Beginning a Bank-Free Life

[flyersfan31]

Well, I dunno. I've never had a problem with any bank, small or large, or any credit union I've been a member of. I choose a convenient branch location and that's enough. And if I move, I do it again. No fees. No problems.

Me too.

 

[TangoWhiskey]

That or USAA, who accepts deposits of checks via scanner and email.

It gets even better, Spike. The new Droid USAA application will let me deposit a check using the camera on the phone, and have instant funds availability. I love USAA!

 

[schmookeeg]

I use a credit line differently, to prevent embarassing myself in this way.

I decide on a fixed amount I wish to use credit-line funds for.

I transfer that amount into checking.

I write a check (more often a wire) for the amount.

We had Wamu Kill our credit line with zero notice, and nothing but a "dude, our bad" by way of apology. Our checking account remained flush.

I cannot imagine running any sort of business where the daily and ordinary transactions were processed vis-a-vis a credit line. That seems reckless to me.

...not that I am against your bank hatred one bit, but I do think your clients were unsophisticated in their credit management. I hope they were not put up against the wall by their credit closure, but if they were, their business' failure was inevitable anyway, and the credit line was merely life support which had the plug pulled.

...IMHO

$0.02

- Mike

 

[RJM62]

I use a credit line differently, to prevent embarassing myself in this way.

I decide on a fixed amount I wish to use credit-line funds for.

I transfer that amount into checking.

I write a check (more often a wire) for the amount.

We had Wamu Kill our credit line with zero notice, and nothing but a "dude, our bad" by way of apology. Our checking account remained flush.

I cannot imagine running any sort of business where the daily and ordinary transactions were processed vis-a-vis a credit line. That seems reckless to me.

...not that I am against your bank hatred one bit, but I do think your clients were unsophisticated in their credit management. I hope they were not put up against the wall by their credit closure, but if they were, their business' failure was inevitable anyway, and the credit line was merely life support which had the plug pulled.

...IMHO

$0.02

- Mike

There may be some truth to that, although human optimism is a strange thing and could account for some small businesses trying to hang on long after all realistic hope is gone.

In two of my clients' cases, however, there were extenuating circumstances. One (my friend) is a landscaper who has to purchase the year's supplies (topsoil, fertilizer, pesticides, and so forth) this time of year, but won't start getting paid for 30 to 60 days. He has ten trucks out there, so there's a lot of stuff he has to buy. Usually he still has cash to do it, but with the economy being slower this year, he used the credit line -- for the first time in the 20+ years he's been in business -- and they canceled it.

The other is a sheetrock contractor who's in pretty much the same boat. He gets the job, then has to lay out the money for the supplies, labor, surety bonds, and so forth. Same basic story.

Ironically, both of them could have just gotten credit from their suppliers, but they got a better deal (so they thought) for paying by check in advance. So they wrote checks, figuring the credit line would cover them, and then BoA pulled the rug out from under them.

I can think of only one exception to my hatred of banks, and that would be TD Bank (formerly Commerce Bank). They've been great with closing out the LLC business accounts in an orderly manner. They also didn't get involved in any of the shenanigans that caused the present economic crisis.

-Rich

 

[RJM62]

I resurrected this thread because I recently opened an account at Addison Avenue Credit Union in California, and I'm so impressed that I wanted to give anyone looking for a financial institution a heads-up.

Addison Avenue FCU was established as HP's employee credit union, but anyone can now join by also joining something called the Financial Fitness Association, which the CU will do for you when you apply.

This CU is as close to I've come to a perfect financial institution:

• Sign-up is easy.
• Membership is only $5.00.
• Almost every conceivable service is available: Savings, checking, credit cards (secured and unsecured), loans, brokerage, you name it.
• Shared-branch banking, so effectively there are more than 6,500 credit unions where you can make transactions in person.
• Every member has a Relationship Manager who actually picks up their own phone and whose direct phone number is given to the member.
• Members get employee discounts on HP stuff.
• The checking account pays interest of 2-point-something percent with a minimum balance of only $25.00.
• After 90 days (which was waived in my case, maybe because I'm self-employed?), check deposits can be made electronically by scanning the checks.

