WaMu Transitions to Chase Bank

It seems as if WAMU employees are frustrated over their inability to serve their customers since this transition. I had an account representative inside a branch tell me that ever since this transaction took place there are changes that occur every day that they are not made aware of. Below is one example:

SUMMARY: WAMU customers should never use the “change address” feature when logged into their online accounts. If you are a WAMU customer and you need to change your address and order a new ATM card within 30 days YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS INSIDE A BRANCH to avoid excesss fustration. If you attempt to change your address online and then get a new ATM card you will have to put all banking on hold for more than a month or open up a new account. Sounds insane? It happened to me.

I am very frustrated with WAMU’s attempt to serve customers. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES ATTEMPT TO CHANGE THE ADDRESS ON YOUR ACCOUNT ONLINE. I hope someone heeds my advice before its too late. Here is what happened to me.

1. I went to a WAMU ATM and for the first time in my life I actually forgot to remove my ATM card. The card was sucked back into the machine. I called customer service that night and they said “no problem the branch will call you when they recover the card tomorrow.” So I decided not to worry about it.

2. I had a very busy day the next day and I didn’t call the branch and they didn’t call me. I called them within 48 hours after this incident and they informed me that within 24 hours they had to shred my card… ok not good but I thought well… I’ll just order a new card. They direct me to call customer service to order a card.

3. I Call WAMU customer service and inform them that I need to change my address on file and I need to have a new card sent to me. The agent informs me that it will take 30 days to receive my card. I ask why. He says its because I need it sent to a different address than the one on file. I can’t receive a card within 30 days of him changing my address. I asked if the result would be different if I changed it myself online and he said that that is what I should do.

I change my address online.

4. I call customer service back and ask for a card. They inform me that because I changed my address online I can no longer order a new card unless I physically go inside a branch and order one. The agent apologizes but states that if I just go inside the branch I can resolve this issue.

5. I go inside the branch and they state that because I changed my address online and not in their branch I have to wait 30 days before they can even process my request to have a new card sent out. Ok this is mind blowing I am physically standing in the branch and they are telling me they can’t even enter in the request that would eventually allow my card to be delivered to me. I must physically enter the branch 30 days from today and then make the request in person that a new card be sent out which would take an additional 7 to 10 business days.

The best they could do for me is open up a brand new account. I asked if I could transfer money from my old account to my new account online and the answer was no.

CONCLUSION: WAMU CUSTOMERS DO NOT CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS ONLINE

Thanks for your insight into the WaMu Chase transition. Hopefully customer complaints will get the transition process to become smoother… hopefully.

I am frustrated over this bank.. There should be a way to stop from over drafting. and making the fee $33, evertime. before waiting to get a letter a week later and then having $375. dollars just taken from you. And where the hell am i going to get this money.. they like just take it from you. I Feel as if they dont care about me. they just want to take my money and not help. There saying that they want to help you get out of det but they r putting me in it. I am very frustrated and hate just giving my money away or i should say just throw it away. cuz i want ever see it. they need to work on alot of stuff.

Ashley, sorry to hear about your experiences. You should go in and talk to them about taking back some of the fees if you can demonstrate that you won’t drop below $0. Bank of America just lost a lawsuit on overdraft fees, so there’s a precedent that has been set for these cases.

I hope they’re willing to at least reduce the fees. We all know it’s just not right and these will one day be a thing of the past. Good luck to you.

This transistion from WAMU to Chase has been so horrible for me I am finally changing banks after 15 plus years of loyal banking. I was not able to acsess my money all weekend (memorial day weekend!), was not able to take money out of the ATM or use my debit card. When I called Chase to to ask about the issue, I was told that it was just a bug and I should keep trying the ATM over and over until it worked, which I was assured it would. I was also told my debit card would not be effected. After 20 minutes of trying to get money out of the ATM I gave up and went to dinner. Dinner was great, but my debit card (which I was promised would work) did not work. As I was not able to get cash out of the ATM earlier, I had no way to pay for dinner. Luckily every other Chase card holder had the same issue and they took my name and address and posted it with the rest of the Chase customers that could not pay. When I am not able to acsess my own money or pay for food, that is a failure in my book. Way to scare off your customers!

I worked with WAMU when they were WA only. Once they gobbled up CA, I moved on. My 10-yr 401k is gone. My personal Line of Credit…is now a Chase overdraft account. If I bounce $10k in checks, I have a serious problem.

