Washington Mutual review: Anyone that considers opening accounts with them should beware! 103

I don't think I have ever really truly felt disappointment in any of the banks I've been with until now - with Washington Mutual.

Years ago, I remember starting out with Bank of America and then moving to Wells Fargo because I always had some sort of a complaint about their outrageous fees or customer service. Eventually, I landed with Washington Mutual because of their "Free Checking" and being a college student, the word "Free" always meant a good thing, right?

So about a month ago, on a Sunday in November, there was an outrageous amount withdrawn from my checking account, using my debit card, or so I was told by a WAMU representative. Luckily, I must have caught it the day it had been done because it hadn't posted to my account yet. So I called the 1-800 number and talked to someone, who I guessed was not located at a U.S. call center since she had a very thick accent. I discussed my problem with her and calmly told her that I had not charged anything that huge to my account and that would they please block it from going through to keep my account from being extremely negative and me getting charged with an overdraft fee. Of course, the woman says "no, we can't do that. We have to wait for it to post..." I couldn't even file a dispute about it at that time! Basically she told me that I had to go for a few days with a -$900 in my checking account. I was furious! This wasn't a credit card, where I could care less about the balance while the company did their investigation - this was cash that I had to live on to pay bills, eat, buy groceries or even pay my rent! And they couldn't do a damn thing about it except wait for the fraudulent charge to go through?!

After the initial shock and frustration wore off, I walked into the nearby branch the next day and spoke to the branch manager.

He didn't really tell me anything different - I have to wait for the amount to post, sign an affidavit the next day when the amount should have posted and then they'd go ahead with the investigation. He closed my current debit card and issued me a new one. About a week later, the mysterious pending charge went away - probably because there wasn't enough funds for it to go through! - and I thought ok, maybe they fixed it or it really was some sort of mistake on the merchant's side. I even thought that maybe WAMU was trustworthy, after all. By this time, I had received my new debit card - minus its PIN number, and it was right on time because I was due for a week-long vacation!

So what happens when I come back from vacation and try to cash in two refund checks I had received in the mail in one of their branches? Can you imagine this - strolling into the branch to cash in checks right before work, thinking that you're only intent is to cash in the checks to have cash in your pocket since you can't access your account through the ATM. I get up to the teller window and she even tells me to sign the checks but a minute later she says that there was a restraint put on my checking account! The teller had to make some inquiry calls. So I've already waited about fifteen minutes in line and if I didn't leave right then I would be very late to work. After about three minutes that the teller was put on hold, I tell her "I'm sorry, but I can't just wait here while you're waiting on the phone because I have to go to work. I'll just come back tomorrow." And I left with my two uncashed checks and only about three dollars in cash in my pocket.

I returned the next day, about two hours before I was due at work to give myself plenty of time in the bank. I ended up speaking to the branch manager who told me the same thing. ACH put a restraint on my account because it had been compromised and that they couldn't do anything about my money in the account until they took off the restraint, which wouldn't be during the weekend. So he compromised with me - he would open a new account and cash my refund checks so I'd have money for the weekend. And that I just had to return on Monday to transfer my money from the old account. I said ok.

On Monday, I went back. Honestly, I was starting to get sick of having to go back to the bank almost everyday just to straighten out my account. I told the person helping me that I wanted to leave some money in my old account because I had an automatic debit going through for a bill. So she says ok, ends up transferring everything into the new account and tells me that there's a "penny pay-through" that would allow any automatic payments in the old account pull funds from the new account. And I said ok because it made sense to me. I asked her if I was able to use my new debit card and she assures me it does work - it is linked to the new account. Then I finally leave the branch, thinking "finally, it's settled, I have a new account that works." And what happens to me at a department store when I try to buy a simple gift certificate? The card doesn't work. I try to pay with a new check I was issued when I opened up the new account. That check doesn't work as well! I end up paying with cash and going back to the bank branch. I told them neither the card nor the check worked. What the hell was I supposed to do? They still assured me that the card should work and that the checking account was active - maybe it took a day for the systems to update. Great, so I decided to pull out a bunch of cash for just in case, leaving a good amount in the account for my automatic charges.

The next day I decided to check my balance to see if my automatic payments went through. One went through for my cellular phone payment. But to the old one where there was no longer any money in it. My question - what the heck happened to the penny pay through crap? So I had to take care of this. Luckily, I was able to transfer funds back from my new account to cover the balance but I definitely refused to pay the overdraft fee that they were trying to charge me. Why should I pay for it when they obviously know I have money with them and it was them that made me transfer everything over in the first place instead of leaving some money in the old account. I had to talk to about three or four different people before I finally got to a supervisor who was able to credit me back for that overdraft fee.

My only problem left was the most important preauthorized payment I had that should have gone through did not. Another WAMU customer representative told me that the payment had been bounced back to the company instead of pulling funds from the new account. So instead of calling the 1-800 number again I call my branch instead and spoke to the bank manager who had opened up my new account. He was unable to reverse the blocked payment but he offered to pay any fees the company charged. After I called the company they said they couldn't set up another automatic debit - it was either a MO, cashier's check or a wire transfer, which all of them costs a certain fee, plus whatever fee the company charged me for the unsuccessful debit.

