I started the online signup process in February 2005.

Now, at the end of June 2005, my account is finally open and all my account info is correct.

Somehow during the signup process, they entered an incorrect address for me. It was my previous address, I had not lived there for over 18 months when I opened the account. I can only assume they got it from my credit report, because I didn't give it to them. I didn't know this at the time.

For some reason, they have you create a user ID that is only used during the account setup. Once you actually login to your account, you have to create a new username and password for that.

After awaiting my expected welcome letter with my account info for nearly two months, I called them about it. They said they would resend it, and to expect it within 2-4 weeks.

After the allotted 4 weeks with no welcome letter, I called again. After verifying my identity, they told me the address they had listed. I informed them it was incorrect. They told me the first half of my account number over the phone, and emailed the other half to the email address listed on the account. So I was finally able to login to my account. This would have been in early May.

They informed me that to change my incorrect address, I would need to login to my account, and send them a message through the website. They were unable to do it over the phone for some reason.

I was then able to verify the deposits and withdrawals they had made to my linked account. I transferred some funds into the account, to start earning some interest, my main reason for opening the account.

I sent a message as requested, with an explanation that the address they had on file was incorrect, and gave them the right one. I had a response within a couple days that they had made the requested change.

Nearly two months later, I had still not received any welcome letter or account statements.

I received an email, saying the post office had notified them that the address they were sending to was incorrect, and to call customer service.

I called in again, and explained the situation. 15 minutes later, they were telling me that everything was correct, and they didn't know why I had received that email and no postal mail. Then they finally noticed that my "Mailing Address" was still the original incorrect one, and whatever other address (the billing address?) they had was the correct one.
So they finally corrected that, supposedly.

Supposedly they are sending my welcome letter again, to my correct address. I'll believe it when I see it. I just hope whoever is living at my old address didn't read my mail.

Their website isn't very clear about the status of external transfers/deposits, nor about when they'll happen, funds will be available, when they'll start earning interest, or how much interest you've earned. My first significant deposit was listed properly in the scheduled transfers, but then disappeared for several days until the funds appeared. For several days, it looked like their system may have lost the transfer. If it had just been listed with some sort of status, that would have been fine.

I went into this being a customer of ING Direct for several years. Their interest rate is not quite as high, but their website is so much easier to use and understand that there is no comparison.

I realize that this is an early attempt by Emigrant bank to go online, and that their brick and mortar branches may be excellent. I know the high interest rate is likely to get their online product jump-started, but it really needs more work before I could recommend it.

I may still keep some funds at Emigrant Direct, but only as long as they have the highest interest rate with no fees or minimums. And only on funds I don't need quick access to.

I did quickly get through to someone when calling their customer service. And it appears they hire rude New Yorkers instead of outsourcing to India, which for me were easier to understand.

For ease of use, I can sacrifice the extra 0.25% interest and use ING Direct instead. If ING's rate was as high, there would be no question in my mind about which to recommend.

I found out about Emigrant Direct in the Fatwallet.com finance forum, and it appears that many users are having an experience similar to mine.

[Update: June 25th 2005] Emigrant Direct has raised their interest rate, it's now at 3.5% through at least the end of 2005. For a rate that much higher than the competition, I've decided to live with their inferior website, and transferred my funds there.

Recommended: Yes