A Story for Y'all
Tomrrow by this time I will officially be a homeowner!
The mix of emotions from this and other events is almost overwhelming. I say "almost" because I'm a cocky bastard. Speaking of overwhelming, here's a little story from today.
Anyways, I use Bank of America.... of which they have no freaking branch in the entire state of Wisconsin. Too bad for closing costs, I needed a certified check. I spent 2.5 hours on the phone (that doesn't incluse the past few weeks) with them and discovered the following:
- Could BOA get one for me over the phone.. NO.
- Could they make a one time electronic transfer (like direct deposit) to Wells Fargo (where I opened a new account) so I could get a check... NO
- Could they wire the money to me or my title company... NO
- Could they overnight me a check to either myself or the title company... NO
- Could they give a shit and decide who I needed to talk to... HELL NO...
I spoke with 14 people in 11 unique departments trying to get this done. I talked to every one from customer services to E-banking to the ACH team... all for nothing while I was at work nonetheless.
They even made me call a branch in Austin for "local" help. The bank manager said, "I would be able to expedite this if we knew you, but we don't" That fucking irked me because I had been a customer of theirs for 11 freakin' years!!!!
And all the while, people kept saying, "I'm sorry... I apologize" Now seriously, if you're sorry, don't say it and do something about it. My dad used to tell me, "Sorry is only a word, if you're really sorry you will learn from it and fix the problem." I now know what he meant.
So what happened? I left work early, drove from Wisconsin to Illinois closed my accounts and got 2 cashier's checks: one for the title company, one for my new account with WF. They lost my business for good. On the other hand, the people at Wells Fargo bent over backwards to help me and called many different BOA numbers and departments to get things done. While they were unsuccessful, they offered to pay me my wages since I left owrk early and my mileage to IL.
Moral of the story: Reconsider Bank of America if you use them. They have really nice online stuff and they've helped me out with small things before, but if you really, truly need help, they won't do a damn thing for you unless you have a considerable amount invested in them (I had about $19k and 11 years loyalty and they still didn't care). I recommend you consider other options.
Wells Fargo did a great job, but I have yet to experience them after years of loyalty, hopefully there is smooth sailing ahead.
OK, I'm done ranting. I hope this saves you some grief, otherwise, don't say I didn't tell you so when it happens to you.
Regardless, I'm home, I'm loved, and I'm buying a house tomorrow... so life is still fantastic... besides, only a crappy car breaks down after a few bumps in the road.
The mix of emotions from this and other events is almost overwhelming. I say "almost" because I'm a cocky bastard. Speaking of overwhelming, here's a little story from today.
Anyways, I use Bank of America.... of which they have no freaking branch in the entire state of Wisconsin. Too bad for closing costs, I needed a certified check. I spent 2.5 hours on the phone (that doesn't incluse the past few weeks) with them and discovered the following:
- Could BOA get one for me over the phone.. NO.
- Could they make a one time electronic transfer (like direct deposit) to Wells Fargo (where I opened a new account) so I could get a check... NO
- Could they wire the money to me or my title company... NO
- Could they overnight me a check to either myself or the title company... NO
- Could they give a shit and decide who I needed to talk to... HELL NO...
I spoke with 14 people in 11 unique departments trying to get this done. I talked to every one from customer services to E-banking to the ACH team... all for nothing while I was at work nonetheless.
They even made me call a branch in Austin for "local" help. The bank manager said, "I would be able to expedite this if we knew you, but we don't" That fucking irked me because I had been a customer of theirs for 11 freakin' years!!!!
And all the while, people kept saying, "I'm sorry... I apologize" Now seriously, if you're sorry, don't say it and do something about it. My dad used to tell me, "Sorry is only a word, if you're really sorry you will learn from it and fix the problem." I now know what he meant.
So what happened? I left work early, drove from Wisconsin to Illinois closed my accounts and got 2 cashier's checks: one for the title company, one for my new account with WF. They lost my business for good. On the other hand, the people at Wells Fargo bent over backwards to help me and called many different BOA numbers and departments to get things done. While they were unsuccessful, they offered to pay me my wages since I left owrk early and my mileage to IL.
Moral of the story: Reconsider Bank of America if you use them. They have really nice online stuff and they've helped me out with small things before, but if you really, truly need help, they won't do a damn thing for you unless you have a considerable amount invested in them (I had about $19k and 11 years loyalty and they still didn't care). I recommend you consider other options.
Wells Fargo did a great job, but I have yet to experience them after years of loyalty, hopefully there is smooth sailing ahead.
OK, I'm done ranting. I hope this saves you some grief, otherwise, don't say I didn't tell you so when it happens to you.
Regardless, I'm home, I'm loved, and I'm buying a house tomorrow... so life is still fantastic... besides, only a crappy car breaks down after a few bumps in the road.