I am dumbfounded. I can't find a blessed thing bad to say about this organization -- and that's very much unlike me.

http://www.addisonavenue.com/

-Rich

 

[Tom-D]

Way back a long time ago, when Barb and I moved here from NAS Pt. Mugu we moved our accounts to Olympic Bank here in Oak Harbor, they promised that if Navy payday was on Saturday they would post the money to our accounts on Friday, and if the Payday fell on Sunday they would post the money to our accounts on Monday. All was well until we wrote a check to the Commissary on Friday, (payday was Saturday) and it bounced. Barb had a fit, went to the bank and threw a hissy fit in the managers office. he made the call to the Commissary and explained they had made a mistake, and paid the check bouncing penalty. after that was all settled she with drew all our funds and moved them to our Navy Federal credit union, and we have been there since then.

Since then the C/U has changed names 3 times and now is known as Alaska USA Credit Union. our car buys and our house mortgage, and our CC cards have all been with the C/U.

https://www.alaskausa.org/

 

[Ghery]

Way back a long time ago, when Barb and I moved here from NAS Pt. Mugu we moved our accounts to Olympic Bank here in Oak Harbor, they promised that if Navy payday was on Saturday they would post the money to our accounts on Friday, and if the Payday fell on Sunday they would post the money to our accounts on Monday. All was well until we wrote a check to the Commissary on Friday, (payday was Saturday) and it bounced. Barb had a fit, went to the bank and threw a hissy fit in the managers office. he made the call to the Commissary and explained they had made a mistake, and paid the check bouncing penalty. after that was all settled she with drew all our funds and moved them to our Navy Federal credit union, and we have been there since then.

Since then the C/U has changed names 3 times and now is known as Alaska USA Credit Union. our car buys and our house mortgage, and our CC cards have all been with the C/U.

https://www.alaskausa.org/

If Barb's hissy fit was anything like my wife's wet hen act, I feel sorry for that manager.

 

[denverpilot]

I have been a happy CU member since 1991. Have done checking, savings, another savings (it's dumb but it keeps me organized), car loans, etc. Never a single fee that entire time.

Mortgage was from a broker. It got sold a couple of times. Ended up with Countrywide and we all know where they went. Assets taken over by Bank of America. Absolutely hate them. Their process for endorsing insurance claim checks left my roofer holding the bag for two weeks after storm damage.

Loan rate was so low already that there wasn't any point in paying points to lower it and re-fi since we're already paying extra principal - getting a better deal on the back-end than I can get on the front-end. Pays to understand amortization schedules. Taking years off the loan. Hopefully screwing up BofA's balance sheet in the process in my tiny way, too.

Also had one car loan where the dealer had a better deal than I was pre-approved for. (And certainly got a kickback.) I mean a wicked deal. Obvious promotion to garner business. See, I shop for vehicles with financing already in hand, and never do that "What do you want your payment to be," horse-crap.

That went to the Air Academy Credit Union, which was kinda nifty. Never a problem. But kinda limited online tools. (In fact, if there's one thing I have seen with Credit Unions is that they refuse to pony up for Intuit's direct programs, so import to Quicken is usually a downloaded QIF file. Okay, fine.) Paid that one off. Also got "suckered" into a $250 (total cost) warranty extension. Good thing we did. It paid out $13000 in repairs on that frakkin' VW TDI wagon, including a new transmission. Car runs great now! LOL!

And another one of those where the dealer again offered a better deal, when I found a screamin' deal on a used Yukon, they put it in writing on a Saturday night, said it was a Credit Union, found they were wrong on their rates, and they ended up at Wells Fargo, and I'm guessing, took a bath on it on Tuesday. Another "deal better than your Credit Union" that they lost, and I won.

Makes a boy proud of his negotiation skills, of which I have none other than, "I've got a loan, and I'm paying this price or I'm leaving.". Never emotionally attached to a vehicle until it's parked in my driveway with papers all signed. Haven't had any problems with that account other than it's totally busted in Mint.com. Oh well.

