Rant Banking Changes: Suntrust Discontinuing Free Checking - My Frustration

[esavvymom]

Ok...just have to VENT.
I just got an email from my bank (Suntrust) that they are changing their product offerings and discontinuing certain products- including Free Checking.They now offer "every day checking" which has a monthly maintenance fee of $7.00 a MONTH unless you maintain a $500 minimum DAILY balance (or sign up for direct deposit). To count for the direct deposit- it has to be a minimum deposit of $100 each time. Nope...not there yet or not consistently anyway. So I guess I'm switching There is no way I am giving them $7 to let them hold my money. I do not keep that kind of money in my PC account. oh...and if you want Unlimited Check Card purchase privileges, you pay $5 a month for that too. $7 a month is just crazy. I'm sorry.I wonder how many people leave. They can take it and stick it. Ok..Vent over.

 

[flemings99]

That stinks!

We have personal free checking @ commerce and my pc account is free as well at community america. No issues with either one.

 

[smart2cook]

I have Suntrust too and I am with you on this! I can't believe I have to change banks! What a hassle.

 

[BethCooks4U]

Totally right there with you on this one! My son is constantly getting charges and there's no wayat this time he can keep that kind of balance. Banks could care less. They take it out of the ones that can afford it the least. AND they get their money from the government for free...

Have you checked out any credit unions? They often offer free accounts. We are checking into that soon with my son.

 

[NooraK]

This is what happens when government decides they can tell businesses how to do what they do. This stems from the recent change to cap interchange fees banks can charge for transactions on Visas, MasterCards etc.

No, I'm not a fan of getting charged for checking either, but it's my two cents.

 

[pkd09]

All banks are making changes that is for sure. I have Charter One....FREE checking as long as I am not sent a physical statement (estatements only) and I have to have a minimum of 5 debit card transactions per month....easy one for me

I'd shop around if I were you.

 

[Becca_in_MD]

Have you checked out any credit unions? They often offer free accounts. We are checking into that soon with my son.

Just closed a credit union savings account. I never use it. Just have some money sitting there to be a client in case I ever needed it. Now they're instituting a maintenance fee if you're don't have any activity every few months. Now they no longer have the privilege of holding onto my money. I moved it to my regular bank which has a nice interest rate.

Shop around. Community banks may be able to offer you more. Just see where the branches and ATMs are. I bet we'll see more ads for other banks trying to get Sun Trust customers by offering free checking.

 

[babywings76]

We just switched banks. Wells Fargo took over Wachovia and we got all sorts of problems, so we switched. Now we are with PNC and really like what they have to offer.

 

[kayleigh]

I currently personally bank with PNC and even though there is not a "close" branch to my home (I drive 30 min to one) I never changed when I moved because I loved what they had to offer. I actually wish there was a branch closer because they offer a free checking and I would have loved to bank there with PC but since I must make a drive it was not cost effective when it came to depositing money for shows, etc.
I bank with a local bank, Farmers State Bank here where I live for PC because I work right beside one of their branches. They so far have been amazing. I like the smaller "hometown" banks because they get to know YOU for you and call you by name when you walk in. I dont know about you but that is a pretty special feeling.

Look around though, you never know what other banks are offering and you never know what you may find.....

 

[wadesgirl]

Look for a small local bank. I've never had a problem at our local bank - no checking fees, no debit fees, etc. They also only charge $7 for a returned check vs $20+ compared to other banks. The one time I had problems with overdrafts due to an oversight on my end they worked with me and took away all the charges. I much prefer the local attitude compared to the big bank attitude.

 

[BethCooks4U]

We are currently with ::gasp:: Bank of America and have free accounts (3 checking and a savings) and no fees at all. However my son's savings account, while attached to ours for easy transferring of funds, gets a fee if he transfers more than I think it's six times in a billing cycle. His checking is free though as long as he has direct deposit. We have a local credit union that says they don't charge any fees. I am president of a group with an account there and so far no fees. We have to keep $5 in the savings account and pay for checks, otherwise it's free. Like people say, check around. They are out there. I checked into a few banks recently and one banker said they will all be charging fees soon, including the credit unions.It's like they want people to go back to unsing their mattresses. What really irks me is that those that have the least money are the ones really getting hurt by this.

 

[ShellBeach]

There is still free checking at a lot of banks around here. I signed up for an interest-bearing account that was tied to the PC direct deposit. Some guy went through all the accounts and took away the interest, since I didn't have direct deposits every month (I'm a hobby consultant)
I never keep a lot of money in my PC account, either.

 

[pampered1224]

I had to close my account with a community bank. They decided when I went on unemployment and did not have a check coming in because the US government took 8 weeks to decide on an extension, that I could no longer have free checking. Then they decided even after I was back on unemployment, and they changed this for everyone on UI, it was considered an "unstable account" and could no longer have free checking because of that. SO I needed a $500 balance every month. What the heck did they think I was paying my bills with? I sign them over to my other half now.

