I still can't believe this happened this morning, BofA refusing to accept a cash deposit. Recently had to move my mother into an assisted living facility. It's been stressful trying to get her house cleaned out and have an estate sale. Finally got everything cleared out and got an envelope from the company conducting the estate sale. At the time, they said it was a final accounting and a cashier's check for the final amount of the sale. Imagine my surprise last night when I opened it and it was cash and not a cashier's check.

So go to Bank of America this morning to deposit the cash. They refused to accept a cash deposit. Stated repeatedly that I had to conduct the deposit through an ATM. I repeatedly stated that it was a large amount of cash that I would feel more comfortable with having a person to person transaction rather than trusting an ATM.

Then the manager gets involved. I explained the situation all over again. He suggests that I use the ATM. Has no answer when I ask how is this to be accomplished when both his drive up ATM's are blocked off for servicing and the one in the lobby has a 40 bill limit of which I have considerably more than. Then I ask what he is paying his tellers to do if they can't accept a cash deposit.

"Basic services. Can I help you any further?"

I said doubtful.

Went over to the second teller, "Hi, I have an account here, I need a cashier's check for $XX,XXX.00 and here is $XX,XXX.00 in cash to cover it. It's a basic service that you offer to your account holders." With a rather confused look she looks over at the first teller and asks if she can do that. First teller says yes. So I get my cashier's check, go back out to the truck, get mom to sign it and then go back in with the original deposit slip.

Second teller asks, "Why don't you use the ATM for this?" I replied, "Because there's a line, it's hot outside and I'm pissed, this is even more basic than a cash deposit, I think you can handle it." Manager is standing next to the teller line and I asked loudly, "Are you willing to refund my fee for a cashier's check or do I have to lodge a complaint with customer service for that to happen?"

"I don't think you would have any grounds for a complaint."

"Really? You have 5 employees here who can't be inconvenienced to help an 80 year old woman bound to a walker go through the process of closing out her estate and you wonder why I'm so pissed off?"

That earned me a dumb look and $7.50 cash to put back in my pocket.

SOP for that criminal organization.

Bank of America sucks. Big time!

I have had really bad experiences with foru of what Clark Howard (consumer advocate) refers to as "big giant megabanks" -- Bank of America, Chase, SunTrust, and Wells Fargo.

Back in 1989 I originally obtained the loan to buy the V-Tail airplane from MBNA. They were sort of in bed with AOPA (Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association -- think aviation version of NRA), and they were decent to deal with. Then, they got gobbled up by Bank of America.

Going in to a BoA branch to make a loan payment was inevitably an aggravating event. It frequently took them the better part of an hour to locate the loan record on the teller's computer. Many times I had to get a branch manager involved in order to accomplish what should have been a simple transaction.

I finally accrued enough $$$ to pay the loan off, so I walked in to a branch with a certified check. The branch manager wanted to go through a whole song and dance routine. I was not having any of it, I placed the check on her desk, whipped out my phone, and took a picture that showed the nameplate on her desk and the certified check. She started screaming for "security," saying that I could not take a picture in the bank. I replied, "I just did, and I defy you and your security guard to do anything about it. As far as the check goes, I am walking out of here, the check is on your desk, you can apply it to the loan or you can shove it up your ass."

I left the bank and a few days later I received mail with documentation of the loan payoff along with a check refunding the slight amount of overpayment that I had made.

I had a similar situation with Chase when I gave them a check to pay off my home mortgage. Hostility from the branch manager when I refused to "sit down and discuss the mortgage payoff."

I told him that there was no need for discussion, just take the damn money and apply it to the account. I started to walk out, he followed me through the lobby, and when he put his hand on my shoulder from behind I turned around quickly, held my cane across my body to block him from touching me, and informed him that if he ever put his hand on me again he would be lying on the floor, bleeding. I walked out, the security guard politely held the door for me. After some unpleasant back-and-forth emails with customer NO-service at the Chase mother ship, I received a letter in the mail documenting the mortgage payoff and a small check for my overpaid amount.

These big banks really suck. I am now with a credit union. The local branch is staffed by some really competent, pleasant, folks. A much better experience.

Question for you: If BoA did not want your mother's money, why not find a small hometown bank or credit union that does want her business?