It was like one problem after another after another. I didn't even get a single call from WAMU to notify me of the "restraint" they put on my account. They're online banking says they'd send an email. But if you're going to put a restraint on a person's checking account which would you prefer - contact via email or via phone? I would prefer to be notified by phone where an actual person explains to me WHY. Ok, I understand it's a means to solve the compromised account but they should really let you know ahead of time and not just do it so I find out when i walk into the branch and all I'm trying to do is cash in a simple check.

This situation just makes me feel uncomfortable with this bank and completely unable to trust WAMU with my hard-earned money or automatic bill payments. It's just a huge, huge inconvenience for me to pay extra fees just to wire a payment because the payment of the month was bounced back - courtesy of WAMU, when I was told - assured - that it should have gone through after opening and transferring money into a new account.

The bottom line? I'm saying good-bye to the bank I was so loyal to for 6 years. I'm so extremely disappointed in your services and don't think I could ever do business with you again.

By the way, did you know that many of WAMU's call centers are located in the Philippines? Sometimes it's even hard to understand the person you're talking to because their English is limited. It's true. I found the information online.

I know how Washington mutual operate. Wamu has some of the most dishonest people working for them that have no idea of what their jobs consist of. The customer is the last one considered. How I know is because I work for them. They are always cheating customers. At this point they are so dishonest to the point that I am considering filing with the U.S. Dept. of Labor and provide proof of how they are cheating mortgagers. If you know any mortgagers who have complained about being cheated in anyway have them to email me.

About a month ago somebody used my ATM (mastercard) and draft money on several ATM and also on ATM on Losvegas. I notified the bank right away as soon as i saw the unauthorized activities. After a month and a half the bank is refusing to give me the money. Some of the money has been drafted after i notified the bank and my card has been canceled. I called the 800 they have no body can help me, i also went several times to the Branch in Rolling Hills and each time only they have 2 employees and they say they are shorthanded and they can not help me. i really need help and it looks it is inside job.

How did they get your card? Did you loose it? If so how did they know your pin number?

go to the nearest police station, file a complaint against bank.

I owed a company and certain amount of money, I had issued them a check that I substituted for cash, when I requested for my check back they stated that "WAMU" has my check. I called WAMU and requested a stop payment on this check and a couple of days later WAMU let the cash get check after my request for it to be stopped! It left my account in the negative. I called WAMU and explained to them that they OVERRIDE their policy and let this check be cashed anyway. They would not admit that they screwed up and refused to pay me back my funds. I WILL NEVER SUGGEST THAT ANYONE BANK WITH WAMU... THEY ARE HOME OF THE LIARS AND NOT HOME OF THE FREE!

I financed my home with a primary and secondary mortgage from Washington Mutual. After the loss of my job, I could no longer afford the mortgage payments. Instead of risking a foreclosure, I found a motivated buyer and began a quick close on my property. At signing, I realized that WaMu charged a total of $21,394 in prepayment penalties, which was not something that I was made aware prior. I am left with no capital to rent or purchase another home. Is there something that I am missing in trying to the $21,000+, that is rightfully mine...

My son in law pays his bills on time and more than the minimum amount. He received a notice that his interest rate was being increased from approximately 7% to over 22% and he called and was left on hold for over 30 minutes trying to reach a supervisor, who finally told him they couldn't change it back and couldn't tell him why, but that it would be in a letter. The letter is a form letter and states that they have researched their accounts and that his debt to income ratio doesn't meet their standards and they believe he is a credit risk, so they are upping his interest rate... This sounds like a scam, my son in law has a high Fica score and I need to find out where I can officially complain regarding this unfair business practice going on in California, where the consumer fortunately has better protection against predators like Washington Mutual.

They did the same exact thing to my wife and I... moved money around without telling us, and it resulted in tons of hidden fees that would not have happened if they hadn't done this.

They are a lousy, thieving bank. I'm still fighting them for the $600+ they ran up on me in overdraft fees that would never have happened if they hadn't done this.

It seems they do these transfers just to generate more fees.

Hi im new to your bank. I have been getting a lot of letters saying im overdrawn. Im not i havent even started really banking with you guys and i get this letters telling me i have been making transactions i never even made a deposit our wrote a check. So i dont now what you are trying to do. But you need to correct this statments please. Thank you crystal arnold account # [protected]

This is the second time I have been inside of Wamu bank and the teller is very rude.His name is Jonathan and the location I was at was Norcross Peachtree,#7296. The first time he acted like he was to good to put anything in my hand he was acting very racial. So today I'm waiting in line to be waited on and he's sending the lady over to me asking me what is going on? Questing me like I don't have no right being there cause I was letting others go ahead of me cause I was waiting on Sushma get finish with the other customer. He has been picking on me and I do not like that at all. He acts very raciest towards me cause why would you send another teller over to question me like that. That is so very disrespectful and I'm filing a complaint on him today.

