Monday, January 4, 2010

Blanket-y Blank Bank

And I thought I had a lot of hate for Chase Bank. Ah oh how it has gone to new heights with Bank of America. Let me explain. It's not even that difficult to explain.

Our new house mortgage is through Bank of America. We got our first monthly bill. All I want to do is enroll in the online program, which it advertises on the bill. Seriously that's all I want to do. I go to the website, pick WA as my state, put in Ssn and account #. The account can not be verified, kicks me out. Call number it gives, system won't verify, closed Friday - Sunday.

Today I called again, get tossed to customer service queue and then system hung up on me. Twice. Called home loan number. Dude doesn't deal with online issues. Wants to transfer me to technical support. Oh no, I've played that game. Then he asks me what # I called. I told him the number the website gave me. That's the wrong one! WA has its own number that's different from the rest of the country. Then I call WA technical support. They tell me that I only have a home loan with them, and you can only see it online if you also have a checking account. Well, that's stupid because I have an "account." I do NOT want a checking account. I just want to see and pay my loan online because back in 1999 I could do it. And if I could do it in 1999, I should be able to do it in 2010. Wamu was cool, not like this Bank of America monopoly. I know what they're trying to do. They are trying to force me to get me a stupid butt checking account with them. And I do NOT want a stupid butt checking account from them.

So anyway, I was cranky with the dude from technical support. He said technically I don't have to get a checking account. I can go to the branch and get an "online profile" done, and then I can see the loan online. But I must go to the branch.

If you read this blog regularly, you will know I hate going to the bank branch. Part of it is that I have no patience for lines. Part of it is the desperation of the people in line. And part of it is that it's just plain stupid to have to go to a branch to get an online profile done when I was on the stupid butt phone with the stupid butt ONLINE technical support!!!

Me and my cranky attitude went to the stupid Bank of America branch. It was a 13 person line. Oh golly gee, may the fun begin! While in line in the sorely dilapidated bank branch, I learned something *interesting.* Their cashier's check printer was down. It seemed like everyone in that line wanted a cashier's check. They were telling people to come back TOMORROW to get their cashier's checks. Memo to Bank of America: Have more than ONE cashier's check printer in each branch, you knuckleheads. And get more tellers so it doesn't take a year to get through the line.

I do cranky well, don't I?

Of course I got in the wrong line. I wasn't supposed to go to the teller. I was supposed to talk with one of those dudes in a suit that sit at a desk on the other side of the room. More waiting. Faboo. I get to observe more cashier's check printing fallout.

I get called finally (as I start scribing this very blog). Explain my issue. The dude has never heard that an online profile can be made without opening an account. He calls the same WA technical assistance number. More waiting while he's on hold.

Basically I find out that I HAVE to open a checking account. Well, they'll give me $100 to open an account. Not too bad, but of course I make all sorts of comments about how idiotic this is, and I know they are only doing it to get me as a customer. I have Chase and why would I want to transfer to BOA when I can't even look at my loan online, the line for a teller is out the door, AND you don't even have a back-up cashier's check printer? I really, really do cranky well. But the thing is - this poor dude completely sees my points. (And I must say that I would have considered switching to BOA since I'm not pleased with Chase, but after this experience I'm honestly not at all impressed by BOA.)

Five zillion hours later I have a new BOA checking account. I must say that the dude at least made sure that I could log in to the website and see my home loan before I left. Oh yeah, he had to know that I would be the type to come back and stalk his butt about this issue if it turned out I couldn't see my home loan after I logged in.

Now here's my problem. I linked my Chase checking account to my new BOA checking account so that I could pay the mortgage online. Well, the transfer process isn't working & I found out that Chase charges $3 each time you do a transfer to a different bank. I don't want to pay that each month. So now I'm going to call BOA and see if I can get an auto debit set up.

I will just conclude with: I hate Chase and Bank of America. Through all of these bank takeovers, it seems like it's becoming a Wal-Mart vs. Target war of the banks, and all the little banks are being eaten alive.

My second conclusion is that it is stupid that I had to open a BOA checking account in order to see my loan online. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I can be cranky if I want to!

8 comments:

Wendy said...

My mortgage is through BofA and I was able to set up an online profile without a BofA account. How odd. Maybe it's a WA thing? Humph.

B said...

Now I have loan envy! Wa and Ca are different because they ran out of money for the system conversion when the recession hit (they were going east coast to west coast). Another reason that could be mucking it up is that I think the BOA loan officer we had used to be Countrywide before BOA took them over. Countrywide and BOA systems aren't entirely compatible, as I have learned today.

Loan envy, loan envy. :)

Wendy said...

Loan was originated in Colorado. But still...

Karin said...

we had so many problems being bofa customers in WA. since we moved to CA it's been fine. i think you should move to CA to solve the problem. simple right? :)

Melissa said...

Oh dear Lord! That would make me want to pull my hair out!!

Scrapping in Circles said...

At least WAMU kept your home loan. They sold ours off to Fannie Mae in the first year.

Ann said...

I hate B of A, though I don't remember why. Must have been something that happened to a family member. I have had car loans with them in the past. I am on my second car loan with Chase. No problems, but I always pay on time. My sister accidently paid late on her CC, like it got lost or something, and they were a total pain in the ass over it. My checking and Savings are with Keybank, where I have been for 23 years. I opened my first accounts there when it was still Seattle Trust. I don't like change, so I will be there forever, unless they royally screw up.

B said...

Karin, I will work on that moving to CA thing. :)

N, boo on selling your loan. At least they sold it to Fannie Mae vs. some podunk fly-by-night. I've heard of people having a string of those no name banks.

Ann, good to know Key Bank is reputable. If Chase continues to do stupid stuff, I might have to change. But I'm NOT moving all my accounts to Bank of America.