What the heck is going on here?
Written: Sep 17 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: None
Cons: TERRIBLE customer service and inept banking practices
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| BunnyJav's Full Review: Hudson United Bank |
I live in Philadelphia and was a loyal CoreStates customer ever since I opened my first bank account ten years ago. Even though CoreStates was a very large bank ($46.8 billion in assets), most people in Philadelphia would agree that it was a good, home-town bank. The company gave back millions to the community, built a new indoor arena for sporting events and concerts and sponsored the world-famous CoreStates bike race in Philadelphia each year. Considering its size, and the fact that it had swallowed up most of the smaller local banks in its time, CoreStates had a pretty decent customer service track record and most people were happy doing their banking there. In 1998, First Union, the sixth-largest bank in the country, acquired CoreStates in the largest bank deal ever, valued at more than $16 billion (can you tell I do mergers and acquisitions for a living?) Before the dust settled on that deal, I took advantage of the many special rates offered by other local banks, which were hoping to steal away customers who were afraid of banking with First Union (who had a terrible reputation for customer service). I went with PNC.
This review is not of First Union, because I (blessedly) did not stick around with them long enough to find out how they were as a bank. Nor is this review about my beloved PNC Bank (that's another Epinion). This review is of Hudson United, and I used CoreStates as an example to show the terrible consequences customers must suffer through when a monolith acquires their local bank. Hudson United's acquisition of Jefferson Bank is another perfect example.
Here was the original press release, just to ensure I have my facts straight:
MAHWAH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 29, 1999--Hudson United Bancorp (NYSE: HU),today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to merge with JeffBanks, Inc.(NASDAQ: JEFF), a $1.7 billion holding company with 32 branches located throughout the greater Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania and South Jersey. Together with Southern Jersey Bancorp, a $470 million asset institution, whose merger with Hudson United Bancorp is also being announced today, the combined entity is the second largest banking company headquartered in New Jersey with $9.5 billion in assets and over 200 branch offices throughout New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania.
Jefferson Bank was loved by almost everyone who banked there, for the tellers would make a point of learning your name and saying hi on the street. Not bad for a 32-branch bank located in the fifth-largest city in the country! Even the security guards would get to know the customers and would greet them with a cheery "Hello, Mr. Smith" when they walked in the door. The tellers were fast and efficient, and the longest customers would have to wait in line for customer service was five minutes or so, even at lunch-time.
Then Hudson United came along.
My relationship with Jefferson is a bit bizarre because I never did my primary checking there. PNC had more ATMs around Philadelphia, and was more convenient for me living in the suburbs, so I never moved my money (all $100 of it!) to Jefferson. My father, however, has several accounts there and he lent me money off of his Jefferson Line of Credit when I ran into some financial difficulties. The deal was, I was supposed to pay back the line of credit over three years until the balance was paid off. The easiest way to do that (and the easiest way to ensure I wouldn't forget to pay, bounce a check, or do anything else to screw up the pay-down) was to set up a checking account at Jefferson which would automatically transfer money each month to pay down the line of credit. I set it up with my work so that my paycheck would direct-deposit the exact amount I wanted transferred each month, so that my checking account balance would be at zero on the first of each month after the payment was made towards the line of credit. It may sound complicated, but it was actually pretty simple.
The arrangement worked GREAT for the first year, with nary a complication or problem. Until the acquisition by Hudson United.
First, they raised the monthly fees for my checking account. No big deal, but it was a pain to change my direct deposit. Then they "lost" my account. How, you may ask? I have no idea. But I know that following their merger in April 2000, there was usually two people a day standing in line trying to figure out why Hudson couldn't find their mortgage, car loan, checking account, etc.
Then they fired all of the friendly, well-trained tellers and customer service representatives and replaced them with trained monkeys. I'm sorry. That sounds cold. Monkeys could easily do a better job. Now there is a constantly rotating customer-service, management and teller staff, none of whom know anyone who comes into the bank, the new computer system, whom to contact if there is a problem with your account or how to have good customer service. I have often signed in to speak with a representative, only to wait an HOUR to meet with someone, even when they have no customers! They have perfected the art of ignoring people waiting to speak with them, like a bad diner waitress avoids eye contact when all you want is your check.
The major problems with my account started right away. Rather than keeping the arrangement which had been working well for a year, they decided that they were only going to take the minimum payment amount for the line of credit out of my checking each month. This would have extended the amount of time it would have taken to pay down my debt by ten years! I tried on six different occasions -- each one taking a full lunch hour -- to get it fixed, but to no avail. Every month, from April until today, they have gotten the payment amount wrong.
I tried calling customer service, but they told me that although they can SEE my account on their computer screen, customer service reps are not authorized to FIX or alter anything having to do with accounts. Then what good are they? The woman I spoke with said that she could see the amount was wrong, but that she couldn't change it and that I would have to go to my branch to fix it. Sigh....
Then they told me that due to their switching their computer system, the bank was not able to process loan payments in the month of May. This means that if you sent in a mortgage payment in May, it would not be credited towards your loan and they would send it back to you. So I was told that they were giving all customers one month of amnesty from loan payments and that our pay-off dates would just be extended by a month. Knowing all of the other problems they were having, it made perfect sense to me, so I accepted what customer service told me. I asked her FOUR times if she was sure I could skip May's payment with no penalty. She assured me yes. Being broke, I took the money out and used it to get groceries. Three months later, I get an angry call from my dad who received a delinquency notice on the line of credit account since I hadn't paid in May. What????? So I had to do some serious scrambling so that my dad wouldn't kill me.
I have explained my problems with Hudson United in excruciating detail to make a point: I have a relatively "hands-off" account with them. Money comes into my checking account (I never see it) and at the end of the month, it goes out to pay down the line of credit. Simple! I can not even imagine what life must be like for people who have to do their daily banking there! After not having to ever set foot in Jefferson (because the system worked) I have spent, on average, two lunch hours a WEEK trying to straighten out all of the problems with Hudson.
The tellers are slow and incompetent and the customer service reps, when they get around to talking to you, seem imminently annoyed that you have disturbed them with your problems.
None of this is news to any ex-Jefferson/current-Hudson customers who might be reading this. My goal was to dissuade anyone who might be thinking of moving their accounts over to them for any reason. This is one merger that has been disasterous for all customers.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
BunnyJav
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Location: Minneapolos, MN
Reviews written: 34
Trusted by: 59 members
About Me:
"You're the true Lord of the Dance, no matter what those idiots at work say"
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