 

[esavvymom]

This bank is the only bank in my small town, other than a state employee credit union. Our Mai banking IS through a credit union in the next town, but I had gone with sun trust because I do more frequent deposits. At our credit union, it is mostly all direct deposit and online. It isn't totally out of my way to go there, but wasn't as convenient as the other place. So I guess I'll set up a PC acct with them. Just a bit more of a hassle since I am not the primary eligible account holder, my DH is because it is employer-based. I can deal, just was irritating. Dumb thing is, by charging that much, they will lose slot of customers. If they charged less, many folks may not bother to switch....but $7 a month potentially $12. ( they don't tell you in the email how much you get charged if you don't have the unlimited check card privilege, I am sure there is a per transaction fee in there somewhere, otherwise why offer unlimited?).

 

[esavvymom]

As I've been out and about the last few days since receiving this bank notice (which after further exploration with them, will cost me about $12 a month to keep an account- because of the monthly fee, and the privilege of the Check Card....although I only ever use it as a CREDIT Card, which the way the wrote it made it sound like that didn't apply- so maybe the fee would hit. I can't remember the pin, so I never use it as a debit. hahhaa). ANNYWAY.....we only have those major banks - Wachovia, RBC, Bank of America, BB&T. I don't live far enough out of the metro area to get those smaller farm-community banks. Even though Wachovia and RBC show totally free checking accounts, I think I will just open yet ANOTHER account with our Credit Union. It's a little more inconvenient to bank there regularly (in-person deposits), but I know(a) I won't have to deal with all of this mess of fees
(b) Because of their auto-tellers, the banking hours are longer and on the weekends (it's like going up to an ATM, you pick up the phone, and the teller pops up on the screen. You feed your money/checks into a slot, it all pops up on the screen, etc. If you get cash, it comes out a different slot (like an ATM). "Peopleless bank"....irked me to no end when they switched, felt very impersonal, but it has it's perks (hours).(c) if my account ever runs low, I can easily move money from a personal account into my business account. And if I link it to one of my accounts, I never have to worry about overdraft fees hitting me.So unless those other banks are about to make the switch too, Suntrust will be hurting before long I think. Charging THAT much when all the other major banks have Free accounts??? not a smart move. But my gut is afraid that if I went to one of them, then in 3-6 months, they will make that switch too and I have to start all over again.

 

[NooraK]

So unless those other banks are about to make the switch too, Suntrust will be hurting before long I think. Charging THAT much when all the other major banks have Free accounts??? not a smart move. But my gut is afraid that if I went to one of them, then in 3-6 months, they will make that switch too and I have to start all over again.

Most of the other major banks have indicated that they are or will be looking into similar fees. Some are already testing it in certain areas.

http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2011/aug/30/wells-fargo-testing-3-monthly-fee-using-debit-card/

http://www.wreg.com/news/wreg-debit-card-transaction-fees,0,651075.story

I don't believe that especially the smaller banks will be immune, as they have a smaller customer base to draw on. It's not a service issue, it's a money issue. The revenue the banks were earning from the interchange fees offsets the losses they experience in fraud.

 

[esavvymom]

See...I wouldn't have blinked much at a $3 fee. Not to the point at least of making an immediate switch. But $7 a month, PLUS a $5 debit card fee on top of that? $12 a month = $144 a year? No way. Even just the $7 monthly for a year = $84.

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

Chase doesn't charge a fee, but it did take away my annual rewards program. I used to get cash or visa cards and used it for a little extra Christmas shopping, or to supplement my Christmas money.I think Key started something that requires a certain amount of activity every month. I'll have to look into it. Right now I have no problem with that because I use the debit card for gas and have $100 of each paycheck sent there for that purpose ... but lately I've been buying gas less often because my gas station encourages the use of $100 rechargable cards. I also deposit my PC paychecks there too but don't use it exclusively for this purpose.I dumped PNC just because Key had this amazing offer but I may go back to them. I was unimpressed with their debit card policy and incurred a lot of overdraft fees when they were National City.My problem is that I work in one community and live in another, so the community banks won't work for me. I do like a national bank that I can use no matter where I am traveling.

 

[lkbcovington]

This is what happens when government decides they can tell businesses how to do what they do. This stems from the recent change to cap interchange fees banks can charge for transactions on Visas, MasterCards etc.

No, I'm not a fan of getting charged for checking either, but it's my two cents.

Exactly NooraK! This is Congress' fault, not the Bank's. Congress took away one revenue stream, so the Banks are just trying to compensate. Smaller banks (like the one I work for) won't be changing their products yet since we're not subject to the new interchange fees. But eventually all costs are going to be passed on to the consumer in the end, no matter what industry you're talking about.

My personal rant is against credit unions. Why are they allowed to offer the same products/services as banks, but do not have to pay federal taxes? That's the only reason they have better rates and more free services- because they aren't giving the government half of their earnings in taxes every year. If the government is looking to increase their income, just making CUs pay taxes would net millions (if not billions) more in tax revenues for them every year. Alas, the CUs pay their lobbyists well and that will probably never happen so long as votes are for sale. Sorry, I feel better now...