Becoming a better bank customer
It has been quite an education blogging on the badness of Washington Mutual and Chase Bank over the last five years. I am amazed at the number of negative experiences, pitfalls, and amount of bad behavior of those two banks. While many banks seem to have a business model based more on tricking you than serving you, the success of that model depends heavily on the ignorance of consumers and their continued tendency to make uninformed and simply bad choices.
An article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday (The New Bank Fees: How to Fight Back) tells us what is on the horizon: More fees whose details are not spelled out prominently, but hidden in the mundane paperwork we receive from from our banks.
The sad thing is, going from bank victim to savvy customer is not that difficult.
The first and foremost thing you can do to become a better bank customer is to read everything you get from your bank. Personally, I scan and save copies of all paperwork I receive, including and especially that paperwork which spells out the terms and conditions of my account. This allows me to not only know what conditions I am bound by, but also see how they’ve changed over time. Reading my bank paperwork can easily catch changes in minimum required payment, due date, and interest rate, all things that can trip customers up. Reading over all of your paperwork also includes reviewing all charges on your account to identify possible fraud early and contacting your bank if you see anything that doesn’t look right.
Second, know what your options are. If your bank is treating you like they don’t really value you as a customer, shop around for a better alternative. If you bank with one of the big banks like Chase, try looking at credit unions, which Consumer Reports says are a better choice for most banking needs, including and especially credit cards. Services like bankrate.com do a pretty good job of comparing different banks and credit card companies making it easy for you to find the best deal.
Lastly, come on people, stop borrowing more than you can afford to pay back. That is not the way to financial freedom and becoming too debt heavy causes stress and reduces your ability to easily switch banks and credit card companies to get a better deal. If you use a credit card, only spend as much on it as you can afford to pay off every month.
Fees & charges, Tips | admin June 20, 2010