Washington Mutual - www.wamu.com

I have been trying for 4 months now to get my address changed on my Wamu account after I moved. First I called and completed the change, (or so I thought). The lady said it may take a month before I'd start getting my statements at my new place. It seemed a little long, but I figured no biggie since I could pick up any stray mail from my old roomates until it went through. After a month and a half, and still no statements or mail from Wamu, I called again and was told there was no record of my request. We did it again, and again I was told it would take about a month to go through. After another month and a half or more, I decided to call again and was told, after waiting 10 minutes on hold, that it hadn't gone through because somehow the last 2 digits of my zip code were missing from my request,(remember, I gave the info over the phone,but somehow they didn't have it). I asked why they didn't just call me since they also had my phone #,or look it up online, but they didn't have an answer. I let them know I was not a happy camper, and was assured by the guy that they would bypass the normal red tape and that it would be done "within 24 hours". I stupidly took his word because he sounded so concerned and compassionate,(picture a Toby McGuire type, super nice rep who is going to get to the bottom of your problem because,"that should never have happened, and I will personally take care of this,you have my word and sincere apology for any inconvenience this mistake has caused you.") I hung up glowing with that good feeling you get when a persistent problem is finally solved.

What a sucker I was! I didn't double check it,(like an idiot), and assumed all was well finally. I did notice that I still hadn't seen a statement in awhile, but assumed I had just missed one after the change had gone through,-WRONG! About 3 weeks after that last session, I was shopping on Ebay and spotted a great bargain on a guitar that I wanted to buy. It had just been listed,and had a "buy it now" price that was about a fifth of its actual value and I wanted to snatch it up before someone else nabbed it. I pushed the button to buy it now, and when I tried to pay for it got a message that the buyer only accepts paypal payments from accounts with a "confirmed address". That means my shipping address had to match the one that my bank sends my statements to in order to complete the purchase. I decided to bypass Wamu "customer service", and tried to go online to do it myself if possible. I was relieved to see that indead I could change it myself and proceeded to change it,or at least I thought I did. It's a simple 3 step process, and since I was in a hurry, I thought I was done when I got to the step 3 page and didn't see anything at all to click. I had already filled out my new info, etc., and thought I was done. I went back to Ebay to buy the guitar, and it happened again, -payment refused because of an unconfirmed address. I went back to the site and did it again and this time noticed that step 3 just doesn't have any options, or buttons at all to push in order to complete the process. It's a complete dead end, so in effect there was no way in hell for me to change it myself at all. I went back to Ebay to beg the seller to accept my payment, but of course the guitar was gone by then. That was Wednesday. I called Wamu again early this morning,(Friday), and spoke to a executive level customer service, who assured me that I had finally reached the place that could and would absolutely fix the problem.

He said someone would be calling me "most likely today, or at the latest on Monday about it. I haven't heard a damn thing all day, (8 pm now). I can't wait for monday to see if they actually call me back. I have no expectations of that happening at this point. I will be changing banks as soon as it's convenient, even if they call me Monday and have fixed the problem,(in which case I'm going to call the Pope and report a miracle). To anyone at Wamu bothers to read this:-YOUR VERSION OF CUSTOMER SERVICE IS A BAD BAD JOKE TO BE INFLICTING ON YOUR CUSTOMER/VICTIMS. I HAVE TO LAUGH WHEN I SEE YOUR COMMERCIALS TOUTING YOUR SUPPOSED ATTENTION TO YOUR CUSTOMERS, -WHAT A ABSOLUTE CROCK! YOU HAVE BY FAR THE WORSE CUSTOMER SERVICE I HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED IN MY ENTIRE LIFE,(AND I'M 51 YEARS OLD AND HAVE SEEN PLENTY OF CUSTOMER SERVICE PROBLEMS IN MY LIFE!). WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? IT'S UNBELIEVABLE. JUST GROW A DAMN BRAIN ALREADY AND START TREATING PEOPLE RIGHT, OR AT LEAST QUIT LYING ABOUT YOUR "CUSTOMER SERVICE" IN YOUR ANNOYING COMMERCIALS. I AM SHARING MY STORY WITH THE PUBLIC HERE, AND ALL MY FRIENDS, AND ANYTIME THE SUBJECT OF BANKING COMES UP, THIS STORY WILL BE TOLD.

WHAT UTTER AND COMPLETE ###S YOU MUST BE TO SOMEHOW GET IT THAT PEOPLE WANT GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE, THEN TREAT PEOPLE LIKE CRAP WHO NEED HELP. WHOEVER IS THE HEAD OF CUSTOMER SERVICE SHOULD BE INSTANTLY CANNED IN MY OPINION. IS GEORGE BUSH MOONLIGHTING THERE BY ANY CHANCE? SEEMS LIKE IT.

I WILL HAVE A PARTY THE DAY YOU ARE SWALLOWED UP BY SOME OTHER BANKING INSTITUTE, AND I WON'T HAVE TO SEE YOUR [censored] SPOTS ON TV AGAIN. I dare anyone from Wamu to reply to this. I'd love to hear a good excuse for all this. I hereby give permission for this website to give my name and phone # to any Wamu rep who contacts you and wants to talk to me personally. MAKE MY DAY PUNK! LETS HEAR IT. TELL ME HOW SORRY YOU ARE THAT THIS IS HAPPENING AND HOW YOU WILL TAKE CARE OF IT PERSONALLY. - I F***ING DARE YOU. GROW SOME BALLS - CALL ME, (THE CUSTOMER YOU CARE SO MUCH ABOUT)-LOL.

WHAT A BUNCH OF SCREWUPS! ENOUGH SAID.

