Shit, next thing you know we'll need to present our ID when we want to get on a plane or if we get pulled over while driving.
If they start carding me at the liquor store or when I buy my cigarettes, I'm leaving the country.
This is worse than fascist spain!!!!!!
Whatโs next?!!! Iโll have to show my papers when I want to buy a new gun?!!!
Ridiculous!
Oatmonger works at a bank and the other day she was talking about how they are required to let illegal immigrants open a bank account even though their IDs are blatantly fake.
From 20 years ago or so nowโฆ..
B of A came under fire for offering CCโs to illegal aliens without SS numbers. I tried doing the same thing after seeing the story and they refused to sign me up though.
Better not to have an account with B of A anyway. My sister had an account with them years ago and they drained her entire savings and hit her with an overdraft on top of it because she didn't know they were charging interest on a savings account rather than paying it. A buddy of mine emptied his account and closed it because he was tired of all the fees. After the account was closed they hit it with a minimum balance fee. Since there wasn't any money in the account they hit him with an overdraft. Then they hit him with a third fee on top of that.
I went through hell trying to close my account with them. They would let me take all of my money and close the account without 10 days notice (I think it was 10, was a long time ago). They explained that I could have outstanding checks or card purchases so I had to leave a balance and make a notice of intent to close the account. So I took everything except $20 out, then they hit me with some $25 fee, charged me an OD fee of $28 and complained I was $33 overdrawn. I fought with them this way for maybe 3 months before finally being rid of the bastards. US Bank is no better. I ended up finding local community credit unions after that and will never do biz with a big bank ever again. Horrible horrible corporations the banks are.
โ๏ธโ๏ธโ๏ธ
These aren't isolated stories. They're buiness as usual for commercial banks. Here's my hard-won advice for changing banks the smart way.
Closing a Bank Account
BofA once refused to cash a $7.00 business check--presented in person and drawn on their branch--without charging me a TEN DOLLAR fee because I wasn't a customer. I spoke to the branch manager and when he refused to waive the fee, I tore up the check and dropped it at his feet. I never did business with BofA again and have refused checks drawn on their accounts ever since. That was over twenty years ago. Yes, I was pissed.
Don't Just Close Your Account
When you close an account the bank knows they've already lost you as a customer. There is very little incentive for them to make the process easy and every incentive to squeeze the last possible dollar out if you.
He Who Documenrs, Wins.
Bank accounts don't automatically close when you draw the balance to zero. You must explicitely notify the bank of your intent. Don't rely on an 800-number. Do so in writing, or at least follow up your phone call with a written, mailed letter.
For those who haven't had issues with outrageous bank fees, know that running the balance negative will cause the bank to eventually close the account in a delinquent status. They won't sue you, however...
The bank will report the debt to a banking-only credit reporting service called ChexSystems and when you try to open an account at another bank you will be turned away. Forever. The only way to clear the flag is to pay those fees. Better to avoid that altogether.
How to Close an Account the Smart Way
If you want to close an sccount, especially one you haven't held for over a year (avoiding "early account closure" fees), sit down with a branch officer and ask them the procedure for closing the account and avoiding any surprises. I've found branch employees helpful and sympathetic in most cases. Document the employee's name, what they said and did, and the date and time you met. He who documents, wins.
Switch to a Credit Union or Savings Bank
Credit Unions, and to a lesser degree Savings and Loan Associations, are usually much more consumer friendly with fewer fees and better loan terms. Credit unions are also much more open to membership than they used to be.
And when you run into a problem a local credit union is managed by a local executive team, not a faceless conglometate. It's much easier to contact a real person and get your issue resolved in your favor.
You can find a local credit union using Google or by searching NCUA or CUlookup.
Worth looking into.
