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Petaluma

Stifling bank fees


Published: Monday, October 26, 2009 at 7:06 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, October 26, 2009 at 7:06 a.m.

Editor: We have $4,000 in our savings account. Chase gave us 2 cents interest for last quarter. We were overdrawn in our checking account recently by 82 cents, due to the order in which the bank processes transactions.

My payroll check is automatically deposited from the city of Petaluma at 12:01 a.m. every other Friday. The service charge was assessed after the deposit was made. A $39 overdraft charge. We then took money out of our savings to make sure we kept enough in our checking account. The bank then assessed a $10 charge on our savings account for excess activity.

My first loan was at Exchange Bank in 1963. I was in my junior year at Santa Rosa High School. It was $500 for a ’56 Chevy. My mom co-signed for me. It was done with little more than a handshake. If I was a few days late, it wasn’t the end of the world. A simple phone call would suffice. And they would actually answer the phone.

We are now going on a cash basis. I think a can in the backyard will do just fine. Unfortunately, we will be losing a few cents in interest.

NEIL SHEA,

Petaluma


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  1. elienos says...
    October 26, 2009 2:28:38 pm

    RE: Link
    That sounds uncannily like my experience. Not sure why you still aren't with exchange bank...but I am using my home as a bank more now-a-days too. WAMU was okay. Chase is dirty. They also forget to stop automatic payments for your credit card and then charge you for insufficient funds (as I took the bulk of my money out of that bank to moved to a slightly more palatable one) even though no payment was due cause I made a payment the day i stopped the automatic ones. You can't get anywhere with them, cause no one answers the phone, just a computer, that runs you around in circles for ten minutes before connecting you with a person, who can't help you so connects you with another and another and they keep you $39... And then there was the time they... shall i go on?

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  2. pdonery says...
    October 28, 2009 2:31:48 pm

    After too many years of being abused, I had become fed up with impersonal institution banks. I am certain that they knowingly assess improper fees, correctly assuming that only a fraction of their customers will notice and object. I have taken all my business to the Exchange Bank. I couldn't be more satisfied. Research who they are and what they offer. I'll never go anywhere else.

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  3. howardtheduck says...
    October 29, 2009 12:59:07 pm

    Some banks these days are now charging a fee to cash a check drawn from their bank. For instance, a friend wrote me a check for $20. They bank at Chase, so one day when I was downtown I stopped in at Chase to simple cash the check. Not so fast! Because I wasn't a member at Chase, they wanted to keep $5 as a fee. I took the check back immediately and deposited it into my checking account at a bank down the street.I used to bank at Exchange Bank until they started charging the check cashing fee too.

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  4. alive says...
    October 29, 2009 3:17:43 pm

    So where is a good bank? I would like a local bank, but the credit union is too far. There are three local banks I know of downtown. Which one, if not Exchange?

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  5. StickeyWicket says...
    October 29, 2009 3:46:35 pm

    I belong to Patelco Credit Union, have for over 20 years. The closet branch is in Rhonert Park, however, if you're like most people and do your banking by ATM; Redwood Credit Union in K-Mart shopping mall allows you to withdraw and deposit because you belong to a co-op if you bank with a credit union. I have had to go to the RP branch 3 times in the last 10 years or so. I love Patelco. No fee checking, decent credit card rates etc. Good Luck.

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  6. howardtheduck says...
    October 29, 2009 7:13:26 pm

    I work as a money courier so I go to about 9+ different banks around town on a regular basis. I interact with the tellers often and get a pretty good feel for the banks, however, I can't comment much on banking protocol or policies.The "good" list, at least in terms of customer service and whether or not there are irate customers in there screaming for blood on a regular basis:Bank of the West
    Westamerica
    Bank of MarinBaddies:

    Bank of America
    Wells Fargo
    CHASE
    Citibank

    Indifferent:
    1st Community (behind cinemas)
    Wachovia (however soon to be Wells Fargo)
    Exchange Bank
    Circle Bank

    I personally bank at Bank of Marin. They have genuine, honest and pleasant customer service on a very personal level. They're not scripted; little to no employee turnover and generally flexible. However, if your checking account average doesn't stay above $1000 a month there is a $8/mo fee for checking. For me it's a small price to pay for all of the good parts about the bank including their lack of a fee if someone chooses to cash a check I write to them.The reason I labeled the bad banks the baddies is because they are always trying to get me to join, get a credit card, long lines, clueless / scripted tellers, constant need for manager over rides, and no one at these banks has the authority to clear anything that is forbidden in the "system"... not true at the other more local banks. These banks are often the scene of some pretty pissed of customers.YMMV

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  7. alive says...
    October 30, 2009 6:13:31 am

    Thanks folks, but I really am looking for a bank close to home. I like to be able to talk to folks face to face. The idea of jumping in the car and traveling across town or to another town to talk to interact with the folks at my bank just isn't comfortable to me, especially when I could walk to 6 different ones. I think I will feel out Exchange Bank...or maybe just visit all the close-by banks.

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