User:Woozle/blog/2011-11-04 1609 Moving money
<hide> <let name=data index=Title>Moving money</let> <let name=data index=User>Woozle</let> <let name=data index=TopicsUser></let> <let name=data index=TopicsGlobal>\banking\GPCU\Fidelity Bank\BB&T</let> <let name=data index=TextAbove>We actually started moving our money out of BB&T some time before hearing about "Move Your Money Day". We don't hate BB&T, but between wanting to discourage banks from spreading like wildfire and BB&T deciding to start charging us $14 monthly for what had been a free account -- and this being at least the second time they've pulled a switch like that -- we decided it was time. (Along the way, we ran into some avoidable problems and also encountered that rarest of beasts, good customer service.)</let> <let name=data index=TextBelow>First, a little hypertwin historical background...
Some Years Earlier
Long ago back in 2004 or so, Harena had an account with Greater Piedmont Credit Union which she had had for well over a decade. There was a snafu with a regular deposit being held longer than expected, which resulted in problems. When we went in to talk with them to try and get it straightened out, however, we were basically given the runaround -- the person we were allowed to speak to didn't have the authority to do anything, and the person who did have the authority declined to come out and talk with us.
I have been told that this sort of customer service is now Management 101, standard practice. We nevertheless felt that there was no excuse for it -- especially at a credit union, which is supposed to be dedicated to providing service and creating value for the community rather than making a profit for shareholders -- so we closed out Harena's account and moved to BB&T, where the rules for funds availability were both clearer and less restrictive.
Last Month
Flash forward to 2011. In July, BB&T decided that their "free checking" would become "Bright Banking", with a $10 monthly fee unless you can maintain a $1,500 average balance or you have a regular monthly paycheck direct-deposited. (Both of those options are appealing and sadly unavailable to us.) On top of that, they also started charging an "EasyImage Statement Fee" of $4, with no further explanation.
For our two BB&T accounts, then, we're now paying $28 monthly in fees. We figured this was basically BB&T's way of saying they didn't really want to do business with us.
Before that happened, though, we had already been thinking about the idea of moving money out of large banks that do business in multiple states and into smaller ones, had researched the options and decided that Fidelity looked good... so we promptly went out and opened an account with Fidelity. (There were actually substantial logistical obstacles which had to be overcome first, which is why we didn't actually get the account set up until last month, but that's another story.)
Earlier This Week
Due in part to the switchover, we had been even more Out Of Money than usual at the end of October. Both legal cars were low on gas, and one of them desperately needed a new battery (I was basically having to jump it every morning and not turn off the engine while away from the house) and the other one was having a really hard time starting (though once started, it had no problem starting again for the rest of the day, and hence could be used safely if you could get it started). We had depleted the last of the emergency cash fund to pay for chicken for Monday night's meal. (Admittedly, it was Farmers' Market chicken, and very good.)
On Tuesday, we deposited Harena's monthly check in Fidelity for the first time, along with a small birthday present and a large birthday present. There was no indication of any problem.
On Wednesday, we were driving back from kid drop-off in the minivan (the one with the dead battery, because I had not been able to get the other one to start after many minutes of cranking and trickle-charging) which was also almost out of gas. My initial inclination was to head straight for Sears and get the battery first, and then hope that we still had enough gas to get to the station (less than a mile away)... but for some reason I changed my mind and decided to do the gas first, thinking that we could probably restart the car as long as I was careful not to leave the doors open (which turns on the overhead light which seemed to have been a factor the last few times I couldn't get it started again after a short stop).
This turned out to be bad judgment but also serendipitous -- bad judgment because, indeed, the car would not start after tanking up. Serendipitous because, as it turned out, we wouldn't have had the money for the battery. I suspected something was up when the gas pump started slowing down when the tank was still at least a gallon short of being full.
I was prepared to take the battery out and walk to Sears from there (about 2 miles? checking... Ok, Google Maps says it's 0.9 miles, a 17-minute walk. So I wasn't being absurd in thinking I could do it.)
So we ended up having to call AAA to get a jump (hooray for interferin' mothers who obsessively pay for their kids' AAA memberships!), and then we drove the car more or less straight (where by "straight" I mean "stopping off at the house for a few things but not turning the engine off") to the mechanic, where we dropped the car off and walked home (Google Maps says 1.8 miles).
Brief Pedestrian Rant
One of the things I did when we were stopped off at home was check the balance at Fidelity, where I discovered that they had our deposit listed and showing in the posted balance, but the "available balance" was exactly $0.00.
