Credit unions? Banks? A jar in the back of my closet?

[dj-daeva.livejournal.com]

Hi folks!

I'm relying on all you savvy davis square people out there to help me figure out where to go next for my banking institution :)

I currently have my checking and savings accts with the Harvard University Employees Credit Union and need to make a switch. They were ok when I worked at Harvard, but now that I'm working in Waltham it's a flipping PAIN to get to their ATM's or branches when I need to deposit money other than my direct deposit. Plus they don't clear any funds immediately when you make said deposits (I've routinely had to wait 5-7 days before getting a single penny of several large checks over the last 6 months).

So...who do you like to bank with? I have my visa card with BOA so I was contemplating going back, but I really didn't like their service at all...plus they're evil :)

Bonus points for a credit union that has branches in Waltham and Somerville that don't charge maintenance fees with direct deposit :)

Help a sista out...BOA is desperately trying to recruit me...offering $50, then $100, then finally $250 to open a checking account with them...save me from their evil clutches! :)

Thanks in advance! :)

<3

Comments

[eclecticavatar.livejournal.com]

I've heard good things about Central Bank and Citizens bank. I have BOA too and I HATE them!

[dj-daeva.livejournal.com]

they're evil! they "lost" a 900 cash deposit i made at the branch once...thank god i had my receipt or i would've been SCREWED

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[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

Wainwright is a non-profit bank that has free everything if you have a regular direct deposit (no minimum actual balance required) and they've been great for me. They have an ATM in Watertown center (depends what part of Waltham you're in, if this'll be convenient) and Davis (and many other places as well). Plus, they're part of the SUM ATM no-fee network, not foolproof but it helps.

www.wainwrightbank.com

[ron_newman]

I love Wainwright but they are not a non-profit. In fact, their stock is listed at Nasdaq.

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

Hrm. Were they at one time? I thought they were.

Anyway, this page (http://www.wainwrightbank.com/html/about/index.html) has more info about how they re-invest some of their profits into civil rights causes.

[ron_newman]

I don't think they were ever anything other than a for-profit company.

[dj-daeva.livejournal.com]

Thanks I'll check them out! :)

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[schpahky.livejournal.com]

Wainwright is great. There are tons of SUM ATMs all over the Boston area, too.

[dj-daeva.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info! I'll definitely check them out :)

<3

[out-2-lunch.livejournal.com]

Another vote for Wainwright. I love 'em.

[watchamacallit.livejournal.com]

I'm considering making a switch frm Sovereign to Central, if that's any help. There are a few credit unions in the Somerville area but I'm not sure what the requirements are for opening accounts.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Really, I'd be opportunistic and take BOA's $250 to open the account, then clean out the account and abandon it, only to open an account at Wainwright.

There's probably fine print to prevent that, but it's fun to think diaboloically. ;-)

[miraclaire.livejournal.com]

I second this suggestion :) I've been with Wainwright fir a while and I've been very happy.

[dj-daeva.livejournal.com]

I thought about it! But I had a savings account with them that I closed like 7 months ago, but I've had to really monitor and make sure it was closed...i think it FINALLY just closed about 3 weeks ago!

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[jadelennox]

brandeis is in Waltham and they use metropolitan credit union, which looks pretty good. (I don't use it -- I use a credit union that doesn't have any branches around here (they are all in the North Shore), but because the ATM is SUM and they give me postage paid envelopes for all of my deposit checks, I don't care.*g*)

Cambridge Portuguese credit union is all over, and they have a pretty vague membership requirement (descent from somebody Portuguese, or marriage to or friendship with somebody who is descended from somebody or married to somebody Portuguese; the friendship requirement makes it relatively simple to get a membership).

if you can't find a credit union you like, Wainwright Bank is relatively not evil.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

What if you once saved a poruguese man-o-war that washed up on the beach?

[jadelennox]

in that case I think you practically get a VIP membership. Complete with stingers!

[cos]

This makes me wish I could rate comments on LJ so I could rate this one up!

[fanw.livejournal.com]

Well, I bank with BofA, but their convenience trumps their evilness for me since I travel a lot.

If you want something local that's a good bank, try Wainwright. (https://www.wainwrightbank.com/html/personal/index.html) They get awards all the time for being sustainable and environmentally hip. They made the Top 10 "Green" Banking Firms in the U.S. Plus they happen to have branches basically all along the redline: Alewife, Davis, Harvard, Central, Kendall, and some downtown. Check out their little hang out place in the Davis Sq location. Chat them up. They're nice.

