Washington Mutual

I decided to close my BOA account for all the fees that they charged. Someone told me that "WaMu" would be a good option. 4 months into it I realize it's not. Online banking is never updated, cutoff times change all the time therefore leaving me with over draft fees and most recently I booked a ticket going to Canada via the website orbitz. I recived a fee for 19.51. I come to find out that wamu charged me for booking via orbitz. My advice, be very aware.

I've been with Wamu for about 15 years. It's been generally pretty good for me. Especially compared to those other greed monsters like BofA and Wells Fargo that charge for EVERYTHING. The only negative I'd say is with their online banking. It's more like offline banking. The servers are down constantly. And not just at 11PM or 2AM. It happens all the time workdays at 11AM or 2pm. And it's down for hours not minutes. With Chase taking over, I thought things would be better, but hey that's why I'm writing this now. Online has been offline for the past 2 hours on a Wednesday at 10:20 AM! And of course they "apologize for the inconvenience".

I went to a Wamu sub branch in Auburn,Washington inside a Fred Meyer Store to Open me a new personal account. The tellers were friendly and helpful the personal finance rep was looking out for his best interests

This bank is definitely trying to exploit their customers. I was charge for $2 (twice) for making an ATM inquiry from a non-Wamu ATM. I have banked with other banks but this is the first time i have been charge for something like a balance inquiry from an ATM. Just from this one experience with Wamu's exploiting methods makes me not want to be bank there. Again.

Thank you for using the Better Business Bureau's Online Complaint System. Your complaint has been assigned case # xxxxxxxxxx. A confirmation will be emailed to : xxxxxxxxx Please print a copy of this for your records. Filed on : April 15 2009 Filed by : Timothy Bxxx xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx Filed against : JPMorgan Chase 1301 2nd Ave Seattle WA 98101 Complaint Description: On 4/13 I made two online transfers from my secondary checking account to my primary checking account, one at 11:16pm & the second at 11:37pm. I transferred the funds to cover pending purchases that had not yet posted. The funds were immediately available at the time of the transfer. The next day I had three overdraft charges on my account for charges that had posted at midnight on the 4/13 and the funds transfers were dated 4/14. I immediately (4/14) called online customer service (800-788-7000) to find out what had happened. The first representative I spoke to said that the system was down for maintenance... Read more

I recently had terrible experience with washington mutual. I had a credit card with WAMU which i closed by clearing my outstanding amount. Later i requested an verification document from them saying i do not hav any outstanding balance with wamu which i required for my school loan. this document was required urgently . When i submitted my request some rude representative from customer serivce told me that it will take 24 to 48 bussiness hours for me to get the verification document. i presented my urgency but she was not ready to help . i waited for two days and still didnt get it so i call back wamu to know to my horror that the request was never submitted so i had to re submit it. i call back again after 48 hours to find out that my request has not been processed and it will take another 24 to 48 hrs . i desperately kept calling and requesting , explaining the urgency of the matter , but to no avail . it took wamu 10 days just to issue me a verification document. kudos to wamu fo... Read more

This bank is one of those organizations whose mission is to exploit their customers. Legal exploitation yes, as it once was legal to beat your slave if he wasn’t working hard enough, but Washington Mutual’s behavior is certainly not moral. As customers, we are free market free agents and should shun this bank; but wait, our tax money was given to another bank to prop up Washington Mutual’s failed business model of abusing their clients. Too bad they were not allowed to crash and burn as they deserved. Since taxpayer money was used to keep these swindlers employed, I suggest we write our senators, state representatives, and attorney generals to complain about the outrageous fees and disagreeable practices of this bank. After all, it is your right as an IRS enforced "shareholder."

This bank is aweful. Their customer service is bad. It's bad when you know you can get to their customer service really fast when you want to sign up for a loan. But wait until you have a problem. They have one of those long menu systems on their phone. It takes forever. And if you can't get through, it tells you to call back and hangs up. Try it out yourself. DO NOT GO THROUGH WITH THESE PEOPLE!!!!

