Complaint Review: FIRST CONVENIENCE BANK

I was a long tenured employee there and let me say while i worked there I would never have used that tone with you. It is true that brochures and policies are supposed to be given to the customer when they open the account. This is a federal regulation that is required. But most importantly not every employee will treat you in this manner. Bank where you feel comfortable. I am sorry your experiences was not a good one. I can tell you that if the manager or employees do not try and do everyting they can for you then they are not doing their job. I will say this for the gentleman that posted about using your pin that does not matter credit or debit side does not make it post faster. The merchant does place the holds however. To avoid thses hold pay inside the store and they will not happen. Also at hotels and car rentals use a credit card not a bank card for them to swipe. Again eventhough I am not employee there anymore I wish you the best of luck and again i apologize!

I did use my pin number for the transaction. The Assistant Manager at the branch office kept contradicting herself every time I explained how I used my PIN, but the charge still applied. She said I should have used it as credit...then I explained to her that my wife used her card (different bank) at the same station (different pump) at the same time, but she was NOT charged...and we both used PIN's. She became flustered and told me to call the 800 number. She said there was nothing she could do...big surprise. I had to handle it myself.

I know of a few people from several years ago, who had problems with other banks, but they were too lazy to call the support lines or were simply given the runaround at the branch offices. I wised up when I read several old articles on the web. The banks are getting trickier every time, so beware.

Karen is right, this bank is a fraud and the name "First Convenience" is a joke. Erroneous charges left and right, absolutely no customer service whatsoever, lackluster service overall. On 4 seperate occasions I had service fees that were not supposed to be charged to my account charged on it anyways, 2 times resulting in my overdrafting because I was only keeping track of what I spent, not bullcrap fees from the bank. Of course if you go to one of the tellers and try to ask about it, they act like deers caught in headlights, they suddenly have no idea about their own services or policies and have no idea about anything.

Sometimes I was even charged ATM fees for using THEIR OWN ATM's inside Wal-Marts. Even with an error as plain and obvious as that it would take an hour on the phone talking to people before they would finally refund it. After the second time they tried to rip me off resulting in an overdraft I called and their solution was to simply blackball me, close my account right then and there and mail me the balance remaining in my account. That was fine by me, then I could move on to a REAL bank, but the kicker is I had direct deposit and the morons didn't close my DD account when I gave them the paperwork. So for another month my checks continued to be deposited and I had to deal with the idiots behind the counter again and each time it was like talking to a toddler, I swear they go out of their way to hire 18 year olds who have no customer service or computer skills.

I went with my little brother to Washington Mutual 2 years ago and he was declined an account because of a $7 hot check he'd written and the teller handed him a card and said a manager from another bank begged her to give these to anyone who is declined at WM and suprise suprise, it was a FCB card. Doesn't suprise me that they have to go to other banks and beg for their scraps in order to stay in business.

David,

That experience at the gas pump and the $75 hold was not your banks fault. That is a merchant policy at many gas stations and convenience stores. Most of them now have notices posted.

Want to have your debit card transactions post immediately? Use your pin# instead of just swiping the card.

Swiping the card treats it like a credit transaction.

In response to Mr. Willingford, I have been with this bank for over five years, and I admit that I made some errors in my records, after all...we are only human. In the five years I've banked with them, I have been charged dozens of times for miscellaneous fees, up to 33 dollars in some cases, for no apparent reason. I only noticed it when I happened to check the automated system. The customer service people deeply apologized and said it was a computer error. In my experience with them, that's too many "computer" errors...not a good track record.

Just recently I was charged 75 dollars as a holding fee for pumping a few dollars of gas in my car that I did NOT authorize. This caused me to go overdrawn and subsequently I was charged nearly 475 dollars in overdraft fees for several small transactions from the weekend, which they refused to refund. I resolved this issue myself by calling the bank yet again, then received another apology, and was promptly refunded the overdraft fees the same day.

Do you honestly think that this bank is operating fairly? If indeed they were, then these problems should never have occurred.

