Catherine,
I’ve been visiting Solari for about a year, and I want to thank you for the information you provide.
I want to relate an experience I had with Bank of America lately. I’ve banked there for years, and, although I’ve been meaning to take your advice and “go local,” I haven’t made the move, due mainly to my own inertia. Well, an experience with BOA yesterday changed that.
My mother passed away last summer, and my siblings and I are fortunate enough to receive a fairly (by my standards, anyway) inheritance. I received a check from Mom’s trust and deposited it on Jan 23. I was told the check would be on hold until 2/3. Now, I understand that banks hold checks until they clear, and that they might hold a inordinately large check a bit longer than normal. However, when I called customer service and asked them what they do with the money during that period, and if they earn interest on the money during that time, the agent told me she couldn’t answer that question. So I asked for a supervisor, or someone who could answer it, and she reluctantly complied.
I asked the “supervisor” the same question, and he said it was their policy to not disclose that information. As you might guess, my reply was, “Well, it’s my money and I have the right to know.” Again, in stereotypical, kool-aid drinking, agent of the Matrix fashion, he told me he would not (not “could not”) provide that info. So, I promptly replied that they have just lost a customer, and hung up.
I’m sure this is no surprise to you. I’m not really surprised, either, as it’s yet another example of how disempowered citizens have become, and how little accountability corporate beasts have to their customers. I have one question to ask of you. Aside from following your protocol to break free from the tapeworm, what do you recommend I do to spread the word and encourage others to “rebel” and hold BOA accountable?
Thanks,
A Solari network member
Bank of Scamerica is more like it. BOA is a dangerous bank with which to do business. I had my funds in an account almost completely wiped out several years ago due to an identity theft. BOA was of absolutely no help in recovering the funds.
I would never ever do business with BOA.
Hi All.
I did the same. My cash is in a small credit union. Seems simple once someone like Catherine leads the way of information.
Citi mortgage YIKES!I got a mortgage from a small bank in OHIO for my mother to continue living in her home. Then CITI bought it. That is when my nightmare began. They are the hardest company to pay.
They call, they send nasty letters of taking back your home, and this is when you pay on time but your on a call list anyway.. It is UNREAL. The nasty language for nothing. Then you send your check and they find some reason to not accept it and charge you 60.00 for a late fee. Once I wrote the amount correctly but inverted the .20 cents to .02 cents. That mistake cost me 60.00, many phone calls and letters that the house was being forclosed on. My Mother (85) almost had a heart attack that she was loosing her home. After hours of phone calls, as I thought the bill was paid, tears, extra fees, and to boot, pay an extra 25.00 for paying over the phone. Remember the days when you could make an honest mistake. GET out of the big banks was the best thing I did.
All that I have learned from all of you and Catherine; thank you.
Jaim
p.s. getting rid of citi mortgage in 35 more days…Yipee.
Network Member,
BOA makes money on YOUR money, they don’t make interest on your money. They make money on your money from investments. As to the question of your inheritance, it depends on whether it was in an interest bearing account or not. If you Mother had an interest bearing account then you should get the interest from her account for the days it take to verify the funds, if not then you should not. If the money came from another Bank then that bank would owe you the interest assuming again it was from an interest bearing/trust. In no case, until the funds are actually in your account should YOU get interest from YOUR account with BOA. Hope this helps.
Hi there:
I found Catherine’s website while checking out Mike Ruppert’s fromthewilderness.com, after reading his excellent Crossing the Rubicon, a dissection of the Peak Oil driven crimes contributing to 9/11/01. You might want to post on Yelp, Craigslist, or take out a page on Facebook or Myspace, and say it’s the latest brave thing you’ve done to help America! As for me, I almost immediately quit the tapeworm banking system after reading Catherine’s how-to that thoroughly convinced me. I am a former CitiBank customer, by default, from all the takeovers of the ’80s, and was out just a few days after reading about the tapeworm, by the end of September, when the crash occurred. I now bank with Redwood Credit Union. It’s local (8 S.F. Bay Area counties), not traded on Wall Street, and probably doesn’t have aspirations to do so, as far as I could get from them, and they strike suspicious me as sincere in this regard. At the credit union we’re not customers, we’re member/shareholders, an idea I have to say I don’t completely understand but like very much. We even get to attend shareholder meetings. I have to say that it is refreshing to be able to hold the CEOs accountable, where they have to literally look you in the eye at their meetings!
To add to the Bank of America pile on, check the following story. It’s basically about B of A all but lying to get the sons/daughters of deceased parents to pay their parents remaining debts. BofA appear to basically be scripted to play the guilt and morality card to con people into paying debt obligations that those people have no legal obligation to pay.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/02/how_theresa_hatt_caused_the_financial_crisis.php
Sure, they are with the letter of the law but I’d say far outside of the spirit and intent thereof. After reading this, I began my search for another credit card company. My deposits have long since been removed from their coffers.
Catherine,
Consumerist.com may be a good place to spread the word about BOA. They seem to have a broad readership and offer advice for pursuing various consumer complaints. There are many discussions involving BOA at their site.
Good luck
Craig