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I've been a customer of Wachovia Bank since they were First Fidelity, countless mergers ago.
The completion of the merge with Wells Fargo will take place on Monday, July 25. I've read so many complaints about Wells Fargo Online Bill Pay that I want to switch banks.
The largest complaint is that Wells Fargo deducts the payment amount of the bill from your account up to 5 days before the actual due date. The days of having a direct deposit credit and paying the mortgage the next day will be gone.
After comparing the numerous bank's and their checking account options, I'm thinking of switching to Bank of America. Has anyone else thought about switching banks and if so, which bank did you switch to?
So you have been putting up with Corestates NJ National, taken over by 1st Union, then renamed Wachovia. How much worse could Wells Fargo be? It could be Bank of America, the worlds worst bank.
So you have been putting up with Corestates NJ National, taken over by 1st Union, then renamed Wachovia. How much worse could Wells Fargo be? It could be Bank of America, the worlds worst bank.
You forgot First Fidelity.
Uh oh! Maybe I should rethink my decision to move to Bank of America.
Whatever you do, DO NOT switch to Bank of America. I've never had a more miserable time in my life than my tenure with BoA since they took over Fleet. I'm finally making the jump to TD, which my girlfriend has and has nothing but the best banking experiences with them. Bank of America can burn in a thousand fires for all I care (after I've closed my accounts that is).
AFAIK the transition from Wachovia to Wells Fargo in New Jersey was completed back in February. As of then all 7 (2 checking, 1 money market and 4 savings) of my Wachovia accounts and my bill pay were all transferred to Wells Fargo without a hitch. So, I don't know where you are getting the July 25th date as Wachovia hasn't existed in NJ since February. You couldn't even access the Wachovia website for a NJ account after the transition, it forced you to go to Wells Fargo. All of the surrounding states also fully converted by April. The only thing left Wachovia was that you could still use your checks, deposit slips and debit/credit cards until they were gone or expired. Other than that it's all Wells Fargo.
On my bill pay, the amount is deducted from my account on the date I specify as the send/payment day. If they are sending out a physical check, yes the money would be taken from your account at the time they send the check and you might have several days of float before it actually clears, but it worked this way with Wachovia too (and everyone else as far as I can tell). Electronic payments are simply processed on their due date and of the 18 bills I pay each month only the sewer and gas company actually get paid with a check, everything else from mortgage to car payments to the electric bill is done electronically. So, yes, on those two bills, the money leaves my account about 3-4 days before the check actually clears, but all the others that are done electronically simply pay on their due date and no money is taken/held before then.
As for direct deposit, I get paid on Wednesday and the deposit shows up as a credit in my account when the bank processes the previous night. So, my deposit is essentially available in full around 1am on Wednesday when I get paid.
Overall, I think Wells Fargo is better than Wachovia, though Wachovia's online functions were a little better. The couple times I called Wells Fargo customer service, they answered promptly, were polite, actually spoke English and based on the accent were also American. On top of that they resolved the issue promptly.
For me in South Jersey the only other banks I would consider are The Bank, which is part of Fulton Financial Group and Sun National, but they are small regional banks. I personally have heard a lot of complaints from people who were Commerce and now TD (more about how Commerce was better, not that TD is necessarily bad) and nothing but horror stories about Bank of America. The only person to ever say something positive about BOA was someone with a very high net worth with a lot of money in the bank. However, I imagine most banks would kiss his rear.
NJGOAT - perhaps I'm reading it wrong, but here's what's on the website when I go onto Wachovia Bill Pay, which I can access and have been accessing to pay my bills up until today.
Important Account Information:
Starting July 25, 2011, the way you access online banking will change. Learn what to expect when you transition to your new online services.
Bill Pay works differently at Wells Fargo
Because of the system Wells Fargo uses to process bill payments, funds will be withdrawn from your account up to 5 business days earlier than were previously.
With Wachovia Online BillPay, funds were withdrawn from your account on the Pay Date (the date your payee received your payment).1
With your new Wells Fargo Bill Pay service, we begin processing your payment and withdraw funds from your account on the Send On date, which is up to 5 business days before your payee receives your payment.
Over 80% of Wells Fargo payees accept electronic payments, and the average transaction time for those is 2 business days. If a payee doesn't accept electronic payments, it could take up to 5 business days to deliver a paper check by U.S. mail.
You must have sufficient funds available in your account on the Send On date for your bill payments to be processed successfully. Not having sufficient funds could result in a missed payment, overdraft, late fee, or other charge.
Unfortunately, there isn't a The Bank by me, there is 1 Sun National - but I depend on ATM's far too often to go to a bank with only 1 local branch.
And, yes BoA - wow! Nothing but negative comments about this one now too.
After comparing the numerous bank's and their checking account options, I'm thinking of switching to Bank of America. Has anyone else thought about switching banks and if so, which bank did you switch to?
That would be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. BoA is the worst; look elsewhere.
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