Now, the irony here is that Fidelity, which is the next place we needed to go, is literally just across the street from Durham Auto Diagnostic. Unfortunately, the "street" in question is 15-501 Boulevard, a 4-lane divided highway with very little pedestrian signage. We would have had to cross that twice or take another route home which also involved crossing a 4-lane pedestrian-unfriendly intersection.
Another irony is that the walk home from Durham Auto Diagnostic would be significantly shorter if the community immediately north of it didn't have a fence all around it. Pedestrian traffic apparently equates to crime, at least in the minds of the people who design these things, so they make sure to prevent that wherever possible.
That said, there are sidewalks continuously from just above the Nissan dealership parking lot on Tower Boulevard all the way to where we turn off Cornwallis Road at Dogwood, so even though the walk is longer than it needs to be, it is at least quite pleasant and safe.
/Rant
I spent close to an hour trying to get the reluctant-starter car going with the trickle charger (where by "trickle" I mean "10 amps continuous or 50 amps for up to 10 seconds"), but only met with success after getting the illegal car started (with the trickle charger) and then jumping from that (It's "illegal" because it needs new tires ($400) and a new windshield ($200?), at a minimum, to pass inspection -- so I start it once a week and run it up and down the driveway.) -- at which point we then drove to Fidelity (you know -- the place across the street from where we had been about 2 hours earlier but nonetheless not safely reachable).
At Fidelity, we spoke with the same person who had set up our account initially (she recognized us, even) and we were able to determine that the two larger checks -- both drawn on BB&T -- had been held, awaiting the money to actually arrive from the issuing bank, i.e. BB&T, because our Fidelity account had been open "for 30 days or less". She would check in the morning to see if the funds had come through, and release our checks if they had.
(The reason we had been able to tank up (~$55) was because of the small remaining balance in the account plus the "small" birthday present ($50) -- which had not been held because it was so small... so I have to say this: Hooray for small birthday presents! We would have been dead-batteried and out of gas if not for that.)
If the remaining funds hadn't come through, however, it could take up to seven business days for them to clear. With the 11th being a bank holiday, that means the 14th -- nearly halfway through the month This means (I was momentarily confused and thought we deposited it on 11/2, but actually) it will be Thursday (the 10th) before we can start using the money we deposited on the 1st, when we were already very completely out of money.
Yesterday
The funds did not come through. At this point, we had a car in the shop with a full tank of gas, and another car that has enough to get to the gas station, and no money.
Fortunately, I still had $89 of credit on my mostly-full-up credit card (the only credit card we still have); I used about half of that to get half a tank of gas, saving the other half for groceries.
Later in the day, a form letter arrived from Fidelity which basically reiterated what we had found out that morning.
Durham Auto Tech called to say that there was nothing wrong with the battery; the terminals just needed tightening, and it started up fine after that. No charge (by which he meant money, not amperage). I was skeptical and said that if it would still start the next morning, then we'd come and get it.
And then in the evening I remembered that we still had the $1000 credit line at BB&T -- which had been getting fuller and fuller every month, but which I had painstakingly paid off with income from computer consulting (a bit of a windfall -- my main client had an internet emergency that required a lot of on-site work) last month... and since it wasn't a case of "we have to use this because there's no more money" but rather "we have to use this because the money we do have is locked up until next Thursday", it seems acceptable... even though this essentially means we'll be paying BB&T interest on the money that they're being slow to release.
Today -- The Point of the Story, at Long Last
I transferred enough money from the BB&T credit line to our regular BB&T cards so that we could do some urgent shopping (and pay for a new battery); immediate crisis over -- procrastination saves the day once again. (It's amazing how often this happens, actually.)
Upon arriving home after the first round of shopping, Harena's cellphone unexpectedly beeped, informing her of a voicemail that had come in. Apparently we were out of range for some reason when our friendly banker at Fidelity called; she asked Harena to call her back. Being not so fond of phoning, we went over there instead.
Here's what our banker said: a small charge ($12) had come in. She went ahead and paid it with no penalty, and she was trying very hard to get hold of someone at BB&T to find out why the funds were taking so long and whether they were good. If she could establish that the checks were good, then she would clear them for us.
The point of the story: Consider the contrast between the customer service we just now received from Fidelity, the customer service we received from GPCU, and the degree to which BB&T has been willing to make use of the speed of electronic banking only when it suits them.
(This is not in any way intended to detract from the value of credit unions, much less to imply that they are untrustworthy, but rather to encourage people to be just as vigilant when shopping for a credit union as they would in shopping for a bank -- and to hold them to at least basic standards of customer service.)</let>
<let name=data index=TimeStamp>2011-11-04 1609</let> </hide><if not flag=$including><call ShowBlogPostPage></if>
