frank10b said:I have sent this now two messages and all I got for my efforts is a Autoresponce that I will receive a return message in two business days.
It has now been 12 days.

same here..but luckily the Pasadena CA and Burbank CA branches are next door.

This may be a question addressed elsewhere, but how do you get the bank to make the difference between ACH and wires? Can I ACH from BofA to Indy bank for free? Will BofA charge? Can I ACH from Indy to BofA later? How about World savings, ever delth with them?

doglar said:I have no evidence that I am getting the correct rate...not in correspondence with my account number, not by login into my account ...that is the entire problem. I am really going to get 5.75 on the entire balance when the balance exceeds $25k? I do not want park my money at 4% right now when I can get a much better rate. (but that's just me I am sure)

Bank of Toledo has all kinds of hoops you have to jump through and a great 0.25% rate if you fail to jump through one of the hoops. And notice that it does not include "check writing" as one of the perks of their 6% rate "checking" account. Only checking accounts yielding under 1% interest have "check writing" available as listed as one of the perks. (I was referring to straight up checking rates - no intro teaser rates & no hoops or juggling or obstacle course to go through each month - this is like a sale w/ 50% off - just entices spending to "save" - something we don't need as a society).

To earn the Bonus Rate, perform the following requirements each cycle:
10 Check Card Transactions
One Direct Deposit or ACH Auto Debit
Receive Electronic Statement
* and handover your firstborn child
*6.01 Annual Percentage Yield (APY) paid on all amounts each cycle if the minimum requirements are met. If you do not meet the requirements per cycle, your account will still function as a free checking account earning 0.25% APY, however it will not receive ATM refunds for that time period. Rates as of June 12, 2007. We may change the interest rate and APY at any time after the account is opened. No Minimum Balance Required. However you must deposit a minimum of $100.00 to open this account. Available to Personal Accounts only. No monthly service charge.

A checking account with a maximum of 3 checks...who would have thought of it...who would suspect
the web page (see link in thread) about the First rate account does not state the word "checking" anywhere ...ability to write 3 checks per cycle usually does not make the account a "checking account". I would expect the bank to know the difference between an MMA and a checking account and the laws pertaining to each type...or what if this really WAS a checking account? Hey, I hope I am wrong....for all our sakes. Hopefully, this is not a cleaver marketing ploy to get us to put our money there for a 4% rate. They sure don't make their lives easier with all the ambiguity ...

why not clear up the potential confusion like ing
http://home.ingdirect.com/products/products.asp?s=ElectricOrange
"For example, if your balance is $55,000, you earn a great 5.25% APY on the entire balance. "
Who's pocketing YOURRe wallet?Hmm, I've been banking with State Bank of Toledo and I can write as many checks as I like, use their free bill-pay as often as I like, earn 6.01% and the only "hoop" I have to jump through is to use my debit cart 10x a month. All of my investments draw from this account so I easily meet the 1 ach transfer requirement. Fail to see the big deal, though I do admit that opening the account can take a while. But man, once its open I cannot tell you how SWEET it is to have a real checking account with unlimited transactions paying such a great rate!

SleepyBum said:

Why don't you add beneficiaries like you did on your other account scott?
With the pain I had getting my beneficiaries at Countrywide changed to PODs I don't want to go thru it again. Did get a statement from them the other day and noticed they changed account name and it now includes me and my PODs. For anybody opening with Indymac you need to remember that just listing those beneficiaries might not get you extra coverage. I also think having a few PODs could delay getting your money on the extra coverage while they verify everything

SleepyBum said:Humm... I've added beneficiaries at both Countrywide and Indymac no problems at all. Always did it when opening the account. For Countrywide, my monthly statements says like:

SleepyBum
POD
123 Main St

Does it say their names or just POD? Mine now lists the names. I setup up my account over a year ago, Did the online and it asked if I wanted to list beneficiaries and I put down 2. I sent them a message last month just to verify my coverage and found out just listing them does not get you extra coverage and they changed them for me. Here is the message:
Dear Valued Customer,

We appreciate your business
Customer Care Team
Also what I meant about verifying was if the bank went bust I think the FDIC has to check out those PODs

DavidScubadiver said: What part of "SleepyBum POD" did you not understand?

I have had accounts that just list my name and after it just the letters, ITF or POD. So what I was asking was does it say POD or the persons actual name?

FDIC Website said:Revocable Trust Accounts

These are deposits held in either payable-on-death (POD) accounts or living trust accounts.

Payable-on-death (POD) accounts – also known as testamentary or Totten Trust accounts – are the most common form of revocable trust deposits. These informal revocable trusts are created when the account owner signs an agreement – usually part of the bank's signature card – stating that the deposits will be payable to one or more named beneficiaries upon the owner's death.

