Open letter to First Merit bank

To whom it may concern,

Do you think you could do me the favor of perhaps being OPEN for fucking once in my life during the day? I'm beyond pissed that every time I need to deposit a check or talk to a teller your banks are always closed. Closed after 4pm (when most people get off of work) and closed even at NINE IN THE MORNING. Who hasn't opened by 9am? What kind of lazy bastards do you have working for you that they refuse to keep hours most working people need? I guess everyone depositing money in your banks are jobless shitbricks that can stay at home all day and visit you when you're open from 1-1:05pm. STAY OPEN FOR ONCE you jackasses, I'm getting sick of doing my banking via AT fucking M.

Sincerely,
The guy giving your tellers dirty looks in the window while they sat talking AT NINE AM, REFUSING TO OPEN THE DOOR

Comments

[Dusky]

For a reason unknown to me, relatives of mine pay their telephone bills at one of those check-cashing places. On a particular occasion, we arrived to the bill-paying place and found it closed. We waited.

I was looking through the glass-door when the shopkeepers arrived. They unlocked the place, came inside, locked the door. At this point I wondered... "Why didn't these fuckers thank us for waiting and let us know politely that they'd be opening soon?!" After all, they were late. Still, they just walked by without even looking at us.

I felt like leaving.

[T]

Dear 'Guy',

I feel your pain! And the best part of their limited hours is that if you DO have to use an ATM to deposit a check, they put a THREE DAY hold on it, so you are are even more screwed!

Cashless in Cleveland

[Reikigirl]

Thank you for this page!!! My ex-husband and I had a loan for a piece of personal property. When he left, I made double payments when I could, and single payments when I had to. I called one day to get a pay-off, and these cretins wouldn't give me any information b/c my name wasn't on the loan. Even tho' I was responsible for the payments! NO ONE would give me what I needed. I told them, "Fine, I will quit making payments until I can get someone to listen to me." I now have the "we are going to exercise our legal right blah, blah, blah....." for a lousey $1200. I told them, "Come and get it baby, you say my name isn't on the loan, you have NO RECORD of me ever calling and trying to do the right thing?! Come on and get your property......go see if you can find the deadbeat that left me in 2001." With me they could've collected.....with him.....what a laugh.

Is American business fucked up? Did you read "Smartest Guys in the Room - The Enron Story?" How about "Disconnected - The Worldcom Story?" Maybe I will write the First Merit Story based on these comments. It's Customer Focus, you idiots, NOT Customers - Fuck-us!

[Shabnam Zahir]

I'm scared of the cash bottle at the drive way. Why does it have to "swush" soo quickly. Who invented that??

[Where's my money?]

I'm glad to see that I'm not just paranoid. I have banked with the worst fucking companies possible...Wokallovya, Blank of America, Chase, and have had way better service than these fuckers. I just got a call from my landlord that said he tried to deposit my check and the teller told him it would over draw me. I have the overdraft protection that these fuckers charge me for so that things are covered every now and again when my checks are overlapping, and they go and tell people that my checks no good?! What am I paying for? Now my landlord wants to know if I can pay befoe the first of the month next month to make sure it goes in on time. Isn't there some sort of privacy act that they broke? I mean I know it's a small town and everybody knows everyone else, but I shouldn't have to hear that the tellers are giving away my finacial information to anyone who has an account with them!

[Greg]

Has anyone ever had a good expeirience with these fools at first merit. Typical small town bank turned big. I swear on my life, I put a few thousand dollars in, bills are paid and come out of my account, and then for some reason every month money is unaccounted for. I go and get a detailed statement which is incredibly undetailed and it shows nothing to explain it and they cant either. All they say is that there would have to be a computer investigation to get more detail which would require a whole bunch of crap and hassle from them. I belonged to a credit union, navy federal, and they were perhaps the greatest bank in the world. No problems with lost money, always accountable, customer focused, and almost instant postings of transaction accurate on the phone, in person, or at the atm. Everything at first merit is so third world, absolutely pathetic for a bank to operate this way. And you wonder how they now have a monopoly of northeastern ohio and a big gigantic office building in akron. This bank is nothing short of criminal in my opinion but Im sure they will sell off to anther bigger bank soon and nothing will of ever been heard of from those of us who seem to have cash just float off into the realm of numbers and computers.