The same thing happened to me. I went from 8% to 22%! I owe a lot on that card and my minimum payment went up about 100 a month. They said that the interest hike was in the updated terms and conditions, sorry, you should have read it. I told them were to shove it and closed the account. I had it for eight years, never made a late payment. Now I'm stuck paying this huge amount of interest. Jerks!

Don't use this bank if you will ever need customer service (see other reviews! Believe me, You'll need it!). The customer service calls are answered all over the world, including Manilla Phillipines. In addition, they can't speak English. They can't even pronounce Washington Mutual, which was sad. Once I was tired of repeating and respelling things over and over to many different people, I asked if they were in the US and they lied to me and said they were in the Seattle area. I asked them a very simple geography question about the Seattle area and they had no clue what the answer was. I was later told that they were instructed not to tell the customers that they were out of the country, but that rule has since changed.

I went into my branch to discuss this with someone and what I got was a haughty, indignant attitude from the manager, who loudly told me that outsourcing was now industry standard, and I would not find another bank that did things differently. I then listed at least 5 banks in the immediate area that are locally owned and calls were answered in our own city. He then tried to change the subject, "So, then what can I do for YOU?"

I called Corporate office and the nice lady that answered said that it was pretty unpopular with the customers, but that the call outsourcing was a corporate decision that she could not change. She said that the best thing to do would be to voice your opinion at the corporate level and possibly if enough people call or close their accounts, the "suits" might sit up and take notice.

I have been a customer for almost 20 years and I am going to a local bank. Do yourself a favor, THINK LOCAL... use a Credit Union, or a local bank, something other than this huge monstrosity of a company.

Don't use this bank if you will ever need customer service (see other reviews! Believe me, You'll need it!). The customer service calls are answered all over the world, including Manilla Phillipines. In addition, they can't speak English. They can't even pronounce Washington Mutual, which was sad.

Once I was tired of repeating and respelling things over and over to many different people, I asked if they were in the US and they lied to me and said they were in the Seattle area. I asked them a very simple geography question about the Seattle area and they had no clue what the answer was. I was later told that they were instructed not to tell the customers that they were out of the country, but that rule has since changed.

I went into my branch to discuss this with someone and what I got was a haughty, indignant attitude from the manager, who loudly told me that outsourcing was now industry standard, and I would not find another bank that did things differently. I then listed at least 5 banks in the immediate area that are locally owned and calls were answered in our own city. He then tried to change the subject, "So, then what can I do for YOU?"

I called Corporate office and the nice lady that answered said that it was pretty unpopular with the customers, but that the call outsourcing was a corporate decision that she could not change. She said that the best thing to do would be to voice your opinion at the corporate level and possibly if enough people call or close their accounts, the "suits" might sit up and take notice.

I have been a customer for almost 20 years and I am going to a local bank. Do yourself a favor, THINK LOCAL...use a Credit Union, or a local bank, something other than this huge monstrosity of a company.

On many occasions I have incurred overdraft fees. Usually I incur these from transactions taking 2 weeks to show up! When I ask wamu to reverse these fees not only does it take them literally two weeks to respond to me but then they say there is nothing that can be done because it is bank error. Recently I had a 6.00 charge go through that wasn't supposed to the company refunded my 6.00 but I am still stuck with a 30.00 fee! When I e-mailed Wamu regarding this and said I could show proof that it was not my fault they said there was nothing they could do since it was not bank error and that I should take it up the merchant who caused the overdraft. They even say on their account information that we are allowed one free overdraft fee reversal a year I have yet to obtain that yet. Their customer service sucks, their website is slow and always has issues, and transactions take forever to show up. I have a Wells Fargo account too and almost (very very rarley) have any issues especially with overdraft fees. I even have overdraft protection set up on my Wells account and it works perfect. I have asked for the same from WAMU but they never respond and let me know how. And calling on the phone is an even bigger joke their reps are rude and unhelpful it is always well, their is nothing I can do about that for you today.

To everyone who is having problems with WAMU:

I have also had some problems and did some research. You can actually report them to the feds and they will investigate. Though it takes a little while - it WILL be helpful if everyone who has a complaint contacts them.

You should contact:

San Francisco Regional Office

Pacific Plaza
2001 Junipero Serra Boulevard, Suite 650
Daly City, California [protected]
Telephone: [protected]
Fax: [protected]

Mail: P.O. Box 7165
San Francisco, California [protected]

http://www.ots.treas.gov/pagehtml.cfm?catnumber=81

Good luck with your problems in getting them resolved!

I have two homes financed with Washington Mutual. Both loans were sold to that company by the original lender. I also have a credit card through WaMu. In dealing with the company in both mortgage and card departments I have found wait times to speak to a representative to be sometimes in excess of 30 minutes. Service reps are both uncaring and unmotivated, and supervisors are rude and cold.

We recently were forced to spend many hours working some of these people because those in their processing departments either cannot read or comprehend simple documents. After changing home insurers and sending proof of insurance to WaMu, we find that their clerks cannot tell the difference between a proof of insurance and a bill. Consequently, even though I had paid the insurer myself, WaMu proceeded to disburse funds from my escrow accounts to the insurance company -- not just once but THREE TIMES IN 72 HOURS... AND OUT OF THE WRONG ACCOUNTS. Next thing I find is that one escrow account is depleted by several hundred dollars and the second is down in the negative balance column.

