Sometimes I REALLY hate online banking.

[tplyons]

So, I've got two checking accounts. One at a bank I use all the time, and the other at TD Bank (formerly Commerce Bank) that I use to save up for a rainy day.

Long story short, I went to check my balance online and couldn't remember what I told them my favorite movie was two years ago. Locked out of my own account, and when I called them to unlock my account, they wanted to know the last time I used my debit card.

Well, since it's a rainy day fund, I don't carry the debit card and haven't used it since November 2007. That wasn't recent enough, so they couldn't unlock my account. I've written a half dozen checks out of there in the three years I've had the account, and have used it to primarily hold money for buying bass gear after selling other bass gear... meaning all my transactions are done via EFT through Paypal.

They won't unlock me because I don't use the account every day. They may have just pushed me towards closing the account, since the cute teller no longer works there...

Just ranting, that's all.

[SoComSurfing]

I hate the system my bank uses. I can't sign-up for it because my accounts are listed as employee accounts. My brother opened one while he worked for that bank, then I set-up the others when I worked there. 5 years ago. They were just rolling out the online banking system, and employees weren't allowed access to it so not to "clog the system". No big deal since we had access daily anyways. Now, the older employee accounts were grandfathered-in to the online banking ban. New employee accounts have no problem with it. The only way to get the "employee" tag off of my accounts is to totally close them and open new ones. More of a PITA than it's worth.

[NJL]

i have four accounts.. one of them will be an issue once i need to put money there..

the funniest thing was with online bill pay:

i paid the water company the amount of my mortgage payment instead of the 40 bucks that i owed. they didn't want to give my refund.. well: my old staffer is their director of govt relations.. she fixed it and had them refund me my money

bastards

[Sonic_Death]

I do not use a debit with commerce bank anymore for the same exact reason. I seldomly use my debit, and when I do it is just for bass gear. I think I used it with an ATM maybe once only. After a while I found out when my paypal wouldn't work that my account was locked because of inactivity. I just canceled my debit card right there and opened up it at a separate bank. I still have a credit card with the account at TD though.

[tplyons]

Originally Posted by Sonic_Death

I do not use a debit with commerce bank anymore for the same exact reason. I seldomly use my debit, and when I do it is just for bass gear. I think I used it with an ATM maybe once only. After a while I found out when my paypal wouldn't work that my account was locked because of inactivity. I just canceled my debit card right there and opened up it at a separate bank. I still have a credit card with the account at TD though.

Well, the account is still active, I made a transfer a while ago. I write checks out of there and did a few months ago. The only problem, is she couldn't verify my ownership of the account with a check, but only a debit card transaction.

Needless to say, I have to go down to a branch to sort this out. While I'm there, I may close the account.

[Rune Bivrin]

I've done online banking since '96. It rocks! I've tried 4 different banks, but the one I use now is the one I started with back then. They use a DigiPass, which is a physical device for identification, so I'm not tied to a specific browser version, machine or provider. It just works. They even have a special mobile service for smart phones.

One identification, and then I access all my accounts and loans in that bank.

I just wish I had some money in those accounts

[D Rokk]

i work for the CEO of commerce bank (at his real estate company).. my entire office hates that bank but no one will tell him what is wrong with it..

i got my money out of commerce years ago.. got tired of the BS... just cashing my check from work here is an extreme chore at that bank...

unfortunatley my mortgage is thru M&T bank which is far worse than Commerce IMO..

i had my money in Integrity bank for a while (commerce's huge rival in the area, headed up by commerce's former CEO) but they got as bad as commerce itself.

so now.. i keep my money in Member's 1st.. never once had a problem in 5 years

[rustynuts]

Originally Posted by tplyons

They won't unlock me because I don't use the account every day. They may have just pushed me towards closing the account, since the cute teller no longer works there...

I've never had a problem with my bank, but if I ever ran into a brick wall like that I'd give them two choices: Unlock my account, or give me a check for the balance right now.

[tplyons]

Originally Posted by rustynuts

I've never had a problem with my bank, but if I ever ran into a brick wall like that I'd give them two choices: Unlock my account, or give me a check for the balance right now.