It is unfortunate, Mr. Willingford, that you have to insult people on this site. Your cheap shots have no place here especially because you don't know who these people are. Has it ever occurred to you that they may be from another country...or maybe they suffer from a mental disability? Maybe they just don't write as well as others, but they have the same feelings inside. DAVID S. TEXAS

In response to Mr. Willingford, I have been with this bank for over five years, and I admit that I made some errors in my records, after all...we are only human. In the five years I've banked with them, I have been charged dozens of times for miscellaneous fees, up to 33 dollars in some cases, for no apparent reason. I only noticed it when I happened to check the automated system. The customer service people deeply apologized and said it was a computer error. In my experience with them, that's too many "computer" errors...not a good track record.

Just recently I was charged 75 dollars as a holding fee for pumping a few dollars of gas in my car that I did NOT authorize. This caused me to go overdrawn and subsequently I was charged nearly 475 dollars in overdraft fees for several small transactions from the weekend, which they refused to refund. I resolved this issue myself by calling the bank yet again, then received another apology, and was promptly refunded the overdraft fees the same day.

Do you honestly think that this bank is operating fairly? If indeed they were, then these problems should never have occurred.

It is unfortunate, Mr. Willingford, that you have to insult people on this site. Your cheap shots have no place here especially because you don't know who these people are. Has it ever occurred to you that they may be from another country...or maybe they suffer from a mental disability? Maybe they just don't write as well as others, but they have the same feelings inside. DAVID S. TEXAS

In response to Mr. Willingford, I have been with this bank for over five years, and I admit that I made some errors in my records, after all...we are only human. In the five years I've banked with them, I have been charged dozens of times for miscellaneous fees, up to 33 dollars in some cases, for no apparent reason. I only noticed it when I happened to check the automated system. The customer service people deeply apologized and said it was a computer error. In my experience with them, that's too many "computer" errors...not a good track record.

Just recently I was charged 75 dollars as a holding fee for pumping a few dollars of gas in my car that I did NOT authorize. This caused me to go overdrawn and subsequently I was charged nearly 475 dollars in overdraft fees for several small transactions from the weekend, which they refused to refund. I resolved this issue myself by calling the bank yet again, then received another apology, and was promptly refunded the overdraft fees the same day.

Do you honestly think that this bank is operating fairly? If indeed they were, then these problems should never have occurred.

It is unfortunate, Mr. Willingford, that you have to insult people on this site. Your cheap shots have no place here especially because you don't know who these people are. Has it ever occurred to you that they may be from another country...or maybe they suffer from a mental disability? Maybe they just don't write as well as others, but they have the same feelings inside. DAVID S. TEXAS

In response to Mr. Willingford, I have been with this bank for over five years, and I admit that I made some errors in my records, after all...we are only human. In the five years I've banked with them, I have been charged dozens of times for miscellaneous fees, up to 33 dollars in some cases, for no apparent reason. I only noticed it when I happened to check the automated system. The customer service people deeply apologized and said it was a computer error. In my experience with them, that's too many "computer" errors...not a good track record.

Just recently I was charged 75 dollars as a holding fee for pumping a few dollars of gas in my car that I did NOT authorize. This caused me to go overdrawn and subsequently I was charged nearly 475 dollars in overdraft fees for several small transactions from the weekend, which they refused to refund. I resolved this issue myself by calling the bank yet again, then received another apology, and was promptly refunded the overdraft fees the same day.

Do you honestly think that this bank is operating fairly? If indeed they were, then these problems should never have occurred.

It is unfortunate, Mr. Willingford, that you have to insult people on this site. Your cheap shots have no place here especially because you don't know who these people are. Has it ever occurred to you that they may be from another country...or maybe they suffer from a mental disability? Maybe they just don't write as well as others, but they have the same feelings inside. DAVID S. TEXAS

First, I am not now nor have I ever been a customer of First Convenience. I am not now nor have I ever been employed by any financial institution.

The biggest issue is that the majority of rip-off complaints posted (customer service rudeness and lost deposits excluded) are due to the posters laziness. They would rather whine about being the victim of a scam or a conspiracy instead of educating themselves and being responsible for their finances. It's only a scam if the information is hidden from the consumer. It is not like the information that can be used to avoid bank fees isn't available. It so easy to obtain.

Bank's are a business. They generate income to pay their employees, pay their overhead costs and make a profit. The larger national banks handle millions of transactions a day and hold hundreds of thousands of accounts. I laugh when someone accuses the bank of going through accouunts and juggling transaction in order to generate fees. They don't have to. Their customers do it for them by not being aware of the banks policies.

