They have been "upgrading" my accounts (which is actually a pain in the keester) along with refunding "fees" for "customer relations". Now, in my opinion, they shouldn't have charged any fees, but the point is they seem fairly agreeable to refunding them when asked.

Cesca

Hi

What kind of upgrades are these, and what are some examples of some of the downsides to the upgrades ?

That's good to hear that you've encountered agents who are allowed to use common sense on reasonable requests for the refunds .. by "customer relations", I assume you're referring to the $ 2.00 fee that might be applied when a customer calls the customer service department ?

Insignificant "upgrades" - really more of a pain-in-the-keester if you ask me.

On my checking, I had an "opportunity" checking. There kind term for, "we think you'll can't handle this". (Explanation: when I opened my WF checking, my "adult" son, had a checking account $80 in the hole at a credit union. I was not on his account, but for some reason the credit union reported it against me. It wasn't worth a huge hassle to me when I opened my WF account, so I accepted their crappy checking account in order to get a credit card with them.)

The "upgrade" consists of "free" on line banking, free checks, free money orders/cashier checks, and traveler's checks. I already had free on-line banking (which they say was a mistake), I don't write checks and haven't since 1999, so I don't give a hoot about free checks, and I don't use money orders, etc. So, I don't see much benefit except that my account is no longer referred to as an "opportunity" - pure account vanity is all I can figure for the "real" upgrade.

They'd been charging $3.00 every month for my savings account - an account I didn't want, but they said was "required" if I had a credit account. They say the fee will not be assessed if I set-up an automatic transfer to savings every month.

Downsides: Changing account numbers, re-doing auto-deposit paperwork, and any other automatic payments that are set up. I find it annoying.

Also, I have to babysit my mailbox for a new debit card and a new box of checks (that I'll never use) in order to ensure that I receive them. This is also annoying to me, because I only check my mail about twice a year. Yep, that's right, twice a year. I hate mail and I do everything possible to avoid receiving it. So, unless I am expecting something, I don't bother with it. (I have a mail service, so they will call me if I actually have something to pick-up - I'm not an idiot (all the time).

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I had a "secured" visa with Wells Fargo. I called a few months ago because I wanted to increase the limit - I was planning on just paying an additional amount to do this. WF said that was fine, but first they wanted to "unsecure" it, and then after I received my new card (more mailbox-sitting) I should call back for a CLI. Frustrating, but fine, I did as they said. Then I was denied the CLI. You can only have "one" credit card with WF.

Additionally, they were to transfer all debits/credits to my new card, but they didn't do that smoothly or effectively. They transferred some, then a few more, and finally closed the account. I've had a "credit" (due me) on the old account since June 21. They keep telling me they'll transfer that. Meanwhile, on my new account, they claim I went over my credit limit (of course I was charged that and it was reported to the CRA's) but, if they had transferred "all" of my account activity, it would not have been over limit. Irritating.

(BTW, I always pay my account to zero every month "before" the due date. I have also learned to make my payments on-line, because then they'll credit the payment between 3 and 7 days after I make the payment on-line. I've learned that if I make a cash payment in person, it gets credited two weeks after I make the payment - they actually reported an early cash payment as "late". So, I never pay in person now.)


The people on the phone in the credit department are idiots. They've made other mistakes on my account and have been idiots about it when I call to have them fix it.


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So, I hate Wells Fargo, but because I have a credit account with them and I'm trying to build credit, I put up with the BS, I just try very hard to minimize the opportunity for their crap.

Oh, and the "over limit" amount on my credit card was $11.26, conveniently the over limit fee of $11.26! In other words, I wasn't over my limit. The only over limit amount was the $11.26 fee they tacked on. This is the kind of sh -- that makes me hate Wells Fargo!

Wells Fargo, WAMU and Wachovia are the BIG Ws as we call them. Worse banks to deal with ever when it comes to chexsystems issues and many others