Living trusts – or family trusts – are formal revocable trusts created for estate planning purposes. The owner of a living trust controls the deposits in the trust during his or her lifetime.

Note: Determining coverage for living trust accounts can be complicated and requires more detailed information about the FDIC's insurance rules than can be provided in this publication. If you have a living trust account, contact the FDIC at 1-877-275-3342 for more information.

Deposit insurance coverage for revocable trust accounts is based on each owner's trust relationship with each qualifying beneficiary. While the trust owner is the insured party, coverage is provided for the interests of each beneficiary in the account. The FDIC insures the interests of each beneficiary up to $100,000 for each owner if all of the following requirements are met:

* The beneficiary is the owner's spouse, child, grandchild, parent, or sibling. Adopted and stepchildren, grandchildren, parents, and siblings also qualify. In-laws, grandparents, great-grandchildren, cousins, nieces and nephews, friends, organizations (including charities), and trusts do not qualify.
* The account title must indicate the existence of the trust relationship by including a term such as payable on death, in trust for, trust, living trust, family trust, or an acronym such as POD or ITF.
* For POD accounts, each beneficiary must be identified by name in the bank's account records.

If any of these requirements are not met, the entire amount in the account, or any portion of the account that does not qualify, would be added to the owner's other single accounts, if any, at the same bank and insured up to $100,000. If the revocable trust account has more than one owner, the FDIC would insure each owner's share as his or her single account. Linky This is why I suggest that if you have POD account for insurance purposes, you ought to ask the institution to give you a copy of the account record that lists your beneficiaries. Its the least they can do for a large depositor and it will give you peace of mind.

I dunno scott. How "official" does it need to be? I have a piece of paper which lists my beneficiary at account opening. I think if they're trying to do that, that's pretty scummy. But, yeah, I don't trust Countrywide that much, so I'm keeping it under $100,000, even with beneficiaries.

Anyways, I found my Indymac account opening certificate. It does list my beneficiary.

Name1 SleepyBum
Name2 ITF MyBeneficiary
Name3
Name4
Street My Address

I think maybe Countrywide is just a bad egg. You shouldn't have to jump through so many hoops to get a beneficiary for FDIC insurance purposes.

SleepyBum said:I dunno scott. How "official" does it need to be? I have a piece of paper which lists my beneficiary at account opening...
Sleepybum, what you have seems to meet the regulations for FDIC. Like you said, some banks include the names of the beneficiaries in the account title while other banks just have the acronyms (POD, ITF, ATF) in the title indicating that it's a revocable trust account. As long as the names of the beneficiaries are on the bank's records, it will be fine.

12 C.F.R. 330.8(a). This regulation applies to revocable trust accounts held by all insured depository institutions, both banks and savings and loan associations (hereafter "savings associations").

It is important to note that the special insurance coverage provided by the regulation quoted above depends, first of all, upon the proper titling of the trust accounts, and then, upon the listing of the trust's beneficiaries by name in the deposit account records of the insured depository institution.

As far as account titling is concerned, the terms which must be used are said to be "commonly accepted terms such as, but not limited to, in trust for,' as trustee for,' payable-on-death to,' or any acronym [abbreviation] therefor" (emphasis added). Thus, if the title of a trust account suggests that a trust is involved, that title will usually be acceptable. For instance, a trust account entitled the "Jones Family Trust" or the "Jones Family Revocable Trust" would meet the proper titling requirement even though these titles are not precisely in the form of "in trust for," "as trustee for," or "payable-on-death to."

The next requirement is that the trust's beneficiaries be "specifically" listed in the insured depository institution's "deposit account records." The "specifically" means that the beneficiaries must be listed by name--for example, Ann Jones, Tommy Jones--not merely by the class to which they belong--that is, the requirement is not met by listing the beneficiaries merely as "my children." As for the "deposit account records," these are defined as "account ledgers, signature cards, certificates of deposit, passbooks . . . and other books and records of the insured depository institution, including records maintained by computer, which relate to the insured depository institution's deposit taking function." 12 C.F.R. § 330.1(d). For most purposes, perhaps the signature card and the certificate of deposit are the best places for listing one's beneficiaries.

I got my checks in about two weeks. Did you request them? You should call back to confirm.

Regarding the beneficiary stuff. I'm just wondering in scott's case, how did they list his beneficiaries in statements, but they weren't in the "official bank records". If that happens, then there's absolutely no value in getting something in writing. What kind of bank would enter the beneficiaries at account opening and then not put in the official records. I hope that dealing with Countrywide doesn't sour you with other banks. I would go and ask Indymac about POD/ITF. I don't think it's that complicated.

Anyways, back on topic. I was able to open a 5mo CD at Indymac and got my rate locked in. I'm not that worried as I am well under the FDIC limits, and don't feel like putting more in. We'll see what happens to rates next week.