Here's some insider information (for those that wish still to accuse me of working for them since they have no other logical rebuttal to present) or not so insider information (basic common sense).

1) Most banks banks have similar policies. There are subtle differences some of which may make a difference in your banking needs. Spend more time researching the bank you wish to do business with and less time selecting that perfect outfit.

2) Get a copy of the bank's terms and conditions BEFORE you open an account. Some can be found on the bank's web sites (though admittedly, not so easily) others you will need to get a copy from a bank branch.

3) Read through those terms and conditions. It will reveal everything you will need to know concerning deposit posting and cutoff times, funds availability, check card holds and warnings, debit and credit posting order. Also disbute procedures and time frames to file a disbute. Inside you will also find what legal rights you have and what legal rights you have may have waived by opening an account. There is also a fee schedule that will tell you exactly what you will be charged a fee for and how much that fee will be (imagine that, banks will actually disclose that information).

4) Keep your own account register. Have everybody who uses that accouunt use that register whenever a transaction is initiated. You will never be caught off guard by a debit made by someone else that you are not aware of. Only use the bank's web site for information on pending transactions (if they have posted or cleared). Do not use the ATM balance information. It is relatively useless. Be sure of what your available balance is before walking (or driving) up to the ATM.

5) You will have the upper hand when there is a bank error and you are able to whip out your copy of the bank's terms and conditions and point out the exact section that they screwed up on. And you smile and pat the bank manager's hand as they apologize profusely for their error as they refund the misapplied fees (sorry, I daydreamed that last part).

That's all there is to it. You will never pay another bank fee. Banking policies and procedures are complicated. Apparently so is making change at stores and fast food joints. I know, it will cut into your American Idol viewing time but a little knowledge goes along way and will save you money in the long run.

Unfortanly, the bank is not the one who places the holds. The merchant is the one who places the holds. We as the bank can not post them to your account until the merchant has sent us a reciept of the actual amount, because some companies such as hotels and car rentals will hold a greater amount than actually spent. We have up the 5 business days to hold the transaction. If after 5 days we have not recieved the reciept then the money goes back into your account and the merchant has 180 days the collect the funds.

We also charge 3.00 to talk to a live teller in a banking center because we have a 1-800 for a reason. Our customers who got up and drove their way to our banking center and have stood in line come before our customers who have called into the centers. Now the 1-800 will charge for info that you can hear on the automated part because yet again, the automated system is there for a reason. You would hate to be the person waiting on hold FOREVER to get info you can get somewhere else and the person in front of you is asking info that is clearly printed right infront of her.

Mr. Wallingford,

You seem to be very careless with your words and other people's feelings. To call someone stupid and compare their writing skills to their banking skills is rather presumptious of you. I can only hope that you are not one of the representing employees going to bat for your own company, because if this is the case - you are not making pleasant waves or convincing conversation. You may think you know an experience simply from what is written in complaint, but I see three whole rebuttals from you personally, picking on those who have writing skills that do not meet your qualifications. My suggestion to you is that you get down from your high horse and take notice to the many complaints lodged against this very company you want to defend. I notice, from what I've read so far, that the complaints all revolve around the same thing: People who have made the horrible mistake of banking with this company, and wether they are responsible with keeping track of statements and records or not - this company makes their attempts to be cash cows on their customers accounts, with hopes that this customer is too busy or too ignorant to catch the scams. Personally, I thank these complaints for coming in and helping to raise awareness to people such as myself and other potential bankers. I also intend to PRINT OUT the complaints and leaves copies of them on the little tables that the company leaves their scam flyers at. The more who are aware, the better chance this company has of turning HONEST or just going away as they should. If you are going to present yourself as a company that is there to give people with poor credit a second chance, then you should be doing just that. Not hoarding their money away little by little over time.

You should be ashamed of yourself for defending such a company and for randomly picking on those who stand up and complain. This is not a writing contest or a peeing match to see who can be the wittiest. It's a complaint site, and you should very clearly KEEP your rebuttals to explain the nature of the company or defend it, but NEVER to insult one's intelligence or abilities. If it directly insults you to see such complaints written on this company, then maybe you are responsibile for these kinds of actions yourself in one way or more. I'd advise you to think more carefully on how you respond to other people who have the right to call out a bad egg when they see one.

