BB&T puts customer LAST, PROFITS first! ! Free checking is not free. Run away from this bank! Atlanta Georgia
Initially I thought I may be alone in having issues with BB&T however I see that I am not alone. I felt I needed to add to the already growing list of consumers fed up with this bank. BB&TS allegedly free checking is anything but free. I realize if a customer is well off financially that a problem will seldom arise however my family is one among many these days that is living from paycheck to paycheck and BB&TS policy of selective debits and credits which always favor the bank are slanted far away from the customer and aimed at being able to levy a fee at every given opportunity. There is the BB&T website, which is structured in way so that the customer never really knows how debits and credits are being applied. At first again, I thought its just me and I dont get it however I have learned that their online banking aimed at confusing the customer and generating more fees has been going on for years! The final straw for me was being charged an overdraft fee for a $2 charge for just speaking to a customer service rep more than twice that month! If that is not putting the customer last I have no idea what is. And I love the company shills that come behind these reports and try to put forward the banks view, clearly a PR move by a bank employee or persons with a vested interest in the bank, so transparent, give me a break! Perspective is reality and the reality is the customer should not have to hire an attorney to look at the terms and conditions to ferret out all of the bias and fees that result in BB&T being a horrible choice for banking. Reality number 2, lets be clear that banks make money on fees however since dealing with BB&T I have learned that some banks rely on fees for more than 50% of their revenue. I do not know what BB&TS internal numbers are and how the revenue pie is divided but I know that BB&TS free checking is bordering on false advertising. I am in the process of closing my account with them and I will be very happy when my hard eared money is no longer in their hands! Good riddance!
Louis
Marietta, Georgia
U.S.A.
8 Updates & Rebuttals
J G Shrugged
Austin,Texas,
U.S.A.
Yes you do have a choice...
#9Consumer Comment
Mon, July 14, 2008
Some major banks do what you mentioned here: charge for human contact. Have you the commercial where the teller is running a tab, and there's a fee for checking your balance, for depositing, and then at the end, for talking to a human teller.
Heck even the infamous Elvis Schmiedekamp with Cal Fed bank (before the bank was bought out by Citibank to become Citibank West) based their whole PR on going to a bank with lower fees or no fees for many items that were charged by others!
With that being said, many of these fees have been charged to business bank customers for a long time as part of analysis, and for consumers, because so many people now have direct deposit, the "free checking" for direct deposit has now become free only if you use direct deposit, only use an ATM and only use online banking. They've done that for income to the shareholders.
Louis
Marietta,Georgia,
U.S.A.
BB&T falling market share
#9Author of original report
Mon, July 14, 2008
If you read my post I did not state BB&T made me overdraft my account, you are missing my point. BB&T has fees at every turn that make a free checking' account, not so free. There are no monthly fees but they charge you for even speaking to customer service rep, that is not customer service and that is not putting the customer first. I love the people that come in behind these posts and take the companies side, very transparent attempts at public relations for BB&T and if you are not interested parties do you come here just to teach personal finance? So once again, no one made my account do anything, read clearly: Charging $2 just to speak to a customer service rep is a RIP OFF, the fact that my account over drafted because of it is purely my fault and is not my complaint here, my complaint is fees, useless customer service and company profit before the customer. Obviously BB&T has an interest even in this website because their banners are all over the place and their corporate public relations folks are hard at work refuting the posts. Me get a grip, oh believe me I am, I am leaving BB&T and going back to a bank where I banked for 10 years without issue 1. It does seem strange that I can go 10 years trouble free and less than 1 year with BB&T raises these issues. The case is clear, and any attempt to paint it otherwise is a weak attempt by this company to hold onto to customers who thankfully have a choice. The truth hurts BB&T.
Steve
Bradenton,Florida,
U.S.A.
Louis...WRONG!!! I have BB&T for my checking, and it IS ABSOLUTELY free!
#9Consumer Suggestion
Thu, July 10, 2008
Louis,
No rip off here. You just need to learn how to manage your account.
It is VERY clear by your own post that you DO NOT keep an ACCURATE checkbook register.
An accurate checkbook register is NOT optional and should be the ONLY method used to determine your balance.
Get a grip!
John
Califon,New Jersey,
U.S.A.
No, like some others, YOU don't get it.
#9Consumer Comment
Thu, July 10, 2008
How did this bank MAKE you overdraft your account eg: spend money you didn't have? What did your register say that you responsibly keep? Oh, don't keep one? How is that the bank's fault? So you better run away from every bank because what you did will have the exact same result at those also.
Louis
Marietta,Georgia,
U.S.A.
Advertising
#9Author of original report
Thu, July 10, 2008
Has anyone noticed that on the BB&T report pages that BB&T has ads on those pages? PR at every turn, nice try BB&T but your sorry policies and record of customer 'no service' speaks for itself. You can keep shareholders happy by generating revenue from a ton of fees but if that gets out of balance and you start screwing customers the tide will turn, so you have short term gain and loose customers in the end. BB&T, you just don't get it!
Louis
Marietta,Georgia,
U.S.A.
Advertising
#9Author of original report
Thu, July 10, 2008
Has anyone noticed that on the BB&T report pages that BB&T has ads on those pages? PR at every turn, nice try BB&T but your sorry policies and record of customer 'no service' speaks for itself. You can keep shareholders happy by generating revenue from a ton of fees but if that gets out of balance and you start screwing customers the tide will turn, so you have short term gain and loose customers in the end. BB&T, you just don't get it!
Louis
Marietta,Georgia,
U.S.A.
Advertising
#9Author of original report
Thu, July 10, 2008
Has anyone noticed that on the BB&T report pages that BB&T has ads on those pages? PR at every turn, nice try BB&T but your sorry policies and record of customer 'no service' speaks for itself. You can keep shareholders happy by generating revenue from a ton of fees but if that gets out of balance and you start screwing customers the tide will turn, so you have short term gain and loose customers in the end. BB&T, you just don't get it!
Louis
Marietta,Georgia,
U.S.A.
Advertising
#9Author of original report
Thu, July 10, 2008
Has anyone noticed that on the BB&T report pages that BB&T has ads on those pages? PR at every turn, nice try BB&T but your sorry policies and record of customer 'no service' speaks for itself. You can keep shareholders happy by generating revenue from a ton of fees but if that gets out of balance and you start screwing customers the tide will turn, so you have short term gain and loose customers in the end. BB&T, you just don't get it!