Piss poor customer service. They outsourced it to India and they have failed to care about to customer. The fat cats are more concerned with profits for themselves than taking care of you and your finances.

They're OK to deal with.  The tellers are usually friendly, so long as you get one with a basic understanding of elementary school arithmetic.  I really hate the 7 day wait on getting checks cashed, especially when you are carrying a balance larger then the check.  Whatev's WA MU.

I've been with WaMu for over 2 years now and I can say I never had a problem. They are absolutely fair, I don't know what the people below are talking about. Obviously your going to be charged a fee if you are in minues. I think other banks charge even higher fees than WaMu. And every check that is deposited from the city is going to come in on Friday after 12 am ... that's not because of the bank, that's because the city runs their direct deposits that way. So that has nothing to do with the BANK. that one goes to "peakcomp" since she or he said "then posted my unemployment direct deposit at 12 midnight. ". THATS GOES WITH every direct deposit system, how do you not know that? WaMu is the only bank that let me open my account without needing to show them my home bill ... unlike CHASE ... who takes 3 days to deposit checks and I don't feel like going on with them because I have nothing good to say. And the fact that they are going to switch over with CHASE I am really pissed about that... Read more

For the average consumer without "investments", WaMu was the best bank when it came to service without nickle and diming you to death. They deposited your cash into your accounts IMMEDIATELY, unlike other banks like B of the West, who hold even cash deposits until 3pm and then process all the debits before they enter the credits. Personable employees who know you by name after one visit! What a crying shame they've been eaten alive by Chase. Bye, Bye WaMu, hello podunk credit union.

to put it in the most simple way possible... Don't spend money you don't have, and the bank wont charge you. And NEVER take it out on the tellers! They get NO incentive for you getting fees. AND they are not paid to be your whipping boy

I hope anyone reading this realizes that satisfied customers are not likely to google their bank just to leave good remarks so these sorts of sights are pretty biased. I have been with Washington Mutual for the past 5 years. They were the only bank willing to work with me since I had some bad credit from another bank. I tried to open accounts at several banks, but Wamu took the time to tell me what to do to get an account open. i have never had any problems, and I feel their fees are reasonable when compared with other banks. I once had an account with compass bank and if you overdraw your account they will charge you an intial fee of $38 and then a $7 daily fee, and then another $38 a week on top of the daily fees until it is paid off. Washingtom Mutual never puts holds on my deposits which I've had other banks do for weeks, and their system seems to be fast at crediting and debiting things to my account. I, personally, love Wamu.

I have been with WAMU for quite a few years. I recently was separated from my job and am on a limited unemployment income for the time being. Being on an extremely fixed income, they consistently were posting my DEBITS just prior to posting my unemployment CREDIT. I therefore incurred overdraft fees all the time because they posted 3 transactions for instance at 1145pm, and then posted my unemployment direct deposit at 12 midnight. Also, when contacting their telephone customer service - THEY ALL ARE FROM OUT OF THIS COUNTRY AND HARD TO UNDERSTAND. They also, WILL NOT work with you on any issues you have on your account - for instance, my overdraft fees. I switched to Boeing Employees Credit Union.

wamu is the worst bank i have ever used. today they flagged my account for fraud, then when i called, they couldn't even tell me why! so, after holding for 35 minutes to talk to a human being, the guy takes five minutes and tells me my debit card is fine to use now. i say, "immediately, like RIGHT now?" he says, "that's the definition of immediately". so. not only did i have to wait forever but then he was a jerk. THEN, i tried to use my account and it didn't work! so i called back, after holding for TWO hours.. no lie.. TWO HOURS.. i get someone, and we go through the same thing and after they repeatedly tell me my card is fine now, i tried to use it an hour later.. nothing. still doesn't work. i'm marching in there first thing tomorrow morning and closing my account. i strongly advise you to stay the hell away from wamu!!!

