But we're talking about businesses on that list that supposedly operate at the highest levels of integrity, etc. Wasn't my experience when I banked with B of A but likely they operated much the same as many banks as in whatever they could get away with. A number of times when money was tight years ago if I was overdrawn by even just a slight amount instead of hitting me with a $33 overdraft fee on the one transaction they would cover that transaction and say I was overdrawn on a bunch of smaller transactions, hitting me with $33 apiece on as many as 7 transactions. And then claim innocence on this. Turned out they and other banks were doing this to their customers to the tune of billions a year in extra fees. When you're living paycheck to paycheck this hurts. The Obama administration stepped in on this and stopped it so kudos to them.
Another issue was while on vacation in Florida my debit card got skimmed and was hit with over $600 in fraudulent charges before B of A called to verify it was me in another state making the charges. They made me jump through hoops to get my money back which culminated in me pitching a loud fit in a bank manager's office to get her to relent and replace the money. I've been hit with fraudulent charges several times on my Capital One debit card and they always replace the money immediately while they investigate. If it's a legitimate claim they leave the money in your account.
Then there's traveling with a B of A card. At least when I was a customer you had to inform them if traveling and using the card elsewhere. Otherwise they shut the card down. Found that out the hard way which left me broke over a weekend and having to beg strangers to let me stay in their motel. Never an issue with Capital One including using it overseas. And they have a huge network of ATM's including overseas that there's no fee to use.
So yeah, very glad I switched. And told B of A how glad I was to be closing my account and switching.
Look I'm just telling you who Just 100 put at the top of their list of most "just" companies.
Don't tell me I didn't have trouble with BAC as well.
I had a SE/IRA with Merrill Lynch. It wasn't the biggest account but it wasn't the smallest one either well in 6 figures and would likely have approached 7 when it came time to take the RMA.
When the financial collapse hit Merrill was for all intents and purposes ordered to allow itself to be taken over by BAC.
In the following years Merrill under the direction of BAC took an interest in the account and managed it in an active fashion and it did well. Talked with me often as one would expect.
However over the last couple of years I heard less and less from them until I heard nothing at all and little management of the account was undertaken....That was until 3 weeks ago.
I received a letter from Merrill/BAC telling me that my account had been assigned to two new managers. As required by law they had to disclose the resumes of these so called "managers" These so called managers were a pair of knuckleheads out in Arizona with equipped only with high school diplomas and long sustained periods of unemployment. The final insult.
Fortunately I've have an account with Stifel Nicolaus and have had the same 2 account managers for the past 40 years. You don't see that everyday. Believe me, those two guys practically leaped over their desks to get at that account and had it in their hands in 24 hours. It's a depressed rural area and private individual investment money is hard to come by. Merrill didn't care but the boys at that little Stifel branch couldn't wait to get a crack at it.
Now in my hometown there was this little friendly neighborhood bank run by local people. That was until some outside money came in got a license to operate regionally taking over some banks in the neighboring states. Bought out and demolished the buildings on two town blocks in order to expand the main operation. Now if you're Joe Nobody with a checking account and perhaps a little bit in savings there's an unmarked side door where you go into do your modest little banking But down at the corner where the existing bank and the new addition join there's double doors and above them a big sign in gold letters that says....."WEALTH MANAGEMENT". A complete slap in the face to the ordinary people who faithfully supported that bank when it was a friendly town bank. Glad I never banked there. But that's the banking industry of today.
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