RantWatch: Extremely Poor Service from Wells Fargo

This happened to me a few years ago. I tried depositing a check from a director of Wachovia Bank at Wells Fargo. They gave me the standard 5 days to clear.

I closed all my accounts that day and moved them to Bank One (now Chase) who honored everything right away.

Never looked back.

Citi does the same, I think they all do. Any time you inquire, they tell you "Federal regulations".

In the most extreme case I had a Citi check held for days by Citi.

The "good" news is that 1o days are the max, no matter what the amount is.

Bruce: I'll do the same as soon as I can!

Zoli: "Federal regulations." I know that's the excuse...but really, it is no excuse at all. Wells Fargo uses it against their customers, not to protect their customers. How does this type of strategy get approved by senior management? It is shockingly clueless...

Bank Of America did the same thing to me twcie in two months. The second time they said the check was suspicious because it was handwritten. They should meet my Grandmother....

They all do because they can. And honestly the laws are rigged against small businesses anyway.

David: It's not the laws that are rigged, it is the banks that are rigged against small businesses ... and consumers.

If the banks continue in this way, the laws will be rigged against them.

But I'm betting that traditional Silicon Valley forces will take care of things--a few decent disruptive banking startups should do the trick.

How about banks that compete with each other to deposit your checks in the fastest time? I'd move all my accounts in a nanosecond. I can just imagine GOOGBank: "Your check was deposited and cleared in O.18 seconds."

BTW: Bank Of America has these ancient ATMs, with green or amber text , and images burned into the screens-- they are so old they are almost retro.

Tom, we agree, and I guess "Federal Regulations" are used as a cover, they *allow* this behavior, not mandate it, so the bank could be customer-friendly at their own decision - perhaps selectively, based on customer history, balances ..etc.

I gave you the Citi example, here's another one: I used a 0% promotion from Chase, and just before the promotion was over, I paid off the entire balance. It was an electronic payment from my Citi account, which had long been established in their system and they accepted payments from it previously. This payment was also on hold for ten days, just like paper checks.

Tom: There already is a bank which deposits your checks right away. Square 1 Bank handles our business accounts and they gave us a check reader which automatically deposits our checks immediately. All from the comfort of the office. I love those guys.

WAMU used to deposit any amount right away and make it available to me. Too bad they are now owned by Chase.

Wachovia has the most incompetent set of loan modification specialists, they are untrained,uninformed, and at times very rude, but I should not be surprised, they are all living overseas

Enter: The fall of true customer service.

I opened an account with Wells Fargo 4 months ago. I gained employment 2 months into this baking 'relationship' with them. My first paycheck was $1,100 - I was told the day that I deposited it (in branch) that there may be a day hold on it - I was fine with 1 day. The next day, I was able to access my funds with no troubles at all...everything was fine. Two weeks later I went in branch again to deposit my paycheck - this time, my check was $1,200. I was able to get $100 back immediately, because by law you are entitled to at LEAST that much. Well, I anticipated a day or two hold like the previous check that had been deposited. I was sorely mistaken.

Today marks a week after I've deposited the check and I still cannot spend a dime of it. I called customer service and, yep, the 'federal regulations' spiel came up and I attempted to have the supervisor I was speaking with explain these regulations to me - of course he couldn't. All he could say is that they needed to verify my funds because I am a risk.

"I am a risk?" I asked. "How is THAT the case?" He then went on to tell me that the fact that I only keep 2 to 3 hundred dollars in my account (after paying bills) is the reason why I am a risk. So...what? Do I need thousands and thousands of dollars sitting in my account at any given time to be an active member of this 'banking community'? I mean, I'm just trying to EAT today and ensure that I have gas in my car to get home!

More and more, consumers like us are getting the short-end of the stick. It makes no sense that these massive established banking entities can get away with this shit while the general public just turns and looks the other way - even when we're all being affected by it.

The remarkable thing about my Wells Fargo post is that people keep discovering it and sharing their stories. The post continues to gather more stories. You would think that Wells Fargo, would by now, figure out a response, figure out how to to deal with customer testimonials that are very critical.

The service has not improved, but worsen since then.

Just recently, I sold my truck, and per the WF rep., if the buyer brought a cashiers check from a nationally recognized bank, I would have my overpayment and the title processed in 72 hours.

Well, three weeks later, they have FINALLY agreed to release the title, but are sitting on the overpayment for another two weeks. "Its their new policy". And of course, no one can tell me why.

My question: How can a bank be willing to release the title, but not the overpayment?

To the average consumer, it appears to be flat out theft, as they are also not willing to provide interest over the time they are sitting on MY money.

I was once a WF customer, but after they were routinely holding my direct deposits (equivalent to a cash transfer), I decided that WF was all about WF and NOT the customer.

Good-bye WF and forever!

It's quite easy to get it cleared on the spot. I have had to use wells fargo for years because they are the only national bank in town, and I am on the road alot and need access elsewhere. When you go to deposit your check ask how long it will take to clear before you sign it. When they tell you 7-10 buisness days(and they will tell you that) simply say: "Oh, OK nevermind, just close my account then" Within 30 seconds the bank manager will come over and your check will be cleared on the spot. After about 3 months of this they will get the point, and you rarely have to remind them. Not .18 seconds, but close

Brian, yes, I've noticed that check clearing sometimes is quicker than at other times but it's very inconsistent.