Yeah, they can write me a $26 check

[Pilgrim]

I find the problem with online services is that their IT departments so security crazy and see the world from their own eyes. They FORCE you to choose some stupid ID and Password that's so convoluted and obscure that there's no way you can remember it. They completely lose sight of the fact that they are there to provide customer service, NOT to frustrate the snot out of their customers.

I don't WANT a minimum 8-character password that includes at least one special character which is neither alpha nor numeric! I don't WANT to choose a username which is completely unlike anything I use anywhere!

And when THEY choose the safety questions to retrieve a lost password, they usually make assumptions and provide questions I can't answer. Let me set up my own question and answer - then I'll be able to remember the answer!

So - you know how I remember those?

I email them to myself, then drop that email into a "Subscriptions" folder I created in my email. THERE'S great security for you!!

[anyonefortennis]

(This is coming from someone that coded an on line banking app used by about 1600 banks) The FFIEC passed a law that by the end of 2007, all banks needed to have a multi factor authentication mode for on-line banking. That's when you saw all these picture thingys and digipass devices come into the market. Unfortunately, most of this stuff is required by law.

[tplyons]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

I find the problem with online services is that their IT departments so security crazy and see the world from their own eyes. They FORCE you to choose some stupid ID and Password that's so convoluted and obscure that there's no way you can remember it. They completely lose sight of the fact that they are there to provide customer service, NOT to frustrate the snot out of their customers.

I don't WANT a minimum 8-character password that includes at least one special character which is neither alpha nor numeric! I don't WANT to choose a username which is completely unlike anything I use anywhere!

And when THEY choose the safety questions to retrieve a lost password, they usually make assumptions and provide questions I can't answer. Let me set up my own question and answer - then I'll be able to remember the answer!

So - you know how I remember those?

I email them to myself, then drop that email into a "Subscriptions" folder I created in my email. THERE'S great security for you!!

Yep, this is the worst. In a file folder I have my passwords to every account I have. Why? Because every account I have has a different requirement for username or password, or both. Then there's security questions...

What's your favorite movie?!?! I thought it was Gone in 60 Seconds, then I thought it might be the Rock, then I tried James Bond. Who the hell knows how I answered this question three years ago. This is getting ridiculous.

[rustynuts]

Originally Posted by tplyons

Yeah, they can write me a $26 check

Had to laugh, sorry. That's almost not worth the effort, is it?

[tplyons]

Originally Posted by rustynuts

Had to laugh, sorry. That's almost not worth the effort, is it?

Nope, not really.

But on the other hand, it IS my rainy day fund after all.

And in this economy, it's been pretty rainy.

[MakiSupaStar]

Credit Union. FTW

[rustynuts]

I hear you there. I keep my rainy day fund in one of those "can banks". A few years ago my niece gave me a Mtn Dew can bank which sits on a shelf with several other Mtn Dew cans and every now and then I open it up and toss in a ten or a twenty. I've been lucky in that, so far, rainy days haven't really bothered me but it's nice to know that if the ATM machines stop working and banks go belly up I'll still be able to eat for a week and drive back and forth to work for the same period.

[rustynuts]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

Credit Union. FTW

Perhaps not all credit unions are created equal, but my mom keeps her money in a credit union and it's a MAJOR pain in the ***. And yet she's so hard headed that she won't leave them.

[UnsungZeros]

Originally Posted by tplyons

Yeah, they can write me a $26 check

That explains your poor customer service experience.

[tplyons]

Originally Posted by rustynuts

I hear you there. I keep my rainy day fund in one of those "can banks". A few years ago my niece gave me a Mtn Dew can bank which sits on a shelf with several other Mtn Dew cans and every now and then I open it up and toss in a ten or a twenty. I've been lucky in that, so far, rainy days haven't really bothered me but it's nice to know that if the ATM machines stop working and banks go belly up I'll still be able to eat for a week and drive back and forth to work for the same period.

I used to do that, in a Big Muff wooden box when EHX still used them. I used to throw all my tips from the lumberyard in there plus $20 out of every paycheck. After about a year I had over a grand saved. Went straight to the credit card...

[popinfresh]

Your rainy day account has 26 dollars in it?

Better hope it only spits a light shower