Dan’s account was opened in CA. He’s lived in WA 5yrs. Every two weeks he cashes his paycheck, keeps his allowance, and continues with his weekend. This week, he was told that his check could be mailed to CA for deposit. Since CA WAMU doesn’t convert to Chase until OCT, he will not be able to make deposits in WA or take cash out in a branch. Chase sent him a debit card, so why can’t he GIVE the bank a deposit?

With a home purchase pending, it is a frightening thought that funds will have to be requested out of state and wait three days to receive. This is not the right time to swap banks, but the current situation is leaving little choice. After over 100 years of WAMU personal banking, the conversion to a mega-national-corporate bank is not impressing or amusing me.

i have the SAME situation as Laurie and Dan.
i’ve had WAMU for 15 years and when i heard of the buy out from Chase, my heart dropped.
i opened my account in Seattle, i now live in L.A.
just last saturday(MAY 30) i try to deposit my paycheck into my Seattle account (which i have done for years with no problem) and they say it’ll take 3 day because they have to send it to Kentucky because CA is still on the WAMU database and will be til Oct.
i am overdrawn BTW. i need to get this money in ASAP because i also have car payments and rent going through in the next few days.
they can’t do anything and get cocky.
i leave.
i call customer service to ask what my options are and the lady told me not to overdraw so there isn’t a problem.
then said i need to open a credit card with then to cover the overdrafts in the future. WTF!
she has a ton of attitude this whole conversation, and won’t answer anything straight. even about my account and delay with my deposit.
i did open a CA account earlier this year when i heard about the takeover from Chase. so i’ve been meaning to transfer all my automatic payments to the CA account but that is a pain AND this is the SAME company.
if it wasn’t for the attitude i would maybe not be so upset but that and all these little changes that i know won’t end.
we’re gonna hear about changes as this take over progresses and they’re not gonna be in our favor.
just google ‘chase suck’ chase horrible’ etc etc and read all the crap they are doing to ppl.
i’m looking into a new bank.

I’m trying to close my Wamu checking account. I was told by them that first your paying off your OLOC of approxamately $300.00 must be done first.
I moved to Prescott AZ where their is no Wamu Bank. I paid on my account at a Chase bank as soon as Wamu and Chase said by phone and face to face at Chase in Prescott that they would apply a payment to my OLOP account.

They took my money in cash and gave me the payment reciept and its been 3 weeks and no posting of the payment is forthcoming as of today. I’ve spoken and writing of this issue to both Wamu by phone and Cash (I was thrown out of Chase Bank after I wouldn’t take “I don’t know for an answer”; and no results and no posting of payment

Vincent Perillo

I am completely frustrated. I have always done my banking on line and it was perfectly accepted by WAMU. Now I can’t do this any longer. I am elderly and handicapped and find it very difficult to go my branch. And yet Chase will not me do the things I always did on line. Please make allowances for an elderly, sick person to do her banking. I appreciate anything you can do for me.
Thank you.
Marilyn Rubenstein

Please allow me to do my banking on line. I really appreciate this. And thank you.

The WAMU online savings interest rate has dropped from 4.5% to 0.5% with no notification at all……… and they might have monthly fees?!!! I am looking for somewhere else to put my savings.

I’m pretty sure I had a WAMU Free checking account with just a tiny ibt of money in it (less than $50). It got gulped up by Chase, and I got notification today that I can finally see it online. It had a balance of $0, swallowed by Chase fees. This is insanity.

Must watch Chase carefully. They are slowly trying to get most out of the former WAMU/Chase Extra Free Checking and into the less free and more fee Chase Free Checking. The free wire transfers are not available online but only in a branch. What? How inconvienient! I use all other services online but the wires, naw, gotta go into a branch. Gross! I did not use this service with WAMU, but was this the case under WAMU? Did those free wire transfers have to be initiated in a branch?

Just my opinion. I feel Chase is trying to weed out all of the wamu customers that really don’t have a lot of money in their bank.
I tried to disput a charge on my checking account, they said I have to wait 30 days to try to get my money back. Wamu never did it that way, I disputed and they took action right then and there. I felt Chase had more concer for the other person, rather there own customer

Don’t like the 2.00 ATM fees in addition to the 2.50 or 2.50+ fees attached to non-chase ATMs.