Shame on you.Such a disgrace to the purpose of this site.

Mr. WIllington,
You seem to be very careless with your words and other people's feelings. To call someone stupid and compare their writing skills to their banking skills is rather presumptious of you. I can only hope that you are not one of the representing employees going to bat for your own company, because if this is the case - you are not making pleasant waves or convincing conversation. You may think you know an experience simply from what is written in complaint, but I see three whole rebuttals from you personally, picking on those who have writing skills that do not meet your qualifications. My suggestion to you is that you get down from your high horse and take notice to the many complaints lodged against this very company you want to defend. I notice, from what I've read so far, that the complaints all revolve around the same thing: People who have made the horrible mistake of banking with this company, and wether they are responsible with keeping track of statements and records or not - this company makes their attempts to be cash cows on their customers accounts, with hopes that this customer is too busy or too ignorant to catch the scams. Personally, I thank these complaints for coming in and helping to raise awareness to people such as myself and other potential bankers. I also intend to PRINT OUT the complaints and leaves copies of them on the little tables that the company leaves their scam flyers at. The more who are aware, the better chance this company has of turning HONEST or just going away as they should. If you are going to present yourself as a company that is there to give people with poor credit a second chance, then you should be doing just that. Not hoarding their money away little by little over time.

You should be ashamed of yourself for defending such a company and for randomly picking on those who stand up and complain. This is not a writing contest or a peeing match to see who can be the wittiest. It's a complaint site, and you should very clearly KEEP your rebuttals to explain the nature of the company or defend it, but NEVER to insult one's intelligence or abilities. If it directly insults you to see such complaints written on this company, then maybe you are responsibile for these kinds of actions yourself in one way or more. I'd advise you to think more carefully on how you respond to other people who have the right to call out a bad egg when they see one.

Shame on you.Such a disgrace to the purpose of this site.

S.M. - Fort Worth, Texas

Mr. WIllington,
You seem to be very careless with your words and other people's feelings. To call someone stupid and compare their writing skills to their banking skills is rather presumptious of you. I can only hope that you are not one of the representing employees going to bat for your own company, because if this is the case - you are not making pleasant waves or convincing conversation. You may think you know an experience simply from what is written in complaint, but I see three whole rebuttals from you personally, picking on those who have writing skills that do not meet your qualifications. My suggestion to you is that you get down from your high horse and take notice to the many complaints lodged against this very company you want to defend. I notice, from what I've read so far, that the complaints all revolve around the same thing: People who have made the horrible mistake of banking with this company, and wether they are responsible with keeping track of statements and records or not - this company makes their attempts to be cash cows on their customers accounts, with hopes that this customer is too busy or too ignorant to catch the scams. Personally, I thank these complaints for coming in and helping to raise awareness to people such as myself and other potential bankers. I also intend to PRINT OUT the complaints and leaves copies of them on the little tables that the company leaves their scam flyers at. The more who are aware, the better chance this company has of turning HONEST or just going away as they should. If you are going to present yourself as a company that is there to give people with poor credit a second chance, then you should be doing just that. Not hoarding their money away little by little over time.

You should be ashamed of yourself for defending such a company and for randomly picking on those who stand up and complain. This is not a writing contest or a peeing match to see who can be the wittiest. It's a complaint site, and you should very clearly KEEP your rebuttals to explain the nature of the company or defend it, but NEVER to insult one's intelligence or abilities. If it directly insults you to see such complaints written on this company, then maybe you are responsibile for these kinds of actions yourself in one way or more. I'd advise you to think more carefully on how you respond to other people who have the right to call out a bad egg when they see one.

Shame on you.Such a disgrace to the purpose of this site.