[Insurance/Added Interest Fraud by Bank & Assocs.]

I can understand the frustration with this bank as well. I co-signed on a car for my sister. Both names on all paperwork. The car has always been fully insured at time of purchase, but for some reason the bank kept adding on extra money for non-insurance coverage. They said they sent letters. Mighty funny how I would get the "your payment has not been rec'd" letters, but not the letters asking about insurance coverage. This has finally been resolved, but only for the amounts of the added insurance, not for the added interest caused by THEIR ERROR and the company they used. Can they be sued.

[m]

HERES A GOOD ONE FOR ALL OF YOU
TRY WORKING FOR THEM AFTER 5 YRS OF SERVICE BEING IN THE TOP OF ME FEILD WITH THEM THE CALL ME AND TELL ME ''THAT WITH ALL OF THE RESTRUCTURING I DONT FIT INTO THE BANK OF THE FUTURE WITH THEM''
THEY HAVE LET GO OF OVER 350 GOOD PEOPLE THAT GIVE THE GOOD SERVICE AND FRIENDLY SERVICE YOU SHOULD EXPECT.
THE PEOPLE YOU SEE EVERYDAY AND GET TO KNOW ARE TRANSFERED OR LET GO SO YOU CANT GET USE TO THE SAME PEOPLE JUST TO KEEP YOU CONFUSSED ABOUT WHO IS INCHARGE
SO I GUESS THAT ANSWERS ALL YOUR QUESTIONS

[Screwed by Insurance Fraud as well]

I had the same thing happen to me. I just recently sent in my 60th and last payment on my auto loan. The pricks at the bank called and harrassed my mother about another $1,200.00 being owed for Insurance Coverage that they put on my vehicle. The vehicle was insured, but they just couldn't figure out that if a vehicle isn't registered in Florida, you don't have Florida Insurance, I have lived In California and carried my insurance there. They are a bunch of crooked bankers whom are just waiting for the oppurtunity to screw someone else, be it adding unneed insurance fees or by not posting payments correctly, If you double payments make sure you send two separate checks and coupons or else they screw you again and charge you late fees for the next payment.

[cte]

$40 at a time for overdraft charges, no wonder the bankers are rich, they make money at the consumers' expense, what do they got in those paper trails and computers, gold, you would think that, the way they are charging, big money making rip-off artists.

[Mad Sally]

I see I am not alone. I have been with First Merit my whole life. I am now 38 years old and I opened a savings account with them at the age of 13 and a checking account at the age of 18. I lived in Akron all of my life. I recently moved to Indiana and because I've only had First Merit and I know my account number by heart and all my bills and direct deposits are linked with this account, I did not change banks when I moved. I did online banking today. By error of my mortgage company, they deducted 600.00 from my checking account one week early (this is what happens when you are doing business over the phone with someone who is outsourced from India and they can barely speak English). I am rehabbing an old house and I used my debit card this weekend for Home Depot purchases and small purchases like 4.00 meals at Taco Bell. I accessed my online account today after being away from a computer for 4 days--I found out that the mortgage company's mistake is going to cost me over $300.00 in overdraft fees! I was charged EIGHT 33.00 fees for small ass transactions--one was only a 2.50 meal at McDonalds. I called First Merit to see what I could do get out of this nightmare--I wanted to dispute the mortgage company for erroneously charging me. I was told by some insufferable bitch that I would have to come in person to a branch to dispute this charge--nothing else could be done. When I told the dumb ass cunt that I live in Indiana, she said, "You should have took this into consideration when moving out of state." I took that comment as basically saying, "Fuck you for keeping this account--we don't need you." That really made me angry, because I have thrown a LOT of business at that bank for many years. At one time I had almost $50,000 saved there. (A divorce wiped that out). Anyhow, I won't be back in town for another 2 weeks and I told the bitch that fact and she said there is nothing that can be done. BITCH!! I was livid. I called back later and spoke with a wonderful woman who explained I had some options--I could file a disupute via fax or I could call the branch manager yesterday and discuss my plight and by some hopeful miracle they will waive the 300.00 in fees. I can't even get there to make a deposit, so I'm truly lost! To make matters worse, I don't get paid until next Friday and by then the fees will completely wipe my whole paycheck out. I don't know how I am going to make it.