Their card services are just as bad. Reps are surly and some cannot speak the language clearly. Statements are made which are not true and accurate and calling to correct errors is usually an ordeal. I have closed the card account after only 5 months. Obviously the house mortgages are not so easily disposed of. However, I am a very successful real estate broker who is frequently in a position to influence buyer decisions regarding lenders and financing details. Enough is enough. I'm tired of the crap, rude behavior, broken promises and poor service from those that expect me to pay them. I will do without rather than do business with WaMu again.

After over three years of sterling payment history wtih Washington Mutual on two different Visa cards issued by them, I opened one of the two bills this month to find they had jacked my APR to 24.99 percent, a full 8 percent! I was advised by someone at customer service who spoke English as a second language that I was "sent a notice in November 2007 that explained if you do not close your account, you agree to an increase (repricing) of your interest rate up to 24.99 percent." Of course they hid that in the fine print of a paper bill that I have no use for, as I do all of my payments online, not through the mail. I tried to get them to reverse the rate hike back to the original interest rate given my past loyalty, sterling payment history, etc., but they could only "apologize for the inconvenience." I asked them to close my account and now I'lll have to take forever to pay off the outstanding balance thanks to the jacked up interest rate. Another very unhappy Washington Mutual customer here...

Washington Mutual's "business" practices, if you can call grand larceny that, are unconscionable and outrageous. My interest rate was also jacked over 24 percent, and for no good reason, as my debt to income ratio is hardly a "credit risk." I also pay my bills on time with them every single month over three years and have always paid more than the minimum, often paying a multiple of the minimum. Thankfully, we can all vote with our wallets by closing our accounts with them and paying them off as quickly as possible so they can't get another dime of our money.

Well here I go again another bad complaint about washington mutual, this time was a fee of 60.00 that I was never told of via phone when I made the request to have some past statements sent to me...of course they said when I call to get it back that this is somewhere written in the customer fees in one of there many small fineprints ...I am sure it is ...what is wrong about it is that this was never told to me when I asked about getting copies of my statements...why is it that they have such bad customer service ...I am much more than just unhappy I am mad 60.00 bucks does not come easy for someone like myself and I know that this is there way to just ripp off the customer and get as much money out of us ...but no more I am taking what little they left in my account and going elsewhere, this gal is gone and I hope that who ever reads this and is considerng using them think twice and browse the web to read other complaints like mine...I have one more thing to say to WAMU hope you enjoy my 60 bucks and put them where the sun don't shine...cause that 60 it's all your going to get from me..no more. well maybe more complaints on other sites...see ya.

Opened my WAMU bill today and I see 2 aprs. A current one at 21% and a previous one at 11%. I called customer service and an "english as a 2nd language" speaking rep told me I would get a letter in 10 days. I told him my question was simple and if he couldn't answer me, to transfer me to a supervisor. The supervisor informed me that a notice was in my bill 2 months ago telling me my rate was going up January 1 and if I used the card after that date I would be using it with the new rate of 21%. I told her I pay on line and shred the paper copies. I asked her why my rate was increased since I always pay my credit cards on time. She said they periodically do a customer assesment. I told her that was GOOD TO KNOW! and abrubtly hung up the phone. I am now on line finding a good transfer rate from one of my other cards so I can pay them off and close the account. I'm not a happy WAMU customer either.

I went to a Wamu ATM to deposit funds into my account to allow me opportunities to purchase merchandise utilizing my debit card. To my surprise my account had been overdrawn -$71.+ dollars. I went into the branch office in downtown Portland to discuss my account and I was greeted by a bank rep. with a nonchalant attitude. I felt that my concerns would be treated as invalid and would be given negative attention, so I ask to speak to another bank rep., reluctantly my request was granted. It was then explained to me that a check for the amount of $2.25 that may have been written some time ago was charge against my account, over drawing my balance by $. -08. That action cause two other debit purchases of $1.59 and $.31 to be charged overdraft fees, making my balance $-71.+, talking about even exchange. But that’s not the just of it. I just paid overdraft fees of $-78 last month on small transactions. So I called myself watching my balance real closely this time, making sure there was no pending transaction or anything and as always, it seems when ever I get close to my last cents a surprise transaction pops up just at an opportune time to make my balance negative. As though, the system is set to eclipse ones balance. I ask the bank rep. for the regional office phone number and she refused me. I find out I can't trust Wamu and after I've settle this affair, I will be done with them!

Used WAMU for 3 years, no problems. Had several debits show up from credit report companies. Complained to WAMU who declined to remove the charges until after I called several times. When I called 800 number to inquire why these charges kept showing up, found out the 800 number was in the Philippines? WHY THE PHILIPPINES?

I have wamu credit card and each month I paid balance full. This last billing cycle I have over $1000 purchased on the account and I made 2 payments within same billing cycle and paid the amount in full; when I received my statement for this month it shows that my account has a balance so I inquire about it and they couldn't give me clear explanation for the finance charges on there; they was 2 diff. charges on there for purchases-current cycle and purchases-previous cycle. I never saw any credit card that has 2 purchase cycles. and for something that was already paid full finance charge should not accrue since it was paid within the same billing cycle.