I seriously HATE Wamu i am going to close my account tomorrow and move everything to BECU. I have never been on hold this long or have been as frustrated as i am today. It all started when they placed a hold on my debit card becuase of some fraudulant charges. If finding that out is not bad enough, they make it as difficult as possible to speak with an actual representative. Once you get a hold of a rep nobody really wants to help you, instead they start tranfering you and transfering you and transfering you.... To be honest i'm still on hold mid transition as i write this! i have been transfered and on hold at least 8 times already... seriouisly pissed off right now! This is taking over two hours to resolve! What makes mme the an griest is that in the end the problem was resolved with one guy that spoke to me for 5 minutes! I don't understand why I had to talk and be transfered and placed on hold for 2 hours ( not even exagerrating)! I am closing my account tomorrow! BTW i ... Read more

after reading these reviews am debating opening an account with WaMu

I have recently had a bad experience with kathy one of the bank managers in auburn ca. kathy said i needed a seperate account to cash a government check. i have cashed this check several times before so i told her i was going to BofA to cash my check with a little sarcassium in my voice.kathy became angry started acting like a two year old who didnt get her way and threatened to close my account. i have pulled my money from wamu. wamoo doesnt deserve any stars.shame on whamoo wamoo needs to hire adults not children if they wish to change their growing critiziom

I was very excited to start using WaMu, as there are many branches near where I work and live and my other bank, Union Bank, did not have many. Well, I now regret switching. I have never been more frustrated with a bank than with WaMu, trying to set up an external account to transfer extra funds into savings. I set it up, scheduled a transfer, then they deleted it without telling me. I tried to set it up again and the system prevented it. I called, was instructed to go into the bank, where I was instructed to call, which I did and was told that they set the account up for me. They did not. I called again, and I spent maybe 40 minutes on the phone as they walked me through setting up the account again (apparently, I had set it up incorrectly). I verified it again, scheduled a transfer and, lo and behold, they deleted my account again the day the transfer was to go through. I called customer service again, who gave me a different reason why they cancelled it and basically said there is n... Read more

Back in Feb, I went thru a drive up ATM (WAMU, I was in a hurray and forgot to take my card back from the ATM. A day later I couldn't find my card and thought I lost it. My wife and I were starting to call WAMU to cancel the card when we received a call from the WAMU branch saying they had my card. It was determined the best thing to do was to cancel the card and get a new one. The rep at the bank said she would shred my card, cancel it and re-issue a new one. THe new card showed up with a few days(wow that was fast, cool). Now the bad news!! 6 months later a charge for CEBUAIR (philippines air line) showed up on our account along with a foriegn exchange fee resulting several overdraft charges. I called WAMU and refuted the charges and the overdraft, we were not in the Philippines, nor do we know anyone there! when asked which card the charges were on (mine or my wifes) they said the card ending in 6018, well that is the card that was supposed to be cancelled and shredded back in Feb. ... Read more

Washington Mutual credit has turned me over to collections and I am not even 90 days over duue... While B of A and Chase have reduced my interest rates and reversed fees, WM will not work with me at all. I will never stop trashing them for the rest of my life. After being a loyal, perfect customer for years they have no empathy, or smarts whatsoever... If I go bankrupt due to unreasonable expectations and demands then they get nothing. I have no shame that the economy has gone south. My credit report is not my main goal in life. I don't know who will have a good credit report after this recession anyway. I am not going to pay those who are unreasonable when there is not enouugh to go around, but those who are. I'm not doing checks by phone to whoever bugs me the most! Their tactics are what is shameless. Things will turn around and I will remember WM was a MF.

Extremely POOR customer service in their credit card dept. Seems they deem everyone as liars.

WaMu advertised how friendly they were for years -- years during which my wife would wonder why I banked with the sons of bitches at Wells Fargo. Well, poor service is not the worst evil in a bank. If bankers aren't acting like s.o.b.'s, then I start to wonder how stable they are; when the stability goes, so does the kindness. Just a couple of years ago, all you needed to get a home loan at WaMu was a last name and the ability to sign it. Now WaMu is resorting to all kinds of fraud (which my wife has witnessed) to keep itself afloat after those bad borrowers absconded and its stock has dropped 75% in the last year. Won't be long before those poor WaMu customers will be calling the FDIC.

