WARNING, Chase customers

THANKS for the heads up

Imagine, Chase making an "OOPS" like that which could so negatively impact so many; I'm sure they're SOOOOOO sorry. ***** The big banks are 'too big to fail' so they can do whatever the F-CK they want & the rest of us will just have to bend over. Thanx for the heads up!

aboutready,
May I suggest putting your account online? I think if you pay the credit card on line from your Chase account, your payment is automatically credited. Also, you may be able to set up email alerts reminding you to pay.

dwell, no, thanks for the notion, it still posts the next day (so be careful). isn't that odd? i don't do it online but i went to my branch to complain, and they can't explain it to me except to tell me that they are separate companies. the people in my branch gave me a number supposedly at the executive office where i can call to complain. as they are separate companies, the experience at my branch was quite nice but ineffectual. i got the sense that they were appalled but couldn't do anything about it.

you do have a very good point about the alerts. i have a good memory, and my bills are clumped together, so i've never bothered to set up alerts, but it could be a good defensive measure if they're going to try stuff like this.

In addition to the ease of managing Chase accounts on-line, if you incur a fee for what is obviously a one-time oversight, customer service is quick to remove the charge if you just ask and point out it is inconsistent with you payment history. At times bills go astray in the mail, you may be away on vacation and miss something, etc. If you have a flawless record of timely payments with Chase, reversing an interest payment for an oversight or whatever is not a big deal.

So while the change of due date is a tad 'sneaky' and weird, even if you end up with fees for one month, you can likely get it taken care of if you take the time to straighten it out (which granted, you shouldn't have to spend a minute on, but what are you going to do? Go to Citi? Yeah there's some really different service, right?)

kylewest, they've already done this to me one other time, in a different iteration. it's easy to get fees changed, but these days getting a rate adjusted back down to 2.99% is really tough. as recently as six months ago I would have agreed with you.

Citi? Been there, done it, still doing it. I need more than one bank. Does anyone like their bank, preferably small?

Yes, very odd.

I hate that "separate companies" crap.

I hate B of A. TD Bank (formally Commerce) seems OK, but, it's a very inactive account. Maybe HSBC?

What do you want from the account? Bill pay? credit card?

I know we're talking about credit cards, but I bank with First Republic and even though it's a pain in the butt to make cash deposits sometimes (because their branches are concentrated on the UES/Midtown), I have been nothing but blown away with their service, transparency, and total lack of nickle-and-diming. Highly recommended. As an added bonus, I never wait in line at a branch...their online banking is pretty good, but nothing to write home about. I don't have their credit card, so I can't speak to how good it is.

I have the Schwab whatever signature select Visa card, and so far, it's treated me well and the rewards are great. As for customer service, Schwab is tops so far and they're not so much into screwing you. I used to be really happy with Amex, but I think they've taken a nosedive lately.

Yes, Schwab has excellent cust service & they've recently opened a bank, so you can open an account w/o securities. But, the bank is a "separate company".

I used to be very happy with Amex too, relationship for over 20 years. Customer service is still lovely, but their policies are awful.

I don't need any more credit. I want a bank just for money going in and out. As I need two banks and I like the Chase branch a great deal, I'll probably keep that one also. I hate BofA too, I had my business account there because they are upstate. HSBC is kind of a shaky institution, i know the account will be insured, but if i'm getting away from Citi i might as well go someplace solvent. I'll have a look at TD and First Republic. Thanks for the tips.

TD is staffed by a rotating roster of morons who don't understand their products, give misinformation regularly and impose countless hidden fees. At least, IMHO.

Re: Sovereign: my branch on 8th St near Broadway is full of very nice people who go the extra mile. Don't know about the bank as a whole. I don't use them exclusively, but they knew their products at least and I haven't found any hidden secret charges they ever forgot to tell me about.

kylewest, i'll check them out. it's a good location for me also.

Wachovia. I use them for personal and business after using Citi and my wife using Chase for years.
Much better customer service than either. Chase screwed up royally many times despite my wife being a preferred or whatever customer with a dedicated relationship manager.

as for Wachovia, the counter staff seem to be lacking some training but they are very customer focused and a good branch account manager more than makes up for this.
Telephone support for account or website issues is very good.
Fairly decent smattering of branches in Manhattan. Only problem is the one in Soho doesn't have enough ATMs - I think it only has one!

As a defensive measure, I have all my bill payments pulled from my checking account (except for one credit card at Citi). In this way, I am assured that none of my payments are ever late - includes my mortgage, Amex cards, Chase cards, Con-Ed, Time Warner Cable, auto insurance, etc. I could arrange to have Verizon pulled too but I prefer to split that bill between personal and business accounts and Verizon can't do that, so I have Chase automatically push that payment for me. Saves me time, stress and eliminates the possibility that I will be late and subject to universal default interest rates.

Of course, none of the above helps me deal with Amex, Citi and Cap One when they drop my credit lines by 25% or just close them with very short notice.

Oh well, you can't control everything....

Interestingly, I BofA is my favorite of all the banks I have accounts at. Maybe it's because I do everything online; I *do* mean everything - haven't written a check in about 2 years. All of my payments go out automatically 5 days before they're due (it lets me hook into them regardless of whether they're related to BofA), so if a card changed the date, it wouldn't matter. Because of this, I base a lot of my assessment of a bank on the ease of use of its website; BofA has far and beyond the best I've come across.

I guess it's just a different perspective. I'm in IT, so of course, I try to minimize human interaction at all costs.

AR, that interest rate hike would not be permissible under the credit card Bill of Rights (I believe you have to be 60 days overdue for card issuers to raise interest rates under that legislation). Chase is probably trying to squeeze every penny out of existing balances before they have to comply. It's super shady, but they're probably trying to do whatever they can since they're basically getting it from both ends on credit card write-offs, residential mortgages and (probably) commercial real estate. And with Q2 earnings just around the corner, every penny counts over there.

-DT

http://downtowny.blogspot.com

as i wrote, i went in to have a chat with the people at the Chase branch. they were mortified, and said that there was nothing they could do. i do believe somebody made a few calls, however, because my next two statements have had $0 due. and downtownster, they have been getting quite the boost via the refi market. their losses are largely their own damn fault. i had to ask Citimortgage SIX times to correct our address so that we would get our bill. the first time i didn't get the bill and got the snide customer service rep, she informed me that it was my obligation to pay regardless of whether i was billed. these folks are charming.

yes, downtownster, they are playing defense as quickly as they can. i have hugely high limits, more than i could ever dream of using. amex cut one line, and not another, but citi and chase have left them untouched. who needs over $150k in revolving credit? what have they been thinking? if you ever want to put something on a card temporarily that is huge all you have to do is make a phone call.

I'm going to second wishhouse on BofA. Switched over to them from Citi after maaaany years and have been pleased with their website, branch availability in the city and customer service. You can deposit checks in the ATM without an envelope or deposit slip - it reads them optically and will give you a receipt with check(s) image right on it. Saves a lot of time and paperwork. Love it! Bill pay is also quick and easy.
Have had a good experience with BofA on their credit cards as well, with no switches of due dates or interest rate/terms made without my prior knowledge.
I think Chase is horrible, Citi is shaking apart and my other account at Sovereign has been plagued by problems relating to unauthorized charges on my debit card (3x in past year).