finance – TruXter Tech

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 Problems

Platform: 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****

As I have noticed, all the banks with online setup for checking and savings, have new “no minimal setups” and “no minimal deposits.” I have to say, the setup goes smoothly and you do not have to hand anything to a half wit and hope they do not fumble your investment money. You just make sure that you do not screw it up.

I have been charged 27 times for overdraft fees that never actually happened, 8 of them at one time. This set me back quite a bit of money, $216 to be exact. It all came out of one check and the day before my car note was due. After many hours of hearing “but you spent it.” and being transferred, I emailed a bank representative. I mean, they were saying it was because I went into the red, which is bull. Finally, I got someone with an IQ, and she said, “Oh, I see what happened. You should see a refund in three days.” Well, 12 phone calls and a month later, I still have not received my money back.

The whole “no nickel and dime” slogan rings true: Sure, they will not nickel and dime you; they will dollar and five you. They charge you $20+ to do a balance inquiry from another bank’s ATM. God forbid someone in a store checks the validity of your account by having you type in your PIN code. Sure, the checks are free.

(FOREIGN TRANSACTION FEE

-$0.05

)

That looks like a nickel to me. I paid for something online in Virginia.
Now, I have been using Prosperity Bank for a few years. I was going to that bank, back before it changed its name on me twice. I had issues with the way a few things changed, so I took out all of my money last year except for 95 cents. I went to an online checking account at a very popular bank, the one bank that tells of “No hassle” and they “won’t nickel and dime you.” BS! Well, as I am seeing things, I will go back to Prosperity Bank. See, I didn’t know what they were up against with everything changing around them, I guess I just needed to evolve with them or die out there on my own. This walk in only bank has accounts that have minimal amounts limitations or they charge you small fees. Luckily, I have an account older than the company’s logo, so I still have 100% free checking. The downside is, the checks cost me money.

Online checking = free checks, ATM fees out the yin-yang, no minimum savings, no lines to wait in when making adjustments to your account, and your security is as high as your encryptions.

Walk-in checking = costly checks, no fee to check your balance at any ATM, savings are $2000 minimal, and you have to wait in line to transfer money around accounts. Savings is a hassle.

Who in their right mind trusts a bank with a name that looks like “watch over ya” but pronounces it “walk over ya?”

Tag: finance

A Letter to Wamu-Chase

Online Checking Accounts Versus Walk-In Bank Accounts