I am upset with the measures of Washington Mutual’s online checking.
The past 2 months i am getting $150 in overdraft charges because their system has a crappy update and refresh. Why do they assure you they have online account status when what you get is just account related items. Let’s look at the word “status”
http://www.answers.com/topic/status There are 4 definitions. The fourth one is what we believe they mean, but it looks like the first is what protects them from a lawsuite.
Here is the letter i sent, angry and frustrated.
Message Sent: 05/08/2009 10:16 AM (Central Daylight Time)
Confirmation Number: ________________
Subject: Technical ProblemsPlatform: WinXP
Browser: Other
Internet Connection: Cable Modem
Why is it that your online checking status does not show charges for almost four days, unless you go over draft?There is something fishy about the way this happens. is there a bug in your mysql db? If so i probably can fix this. Is your php script not functioning? or , just to go out on a huge limb here, is this the only way you make money ? i mean that is far fetched but it seems you are leeching on the poor. If you say you have online checking status, can you at least make it actual status? Really, why is there a “pending” and then weird limbo charges. should they all not be pending untill complete? the credit machine makes an query to verification, then it reports it’s charges, then it confirms.
I can build this junk, I do it all the time, but i am crappy at bookkeeping.
Maybe I should gather more information and make a blog about this and put advertisements around it and try and get my money back at your expense. sound fair?does to me.
I used their “message system”.
The best explanation i have recieved for this is “well our online status is not perfect”.
My response is ” You hold my money with the impression you can help me with poor book keeping, looks like your crummy ‘professional service’ requires me to save the receipt to every hot dog and coffee I buy, so basicly you do nothing but hold my money and charge me for trusting your software”.
The person replied “well the software is not mine”
My forehead bulged out, I felt like they just yelled ” I know you are but what am I” left me lost for words.
*************UPDATE**********
This is their response.
Dear TruXter:
Thanks for contacting WaMu, now a part of Chase!
A pending item is an item that has not yet posted but is held against
your account, and can include debit card transactions, pledges, deposit
holds, and other legal restraints. The Transaction History page for your
account on wamu.com displays only two types of pending items: A deposit
hold based on our funds availability policy; and, some but not all
pending Debit Card transactions held against your account.The amount of the pending item transaction or hold reduces your
available balance and therefore is included in your available balance
amount on the “Your Account” page.Pending items are not included as part of the running (ledger) balance
on the Transaction History page. You can continue to visit your
Transaction History Page to confirm when these items post to your
account, at which time they will be included in the running balance.We have added these items to the Transaction History page to provide
additional account information to you. However, since these are only
some of your pending items, you need to continue to track all pending
account transactions.For pending debit card transactions, the pending item typically posts to
your account within three business days. However, if a merchant does not
complete the transaction it will expire and the temporary charges will
be removed. Also, sometimes the pending transaction may be different
from the amount you anticipated because of an estimated authorization or
a tip. However, when your purchase posts, you will see the correct
amount.Of course, if you ever see a pending transaction that for some reason
just doesn’t look right to you, give us a call at 800.xxx.xxxx and we’ll
be happy to assist you.Sincerely
(name not needed)
WaMu Technical Support, now backed by the strength of JPMorgan Chase
Pretty Automated. They didn’t want to even read the thing and they just sent me a blur of a response.
Well it has been about 15 transactions and 9 days since I started timing them, still no updates yet.
My account has one pending item on it that has been there since before I started freaking out about the service. and yes I have plenty of cash in there.
******update ended****
SUMMARY: WAMU customers should never use the “change address” feature when logged into their online accounts. If you are a WAMU customer and you need to change your address and order a new ATM card within 30 days YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS INSIDE A BRANCH to avoid excesss fustration. If you attempt to change your address online and then get a new ATM card you will have to put all banking on hold for more than a month or open up a new account. Sounds insane? It happened to me.
I am very frustrated with WAMU’s attempt to serve customers. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES ATTEMPT TO CHANGE THE ADDRESS ON YOUR ACCOUNT ONLINE. I hope someone heeds my advice before its too late. Here is what happened to me.
1. I went to a WAMU ATM and for the first time in my life I actually forgot to remove my ATM card. The card was sucked back into the machine. I called customer service that night and they said “no problem the branch will call you when they recover the card tomorrow.” So I decided not to worry about it.
2. I had a very busy day the next day and I didn’t call the branch and they didn’t call me. I called them within 48 hours after this incident and they informed me that within 24 hours they had to shred my card… ok not good but I thought well… I’ll just order a new card. They direct me to call customer service to order a card.
3. I Call WAMU customer service and inform them that I need to change my address on file and I need to have a new card sent to me. The agent informs me that it will take 30 days to receive my card. I ask why. He says its because I need it sent to a different address than the one on file. I can’t receive a card within 30 days of him changing my address. I asked if the result would be different if I changed it myself online and he said that that is what I should do.
I change my address online.
4. I call customer service back and ask for a card. They inform me that because I changed my address online I can no longer order a new card unless I physically go inside a branch and order one. The agent apologizes but states that if I just go inside the branch I can resolve this issue.
5. I go inside the branch and they state that because I changed my address online and not in their branch I have to wait 30 days before they can even process my request to have a new card sent out. Ok this is mind blowing I am physically standing in the branch and they are telling me they can’t even enter in the request that would eventually allow my card to be delivered to me. I must physically enter the branch 30 days from today and then make the request in person that a new card be sent out which would take an additional 7 to 10 business days.
The best they could do for me is open up a brand new account. I asked if I could transfer money from my old account to my new account online and the answer was no.
CONCLUSION: WAMU CUSTOMERS DO NOT CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS ONLINE
So far, Issue not resolved, explained, defined, or even noted by wamu/chase.
Wamu was nice fast and prompt and accurate. Now it takes almost two weeks to update.
I am leaving Chase/Wamu. Complete grabage. seems the only income they care about is that $35 overdraft charge, so they lure you in with some sort of false sense of security of “online account status”.
Pure garbage.
Their online banking is not worth the five minutes it takes to create the account. You eliminate the need for a teller. So you saved them money, you would expect them to not need to rip you off like that.
WRONG!
Wamu/chase is very unfair. They need to be investigated. their online checking/savings system is trash.
Don’t trust their “free atm” STATUS. (They throw the word around, why can’t I ?)
They charge you like crazy for any atm that is not their own.
Um, that is typical ATM fees. not free atm!!!!!!
What I saw on their site today as I tried to log in.
“Thanks for visiting WaMu.com
Our Web site is temporarily unavailable due to a scheduled technology upgrade.
We regret any inconvenience! Thank you for your understanding.”
well , let’s see if this fixes the issue.
and let’s see if they reimburse me for their issue.
lol yeah right, they take the money and never look back
“Mine , no you paid us, it’s mine!” lol