance was inaccurate for four months and I had several purchases that weren't mine added, removed, added, and removed again over that period.

I always had good luck with Wachovia, though I haven't had an account with them in a few years, so I'm not sure how their service stacks up now.

[nonconformist]

27. Ditto on the MBNA = epitome of evil. nt

[derby378]

23. Citibank = Saudibank

Saudi Arabia. Our partners in peace. Yeah, right.

[RB TexLa]

24. I have never had any problem with any services from Bank of America

[BlackVelvet04]

25. I've had no trouble with Bank of America....

they have a good website for bill paying, etc.

[OllieLotte]

28. I like BB&T. They might not be considered major. n/t

[shadowknows69]

29. Key bank

don't get me started. Almost made my wife and I homeless.

[Katherine Brengle]

32. We're dumping BOA soon --

they are a-w-f-u-l. It's impossible to get help for any halfway serious problem without going directly to your local branch, and problems are frequent.

We're switching to a local credit union and doing most of our spending in cash whenever possible bc banks are such a giant pain in the ass.