Wachovia, should be called FEEchovia
Written: May 07 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: None
Cons: Fees and lack of customer service regarding fees!
The Bottom Line: The fees are insane and they do not care about your business. If traveling outside the US, do NOT use your Wachovia card!
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| ronikaye's Full Review: Wachovia |
We had been banking with Bank of America for 9 years, when we decided to move our account to Wachovia. HUGE mistake. The reason we made this decision was based on a few factors:
1. My husband has been receiving a paycheque from the same employer on a monthly basis for the past 6 years, yet they placed a 3 day hold on the cheque every month. If a debit came through, even on day three, if it was before 5 pm EST, they would reject the payment and charge $35 dollars. After years of this, I got fed up.
2. My husband's employer banks with Wachovia, so there would be no holds on his pay, and it would be more convenient for him to deposit the pay.
We live in Canada, so the deposits into his accounts from afar is required, so we have always maintained a US account. Bank of America never charged us any international fees to use the card for purchases, and they never charged us any international fees to make withdrawals- of course we can not use a BoA ATM here because there are none- even so, they never charged us fees.
We received our Wachovia card and a few weeks later his employer deposited his pay. There was no hold, beautiful. So we went out to supper, I shopped for groceries, put gas in the car, etc. When I checked the balance online all of the transactions were there immediately (unlike BoA, where the transactions can creep up a week later!). I was pleased, then I looked closer and noticed for every transaction there was a fee. BoA always had a few pennies on every transaction, but it was never more than a dollar or so, and we were told it was because of the fluctuation in the exchange rate. Ok. The fees for the Wachovia were 8, 9, and some were 12 dollars, for transcations that were only 50-60 dollars. The next time I used the card, it was declined. They blocked usage because we were outside of the US.
We called and explained that we LIVE in Canada and to please not block the card for usage in Canada. They said they would make a note. I asked about the fees and was told that the fees were charged by VISA not by Wachovia. That makes no sense, our Bank of America card was a Visa check card, just like the Wachovia, and they never charged us those fees. The customer service agent could not offer any further information about the fees, and was not able to assist me with those fees. I sent an email through their secure message server through online banking expressing my anger and frustration over these fees- since we live IN Canada, every transaction is international. I got no response to date.
For convenience sake, we decided to keep the account- but just not use it- we would draw his pay out in a few lump sums, and put it in our Canadian bank account as to avoid being nitpicked for fees.
The pay went in, no holds. I withdrew 500, the maximum available for one time transactions. Not sure if that is Wachovia or if that is TD Canada Trust. Either way, we took out 500. The next day we took out 500 again, and the next day again, for 5 days until we pulled out enough to pad our Canadian account for the month's expenses.
I checked the bank on day 5 to see how much was left and discovered that every time that I pulled the 500 out, we were charged $15 in international fees. This morning, 3 days later, there was another $25 international fee charge on there, for $5 for each withdrawal at international ATM.
I called the bank again today regarding the fees, that total over a hundred dollars for just 5 withdrawals. There is "nothing they can do" the fees are bank policy and can not be refunded. There is no escaping the fees. The only choice we have is to take our business back to Bank of America. I will not leave them again.
This situation probably will not apply to many people who read this review- but it will apply if you are traveling. You are much better to buy an American Express card and put your money on that card- they do not charge fees for every transaction. I do not recommend traveler's checks as NO ONE accepts those. I do not recommend traveling with cash either- so you have to really plan how you are going to have the best/safest access to your money. Whatever you do, do not use your Wachovia Visa check card- the fees are outrageous!
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
ronikaye
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Member: Roni Kaye
Location: Canada
Reviews written: 65
Trusted by: 9 members
About Me:
I am a 38 year old wife and mother of 3.
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