I think I've had Enough of Bank of America Already

Anyone else hate your bank? Anyone else fed up with fees up the wazoo?

Anyone else hate talking on the phone to a computer, waiting forever to talk to a person who then has no idea what you want, and decides to hang up or the old “I’ll put you on hold” trick? Like hell.

I’m so sick of bofA. Sure they got the most ATMs. They got ATMs near strip clubs, restaurants, even my favorite drug dealer, good old Longs Drugs, for all my cold medication.

But the damn fees, for every little task, nickel and diming their way into our pockets. and it’s not like I have a small balance. They should be fine making interest and loan business with my capital.

but no…

Anyways, I’m so ready to leave bank of America. Typical bank of America mentality. well, screw you and your little friend too.

The best solution is to buy shares in your bank. Then when they are sticking to you, you at least feel safe in the knowledge that the more they stick it to you the better off you are.

Oh don’t let me get started with B of America. :fume: I feel your pain my man. I feel your pain.

That would work well with telecoms in the US. cuz I KNOW they screw EVERYONE. Bastards. yea! doh! um… bastards.

I absolutely agree. My bank was assimilated by BoA and I’ve been fed up with their constant nickling and diming me with their fees.

But what alternatives do I have? Which other American bank account can I set up from here so I can pay off my student loans and American credit card automatically?

[quote=“alidarbac”]I absolutely agree. My bank was assimilated by BoA and I’ve been fed up with their constant nickling and diming me with their fees.

But what alternatives do I have? Which other American bank account can I set up from here so I can pay off my student loans and American credit card automatically?[/quote]

Yea, I forget about that. Once they bought out my credit card company, my credit card company services went straight to hell: no more talking to humans, no more getting solutions to problems, but yet more fees and shite.

My friends all recommend Citibank. I might just consider that if BofA gets any worse. I only did it for their volume of ATMs, but now that’s irrelevant.

Ha, ha! I love these “I think I’ve had enough of Taiwan already” spinoff threads. Who says you Murkins (Nama and JB) don’t know how to use irony?! :wink:

I’m annoyed with my (not by choice) TaiShin Intl. Bank. The funniest thing about this bank is that it has the word International in its name, but you can’t access your account from any country outside Taiwan.

[quote=“tash”]Ha, ha! I love these “I think I’ve had enough of Taiwan already” spinoff threads. Who says you Murkins (Nama and JB) don’t know how to use irony?! :wink:

I’m annoyed with my (not by choice) TaiShin Intl. Bank. The funniest thing about this bank is that it has the word International in its name, but you can’t access your account from any country outside Taiwan.[/quote]

Check and see if it has to do with your ARC. I had the same problem in the summer of 2004 and it was ARC related. Something about the bank not having updated information about the status.

JB be careful with Citibank. They tend to have higher fee and high $$ requirements for accounts, but all in all I would highly recommend Citibank. You aren’t charged a fee when you use their atms anywhere in the world, and their customer service is very very good(imo).

As for American banks, there are quite a few that you can sign up for online.
Here’s some info:
Top 10 Online Banks

Nama,

Thanks for the heads up. Frankly, I’m much more comfortable with a plain, visible, simple minimum balance than with hidden fees and a nickel-and-dime attitude. A peace of mind and predictability go a long way in my book.

Speak of the devil,

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070422/ap_ … 53UriyBhIF

ABN Amro sells a bank to BofA (prob in prep for its merger with Barclays). The bigger BofA gets, the worse it’s gotten. Sheesh.

Citibank (shitty-bank) has high fees as well for commercial accounts.
I like Citibank’s automated service over BofA.

Depends what services you need…

[quote=“tash”]Ha, ha! I love these “I think I’ve had enough of Taiwan already” spinoff threads. Who says you Murkins (Nama and JB) don’t know how to use irony?! :wink:

I’m annoyed with my (not by choice) TaiShin Intl. Bank. The funniest thing about this bank is that it has the word International in its name, but you can’t access your account from any country outside Taiwan.[/quote]

I’m going to do you all for infringing my whatsits.

Shitty-Bank indeed. That is the last place I would ever bank. Having to deal with their treasury dept. is enough punishment.

Still, BoA stills seems better than HSBC or my fav. Hua Nan. With Hua nan, you still have to swipe your bank book at your ‘home’ bank for ATM or eBanking withdrawals; which can be a challenge if you no longer live in Taiwan :s Also, it takes 2 trips and seven different counter girls to get one form complete.

If you’ve got family in the military and can get an account, I highly recommend USAA. Never seen better service.

