How bad does a bank have to get before you move your money? I'm ashamed to admit that it took a customer "service" policy that affected me personally to get me to do what I should have done a long time ago.
I mailed a check that was never received, nor was it cashed. So this morning I called Bank of America to cancel payment.
I was told that if the check was converted to an electronic debit, they'd pay it even though I stopped payment. And they also said that the check would be paid anytime in the future as long as my account was open and funds were available, FOREVER, and that if I wanted my "stop payment" to last beyond six months I'd have to call and renew it every six months, FOREVER.
So clearly all any thief holding a stolen check has to do now is wait 6 months and present the check. Or wait a couple of years. Odds are, it will be paid.
Let's not even mention that when you search "stop payment" or "lost check" on the Bank of America website you get NO returns, no information on how to do that, let alone the ability to do it.
I wended my way through their horrible phone system until I got the agent who shared with me these impossible to understand policies.
I'd started moving my money to my credit union a while ago because BofA took bailout money, has a horrible record on making loan modifications, and doesn't pay any corporate taxes, but never finished it because the inconvenience of changing the bazillion auto-payments I have set up just overwhelmed me. And it still does. But if that's the only way to prevent a thief from sucking a lot of money out of my account while BofA not only looks the other way but actively facilitates it, fine. They've now made a necessity out of virtue.
I'm amazed it took this much, but yeah. You've been my bank since I was 17 years old, BofA, but you and me? We're through.
I still have a BoA account because their online security and service around it is super...plus I've had them for eons. I seldom use checks but I can say that recently it was necessary to do a change in my acct and they said I could not, which was stupid because the statement they were making was directly in conflict with what showed in my panel.
In my area we don't have choices since we are fairly rural and financial institutions come and go through a revolving door.
However, a while back I moved all my auto payments to an online system that is great with stopping payments and that also has a dispute system. I did this since many servicing accounts control too much and I don't like having others accessing my financial accounts.
These days, like you, I prefer to use a credit union. The main problem is that it is hard to conduct business via other credit unions except within their designated systems--which are limited.
Not saying they are not also part of the evil empire, but Wells Fargo has been great by me. They're identity theft and online security has been awesome by me and I've never had a problem with them once in all the 20+ years I've been with them.
BofA, on the other hand, allowed someone to charge a Vegas golf weekend to a credit card they sent me, but had never been activated by me. It wasn't until the person tried to charge a second vacation on the card that they even tried to call me. When I told them how unhappy I was that the first charge was allowed, though I never activated they card, they offered me a new one(!). I've never done business with them since.
I understand your frustration with the big ole banks! I have had accounts at two different credit unions for both personal and business. The thing I have with BofA is a credit card. Since it's really a Visa I don't know that it's BofA that has caught the fraudulent use of my card in the past, but they've been pretty good about things. Still wouldn't do any regular banking or loans with them.
I do have a few loans with the Citi divisions since I used to market loans through them long ago. Not using them for anything but those loans though. I'm a bit over the major banking corporations having been on the inside and the outside.