Carry two chunks of plastic. (Credit cards). One is for a particular airline's miles. Another is the one of the warehouse clubs. Neither one has ever seen a penny of interest. The recent rate changes they sent me were truly shocking. Glad I'll never run a balance! Holy crap!

If they weren't paying me to carry both cards, I wouldn't have them. One of them offers 3% cash back on fuel and doesn't know the difference between car gas, and 100LL at the self-serve pump. Like!

I had some credit card indiscretions in my youth and my wife and I dug out for a long time, but at today's rates, I don't see how kids would. Wow. Just awful. Maybe worse than awful, evil.

Credit Unions are great. I have no idea why anyone would ever want to do business with a for-profit bank. My CU is more than happy to handle business accounts also.

Full-disclosure: I own stock in a for-profit bank. I figure there's always going to be folks who simply won't look harder for a better deal. I'll hold it a while as their balance sheet gets better and see where that leads. They're beat up and I'm a sucker for buy low, sell high. They're not so distressed they'll be seized, even if we drop back to the previous lows. Lower, they might all be seized, but I'd probably have bigger problems than being stopped out on that particular investment.

 

[Steve Foley]

I'm still using Bank of America. So far, they haven't done anything stupid to me.

One advantage is that they are everywhere. My wife took my son to Baltimore this summer, and realized she had brought no cash, and forgotten her ATM card. She walked into a Bank of America, presented her driver's license, read off her SS#, and walked out with a wad of cash.

I also have an account at the local CU, and will jump from BOA in a heartbeat. The branch I opened the account in back in 1983 is long since gone, and I don't feel any loyalty to the foreigners who answer the phone (after I press "1" for English)

 

[denverpilot]

I'm still using Bank of America. So far, they haven't done anything stupid to me.

Every day is a new opportunity for them to screw up. Give it time.

One advantage is that they are everywhere. My wife took my son to Baltimore this summer, and realized she had brought no cash, and forgotten her ATM card. She walked into a Bank of America, presented her driver's license, read off her SS#, and walked out with a wad of cash.

BofA is most definitely NOT here... not a single branch. You gotta love when your mortgage is sold to someone who makes you mail everything to California to do business with them....

I got a kick out of my Australian friends when they were on their grand tour of the U.S. for a month, a few years back. They thought "Bank of America" meant they were everywhere in the U.S. They were shocked when they got to Denver and found zero branches. We loaned 'em some cash, they easily paid us back later... no big deal at all. But it's funny what impression they got just from the name/Marketing of the business.

I also have an account at the local CU, and will jump from BOA in a heartbeat. The branch I opened the account in back in 1983 is long since gone, and I don't feel any loyalty to the foreigners who answer the phone (after I press "1" for English)

We need a "smiley" where you're very angry and your head explodes for this one.

 

[SkyHog]

I did finally have an issue with ING Direct, which is a bit irritating, but still a much less irritating that brick and mortar:

They will not allow you to write checks on their account. You can only mail checks using their check system. The problem with that is that if you absolutely have to get a check into someone's hand, you have to mail it to them. Its free, but its still irritating.

I tried to order a box of checks through a 3rd party source and ING Direct blocked it. I tried creating my own check and using it, and ING Direct denied funds saying it was an unauthorized check. When I called and asked, they were very, very nice about it, but unfaltering in the fact that there is no way around it.

Can cause some very embarrassing situations.

But still....much, much better. Once they get online check deposits using a scanner, I'll be 100% done with brick and mortar. Unfortunately, the interest rates have gone down (still better than B&M, but much less than they used to be).

 

[PilotAlan]

I can walk into almost any credit union in America to make deposits, withdrawals, and so forth. They apparently have some sort of a co-op system where they process each others' transactions.

We have a fabulous credit union, but unfortunately there are no, zero, nada credit union branches or ATMs anywhere near where we live, where either of us works, or in between those locations.
We were with a Wells Fargo down the street and we could not wait to get away from them.