If WAMU was set up correctly, the card should be declined upon there being no money in the account. Instead, they tap fee charges onto the account to make money. The advancements in technology should allow for improvements in life and not for degradation of a customers life. I had 5 overdraft charges that occurred all in one day cumulating to about $170. WAMU refunded only one of these charges and left me stuck with the rest of the FEE charges. I think it's a big bank scam. If i have no money in one of my accounts, the card should just be declined! If I go to a store that accepts only cash and I don't have any cash then I can't spend it. A debit card should work the same way. Instead, I have no money in the account, WAMU makes it worse by adding in FEE charges to compound the problem. How does that make any sense? How is that being helpful to customers? I am not a 'huge' fan of BOFA, but I must admit that BOFA has been much much more courteous about reversing charges then WAMU.

I am going through a divorce and part of the temporary settlement was for my husband to give me 3000 to assist me in moving to a new home. I deposited 1500 in cash and a 30 check in the ATM because the branch was closed.

I was moving in the next morning, so I wrote two checks to the apartment complex for my security deposit and first month's rent. I also wrote a check to my cable company for installation. Over the past week and a half, I've had to write a few more checks for household goods, a doctor's visit and groceries.

I was informed that My two checks to my apartment complex were returned as NSF because Washington Mutual put all of my funds on hold. My direct Deposit went in last friday, and all but 100 of that was put on hold as well. I had two small checks that would be covered by the

Updated On: Monday, May 12, 2008

One of the ridiculous messages I got:

NSF Transaction Amount Action Fee Date
Check 0009 283.56 Returned 0.00 50808
Check 0010 30.64 Returned 0.00 50808

As of the time this notice was generated (which may be later than the time the transactions were presented), the available balance in your account was 533.33.

Even better:

Thanks for contacting WaMu. I'd be happy to assist you and apologize for
the delay in responding to your request.

I apologize for the inconvenience. Our records indicate there were four
checks returned. You did not receive any fee for each of these checks.
There was a check returned on May 6, 2008; one on May 7, 2008; and two
on May 8, 2008.

As you requested, the records for your account have been reviewed.
Unfortunately, the following items were returned unpaid:

- Check 6 in the amount of 750
- Check 7 in the amount of 931
- Check 9 in the amount of 283.56
- Check 10 in the amount of 30.64

The ledger balance in your account on May 6, 2008, was 1, 417.21.
However, part of your deposit in the amount of 1, 530 that posted on May
5, 2008 is due to expire as the date of May 12, 2008. The funds will be
available on May 13, 2008.

The original cash deposit was made on MAY 3rd. Another deposit was made on MAY 6th. A payroll direct deposit was made on MAY 9th. There were more than enough funds to cover all of these transactions.

I was informed that WaMu posts all debits prior to posting any credits. So if my payroll deposit goes in at midnight, any and all debits will be posted prior to the direct deposit. I have seen my direct deposit not get posted until 4PM.

Avoid this company at all costs.

My father passed away on 01/03/08 and has a line of credit $250, 000.00 with Washington Mutual. The line of credit is being used by my brother Steven B. Pierce for his personal use and I am not even sure if Washington Mutual knows my father has passed away. There is a trust and Stven B. Pierce is spending the money that would be apart of the inheritance for the one stated in a Pierce trust. I am included in the trust along with my sister Linday Anderson.

My brother is living in my fathers home. The only thing that has cash value is my fathers home. My complaint is why is Washington Mutual allowing a line of credit to be spent when my brother does not work and he could never pay back the continued line of credit that is being drawn from my fathers line of credit for Steven B. Pierce's personal use.

Wamu offered me an option to select bi-monthly payments for automatic withdraw payments on a 4-unit apartment building I just bought and I made the payment for the following month and figured auto payment was set up, but they don't allow bi-monthly payments on rental property even though it was a selection on the paper work they gave me. So, I didn't pay the month after I sent in the paper work, I figured a month and three weeks was more than enough time for auto pay to be set up, but it wasn't. They put my property to a forecloser agency right away. I paid the month that the auto payment didn't take affect and filled out the auto payment paper work again. I filled out the paperwork like the first time, because they said they never received the paper work on the first setup. The same thing happened again, that is when they told me that bi-monthly payments were not accepted. They gave me two lates to the credit agencies and ruined my credit. I thought I was the customer to be catered to? Wamu is the worse company I have ever dealt with, there should be a class action law suit against them for bad business practices. Wamu puts you on hold for 10 to 45 minutes, dropped calls all the time when they transfer you to another department that knows nothing and not working with the customer to lower interest rates, they are more interested in foreclosures then helping anyone. Wamu is the worse company by far I have ever worked with. Please stay away from Washington Mutual at all cost.

I have more then just one complaint for this company. So let's start on day one... I opened my checking and savings account with about $3000 in cash. So all the girl needed to do was DEPOSIT. But instead the bank teller decided to TRANSFER an extra $1000 from someone else's account into mine at the same time. So as the days went on I paid bills and went shopping and kept tracking the numbers in my little check book. Also, the savings account was pulling money out of the checking every month just like it was supposed to. All of a sudden two months later Washington mutual withdrawals $1000 from my savings account which was supposed to only have about $150 in it. The only thing the transaction history said was «amount owed to WaMu." huh? So I called and told them what happened. The man said he would look into it and call me back. (I never heard from him again) BUT they made sure to pull the $1000 from the correct account...my checking. So I was exactly -$850 in my savings and -$500 in my checking. I called and they told me that even though it was a bank error I did spend the money and had to pay it back. They closed both my accounts and I had to pay $850 then they returned the extra $1000 that they took from my checking. THEY NEVER RETURNED THE OVERDRAFT CHARGES! And now I just learned they sent my "claim" to a business that puts your name on a list that pretty much lets every bank know you can't open an account...for 10 years!

