STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

AllieGurl · Marc Jacobs

HUGE RANT ...Wamu SUCKS

wicked · Coach

What is Wamu?

Aurora · Marc Jacobs

I'm sorry my bf just went through the same thing with his credit union. I think the 10 business day thing is pretty standard after you send back the paperwork.

Kitty · Hermes

wicked wrote:

What is Wamu?

washington mutual

Kitty · Hermes

Honestly, i think it's crazy you had to wait on the phone that long just to talk to someone. I bank with Wells Fargo, and while I wouldn't exactly recommend them for a lot of reasons - at least I never wait for more than a few minuts to speak to someone.

carmenb513 · Coach

yeah that sucks..while I swore off Bank of America for a few years I like them for certain situations such as these..........They will put the money in question back into your account within 24 hours and worry about the details (paperwork,etc) later.

Mandy · Kate Spade

I'm so sorry you are dealing with that.

I hate them too. I banked with them when I lived in California and kept my account when I moved back to Georgia. They had problems accessing my account information because I opened it on the west coast. I couldn't even order a new check card without going back to California. When I closed the account, they tried to tell me that I needed to go back to California for that too. Finally, I got someone to help me close it. I'm so glad I don't bank with them anymore.

Deuce · Dooney & Bourke

I just wanted to check in with you and see if you got anything resolved. I work at a branch, If you need anything you can pm me and I may be able to help!! I have banked with all of the big names in banking and had issues with all of them. I think having a contact in the branch helps a lot with my particular bank. Good Luck!

AllieGurl · Marc Jacobs

Deuce wrote:

I just wanted to check in with you and see if you got anything resolved. I work at a branch, If you need anything you can pm me and I may be able to help!! I have banked with all of the big names in banking and had issues with all of them. I think having a contact in the branch helps a lot with my particular bank. Good Luck!

Actually no, I have continued to get the run around. I am so frustrated with they way this is being handled, it is making me consider switching banks. Lukily , I have other accounts in which to pay my bills with , BUT if I hadnt and I had had to wait this long just to get the money back in my account, that seems ridiculous and unfair. Also the attitude I keep getting "your not the only one this happens too .... blah blah " is pissing me off too.

I will pm you later ....

killa · Dooney & Bourke

I have never actually opened an account with Wamu, but someone stole my identity last year and opened both a checking and a savings account at Wamu under my name.

I didn't find out about it until the bank called me in regards to an overdraft. I think they got my phone number from the credit bureau.

Anyway, it took MONTHS before my credit was cleared ... and I had collection agencies calling me and harrassing me three times a day for accounts I never opened in the first place.

I think it helped that I went into a Wamu and spoke with someone in person who worked with the fraud dept. on my behalf.

Just a warning to all: It is super easy for someone to open accounts either over the phone or on the internet, put just $1 in each account and proceed to withdraw more than $700 from each of the accounts. I cannot believe banks allow this. The guy at Wamu said that they offer opening accounts online and over the phone because their competitors do.

Good luck, Allie. I suggest going into the bank and speaking with someone in person.

Kitty · Hermes

killa wrote:

I have never actually opened an account with Wamu, but someone stole my identity last year and opened both a checking and a savings account at Wamu under my name.

I didn't find out about it until the bank called me in regards to an overdraft. I think they got my phone number from the credit bureau.

Anyway, it took MONTHS before my credit was cleared ... and I had collection agencies calling me and harrassing me three times a day for accounts I never opened in the first place.

I think it helped that I went into a Wamu and spoke with someone in person who worked with the fraud dept. on my behalf.

Just a warning to all: It is super easy for someone to open accounts either over the phone or on the internet, put just $1 in each account and proceed to withdraw more than $700 from each of the accounts. I cannot believe banks allow this. The guy at Wamu said that they offer opening accounts online and over the phone because their competitors do.

Good luck, Allie. I suggest going into the bank and speaking with someone in person.

Actually, this is the main reason I would never bank with them. They have horrible security practices. Sometimes the security practices of Wells Fargo are annoying, but I just have to remind myself that ultimately they're there to protect me.

I used to be a bank teller at Wells Fargo and you had to get a supervisor to approve any transaction over $1,000. It was annoying, but it made sense because then you had two pairs of eyes looking over all the paperwork and the computer stuff and a lot of errors do get caught that way. My boyfriend banks at Wamu now and he recently went in to withdraw 9,500 in cash and they didn't even blink. He only had to show one form of ID and they gave him all the money. I was seriously SHOCKED. That would have gone through two levels of supervisors at wells fargo.

BargainQueen · Marc Jacobs

I feel your pain Alliegurl. I went throught the same thing w/them 5 yrs ago. $1K suddendly dissappeared from my acct and since I was really young and naive I never checked my statements. I found out over a month later that I had "catered" an event in NY, I've never been there and I lived in CA! They gave me the run around and I would say "ok" to whatever stupid explaination they gave me. They told me they would have to "verify" that I wasnt the one who spent the money and before they would deposit the cash back into my account I would have to wait 90 days! My office manager overheard the conversation and she demanded I stand up for myself and keep calling until they gave me my cash. So I called back, I think at leas 5 times that day and told them I had no other form of income and all my accounts were already late, everything I could to make them feel sorry for me. By the next day they had deposited the missing funds and over $1500 worth of overdraft fees. Lo' and behold, 90 days later, I get a simple letter stating they had completed their investigation and "discovered" I was right and that fraudulent activities had taken place in my acct. Tools. Shortly after, I closed all my WaMu accts, cuz my parents also had fraudulent activity. I figured their systems must not be very secure.