Banking

So pretty much everyone in this country is aware of all the changes banks are making to their fee schedules, etc.  Well, Kris and I have been watching the commercials too, and are super glad that we recently made a change.

Up until the last month or so, we had been with Bank of America our entire married life (almost 4 years).  Before that, I had been with them since they bought my old bank (same account I’d had since I was knee-high to a duck).

Well, after many recurring issues with them, the most recent being that they froze our account when we were travelling to Michigan (which we do A LOT) and thusly bounced our rent check, we decided to switch.  It didn’t help that since we were on vacation that week, when the rent bounced, we had to pay an extra $200 in late and bounce fees to the complex due to timing and then the bank refused to refund us ANY of the fees, despite our long history with the bank.

So, after meeting with Jan, one of the ladies in my networking group, Kris and I decided to move our accounts over to American Chartered Bank.  They are a small Chicago local bank, but so far, they rock socks.  We have the direct line for Jan, so when we have an issue, we can call her directly.  They’ve already implemented the remote deposit thing that some of you may have heard of.  It’s the thing where you can take a picture of both sides of your check with your smartphone and have it deposited to your account.  Their accounts are free (unless you overdraft) and because you have a person you deal with regularly, if they see that you have your car payment about to come through, but are short, they’ll make sure it goes through (you will get a fee for that, but they won’t bounce it, which many of the big banks are now doing).

It’s been a great experience so far, plus we don’t have fees for our debit card (which BoA is about to implement) or our account.

With all of the announcements of banks screwing over their customers, we’re happier than ever that we’ve switched.

 

And as my little political rant related to this:  you want change, this is how to make it – move your business.  If you don’t approve of the way a business is being run, don’t give them your business.  It worked in the 60’s.  And despite the bad press that idiots gave the theory in the past few years by trying to convince people that refusing to buy gas from one company for one day would work (it doesn’t, it needs to be a long-term effort), removing ALL of your business from a company will have an impact.  And while I may not have a huge account with BoA, if many many customers move their business, it will have an impact.

Same theory applies to voting.  Don’t just vote for someone who is the big candidate.  Vote for the person you actually WANT to vote for.  As long as you cast your vote it isn’t wasted.  And the only way to make change happen is to ACTIVELY be a part of change.  Don’t just talk, DO.