I have been happy with Washington Mutual as my bank for the past two years. However, recently WaMu has been doing skanky things with local Seattle politics (specifically, the Monorail Recall initiative; see Stranger articles from Oct. 14, Oct. 28, and Nov. 4). I was not quite as upset about this as many other people were, because I figured they were wasting their money. However, it was enough for me to look into finding a better place for my hard-earned cash.
I settled on HomeStreet Bank, an independent regional bank, based in Seattle. Last Tuesday afternoon I applied for accounts on their website, and not three hours later I had a call back from someone at the Ballard branch, asking me when I'd like to come in and set things up. Wow.
On Friday I went in, signed forms, and wrote a check for my opening balance. I was told that the money would be held for nine days, because this is a new account, in order for the check to clear. However, I was also told that since both accounts were mine, I could come back in a couple of days and they could probably call over to Washington Mutual and find out if the check cleared. This morning I checked my WaMu account online and found that the money had been debited from my account, so I went back to HSB and asked if they could release my funds. They said they'd see what they could do, and just now I got a call back saying that the check had cleared and that the funds are now available. W00t!
Of course, this business with holding funds is somewhat nonsense (as with any bank), but nevertheless I appreciate a bank that will do its level best to meet my needs.
Stephen says:
I wish you luck with your new bank. When I first moved to your area, I had a hard time at first finding a new bank.
Politics is fairly irrelevant to me; I don't choose my friends on that basis; I'm even less likely to choose my business relationships on that basis, with some exception. (Which is not to say that I don't respect your right to hold a contrary opinion and act on it, for I do.)
No, I choose a bank based on the bottom-line (i.e. bank fees) for me. I stick with a bank based on their competence as a banking institution. (I mean, really-- if I've been a two-year customer, and want to deposit a check that I have more than enough funds to cover even if it went bad, should you really call up the person who endorsed the check over to me to see if I'm committing fraud, especially WHEN I'M STANDING RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOU? Now, I don't want to name names-- ahem, Columbia, ahem-- I'm just saying I expect such a bank to show a little common sense. If they have none, then they don't need to be holding onto my money.)
(Who I bank with now is not something I want posted on the internet, but if your inquiring mind simply must know, Laurabelle, email me and I'll tell you.)
Laurabelle says:
I do have mixed feelings about leaving Washington Mutual. They have a couple of policies that I really like (they don't charge ATM fees for other banks' customers, and they would immediately allow me to access at least a certain percentage of my deposits, even though they would verify ATM deposits before releasing the full amount).
To be honest, the crap interest was what clinched it for me, as well as WaMu's telling their employees how to vote. I don't mind so much that they opposed the Monorail, but telling their employees how to vote is wrong.
Stephen says:
These days, paranoid person that I am, I actually have accounts at 2 banks and 1 credit union. Just in case, mind you. If I felt about my primary bank the way you do, I might have just changed which bank I used as my primary, and let WaMu spend postage sending me a statement every month showing the $3.77 I left in their account. (Of course, I wouldn't have done that at the aforementioned goof bank I had first, because that was before free checking was in vogue, and it was $4.50 a month.)
Laurabelle says:
Alas, I have not enough money to spread among more than one bank. If I did that, I'd have about three dollars in each.
Tom says:
Miss them ! - hummm. Do you really think they miss you ?
I've been with the same service since before WaMu sucked up my old (personal) bank.
Service has never been personal, more like robots – even the ‘cash’ machine you must attend to get YOUR money within the branch. Here in SoCal they are building aquariums.
Now they have recently cashed a check for a different amount than the written value. They've lied several times, given false truths & then complete blatant stonewalling.
Ask them about their 'proof' dept, apparently they don't have to balance daily . . .
They cannot produce a copy of the check in question. Suspicious - YES!
If you call the 800 number & ask for a sup - that's the end of the food chain. Nobody is above the telebank supervisor.
Don't believe me, ask for the corporate office number. There is none ! (office or number - you guess) As a matter of fact, they'll give you an address for customer complaints.
Wana big laugh - it's a PO Box !!!!!!
The really sad part is this is the 2nd time - the first was a $15k - opps by them.
Sorry, but if the remodel & service I'm currently seeing is the 'new' washington mutual, it's a sad state of affairs.
The really bad part is that they behold to no-one. Not state, not fed & especially NOT TO YOU - THE CUSTOMER. They could really care less about you.