I used them for a year. Why did I stop? I got tired of totally unreadable statements and no online access, so I never knew how much money I had. They've probably fixed this by now. It's worth a check.

[ron_newman]

I still don't like the printed statements much, but they've had online account access and bill-pay for as long as I've banked with them.

[dj-daeva.livejournal.com]

oh good! i was like no online access????? i should've probably included that i needed that :)

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[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

Wainwright.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

I like Citizens. Be sure to get a SUM bank.

[laconique.livejournal.com]

WAINWRIGHT.

[cemeterygates.livejournal.com]

Another vote for Wainwright, here.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Consider an online bank like FirstIB that offers you fee-reimbursement for using local ATMs. Online banks usually have much higher interest rates.

[dj-daeva.livejournal.com]

hmmmm, that's an interesting thought! I'll look into that :)

I guess it would depend on how long it takes to receive funds after deposit :)

<3

[inkscarred.livejournal.com]

What I've done and find pretty useful is to open an account at more than one bank. BOA is part of the "evil corporate machine" but they are very convenient, especially if you are someone who travels. Therefore, you could open a checking account with them and use them for your basic checking needs and then open a savings account at a local or online bank. That way BOA isn't getting a ton of your money, you can transfer money into your checking account as needed, and you get the convenience factor. A local bank will get most of your money to invest. There are also some primarily online banks (ING, etc.) that have much better savings account rates than BOA and other banks with many branches. I don't have an account with Wainwright but have heard great things about them and am looking into opening an account there as well.

[respicefinem.livejournal.com]

Wait wait. Now just wait a second. What is SO wrong with BOA?

[jadelennox]

Well, they're not the most evil as mega-financial institutions go (Buy Blue Summary of BoA), but in this country, massive financial institutions tend to do more harm than good. It's always better to support a local bank or local credit union (okay, not always, but usually), in order to support small local businesses.

That being said, Bank of America recently bought MBNA, who were disgustingly evil. I have no idea how much they have changed MBNA's political contributions/business practices.

[ron_newman]

What and where was MBNA, and why were they so evil?

[la-ti-da.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I had an MBNA credit card (which now became BoA), so I'm curious about why they are evil. It's my secondary just-in-case credit card, so I wouldn't mind switching to a different one.

My primary card is citibank, cause they have a good cashback benefit.

[dj-daeva.livejournal.com]

Their service is terrible, they screwed me on overdraft charges (holding a check for a week for no good reason and not clearing it-i deposited it to cover checks I had outstanding...AT THE BRANCH i might add...and they hit me with $200 of overdraft fees and never gave me a real reason why it didn't clear)...

They "lost" a $900 CASH deposit that I made at the branch again hitting me with overdraft fees for recurring automatic payments I had set up in my account. Thank GOD I had my receipt so they had to refund the charges.

I thought about going back solely for the $250 and convenience, but actually now that i'm looking back on it, it's just not worth it :)

<3

[ron_newman]

Was this when they were still Fleet, or after they converted to BoA?

[dj-daeva.livejournal.com]

after they converted to BOA :)

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[frederic.livejournal.com]

Check out Winter Hill Bank. They're rather small, very friendly, and a member of the SUM network so there are a lot of ATMs that you can use free of charge. The one I use is in Winter Hill proper (300ish B'way), but there are closer ones to Davis like Ball Square.

I only do my CDs there, but from the way they've treated me, I'm guessing that they'd be a very good bank to work with for everything.

[ron_newman]

Winter Hill has a branch in Davis Square, on Cutter Avenue facing the Rosebud and Enterprise rent-a-car.

[dj-daeva.livejournal.com]

Davis is a nice option, but the Broadway branch is actually only a few blocks from my house :)

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[dj-daeva.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of checking them out...that's the ATM i use to withdraw money from my harvard credit union account since it's right down the street :)

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[ron_newman]

My advice for choosing a bank:

- The bank should be part of the SUM ATM network. This means that when you use some Other Bank's ATM, and Other Bank is also part of SUM, Other Bank won't surcharge you

- Also make sure that Your Bank won't charge you for using Other Bank's ATM. This is a totally separate issue from SUM and surcharges.

