Sent this email out to as many US Bank "Email us" links I could get my hands on... What do you guys think?
To Whom It May Concern:
I opened a free checking account last year to handle cash deposits, since the bank I normally do business with (USAA) does not have a local branch. This was a great convenience for me, until I found out that my account had been closed and the local US Bank branch had confiscated the funds in the account in the form of a “maintenance fee.” Today was the first time I had heard of this. I was initially informed at the local branch that “The Government” made new rules for checking accounts (a blatant lie), free checking doesn’t really exist with any banks any more (another blatant lie), and that the account had been closed due to non-use. I then tried to access my account online and had to call the US Bank customer service line due to an error I received when logging in. The representative on the phone informed me of the true reason why the account had been closed… Apparently there were paper notices sent out that Free Checking was no longer free, (a notice that I never received) and that the funds in the account had been “acquired” in maintenance fees.
Consider for a moment that I am signed up for e-delivery, which means I don’t LOOK in my mailbox for information from US Bank. The least your company could have done was to send out an email notice of this change. This is what USAA does when any non-standard banking statements are released and the customer is signed up for e-statement delivery. But did I receive an email? No.
So here is what I am upset about: I signed an agreement for free checking when I opened the account. I signed up for e-statements to both save paper and save YOUR company money in postage and printing. I used the account infrequently due to not needing to deposit any cash, but I always had a positive balance in the account. Your bank changed the rules and started charging me a monthly maintenance fee without telling me, which drained the account. The local branch then closed the account without telling me. On top of this, I can no longer access my online account to check my e-statements. There’s no way for me to know what the hell is going on with my account, because after your company took my money it also locked me out.
I would think that making a FREE checking account into a NON-FREE checking account would be grounds for signing a new agreement. If I didn’t come in to sign a new agreement, the account should have been liquidated and a check sent to the account holder for the remaining balance in the account. Instead you changed the rules without telling me and acquired (a.k.a. stole) the money in the form of “maintenance fees.”
Sure, I didn’t use the account very often. Sure, it’s only $8 that I lost from the account. But keep in mind, US Bank is going to lose far more than $8 from the bad word-of-mouth that I am going to spread around. I am going to systematically tell every person that I know how horrible your bank is when it comes to local branch customer service and ethical integrity. There is a reason why people hate banks so much, and your company is definitely a part of the problem.
Sincerely,
Dan Humberd
P.S. - I tried the “email us” link on the US Bank website, but regardless of how much your company “values my input,” you put a ridiculous 200-character limit on comments, concerns or complaints. You want me to write a coherent complaint in 200 characters or less? Does your company not have the time to sit down and read your own consumers’ messages if they’re too long? I can’t believe how customer un-friendly US Bank is. Just another nail in the company's coffin, in my opinion.