[waste of time]

I also worked at First Merit and they laid me off to. They called one day and said that they were reconsructing and that they no longer needed my services as well. They said it was evaluation scores that determined whether or not you were being let go. They said they had to be over 2.5...well my one and only one was a 3.2...where is the logic in that dumb shit!! Then they wanted us to work for almost a month and continue to be happy and nice, when knowing in the back of our minds, that at the end of the month, we would be jobless. And they didn't want us to tell customers. Well oops, I did and I told them the fucking truth. Then they let go of good people and all of the customers are pissed. They are so used to seeing the same people and now they have to learn all new people. They don't want to deal with that shit and they are pulling there money out!!! There aren't many locations anyway, so I'm surprised they even lasted this long. They don't pay the greatest and the people in management suck. Then the icing on the cake was when they flashed it on the news and said that they were downsizing because more people were using ATM' and online banking!! That is a bunch of bullshit and they were trying to cover there asses. To all of the new Managers, Assistant, and CR whatever 1, 2, 3 and 4's...pick up a Sunday paper or get on the internet, because your best bet is to find a job NOW!!

[Stupid written on my forehead]

I have been with FMB for 7 years. I know we have put a few million dollars through their bank. The Old Mill Branch in Brunswick has the rudest assistant manager there is, although the tellers there are very nice. I have had a few overdrafts in my lifetime, and I was told that if you deposit cash the same day fees wont be charged. They charge $34.50 per overdraft, some of which are like $6. It is ridiculous...and why would i deliberatley overdraw my account when my savings is linked to it and I can transfer CASH at anytime to cover any charges? I am actually going to close the existing checking account I have at the Old Mill Brunswick office and re-open a new account at the Center Road branch, they are much nicer there. I know why Old Mill won a lot of awards before, but I bet it is becuase they don't refund overdraft fees to even their best customers...and that brings in lots of cash for the branch to pay for the Disney tripos they have earned! Now they are losing my business at that branch.

[Katie]

I wrote a check for my credit card payment last month and didnt think anything of it until a week ago when they said they were going to send me to collection!! They invormed me that my check didn't go through. I was like WHAT DO YOU MEAN I had PLENTY of money in my first merit checking account...I went to FirstMEritbank and they said that a hold had been put on my checks so I couldnt use them... i said WHY would there be a friggin hold on my checks if I didnt AUTHORIZE it!???? The teller goes " Well Mam you must have because we are unable to do this without your authorization " I said " I WOULD KNOW IF I AUTHORIZED A HOLD ON MY CHECKS" Then she informed me that when I had lost my check and cash card the month before I asked for a hold on my checks AGAIN SHE WAS WRONG WHEN I LOST MY CARD I CALLED THE DAMN CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER AND TOLD THE GUY SPECIFICALLY NOT to hold my checks i j/ lost my card...so she looks in her computer and goes well "you must have told him your whole wallet was missing" She acted like i was RETARTED

[BJ]

Anyone know the staff at country fair and Hillsdale?

[LivingDedGrrl]

Exactly what I was looking for. Here's my story.

I deposited $180 on Saturday, knowing full well that it wouldn't actually post until Monday, but that I'd get credit for being at the bank with a deposit before I went shopping Monday afternoon. Three checks for exactly $60 each.