- If the bank doesn't have offices or ATMs near both your home and your office, make sure there's a SUM ATM near both.

- If you need to make deposits, choose a bank with a branch near where you live or where you work. You usually can't make deposits to any other bank's ATMs.

[dj-daeva.livejournal.com]

all very good advice :)

definitely things i'm taking into consideration, but i really wanted to hear about people's experiences with different banks before making a decision :)

<3

not liking Wainwright

[joylewis.livejournal.com]

I joined Wainwright because of their green policies, community involvement, accessibility and free checking.

But while they have many redeeming characteristics, their customer service SUCKS. There have been several comments on this in the past, and it sounds like the Davis Square branch is not so bad. But I had an experience where they told me that my debit card had been hacked, along with others, and I needed to call them. I did, and they said that there hadn't been any activity and I could continue using my card. Turned out that in fact, they'd turned off my card, and hadn't bothered to send me a new one. It was about three weeks before I was able to access my account for cash (used a lot of checks). Basically their response was a big shrug saying that a third party company managed all the debit card security and they weren't responsible for any of it.

Another time with the automatic bill pay they pulled a rent payment way before it was scheduled to be paid, overdrawing my account. Their customer service person (on the phone) said that all scheduled payments should be available AT ANY TIME, regardless of the scheduled date. I wrote a letter to her manager (who was out of town) to complain, and got a very rude letter in reply confirming this.

So as far as involvment in the community goes, they get an A+. Customer service sucks. As soon as I need to reorder checks I'm switching banks.

Re: not liking Wainwright

[cos]

I've used Wainwright for years (ever since Fleet bought BankBoston and I fled from Fleet's awfulness). In my experience, customer service at the Harvard Square branch is usually not good, but at Davis and Alewife it's great. And you're right about cards, that's their biggest blot: Wainwright is too small to actually handle credit cards themselves, they outsource that to some other company that does cards for a lot of banks, and that company sometimes really pisses me off.

On the other hand, when it comes to payments and checks, I've found that they often deliberately reshuffle the order of transactions to my benefit. Like, if they have a check to pay off my account, and see that I've got a deposit coming, that hasn't cleared yet, they make it work.

Re: not liking Wainwright

[xuth.livejournal.com]

many banks have explicit policies of running all external deposits and then all external withdrawals for the day all at one time. Some do so in the opposite order. Some just have other ways of organising things which have various levels of friendlyness to the customer. I knew what this ordering was for most of my previous banks but have had no reason to know for Wainwright and have not explicitly asked. Something that has happened recently is that now that checks may be electronicly transferred between banks rather than requiring the paper document, checks can potentially be settled between banks within minutes rather than the day or so minimum that it was a few years ago.

[sissychrissy1.livejournal.com]

I am a HUGE fan of Cambridge Savings Bank.

PROS
* in the SUM network (yea for free ATM usage!)
* no fee for a checking account with direct deposit
* AWESOME customer service

I have been with this bank for two years so far and have had not a single complaint. They are helpful, have lots of free services with accounts (for example, online Bill Pay - so nice!), and have provided an altogether positive experience.

[agharta75.livejournal.com]

Another despicable thing about BankOfAmerica is that if you try to use your debit card and have insufficient funds in the account, the charge will go through and they deduct a $33 bounced check fee.

And before someone starts snarking about "being personally responsible and balancing your account": every other bank I know of will do what one expects from a card, that is, deny a charge if there are insufficient funds. The only reason Bank of America allows it to go through is to hit you with repeated fees.

Harvrd University Employees Credit Union

[huecu.livejournal.com]

I just noticed your post. If you still have an account at Harvard University Employees Credit Union, you should check out NYCE Shared Deposit locations. Here's a link to a couple in Waltham:

http://www.nyce.net/atm/results.jsp

Good luck!

Jim
Retail Operations Administrator
Harvard University Employees Credit union

Re: Harvrd University Employees Credit Union

[dj-daeva.livejournal.com]

Haha I thought this was spam! I almost didn't open it...I haven't used my lj in a considerable amount of time =)

I'm actually fine now...I barely use the atm's...I just had to use them a few times where it was really inconvenient. And I had gone to what I thought was a shared deposit atm but it didn't work when I went.

Fret not, you guys retained me with excellent personalized service and saved me from a major jam I was in recently.

Thanks!