Screw BOA. Save yourself more headaches and dump them.

A couple years ago my local BOA drive through was never open even for the hours posted it would be. Finally, after talking to them a few times, someone admitted they had no idea when it would be open. They could not find the staffing or so they told me.

I also use Capital One. At the time they didn't have a local branch. They do now about 100 yards from the BOA branch. They are always open and friendly. I really only need a real brick and mortar bank a few times a year but when I do I want them to be open for the hours they list. Also nice to have friendly competent people working there.

Why does anyone still do business with BoA? The only thing they're good at is being on top of the "worst banks" list year after year.

Never ever ever will I give my money to these banks.

I know that Wells Fargo also will not take cash if you are making a deposit into an account that is not your own. Supposedly to cut down on fraud.

I use a credit union. They aren't perfect, but at least I can find someone to yell at that will want to fix the problem.

Should've asked him if you should just use mobile deposit to deposit the cash...

I was an expert in a specialized type of international banking, and BofA hired me to work in their main office in SFO back about 30 years ago. When I arrived to start the job, I was told to prepare for a trip to Mexico, where I was to oversee restructuring of a loan involving several banks and about $750 million.

It took me a few days to discover that, not only had the borrower defaulted, but then the Mexican Government had disqualified the company's FX eligibility, meaning they couldn't buy USD's to pay the debt. This had not been disclosed to the other lending banks, a clear violation by BofA.

I found out that BofA had sent people down to Mexico to handle this several months before hiring me, but without passports, a violation of Mexican law, which allowed tourists to enter with a US D/L, but requiring a passport if the trip was for business. Those people were still in a Mexican jail when I found out about this little twist.

I quit on the spot.

A couple months later, I got a bill on my Amex card for a business trip BofA made me take to LA. I had prepared and submitted an expense report, and BofA was supposed to have paid for the trip, but didn't. Luckily, Amex got them to reverse the charge, and that's the last I heard from BofA, or they from me.

Wonder what they would have done if the envelope full of cash and the deposit slit were put in the night deposit?

You have an account with BOA and they won't let you use a teller???????????

I know that's what you posted. It just does not compute with me.

They just want to sit there and get paid for not doing anything? What do those people think they are being paid to do????

I'm pissed just reading about it.

ETA: I reread the OP a second and a third time and I'm still pissed imagining the scene even without your mother being part of it.

Banks right now are really competing for customers. I bank with Chase. My wife and I have separate free interest paying accounts because I'm a vet. My wife never uses an atm. She always goes inside and uses a teller. She has a "personal banker" at the local branch and we have just a little over $5,000 in both our accounts together.

Free notary service. Free coffee in the lobby.

My mom who died last year had her account at citibank. I closed her accounts last month. I was a joint owner on the checking. She also had a savings account. When I went in to close the accounts, got the "sorry for your loss." Turned out I wasn't an owner on the savings account. "Don't worry. We can do the paperwork." And I was out the door with the checks. They did ask if I want cash. I wanted a check so I can do a mobile deposit.

That's why what you related goes against my experience. I'm glad I sold my bofa stock late 2017.

When my clients ask me to recommend a good bank. I say "No bank is a good bank, it's just some are worse than others". The latest banking scam is to make it impossible or very difficult to get images of cancelled checks unless a high monthly fee is paid. Then 2 years later, banks can then charge high fees to provide those images when a business needs the images to prove expenses to IRS. Top of my Nashville shit list is BOA, Wells Fargo, US Bank, Suntrust, & Regions Bank. Small startup banks & credit unions are your best bet.

My employer has BoA credit cards. Twice mine was shut down because it had been compromised and in both cases, they refused to expedite me a new card. Something I know AmEx offers and something my personal bank (TD Bank, which still sorta sucks) has done for me.

Aww hell no. Transfer the money to another bank and close the account. Then send a letter to the editor!!!!

I was with BOA 20+ years ago. They started out bad and got worse. Every time they absobed another bank CS got worse and fees went up. Went with a local CU.

I don't know how BOA stays in business.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin101:
Aww hell no. Transfer the money to another bank and close the account. Then send a letter to the editor!!!!