Luckily I already had another account opened. It was a Washington mutual account but it was the only one I could use. Recently some of their policies have changed. My hair dresser of three years accidentally charged my card twice. So instead of $250 being taken out she charged $500 and overdrew my account. I called her to let her know and she said she would put it back no problem. Then I called wamu to tell them that she would fix it and they could reverse the overdraft charges. They informed me, once more, that it was not a bank error and that they would not reverse the overdraft charge. I'm sorry but that means I have to pay for something that is definitely not my fault. They told me to call the merchant and have them pay the fee. So now I have to call my sweet hairdresser who made an honest mistake and tell her to, practically, give me back the tip I gave her that day. Unbelievable! Thank god my hairdresser uses a credit card company and it was their fault so they are going to pay for it. But still. Washington mutual just got $30 for free...something is wrong here. If the mistake had not happened they would never have taken out that $30. And it didn't mess up there funds...it was mine so I should get the extra $30 if anyone.

The point is Washington mutual will find any way to STEAL money from you! DO NOT BANK WITH THEM!

I have to agree. I made two deposits into my accounts. Both deposits were checks written from a money market account, so they should have been as good as cash, right? 5 days later, the checks still haven't cleared. This is in spite of the the fact that I called WAMU twice during the week to confirm that the funds would be available on the 5th day. Finally, I emailed them, and was told that they would be holding the funds for one more day. No reason given, just that it's their policy. So, why wasn't I told that when I made the deposits or when I called to confirm? Nobody knows. I can't wait to close these accounts and I would never do business with WAMU again. I can see why so many of their branches are closing.

A.

Maybe you should manage your life better and not have any OD fees.

I have been working in customer service for about 4 years now, and never had I ever been mistreated by a rep ever. They make bill collectors seem nice.

One day I was depositing a check that my sister gave to me, and they denied it saying that my account is under fraud investigation. Due to the fact that I was making to many deposits (Cash deposits)

so I called the customer service to see what was going on- they transferred me to Fraud Risk Operation. Let me tell you, she (Debra) was trying to make out to be a criminal. She told me that my checking account was going to be closed and my card was going to be deactivated, I was begging and pledging with her that I can assure her that this is not a fraud issues and she just kept interrupting me and speaking over me. I had asked her for her name over and over she just told me that she didn’t want to give me that information. After repeatedly of me asking her for her name I finally got it.

Finally, after I was asking for her advice and possible help to resolve this issue she told me that I should have not been a fraud criminal and I should be held accountable for my actions then she hung up in me.

So now I need to do further research to make sure that my voice is heard.

It is time to do something about credit card lenders such as WAMU who practice deception in their credit lending practices!

I have been a customer with WAMU since 6/2000 with a perfect payment history. To my surprise, when I opened my latest statement my interest rate jumped from 5.99% to 16.34% to now 25.29% all within 6 months.

What kills me is that I have not been late on any other credit account that could warrant such a drastic measure on WAMU's part. This Ladies & Gentleman is called "LEGALIZED LOAN SHARKING!" And trust me when I tell you that I am going to do something about it.

I called WAMU this afternoon and successfully spoke to 1 Customer Service Rep, 2 Supervisors & 1 Customer Relations person. I had to kindly ask them to stop apologizing and giving me the typical sterile and robotic answers that they dish out to customers and start taking responsibility and accountability for what they are doing to their customers.

At first they tried to state that they periodically review customers accounts and change interest rates based on their review. When I asked them what my FICO was, they stated that they were not allowed to discuss that with me. I advised them that that is not a correct statement because legally they are not allowed to run a full credit report on me and that the truth is that my excellent credit score had nothing to do with it. Then they stated that my credit limit on my account was high. When I asked them who set my credit limit, they advised me it was them. When I asked them to specify what area of a signed agreement noted that if I used my credit line, it would increase my credit rate, and they advised me they did not know.

So in recapping my conversations with all of them I stated:

" So let me understand this...I have been a perfect paying customer for 8 years, you don't have any idea legally what my FICO score is and you don't know who really authorized this unjust credit rate increase and there is nothing you can do about this? - Well here was my answer to them...Isn't the real problem is that your CEO in April was asked to resign by the stockholders for mismanaging the home loans turning WAMU into a foreclosure nightmare? Isn't this the real reason that you are picking on your good paying customers is because your company made horrible financial mistakes and now you want to tap the good paying customers for more money? If they consider me a risk, how does jacking up my rate 10% and increasing my payment by $100.00 a month solve mine or their problems? Or are they just like the large oil corporations who increased the gasoline prices 125% in the last 12 months, or the food industry who increased all of the food prices by 38%, or the water company who increased water usage by 50% starting July 2008?

I really get it now...so all large corporations are all squeezing us to death. Well I am not going to take it any more! It is time to go after them & my first mission is WAMU and it is for Loan Sharking.

