Among the Best Banks in CT
Written: Jul 06 '00 (Updated Nov 16 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Flexible access to bank services, excellent customer service, low costs.
Cons: Need to choose among various products to determine the best fit for you.
The Bottom Line: For local banking services in Connecticut, People's Bank is among the best in town, and deserves your serious consideration.
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| dglowny's Full Review: People's Bank |
I have been a customer of People's Bank for 17 years, and have not had any significant problems with them during that time. To the contrary, they have provided excellent service and kept costs low, enabling me to do my banking with ease and confidence. On those few occasions when a minor problem may have occurred, the employees have always been very helpful in addressing the matter at hand.
Once when an ATM was offline due to technical difficulties, I received not only an apology, but also a $5.00 credit for my inconvenience!
Whenever any fees were incorrectly posted to my account, or the amount of a transaction was in error (which can happen rarely such as when a check is manually encoded on the bottom right with the wrong digits due to human data-entry mistake), they were always very gracious and prompt in setting the matter straight. I think we all know that some errors are bound to creep in depending on the volume of transactions, regardless of the bank, but at least People's Bank deals with these issues within a minimum of fuss ... which is quite a refreshing change as compared with Bank of America and other mega-banks that have a presence here in Connecticut.
Checking can be entirely free, if you have your paycheck directly deposited or if you maintain a sufficient balance in other accounts. There are also ways to qualify for free checking if you have a brokerage account (with People's Securities), a home equity loan, a equity credit line, or if you are age 65+. The flexibility of access is tremendous -- ATM, 7 days a week at Stop & Shop branches, Telephone Banking, and PC Banking. The recent addition of 128-bit secure Internet Banking to the older offering of direct-modem PC Banking has been a great move forwards.
If you are planning on opening a CD with them, it pays to check for special promotional offers they may be running either at Stop & Shop or at their Internet site. You may be able to get a higher rate than normally posted in their traditional branches.
Some of their offerings do not suit my personal taste (e.g. MasterMoney, Advantage Plus, etc.) but the great thing is you can pick the products that work with your lifestyle and personal approach to finances. You are not forced into a narrow set of choices. Instead you can select from the variety of offerings to tailor your banking experience to fit with your unique personal needs.
On the loan side, I have used their credit card program as well as having personal lines of credit, mortgages, and home equity loans. The application and underwriting process was handled professionally in every case. Currently I do not hold a People's Bank credit card, simply because I prefer a no-annual-fee card that allows me to earn points such as the GM Card, and the interest rate is a secondary concern for me since I do not intend to carry a balance. If you are rate shopping you can certainly shop the nationwide market to find the best deals, since this is a very competitive arena. When I did care about interest rates, I held a People's Bank card because their rates were among the lowest in the country.
In summary, for local banking services in Connecticut, People's Bank is among the best in town, and deserves your serious consideration.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
dglowny
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Member: David Glowny
Location: Milford, CT
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 1 member
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