A local bank opened a branch down the street (FirstBank, for you Coloradoans), and we immediately jumped in. They are fabulous!

No charge, interest-bearing checking. Free online bill pay. Free debit and credit cards with cash back bonus, and an automatic $1000 overdraft line of credit.
Deposits credit instantly. Unlike Wells Fargo, they apply credits overnight BEFORE clearing debits. Debits clear from order of smallest to largest, not largest to smallest.
They don't play the games WF did, like having online bill pay payments debit instantly while the payment takes 5 business days to arrive. FirstBank debits the account when the deposit clears, just like a paper check.
If FirstBank has electronic payment set up with a creditor, it pays tomorrow. WF will take three business days, unless you want to pay the *Express payment* fee of $3, then it will credit tomorrow (IOW, they CAN pay it immediately, but WON'T unless you pay).
Same deal with wire transfers. They sit on it for 4 business days, unless you pay the * expedited transfer fee*, then it will go tomorrow. But either way, the money always comes out of your account the second you hit 'submit' (so your average balance drops, and the chances of a check bouncing go up).

I walk in to deposit a check, and the teller greets me by name, calls me to the window, and has a deposit slip with my account number filled out before I have the check endorsed

While I would love to have my accounts at my credit union, I love having found a real, local bank that treats their customers right.
WF used to be a pleasure to deal with, but over the last 15 years they have become the most nickel-and-dime, find every way possible to hose the customer type of institution I have ever seen.

*Whew*, I feel much better now

 

[RJM62]

I used the "Electronic Deposit" feature at Addison Avenue FCU today for the first time.

I got a check for $25.00 from a former client who needed an alteration on his site that took me about 37 seconds. I no-billed it, but he sent me $25.00 anyway. I figgered I'd use that small check to test the Electronic Deposit feature.

After agreeing to the terms, I filled in the amount of the deposit, scanned the front and back of the check, uploaded the scans (they have a little app that lets you crop them to the size of the check), and voila, my money was in the account and available for my immediate use.

I usually get paid by PayPal, but I also receive, on average, between three and six checks per week, and sometimes more. The ability to deposit those checks electronically will save me at least an hour or two a week, plus gas, plus the aggravation of sitting in traffic on the Van Wyck Expressway (which is second only to the Cross-Bronx Expressway in terms of the frequency of spontaneous, idiopathic traffic snarls).

-Rich

 

[TangoWhiskey]

I used the "Electronic Deposit" feature at Addison Avenue FCU today for the first time.

I got a check for $25.00 from a former client who needed an alteration on his site that took me about 37 seconds. I no-billed it, but he sent me $25.00 anyway. I figgered I'd use that small check to test the Electronic Deposit feature.

After agreeing to the terms, I filled in the amount of the deposit, scanned the front and back of the check, uploaded the scans (they have a little app that lets you crop them to the size of the check), and voila, my money was in the account and available for my immediate use.

I usually get paid by PayPal, but I also receive, on average, between three and six checks per week, and sometimes more. The ability to deposit those checks electronically will save me at least an hour or two a week, plus gas, plus the aggravation of sitting in traffic on the Van Wyck Expressway (which is second only to the Cross-Bronx Expressway in terms of the frequency of spontaneous, idiopathic traffic snarls).

-Rich

Yup! I love that feature with USAA. Can not only scan at home, can take a photo of both sides of the check with your Android or iPhone and deposit--funds immediately available. Sure makes it easy to not need brick and mortar.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

Hey - for those using the scan and send method, if that check bounces will you know right away or is there a delay while it goes to the bank of origin? Know if there is a fee to you?

 

[TangoWhiskey]

Hey - for those using the scan and send method, if that check bounces will you know right away or is there a delay while it goes to the bank of origin? Know if there is a fee to you?

I haven't had any bounce. ;-) The bank does tell me immediately if it's safe to "void" and shred it. I'm not sure if they're electronically verifying funds as part of that process or not.