This is often the only thing that can get their attention. I’ve had BOA for years and have yet to have any notable issues, other than perks disappearing and fees increasing. If they tried any shit like that, I’d be gone.

Turning money away at a bank, isn't this like limiting fast food orders to $20? What's the problem here, why do they have this stupid policy in place?

BoA have been assholes for quite some time and they're very, very good at being assholes. My money would be kept under a mattress or buried in a jar before I would consider opening an account with them.

The last time I had to deal with them (involuntarily) was when I sold a motorcycle in the late 90s. The buyer gave me a BoA cashier's check that he had just obtained from his local branch. I never deposit high value checks, I always cash them first at the issuing bank and then deposit the cash into my account. Safer that way.

When I attempted to cash BoA's cashier's check in a BoA branch the teller wanted to charge a fee because I didn't have a BoA account. The very same branch that issued the check. Uhh, manager please. The weasel manager tried to explain their "policy", I replied that they could make up anything whether it made sense or not and call it "policy". I (somewhat) politely informed him there was no way on God's green earth I was paying a fee to cash their check in their so-called bank and that I was leaving with the full amount of that check. They were such dicks about it that the manager called their customer (who bought my motorcycle) and made him agree to pay the fee.

I've done business with numerous other banks/credit unions and only BoA had the unmitigated gall to demand a fee to cash their cashier's check in their own bank. They're definitely at the top of the asshole food chain.

About 2004 I was 11 years AHEAD on mortgage payments. BoA bought my mortgage, and promptly began foreclosure proceedings. It took two weeks of phone calls and letters to get satisfaction. I settled for a letter acknowledging their error, and them waiving the 3000 or so I owed on the mortgage. A couple of years later they lost a huge lawsuit over that shit.

My wife used to have her personal checking account at Wells Fargo, and her business account at a different bank. The two branches involved were directly across the street from each other -- maybe 45 seconds or so.

She would take a monthly draw via a check from the business account and deposit it in her Wells Fargo personal account. Not a huge amount, it was just over three thousand dollars / month.

I pass by that Wells Fargo branch on my route between home and work, so I would stop in to deposit her check.

Each and every month, same fucking runaround. The cashier at the counter would start poking around on her computer terminal. This would go on for fifteen or twenty minutes. I asked if there was a problem. "Well," she said, "this is a large deposit so we need to authenticate it." WTF? $3,000 is a large deposit that needs to be authenticated?

I pointed out that if she (the cashier) actually knew how to use the computer system, she would see that checks in exactly the same amount had been deposited each month for quite a while, with never an NSF. No checks had ever bounced. Further, there were cleared funds in the receiving account for a LOT more than the amount of the deposit. I asked why they didn't just take the damned deposit and if they felt it was necessary, put a hold on it until the check (drawn on a bank directly across the street) cleared.

Nobody was able to give me an answer that made any sense.

The following month, fed up with it all, we checked the online balance in the account, filled out a withdrawal slip for the exact amount in the account. I kept this in my pocket while I presented my wife's monthly check for deposit. The same bullshit started all over again, so I told the cashier to stop what she was doing and give the check back to me. I then pulled the withdrawal slip out of my pocket and presented it to her along with my passport for ID -- it was my wife's account for her use, but it was a joint account, so I was an authorized signer. The cashier questioned me, I told her that I was tired of the bullshit and I was pulling the funds out. The cashier told me that I would have to speak with a branch officer in order to close the account. I looked at the waiting line and got a new withdrawal slip and filled it out for a different amount: "No, I am not closing the account. I am leaving three cents in it. Now, please give me the money, in cash."

Bye-bye, Wells Fargo!

quote:

Originally posted by Fredward:
About 2004 I was 11 years AHEAD on mortgage payments. BoA bought my mortgage, and promptly began foreclosure proceedings. It took two weeks of phone calls and letters to get satisfaction. I settled for a letter acknowledging their error, and them waiving the 3000 or so I owed on the mortgage. A couple of years later they lost a huge lawsuit over that shit.

BofA shouldn't have started foreclosures but you don't really get ahead of your mortgage. You simply paid down your principal. You still have to keep your payments on schedule; it's not like you can stop for a bit since you're "11 years ahead."