I have recently had the worst experience with Wamu I have ever had with a bank. I had three erroneous charges against my business account. These were charges from an online presence I had never used and had nothing to do with. I immediately notified customer service, we cancelled the affected card and they promised to reverse the charges. Problem solved, right? No. A couple of weeks later I received a letter stating I had to provide the original contract regarding these charges or they would bill them back to my account. Now, how can I provide a contract on a charge I had nothing to do with. I was instructed to call their customer service dept to discuss. I spent a total of 7 HOURS on hold over the course of the next week and never got to speak to a rep. (this resulted in $45 in overcharges on my cell phone). I finally sent an email to customer service and got a form letter, in no way referencing my problem and telling me they were sorry, but I would still have to pay these ... Read more

I don't believe that Washington Mutual even deserves a single star. They have done NOTHING about fraud charges on my account. I have to solve the problems completely on my own, with the companies involved, and that takes months to almost a year.... The so-called "Identity Theft Protection" is complete false advertising (and non-existent), and even AFTER you report a charge as being fraud, they STILL charge you an overdraft. The bank branches will not deal with ANYTHING that has to do with your account other than opening it, deposits, and withdrawals. The Toco Hills, Atlanta, GA assistant-manager was actually VERY rude with me (no wonder her branch closed!) when I tried to deal with such issues. They only deal with you over the phone, which we all know takes all of your minutes up on your cell, with automated service and being on hold. I was transferred from person to person to person, no one could help me, so they transferred me to no one after an hour of holding. I called back, and th... Read more

I had Wells Fargo for 2 years and WAMU for 2 years and honestly, I dont know who's worse. Wells Fargo would charge me anywhere from 2.50 and up for using ATMs plus the seven eleven or gas station would charge me for use on their machine. So basically when I was pulling out 20 bucks, 5 or more of it would go to the bank and/or establishment. All kinds of hidden and non hidden fees on both banks. I have probably dropped a thousand dollars into wamu's fees and their online banking is complete crap. The system is slow and sometimes I would never really know how much money I had. I'm going to sign up for Signature Bank. Dont go with Wells or Wamu.

They are fees for the fees.

After 10yrs., I finally have been jerked around by WaMu to the point I can't take anymore. They have probably robbed thousands of dollars from me in the past few years. their call center is a joke. Just try to call with a problem. Not only do you get a different answer from each call rep, they don't take responsibility for any unnesessary charges! The supervisors are no better...actually worse. They treat you like garbage. It's a shame. 10yrs, and not a good thing to say!

I HAVE NOT HAD ISSUES IN THE PAST 3 YEARS I BEEN WITH THEM.  Actually, I withdrew from bank of america due to outrageous fees! and been doing fine with Wamu ever  since!

Some government agency should prosecute these thieves. They are institutionally dishonest, their customer service is the worst I have seen, and they will cause you as a customer to lose money due to their incompetence, whcih transcends from the banker right up to their back office (which you will get to know as soon as your banker dumps you).

They constantly cheat you... I have had $2 charges that took 6 days to clear, yet I will get a NSF charge on the same day that I get direct deposit? Ridiculous! It was never even pending! I hate this bank and I am looking for a new one!

Wamu is a nightmare. I opened up a savings account with the purpose of saving for Christmas. The account was open in October, along with a tranfer from my checking account. Since the point was to save I did not look or touch the account, just deposited every now in again. I happened to look at a statemen and realized my savings account had no money in it. I went online and I was being charged a $4 dollar fee every month. I went into the branch asked them why I was being charged. They said the new accounts person had not set up the transfer. They reluctantly reversed the fees and "fixed" the problem. The following month I was charged again. Called the 800 number, after a 20 minute hold, the rep said you have to set up the transfer in order to not be charged. They claimed they fixed it but wouldnt reverse the fees because it was not the banks fault. Next month I was charged again. Called again, exact same thing happened. In between all of this I was also emailing the bank thinking I co... Read more