I will get in touch with Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), who chairs the key House subcommittee with jurisdiction over unfair credit practices, along with Reps. Mark Udall (D-CO), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Lincoln Davis (D-TN). They are among the now 61 sponsors of the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights Act, HR 5244, introduced by Rep. Maloney.

If this does not work, I suggest that we all quit our jobs (if we even have one right now), collect unemployment & declare bankruptcy. That would allow us to completely dissolve our credit card bills (that we have all been using to pay for bare essentials because we can not possibly keep up with the cost of living) and allow us to make reorganized mortgage payments and get food stamps (to help pay for the inflated food costs.)

The Banks and Lending Institutions have financially ruined this country. I don't feel sorry for them at all. I hope the stock market crashes and we fire and imprison all of our elected officials for doing a crappy job! I am sick of all of these messes and look out because I am going after all of them...starting right now!

In June of this year I was lied to by teller & two managers at Washington mutual, branch at down town bklyn - fulton st.& coney islad &east 16th both in bklyn, Both had me to take time off from work to get check approved needed different id., wire money. Once I got the id they said I needed for my check to be approved, they said I had to wait. You advertised no fee for wire transfer I paid both times 20.00 I had an account with this bank (dime savings) for more than 20 years. Train these managers to tell the truth.

These complaints are so accurate with the terrible service that WaMu provides. I opened my account in 5/08 with a mgr from the branch. He said that my local check (which was one city away) would be held for only 2day. He also informed me that if I do not have enough money in my checking account, I have overdraft protection and that money will be taken out of my savings into my checking.

Always early on paying my bills, I mailed two checks (giving WaMu not 2days but 5days to take my check out of hold), when the checks hit my account, they both bounced. Being a responsible citizen, I had time to research why I was dealing with this issue. I called the mgr at the branch who informed me that my checks would actually be held for 10day not 2days for the first 30days my account was opened. I allowed myself not to make this a bigger issue by letting it slide.

My issue became a nightmare. I used my debit card religiously being informed that I will be protected with my overdraft protection through my savings. When I calculated my account, I was charge an overdraft of $165. I called customer service and all they said, "there are no bank errors on my acct. and the fees will not be waived." When I explained that I was misinformed when I opened my acct., they pretty much called me an idiot by not reading their pamphlet instead of trusting the mgr. misinformation he provided. Warning: when there are advertisements that says Free Checking...DONT BELIEVE THEM. Washington mutual has made a killing ($) off of me in the short amount of time I've been with them.

I have had a Washington Mutual master-card for about 8 yrs. I have repeat-edly requested my account be reviewed to lower my interest rate(presently @ 31.99%). I received an offer from "wamu" @ 12.99% 'PREAPPROVED'rate and a transfer bal. of 0%. I spoke to the customer service rep and she told me because my account was older than 90 days she could not honor the offer.The agreement does not state ANYWHERE terms of this nature. (product #222T92E) I have been an excellent Cardholder with a good track history, (with no consideration). I think this offer is truly not honest and over the past eight years they keep telling me they'll review my account, HELLO? In hindsight I think this is wrong. (p.s.--the highest card I hold has a 15.99% and lowest is 8.99. There's nothing wrong with my credit. Help. Chana Fonte.

I feel your pain! I have 2 mortgages with WaMu. I own 2 rental properties and after I refinanced them, Washington Mutual bought the loans. For a couple of years I had no problems with WaMu. However, they seem to be in dire financial straits now. My mortgage payments are due on the 1st, but as typical with most mortgages, you have a grace period until the 16th of each month. I have always made the payment toward the end of the grace period because-since these are rental properties-I wait until my tenants pay the rent then use the money to make the mortgage payment. For some reason, WaMu starts calling me by the 3rd of the month even though according to our agreement, I am not considered late until after the 16th. The call center person is very push trying to get me to make a phone payment. The call starting at 8am and continue to call until 10pm AND since I have 2 mortgages with them, I get double the calls.

There is no one at WaMu to appeal to. The Call Center is in Costa Rica and they barely understand english let alone non-harassment laws in our country.

I am thinking of going into my local WaMu branch and throw a major hissy fit or find out the names and contact #s for the Chairman of the Board and call him/her relentlessly.

Does anyone out there have any ideas on how I can stop this harassing?

Washington Mutual is involved in Fraudulent Business Practices. This conduct is considered a Criminal Conduct under the laws of the State of New York. We need to file a Class Action Law Suit against them. I will be filling a personal law suit for such fraud against them, soon. My son has also been cheated about $100 per month for fraudulent interest charges. So, we should have a good possibility to move the court to turn our law suit into a class action type to cover all the people that have been cheated by WaMu. If interested to be included in our law suit send me an email at "darius_55419@yahoo" with your specifics.

When I recieved my recent statement I noticed that my interest rate had increased from 8.99 to 17.99. I called wamu and was told they sent me a notice in April 2008. They said that I had the opportunity to opt out and close my account at that time. The credit reporting agency is TransUnion. I looked at wamu's sight under creditat a glance. The information is incorrect. So I sent an inquiry to Transunion. I am awaiting there response.
I had a bankruptcy in 2004 due to a stroke. But since that time I have not had a late payment or any other reason for this action. I believe this is a sceam to get more revenue. I plan on reporting this to the fair credit reporting agency.