So Monday I go shopping in the afternoon. I check my account on Tuesday, and I was perfectly fine. Not overdrawn. On Wednesday, I go to put $255 in and the teller tells me she cashed out all my checks "to help me out as much as possible with all the overdraft." What overdrafts??

So I go in and the lady gives me a print out with like 5 overdraft fees on it. I asked for an explanation, which no one could give me until someone printed me a daily balance inquiry summary. It said that $80 of my deposit had been "deferred". So that means $100 went in Monday morning, and $80 went in sometime after midnight. But that doesn't help me because as you know, when you use your card, the money comes out right away. That means that I spent money that hadn't been deposited yet! But that's not what my deposit ticket said. It didn't say anything about deferring anything.

if that $80 had gone in when it should have, I woulnd't have been overdrawn. Because of that ONE miscommunication on THEIR part, I am now over $400 in overdraft fees. they just keep comin'.

I said that if they want to defer my deposits, then they need to defer those overdraft fees as well. They want to make sure the money's there, fine. But don't penalize me for it. If you find out it's not there, THEN you can penalize me.

I'm going to a credit union. The rest of my money that's coming in isn't going anywhere near FMB.

[Mad Sally]

Well, here I am again. I don't know where to begin I am so angry. I had posted about First Merit and their unfair business practices before. I have had a checking account with them for over 20 years and never had any major problems. Now things are a mess.

In September, I wrote a check for $40.00 for a utility bill. I came home and checked my online banking as I do EVERYDAY and every transaction had gone through exept for the check I had just written. I had 27.00 in my account so I knew this would cause me an overdraft. Because I was living outside of Ohio and I had no credit card or no money in my savings to transfer money, I took it as a loss and figured I would get one one overdraft fee. Boy, was I wrong.

Two days later I look online to assess the damage. All the transactions that had appeared online before were all of a sudden "rearranged" and instead of just incurring one overdraft fee with the 40.00 check, I now had FIVE overdraft fees of 33.00.

I called livid and asked how was it that things that had originally gone through were now put back in and rearranged. The woman told me and I quote, "We rearranged items after your 40.00 check came in because it was the largest, that's why you have more than one fee...we do this for the customers benefit".

HOW IN THE HELL is it at my benefit to do this? THIS IS AT THEIR BENEFIT TO MAKE MONEY OFF PEOPLE.

I was so angry about all these fees that I canceled by direct deposit, because they damn sure were not going go to get this money until I could get some resolution.

I was able to get no resolution, so I refused to pay until I had the money, which I did not at the time. I make 20,000 a year and I am a 4-year college graduate. I live paycheck to paycheck and paying out over 300.00 for unfair fees was NOT in my budget.

I continously got letters telling me to pay the whole amount immediately or they would report me to Check Systems. There was no mention made of any payment arrangements.

They closed my checking account. I still have a savings account with my mother where she is the primary on the account. My mother is a stroke survivor who lives in a nursing home.

Two days ago, I went to take money out of her account to pay her nursing home bill and they took FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS from my elderly mothers account to pay for my checking mess.

I was numb. It's Christmas and money is still tight, but now I have no idea who I will pay her nursing home bill.

I called First Merit and asked if they would put the money back and I would gladly pay something right now and make some restitutions to this amount.

I still feel in my heart I shouldn't have to pay these fees, but I am stuck.

The branch manager, KAREN MURDOCK (yeah I'm giving names now) said that it's my fault and I should have tried to make payments and she can't help me, even though I told her they took money that belongs to my mother for her nursing home care, not to me.

The collections department blamed me as well--they said it's my fault that I hadn't tried to make payments.

WHERE IS THE FAULT OF THE BANK?

Why are they allowed to charge such exboritant fees to the people like me who are hurt by it even more? If I hadn't gotten these enormous fees, I wouldn't have been in trouble in the first place.

I have no money to pay them and now it's my fault?

You garnish my mother's savings account and take money from her?

Something is truly wrong with the banking system. How do they get away with this?

Iam planning to write my congressman and call the local news. Banks should have a major expose done on how they treat people.