I have had my good days and bad with WAMU. A couple years back, I lost my ATM card so I called them to cancel my card. They asked me if I wanted to change my PIN. I said, "no". They said I would receive a debit card in 5-7 business days. Pretty simple.... When did I actually get my debit card? Almost a month after I reported it. I called WAMU MANY MANY times asking where my card was. The answer, "It should be on its way". It was such a hassle going in and out of the bank and paying for everything with a check. So they sent me my card (finally) and I went to the ATM to deposit money. Wrong PIN number. I went inside the bank and asked them why my PIN number wasn't working. I told them I specifically asked them not to change my PIN when I requested for my new card. The rep said she didn't know what happened, and asked me if I wanted to get a new PIN. So I said, "fine. Assign me one now." She said, "I need your PIN to assign you a new PIN." Um, hello!! They changed my ... Read more

I have to say that I LOVE WAMU!!! Lemme tell you why - Stupid me decided to get a MORTGAGE WITH BANK OF AMERICA. The goddamn STUPIDEST thing i have ever done. They ran us through the RINGER even though they said 1,000 times it's not because you don't make enough money, and you don't have the money, it's because you got married and got presents! Bank of America is the ONLY bank of the planet that does not concider money you get from a wedding YOURS but consider it a possible LOAN. So in an attempt to PROVE that our wedding gifts were real gifts, I was asked to get a copy of EVERY SINGLE CHECK that my weddng guests gave to me, and then show the date on those checks match the marriage certificate date. I HAD OVER 200 PEOPLE AT MY WEDDING, THATS A LOT OF CHECKS! OK, well, the wedding was 2 MONTHS ago and i most definitely DID NOT make a copy of every check I deposited, I only kept the deposit ticket. SOO.. I went out on a limb and called my local bank and told them what I needed.... Read more

Imma give it to you simple and clean. WaMu looks and sounds cool from the distance, no one will deny that; with all of their "supposed to be great" checkings, savings and other services. But if you take a closer look like most of us did you're gonna pay the price. I have NEVER been charged anywhere or even HEARD of a bank that charges people for transfering money between their accounts, like me for example: from checkings to savings; even when there's money enough in both, you still get charged if you transfer money TOO MANY TIMES. WaMu does NOT like when you handle your money they way you NEED to or the way you have to. oh no. WaMu does NOT like when you call customer service because they NEVER HAVE the freaking answer. WaMu loves for you to come back maybe 5 to 7 times to the bank in person to help you fix the problem. WaMu agents, representatives never have the answer or can rarely help you solve a problem. hell nah. WaMu somehow manages to F*ck you over any way possible if yo... Read more

I have been attempting to establish an upper 5-digit relationship with Washington Mutual, only to be massively met by the following: - Extensive online application processing errors, including total loss of application, very conflicting re-application advise from 3 different reps followed by unspecific, unclarified and total loss of applications despite multiple attempts by myself and by several reps. In one attempt, we made sure the rep stayed on the phone with us throughout the online application process. - Advertised 24/7 phone support is incorrect. Hours are 5 am to 7 pm (PST) - After dialing the phone number displayed on the Online Bank Accounts Application (866.362.2935) for clarifications and going on an 8-minute hold, I was told the number belongs to the Loan Dept. - I was told to hold for the Online Dept. After another 6-minute old, I was told I was transferred to the Business Accounts Dept. - After another 9-minutes hold, an Online rep couldn't find any of the ... Read more

Pros: Completly Free Checking, They have a program where if you use your debit card you get money back (like $0.03), if i remember correctly you get 2 free overdraft waivers automaticaly (per year), you get 1 free ATM waiver for using another banks ATM (per year), and you can set up your account so you can have points earned by your spending go to a local school of your choice (points = money for schools after some point). If you are under 19 you can get a free savings account, after that there is a fee. Cons: Not good for people who are begginers with credit, do not put your picture on your ATM card, not as many ATMs as Bank of America No comment: I never had a credit card with them and I closed my savings account before I turned 20 to avoid fees. Tip: Whenever they have a new promotion (like the 3 cent thing) go into the bank and UPGRADE YOUR ACCOUNT. If you do not, the promotion will not apply. I learned this, so every so often go to your bank regaurdless of what it is and ask th... Read more