[quote=“Elegua”]Shitty-Bank indeed. That is the last place I would ever bank. Having to deal with their treasury dept. is enough punishment.

Still, BoA stills seems better than HSBC or my fav. Hua Nan. With Hua nan, you still have to swipe your bank book at your ‘home’ bank for ATM or eBanking withdrawals; which can be a challenge if you no longer live in Taiwan :s Also, it takes 2 trips and seven different counter girls to get one form complete.

If you’ve got family in the military and can get an account, I highly recommend USAA. Never seen better service.[/quote]

I’m not sure if you’re talking about Citibank US here but Citibank Taiwan is definitely the best of a bad bunch in my eyes. Sure, nothing is ever simple on Planet Taiwan but with a bit of prodding I get the same services as Taiwanese and their multi-currency handling is really quite excellent. They were the only bank to give me a credit card and now I went through the hoops to get one I do get very good service. The only frustrating thing is not being able to do things like pay vehicle tax or buy foreign cash, ostensibly due to Taiwan government regulations re: foreign banks.

One big plus for me with Citibank that I don’t get anywhere else in Taiwan is that they do afford me some sense of privacy with sensitive matters discussed in a cubicle or private room. I feel very uncomfortable shouting about the status of my savings and income across a counter while nosy a-mahs listen in.

Just want to put a quick stab into the belly of HSBC; it’s all part of my grandiose plan to bring down that bank one day.

Arrived in Bangkok recently and headed straight to a cash machine to draw some baht and whammo! Not a one worked. Fortunately I had Mop200 on me (Macao money) and double fortunately the lass accepted it as HK and so I could rattle a few coins. Another fortunate was that Ms Huang had lined up a room for us.

Next day I call HSBC and asked what happened and they said I’d missed a credit card payment - I had in fact paid it the previous day, and anyway, for the first time in my life I have many times in savings vs credit - and that when they saw me trying to get cash in a BKK ATM they figured the card was stolen and stopped it. They initially said they couldn’t do anything about it, until I started screaming, literally, into the mouth piece and threatening generations of the fuckwit’s family. As always with these3 wallopers, it’s push, threat, push until you get three or four levels above the first idiot, then, and only then can they seem to do anything.

I demanded in a flurry of foul language that whoever made that decision without contacting me needed to write to me explaining how it was made and how it would never happen again. I emphasised the write to me saying I have now been on my HK mobile for half an hour to their shitty bank and didn’t want any further economic impairment through their incompetence.

Relaxing with friends at lunch later that day my phone rings. "Herro Meester HG, I am Amy Wong from HSBC, I so solly, I . . . " “I told you to fucking write to me!” Still not heard a peep. Fuckers!

HSBC quietly announced a radical increase in their power advantage accounts, in very, very small print somewhere. This follows the similar non-announcement whereby paying HK taxes with a credit card no longer earn Asia Miles.

They are pricks, and need to be avoided like the plague.

HG

What are the charges for missing a payment in American banks? If I miss a loan or credit card payment on my UK account thats a 30quid charge…

Something about that. One very clever bank in the US, PNC, offered zero balance accounts with the highest overwithdrawal charges allowable by law to college students. Of course, the account had to be co-signed by the parents, so there was alomst zero real risk.

I don’t know if this answers your question.

If you have a line of credit attached to the business account they will charge you interest on the principle taken out, the interest is accrued daily and you have to pay off your entire balance to that day to ensure there is no balance carried over to the next statement.

Shitty-Bank in my opinion is deceptive in their statements in this regard. Because your bank statement will have a certain amount borrowed on the day the statement is printed. However, it has no bearing to the fact it takes time for the statement getting mailed to you, and time for it to make it through the accounting department, and the time a check is mailed out for payment.

Those that experience this for the first time will be shocked because you’re under the impression the balance was paid, when in fact it wasn’t because interest was still accruing. When you challenge Shitty-bank about it, they will of course as a courtesy reduce the late fees and maybe some of the interest.

Really Shitty practice of course.

But if your more into online payments and transactions, then it really isn’t a problem since the real daily balance is shown and transactions are instantaneous.

Usually there is no grace period for business accounts.

Careful…I don’t know about shitty, but often times in the fine print there is a statement about 2-3 days for posting.

Personal recommendations:

US/CA: Wells Fargo and some of the smaller credit unions will really go out of their way for your business.

Taiwan: ChinaTrust (I know several Forumosans had negative experiences, but IME, great service)

BC: CIBC (well, there really isn’t much choice in Canada to begin with)

Nada, if you link your card to your savings account, and have them pay your charges off automatically. Very convenient. ABN-AMRO does this for me.