Complaint Review: Washington Mutual / WAMU

My overdraft protection account - which I may have needed 3 or 4 times in the past 15 years - cost me nothing in the years before WAMU took over my bank. Then they came along a few years ago with a $10 annual fee/$5-per-use setup which I grudgingly put up with in recent years. When I did need it a couple of years ago, I paid it off immediately, and the $15 combination of the annual and per-use fees meant that my effective "interest rate" for a couple of days' use of their funds on what was probably a $40 overdraft was 37% in one month (times 12 for an annual rate!). Unfortunately, this level of profitability was deemed insufficient by WAMU.

The real shocker came this April, when one of the withdrawals on my statement was a "payoff transfer to ODLOC" of $36. I was briefly mystified, because I knew I hadn't needed my overdraft anytime in the past year. Then a search of the file turned up a "notice of change in terms" my wife had filed months ago outlining WAMU's new and improved (for them) overdraft plan. AN INCREASE IN THE ANNUAL FEE from $10 to $36" (up 360%), and as of this month they are changing their per-use fee from $5 to $12 - a jump of 140%! A sneaky aspect of the charge for those who are not watchful is the fact that on the monthly statement it is automatically withdrawn and is NOT identified on the statement as an ANNUAL FEE, possibly causing many customers to miss the reality of what is going on.

Then I see one of their "WAMU - WOO-h*o!" ads, and I'm thinking of a slogan which better reflects the reality..."WAMU - PEE-YOU!"
...customer, beware.

Jeep
Redondo Beach, California
U.S.A.