I overdrew my account $40 in one day due to 4 separate transactions. I accept that this was my fault, however, being charged $128 for this is absurd. They charged me $32 for each transaction. However, if I had 1 transaction of $100, I would have only been charged once. I know this is common practice at all major banks, however, most other banks will work with you and waive some of the fees. Wamu wouldn't budge. One of the four transactions was only for $3.62 and they wouldn't even waive the overdraft fee for that. I worked as an accountant at Bank of New York, and I know that my $40 in overdrafts probably cost them only a couple dollars. Needless to say, I am looking for a new bank.

The Website changes without notice, then access becomes a tedious waiting game which as of late becomes non-existent. If they are running maintenance or having problems, you never know,,just come back another day and try again. Totally reversed, using the physical bank has been easy and quick. Waiting for a loan officer is minimal plus the tellers actually seem happy.

Don't even think about going to them. I have been with them for less than 1 month and until now all my transcations were disastrous.. The only thing customer service knows is to apolgize, but that doesn't solve the problem, does it ?

I like it so far. It's been almost two years with an account with them and I haven't had any problem. Even more, I overcharged my debit card once, and they gave me back the $37 penalty fee. I guess it happened because it was the first time.Clercks at the office are usually nice.The online banking is pretty convinient and easy to use.They don't charge you when you withdraw money from another bank's ATM machine

Good improvement from Bank of America, but still a bank that tries to nickle and dime you with overdraft fees. Today they bounced my rent check, even though I had a lot of funds to cover it. They returned the ODF as a "courtesy" but will refuse to admit to any liability. I rate it an F+. And on a separate note, I think that as consumers, we have been making these banks rich by allowing ourselves to be suckered into "free checking", watch out with the evils of ODF.

one of the worst bank in the nation. I was at the bank today for 3 hours even the branch Manager could not solve the problem and they were putting him on hold or transfering him from one customer service to another. Stay away from this bank you do not have any rights or protection when some body does an unauthorize activity on your account. You have to fight for your money not on the branch on their stuppid 800 numbers.

Cheap talk

this was my first bank three years ago- and i closed it after a few short months. at first i noticed several 'service fee' charges on my checking account, it didn't bother me until it became a multiple time a month thing- they never even explained to me what these service charges were for! Then i received a check book when i specifically told the associate i didn't want any checks, and definitely not one of their check programs. She signed me up for the $25+ a month plan with checks sent out every month.  When i found out i returned to the same branch and spoke with the SAME woman and she swore up and down she wouldn't have made a mistake like that, and that i must've wanted checks.  Okay, so all of the sudden i'm telling you i don't to screw up your day, right?  Their customer service is usually really pathetic and rude, i believe they must have really low standards for workers and a weak training program. i'll never use them again!

I give WaMu an F- over and over again for incredibly poor customer service.

When my wife and I first began doing business with WAMU, we were SO happy because of the huge improvement in service we experienced at the branches compared to the other big banks we'd dealt with. Over the years, there have been some mistakes, problems, etc., but typically, a call to their 800 number (or two or three, in some cases) has been a fix. But not anymore. Since their calls began going overseas (emails, too), I can't even dispute a transaction without repeated contacts and miscommunications. The communication is agonizing, and the agents get frustrated when you can't get your point across to them, even in one-syllable explanations. To order a copy of a deposit slip took me FIVE CALLS, and then they sent the wrong one! To dispute a transaction this week took three emails, and then they issued a provisional credit on the wrong one! Had I not just ordered new checks, I'd be quitting tomorrow. But I can assure you that when those checks are gone, so will we be. I'd much r... Read more