S.M. - Fort Worth, Texas

Mr. WIllington,
You seem to be very careless with your words and other people's feelings. To call someone stupid and compare their writing skills to their banking skills is rather presumptious of you. I can only hope that you are not one of the representing employees going to bat for your own company, because if this is the case - you are not making pleasant waves or convincing conversation. You may think you know an experience simply from what is written in complaint, but I see three whole rebuttals from you personally, picking on those who have writing skills that do not meet your qualifications. My suggestion to you is that you get down from your high horse and take notice to the many complaints lodged against this very company you want to defend. I notice, from what I've read so far, that the complaints all revolve around the same thing: People who have made the horrible mistake of banking with this company, and wether they are responsible with keeping track of statements and records or not - this company makes their attempts to be cash cows on their customers accounts, with hopes that this customer is too busy or too ignorant to catch the scams. Personally, I thank these complaints for coming in and helping to raise awareness to people such as myself and other potential bankers. I also intend to PRINT OUT the complaints and leaves copies of them on the little tables that the company leaves their scam flyers at. The more who are aware, the better chance this company has of turning HONEST or just going away as they should. If you are going to present yourself as a company that is there to give people with poor credit a second chance, then you should be doing just that. Not hoarding their money away little by little over time.

You should be ashamed of yourself for defending such a company and for randomly picking on those who stand up and complain. This is not a writing contest or a peeing match to see who can be the wittiest. It's a complaint site, and you should very clearly KEEP your rebuttals to explain the nature of the company or defend it, but NEVER to insult one's intelligence or abilities. If it directly insults you to see such complaints written on this company, then maybe you are responsibile for these kinds of actions yourself in one way or more. I'd advise you to think more carefully on how you respond to other people who have the right to call out a bad egg when they see one.

Shame on you.Such a disgrace to the purpose of this site.

S.M. - Fort Worth, Texas

Mr. WIllington,
You seem to be very careless with your words and other people's feelings. To call someone stupid and compare their writing skills to their banking skills is rather presumptious of you. I can only hope that you are not one of the representing employees going to bat for your own company, because if this is the case - you are not making pleasant waves or convincing conversation. You may think you know an experience simply from what is written in complaint, but I see three whole rebuttals from you personally, picking on those who have writing skills that do not meet your qualifications. My suggestion to you is that you get down from your high horse and take notice to the many complaints lodged against this very company you want to defend. I notice, from what I've read so far, that the complaints all revolve around the same thing: People who have made the horrible mistake of banking with this company, and wether they are responsible with keeping track of statements and records or not - this company makes their attempts to be cash cows on their customers accounts, with hopes that this customer is too busy or too ignorant to catch the scams. Personally, I thank these complaints for coming in and helping to raise awareness to people such as myself and other potential bankers. I also intend to PRINT OUT the complaints and leaves copies of them on the little tables that the company leaves their scam flyers at. The more who are aware, the better chance this company has of turning HONEST or just going away as they should. If you are going to present yourself as a company that is there to give people with poor credit a second chance, then you should be doing just that. Not hoarding their money away little by little over time.

You should be ashamed of yourself for defending such a company and for randomly picking on those who stand up and complain. This is not a writing contest or a peeing match to see who can be the wittiest. It's a complaint site, and you should very clearly KEEP your rebuttals to explain the nature of the company or defend it, but NEVER to insult one's intelligence or abilities. If it directly insults you to see such complaints written on this company, then maybe you are responsibile for these kinds of actions yourself in one way or more. I'd advise you to think more carefully on how you respond to other people who have the right to call out a bad egg when they see one.

Shame on you.Such a disgrace to the purpose of this site.

S.M. - Fort Worth, Texas

Honestly. I can understand up to 3 days to hold a charge from my bank card but EIGHT BUSINESS DAYS???? come on. This is possibly the worst bank in existence. I called a CSR myself to get a running report of the debits and credits from that day and a current balance. It was not even close to what the automated system said, but they all matched what I had in my book...so why is it that the next monday, when I chacked my balance, I had 6 overdraft charges on this account...all for like 1.25,3.00...breakfast and lunch at my job...all for 33.00 apiece.

They refunded ONE of these charges and refused to aid me any further. They're a bunch of idiots TRYING to run a bank. They often charge me minimum balance fees on my savings account when it has had 1200.00 in it since I opened the account a few months ago and each time I have hell trying to get them back. so it's not just Karen...I don't know too many people who were satisfied with this bank. And what's up with charging me 3.00 to check my balance with a live teller?

If you manage your account the same way you write, I can see why your finances are in such dis-array.

First, charges made with a check card are usually held until the amount of the transaction is confirmed. Usually up to three business days.

Second, you should be keeping your own record of your account balance and not relying on the bank's records. They don't know what you have pending.

You can't blame the bank for your stupidity.