Chase: ON MY LIST
(xposted mostly at Mashup Mom. Because I’m annoyed.)
I just spent a frustrating 1/2 hour at Chase. Why? A few months ago I registered LISjobs.com as a DBA and opened up a business account, mainly to deposit some very small checks from things like Google ads. I chose Chase because we have a personal checking account there, and I saw an ad on their site that they would waive business account fees for accounts linked to personal accounts.
The banker I signed up with (who of course wasn’t in today) assured me that this was the case, that I wouldn’t be charged any service fees, no worries.
This month, a $10 monthly service fee showed up on my business account. This is pretty significant, given that I have under $500 in there and they of course don’t pay any interest.
So, into the bank I go. No, they’re so sorry, they don’t have any such deal, and I obviously didn’t read the fine print. There was only an introductory 90-day fee free period. They’ll waive it just this once but it will keep being charged each month. Fees are only waived if I use my business credit card with them every month, or if I link to a “premiere” personal checking account in which we need to maintain a $15,000+ balance or be charged a $20 monthly service fee, and this of course has to be what the guy told me.
Now. I didn’t have a $15,000 balance in my checking account in March. I don’t generally maintain a $15,000 balance. I do not nor have I ever had a “premiere” checking account. And, this is not what the guy told me, or I wouldn’t have signed up for the account.
OK, fine, say I. Close the account and move the money to my personal checking account. Oh, sorry, they can’t do that today. Why? Since they waived the $10.00 fee “just this once,” it’s showing up as a pending credit to the account so I can’t close it until that clears, I have to come back another day.
Lesson learned: Get it in writing. I went home and checked my original paperwork, of course, nothing about the fee being waived. Too bad for me! And, way to be unfriendly to home businesses, Chase — Thanks!
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Martha:
You’re so right about getting things in writing — but my problem is with commercial / private banks in general. I’ve dealt with several of them, both in my current home city (Tampa FL), my home town, and a few places in between. Their purpose seems to be only to make a profit — surprise!
We’re lucky in West Central Florida to have the sixth largest CREDIT UNION in the world, Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union. As an employee of the local community college, I’ve been able to work with them for years. I suggest you talk with friends who belong to credit unions in your area, and find out which ones they find most helpful. Many credit unions today have expanded their client base; you don’t have to work for the local school system anymore to join SSFCU, for instance, and some of them will probably welcome you.
I find their fees for services are comparatively much lower; their interest rates paid are higher; and their interest charged on loans is lower. But this is NOT the case with all credit unions; when I belonged to the local university’s large credit union, for instance, THEIR rates were a bit better than bank corporations but still nowhere as good as SSFCU’s. It takes shopping around, but credit unions, as your oersonal and/or small business banker, seem truly worth it.
20 July 2009, 1:01 pmrachel:
I went over to TCF and opened a no-fee small business account there. Take that, Chase!
24 July 2009, 9:58 am