posted: Jan. 17, 2008 @ 4:29p
DaveHanson: I agree with you that the lack of on-demand ACH or e-check capability seems peculiar. BofI hasn't added any new functionality recently although their OLB interface is somewhat improved. But in the four years since I last used them, their account fees have been astonishingly low compared to most of their competitors and their deposit rates above average.
Four years ago, I had asked to close out my BofI Boomer Checking account. A check was mailed to me and e-mail confirmation provided. It turns out that even after the check was issued, I still had a tiny balance in Boomer Checking (a bit over $1) which has been earning interest and hasn't been hit with inactivity fees, except for an odd quirk: apparently a a $2 charge was assessed by BofI against my "Overdraft Line of Credit", on the same day that my check was issued. I have no idea what the $2 was for (check mailing?).
It turns out that for the past four years, my forgotten checking account kept earning a penny of interest a month, the BofI overdraft line ($2 balance) was gradually being paid with the minimum monthly payment of roughly five cents a month drawn from the "closed" Boomer Checking account. Apparently, after ignoring a couple years of e-mails from BOI, I got one which clued me in on this. I apparently owe $1.05 to pay off the LOC!
While I find it odd that a $2 charge was placed on the overdraft line back in 2003 after I closed the account, I am actually quite impressed that BofI didn't take a heavy-handed approach towards my dormant accounts like most banks. In fact, the four years of paying on this miniscule LOC ended up raising my FICO score! I'm sending in the $1.05 to payoff the LOC, and just might stick a few bucks away in Boomer Checking as well since I realized that they truly have lower "nuisance fees" than other places I've banked with. It's a peculiar story that actually left me with a better impression of their business. I was also surprised to reach a live person at Bank of Internet on the phone, without a long wait.
One moral to the story, though: If you ever close a bank account at an Internet-based bank like BofI, ING Direct, PC Banker et al., make SURE there that there isn't any balance on an attached Overdraft Line of Credit - and follow up with the bank a month later to make sure there isn't some tiny balance still in your account.
