For the last 10+ years, I have a Compass Free checking account linked to a Compass safe deposit box. My only transactions in checking acct are annual $50 withdrawl for safe depost box and a $100 deposit every two years. This month, they charged me $15 inactivity fee. Apparently the fee schedule was changed in July and I guess I didn't read the fine print on those small glossy ad type inserts. Now they refuse to return my $15. When I talked to local branch people, they suggested I should move my accts to another bank. When I asked if they were telling me that they do not want me as a customer, she said - no, we just want you to consolidate your accts in one bank. What a shining example of customer service.
So I deposited $1 with the cashier to keep my account from being idle in the next monthly cycle while I try to find an alternate bank to move my safe deposit box. Now I am looking for other small transactions that I can do to generate enough activity to keep them busy. I cross 2 Compass branches on my way to work so I could deposit $1 10 times per week and then withdraw $10 every Friday at their ATM. Maybe I'll have enough transactions in a month for my paper statemnt to be 2 or 3 pages long.
If you have other ideas for legal transactions, please suggest. I do not want to do ACH transactions because it would involve another bank. I guess I could open another Compass Free checking acct and then transfer between the two accounts twice every day. Or if you have ideas on who to write/compalin, that would be great too.
Message edited by: TheTigger on 2009-11-01 21:45:14 CST
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Do you really blame them? It costs them money to have these accounts opened, I am sure they deduced by your history that this is clearly an account that has not been used and most likely will not be used in the future. If you are unhappy, close it and move on with life.....don't bitch about the bailout.
TheTigger said: I cross 2 Compass branches on my way to work so I could deposit $1 10 times per week and then withdraw $10 every Friday at their ATM.
I guess I could open another Compass Free checking acct and then transfer between the two accounts twice every day. I'm pretty sure the inactivity fee isnt applied on a twice/day basis. Find out the interval from the account agreement I'm sure you asked for while at the branch, and just make sure to have a transaction within that timeframe. Now taht you've had activity, it'll likely be 3-6 months before it will be an issue again.
I'm not sure why you're adverse to using ACH transactions; you'd just have to schedule a recurring transfer for the first of every month to take care of the fee.
ck08 said:Do you really blame them? It costs them money to have these accounts opened, I am sure they deduced by your history that this is clearly an account that has not been used and most likely will not be used in the future. If you are unhappy, close it and move on with life.....don't bitch about the bailout.
Agreed - I took out the bailout stuff from my post.
BUT - my accounts are setup exactly the way their local branch manager had asked me to setup when I opened my safe deposit box. So after 10 years, all of a sudden, they are losing money on me?
And yes I am not too happy with the way I was treated so if they want me to have transactions, that's what I am planning to do.
Message edited by: TheTigger on 2009-11-01 21:49:41 CST
TheTigger said: And yes I am not too happy with the way I was treated so if they want me to have transactions, that's what I am planning to do.So this is out of spite? If that's the case, do they accept mail-in deposits? Use a billpay system to schedule numerous checks to be sent for deposit throughout the month. Combine it with an incentive at the sending bank (like Charter One's program where you get $.10 for each billpay) and earn enough to cover your safe deposit box fee in the process.....
Glitch99 said:TheTigger said: And yes I am not too happy with the way I was treated so if they want me to have transactions, that's what I am planning to do.So this is out of spite? If that's the case, do they accept mail-in deposits? Use a billpay system to schedule numerous checks to be sent for deposit throughout the month. Combine it with an incentive at the sending bank (like Charter One's program where you get $.10 for each billpay) and earn enough to cover your safe deposit box fee in the process.....
Thanks for the excellent suggestion. I will find out about mail-in deposits.
What state is your account in? The terms of Compass Bank (in El Paso, TX for example) states that inactivity fee time period is 120 days. See Compass Bank Terms So as long as you do something every 120 days, you can avoid that fee. If you don't want to involve another bank, you could try depositing a check back into the same account via ATM, but I'm not sure what would happen with that. It's probably easier to setup an another account at the bank and than initiate automatic periodic transfers back and forth every month.
Message edited by: NEDeals on 2009-11-01 22:24:46 CST
NEDeals said:What state is your account in? The terms of Compass Bank (in El Paso, TX for example) states that inactivity fee time period is 120 days. See Compass Bank Terms So as long as you do something every 120 days, you can avoid that fee. If you don't want to involve another bank, you could try depositing a check back into the same account via ATM, but I'm not sure what would happen with that. It's probably easier to setup an another account at the bank and than initiate automatic periodic transfers back and forth every month.
Thanks for the link. My acct is in Lewisville, TX so pretty much same fess structure as El Paso. Found out that auto bank transfers do not qualify as "customer initiated activity" - so no ACH transfers.
"Your account becomes inactive if there is no customer initiated activity for 120 consecutive days. Customer initiated activity does not include automatic deposits (such as payroll, social security, and auto transfer deposits) ."
TheTigger said:NEDeals said:What state is your account in? The terms of Compass Bank (in El Paso, TX for example) states that inactivity fee time period is 120 days. See Compass Bank Terms So as long as you do something every 120 days, you can avoid that fee. If you don't want to involve another bank, you could try depositing a check back into the same account via ATM, but I'm not sure what would happen with that. It's probably easier to setup an another account at the bank and than initiate automatic periodic transfers back and forth every month.
Thanks for the link. My acct is in Lewisville, TX so pretty much same fess structure as El Paso. Found out that auto bank transfers do not qualify as "customer initiated activity" - so no ACH transfers.
"Your account becomes inactive if there is no customer initiated activity for 120 consecutive days. Customer initiated activity does not include automatic deposits (such as payroll, social security, and auto transfer deposits) ."
Maybe look around for a different bank with competitive safety deposit box rates then. That does seem like a particularly odd rule. Otherwise the billpay like glitch99 mentioned may be the most "maintenance free" method of bypassing.
If you really want to spite them... walk in and deposit a penny. After the teller gives you a weird look, tell them a penny saved is a penny earned. 10x a week over 52 weeks and you could have enough to buy a coffee refill at a gas station! Woooo
Much better ways to get back at a bank... If you are really really mad, open another safe deposit box. Buy a pound of raw fish & raw meat, combine milk, lemon juice and a little bit of vinegar. Combine all items with half a cup of sugar and put in your new safe deposit box. Make sure you do this in private. Put a piece of tape over the box and sign your name on to it. Store it in the box and keep it closed. Periodically come in to the bank to make a $1 deposit and comment on how the bank is smelling nicer and nicer.
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