I now belong to a credit union and the difference is night and day. I feel like the shackles have been lifted. They treat me so well and don't do the things that these scurrilous banks do.

[AL Keck]

First merit Banks are the most scandelious of any financial institution. I have been with this bank since 1997. They used to be a fair bank.Times are tough and money is scarce at times. Living from friday to friday as most of us do can be trying. Recently i was told that if you use an atm to do your transactions such as deposits that it takes up to 48 hours to post. This is another problem , first merit has a practic of posting all your debits befor they post the credits. So if you write a check an hour befor you deposit the money into the bank it will most likely overdraw your account. I will be switching financial institutions.

[grrr]

I worked at First Merit for 4 years. Im one of the people who was "laid off because of growing ATM use". HA!! You wouldnt believe how hard I laughed when I heard that. The branch I worked at was scheduled to close because of the closeness to another branch and very low productivity, the branch was incredibly slow and never met any kind of goals. We were PROMISED that our jobs were safe and no one was going to be fired. We were promised this by MANY of people. (bosses, bosses of bosses, presidents etc) The placed us in branches that were supposedly in our area but we were all placed in branches that were MUCH farther away then we were. One girl who lived around the block from the branch that I was placed in that waas 40 minutes from my house, was sent to the branch that was 15 minutes from my house. It didnt make sense.

Actually, it did. They were trying to annoy us to get US to leave first. Well I got the opportunity to switch to a different (and much closer) branch before mine closed and I took it. About 2 months later they started these changes with the "differed" deposits and changes in management. It was only time before they started getting rid of the tellers/csas. A few days before my 2 1/2 week vacation to Florida, we were told that on a certain day (about a week later) we would find out if we had a job or not. No kind of notice, besides you might have a job, you might not. Well since they changed all of our managers (and fired a bunch) they decided to decide who goes and who stays by the previous 2 quarters numbers.

Well guess what....No one that worked at my previous branch had met their numbers, hence the reason for closing our branch! So while I was in Florida I was called and told that I no longer had a job. I should add that while I was at the new branch, I had exceeded my goals and our branch goals and numbers had went up and our customer approveal was through the roof! These problems that everyone here has complained about would have been taken care of in a timely and polite manner at the branch I was at. So anyway, I was told (again, while on vacation) that I had to return to work and work my remaining schedule so I could get my severance. When I got back the new manager (who of course just let all of this happen and didnt "fight" for certain employees that were GOOD to their branches) told me that I had to stay for 2 more weeks because of the "rough time" ahead that she had with all of these layoffs and scheduling issues.

So I was laid off and I had to stay and I was expected to assist the branch and help through their tough transition time, oh yeah and to not tell my customers that I was leaving. I was so livid. So I had to drag my ass to work every day for 2 weeks to do my job half assed. I think the branches numbers went down so much because everyone was mad I was leaving. Not to sound like I am bragging or anything here, but I was there for a long time, I knew my stuff, I just couldnt get ahead at the other branch. The new location was working out great for me and the branch as a whole. Plue in the midst of all of this, they had started this deposit deferring crap so I was working for 2 weeks pissed because I deserved to stay while the girl next to me had just started (she was able to stay because she was new so she didnt have numbers to look at....fair huh) and I had to teach her how to understand this new method they were using and I didnt really care about the customers problems at that point. So, Sorry if I was rude to anyone my last 2 weeks! haha.

First Merit is so horrible to their employees. I couldnt believe that they treated me the way they did, then wanted me to "help during their transition." I hope they get bought out by some big bank and all of the ceos and presidents get fired. They think by numbers, not by feelings. Ive already gone on enough about this and I could go on more but I think I made my point. First Merit is just a horrible bank, for customers and for employees.

