Do you have a WAMU savings account? You know - the kind where they offered a "free savings account" with an incredibly low balance requirement? Well I do (did, actually up until today), and I set it up a while back when WAMU was WAMU, not CHASE -
Guess what has happened since CHASE gobbled up the failed WAMU?
Jump across the fold to find out more - YOUR account may be at risk like mine.
Since taking over WAMU, CHASE has quietly been terminating some of the "friendly" policies that made WAMU popular - one of these policies is a"no fee" savings account, where a savings account would be allowed to maintain a low balance without having an account administration fee debited monthly. I know what you;'re thinking - this is an unbelievably friendly policy right? - well GUESS WHAT?
THAT "NO FEE" POLICY DOESN'T EXIST AT CHASE/WAMU ANY MORE!
In the year since I opened my modest personal savings account, with a minimal balance to "get it started", I could never find time to organize my other savings accounts and move them into the WAMU account (they are all tied into my PayPal activity, and that REALLY adds complexity to an account move). But the policy of the WAMU account was "no account fee", regardless of how low of a balance was maintained, so I wasn't worried.
HA!! MY MISTAKE! I SHOULD have been worried, I failed to account for BANKERS !!
I happened to check the account statement today, and found out that CHASE HAD BEEN DEBITING THE ACCOUNT EVERY MONTH FOR A SAVINGS ACCOUNT ADMIN FEE, CONTRARY to the Account Terms in force when I started the account!
Without ANY fanfare (that I could find) CHASE has "terminated" WAMU's policy of waiving account maintenance fees on savings balances under $300!!
So my modest balance had quietly been siphoned off at $5 per month since the CHASE consolidation, and my account was practically empty. (We won't get into why I didn't religiously check my bank statements, but I was pretty sure that the money would be there, since there were no fees being debited.)
BUT - there is a bit of GOOD NEWS
When I contacted CHASE/WAMU Customer Service, and CALLED THEM OUT ON THIS PRACTICE, (and the LACK OF NOTICE that the "no fee policy" had been quietly TERMINATED), they IMMEDIATELY backed down, and RESTORED THE ENTIRE BALANCE. So, points for a proper and considerate response!
Obviously, I will move the funds to a different account, where it won't be whittled down little by little by yet another stupid fee.
MORAL OF THE STORY - watch your accounts, even the ones where you THINK you understand the account terms, and BEWARE OF THE BANKERS.
When you least expect it, they will CHANGE THE RULES for THEIR BENEFIT, and AT YOUR EXPENSE.