[fed up with FMB]

I was so thrilled to read that so many people have had experiences with First Merit, like I have had. They are unbelievable! My pay is direct deposited. I receive my deposit every Wednesday. I went to the ATM on my way to work the day my paycheck should have been there. I made a withdrawl at the ATM. It DID give me the money I requested. Then I looked at the receipt. It showed a negative available balance. My employer had been a day late depositing my pay. There had not been enough in my account for the withdrawl, yet the ATM gave me money. The bank branch was not yet open, and I was on my way to work, so I put the money back in (via a deposit). That day, the bank bounced checks of mine and charged me overdraft fees. (My balance should have covered them) When I asked "why", they said that the deposit I had made at the ATM, would not post until the next day. I said "Wait a minute. Your ATM gave me money that WAS NOT in my account, then when I tried to put it back, you would not let me for a day? Now you are charging me for being overdrawn?" I was told that was correct. They gave me money that wasn't there, gave me instant notice of the withdrawl, but would not recognize my putting the money BACK, until the next business day. I have had check amounts posted "re-arranged" in order to charge me the most OD fees possible. I had not been charged any kind of monthly service fee on my checking account for 20 years, and then they suddenly began charging me $9.25 o month one day. They said they decided that my account should have been charged all those years. Surprise! No notice. They just began pulling it from my account. I guess I am lucky they didn't charge me arrears. They are a rip off, their rules are stupid, and do not make me happy as a customer. Does any person at First Merit CARE that so may customers think they suck?!?!

[workin man]

this bank is a bunch of pirates. same thing happend with insurance at the end of loan. 2500 dollars worth and nobody wants to answer any phone calls or return them to show proof of insurance. they just want to take the car.
they are a bunch of fucking crooks taking money out of my
four kids mouths.

[argent]

The whole re-arranging of transactions is what finally drove my wife and I to close our accounts with FMB. Well, that and the new fact that any check deposited into First Merit that's not drawn from First Merit will take 24 hours to clear. Oh, and lets not forget the fact that debits get posted when they're closed for a federal holiday, but deposits won't. And the posting of debits first "For the customers convenience"? How much kool aid did they have to drink to get to say that with a straight face?

[..]

I was "let go" a month and 1/2 after coming back from medical leave - I was battling cancer and once I got back to work - First Merit let me go for an some bs policy on email / internet. EVERYONE in my department uses the internet (nothing dirty or offended material) Yet, I was the one they let go. Nice to be supportive of sick employees. Guess they didn't want my future medical expenses.

[CJ Marley]

We are having hell with FMB as well. Their rearranging is killing us. They have taken every dime my husband's job has deposited into the bank this week for overdraft fees because of the rearranging of debits to our account. Items that should have gone through have been overdrafted all week long now. They have left me with nothing to live off of because of it. Does anyone know if Killbuck Savings is any good?

[Debi]

Hello all

Also been taken to the cleaners due to deferred amounts on deposits.
Here is a hint for ATM ..don't use it for deposits. If you are depositing checks. Use your deposit slip and put your slip and check or checks in a deposit envelope and use the night deposit box. A human has to empty the box and makes the deposit transaction immediately. You may have a portion held back but you are not left waiting 3 days for the transaction to show up in your account ! And they mail you a record of your transaction !
Get this ..I received a new credit/debit card this month and noticed the card had the same expiration date.. I stopped at a FMB at Twinsburg to ask why I received this card with no date change on the exp. date..
I was told ," security reasons". Wasn't I surprised to hear on the news this week
TJ MAx, Marshalls, AJ wright stores all on by the same company had computer
theft and that the stores were storing customer information for over 3 years !

Well I shop at those stores and I am sure my new card with new number was tied to this debacle. It also caused more trouble as all my services paid by automatic payment withdrawals fom checking were denied as the card number changed ,
I was hit with late fees for a couple of them.

But I have learned all the banks are the same - they use your money for days with
the delay in transactions , charge outrageous atm fees , and other service fees.

I often wonder what I really gain for all this super convience other then someone unknown to me knowing everything about my finances, shopping preferences
and God knows what else... I am wondering these days if I will live long enough to see the day everyone's finance chip is embedded in your body at birth..

Privacy is dead long live the Patriot Act what a crock of sh..t