Charter One Bank

Charter One Bank in Mentor-on-the-lake had the most unprofessional branch manager named Terri, and the assistant manager, Chuck, is not far behind her. We own a small automotive repair business, and since December 2011, we have gotten hit with over $2,000.00 in fees. In November, we went in person to ask for a business credit card, to "assist" our business through the "slower" time of our industry, and Terri said,"yes, I think this would be a good option for your business". She then forwarded our application to Ken, who handles business banking. We did not hear any response from Terri or Ken. We called to inquire about the status of the application. Terri said, "oh,you have to be in business for one year, before the application will be considered".

Funny we were not informed of this information, when we came in person to talk to the branch manager, Terri, in November. We waited until January 1, and called Terri once again, and she informed us she would submit our credit card application. Again, we heard no response. I called the branch, and Chuck informed me we got reined, because we have to be open for 13 months. Mind you, we are being charged fees, because of the bank holding deposits, and clearing checks all at the same time, to purposely put our account in the negative. Not once noticing us, or Ken, Terri, or Chuck to offer any assistance with overdraft protection. We have not actually been told that they cannot hep me with any banking products or procedures that can help consumers like me!

We can be continually charged astronomical fees, which causes is to be unable to maintain a business, and pay our business and personal bills! I have gone as far as calling Joe, Terri's boss, and have also gotten absolutely nowhere in receiving a response. I want all of the fees returned. Absolutely poor customer service, and unethical business practice, are what Charter One Bank provides.

I have a business account with Charter One Bank for over three years. In the last three months, I have had a lot of problems. I paid probably last year about $3500 in fees on an average of $300-$400/month. In October, someone from Charter One, Alli **, came and changed my account to save me money on my incoming wires and other transactions. In December, I got charged $4,483.31 without any explanation. I went to the bank the next day, which was a Saturday and they said they will give me a floating credit until Tuesday to figure out what this is. I called Alli and she said on that Monday that she fixed it. They have reversed the fee.

In January, they charged me again $2,199.36 in fees in one shot. I went to the bank and they said that these are overdraft fees for December and that the charge in December, they figured out that it was for November's overdraft. I was not overdrawn so much but they were not clearing my deposits and even though I had money in the account, they said that it was not available and that my fees from $37 per transaction went up to about $45 plus some other fee per day when money was not available (in the account, but not there). We said that we made a mistake and since the account is different, we will watch for this. We were even aware and knew that in February 15 we were going to be charged for being made negative from the $2,199.26 in January and willing to let it slide.

However, this morning, they charged us the $4,483.31 from December again after barely recovering from all the other fees and we will probably be charged more in couple of days and more in March because the $4,483.31 overdrew our account by $2,018. We are a very small business and we are barely surviving. There is no way to afford the over $10,000 charged so far and what is going to still come. I am suing in the morning. Is there any way to make this a class action suit? I have just seen on TV that there was Bank of America who paid $410 million in restoration for unfair practices. There are also other banks involved for a total of $110 million. I just want my money back. Nothing else.

Charter One/Citizens froze our Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) this august, based on an Automated Valuation Model (AVM) Computer Appraisal. When pressured, they gave us the option of purchasing our own appraisal from a list of "Approved" appraisers from their bank. The unlicensed appraiser came back with a number even lower that the AVM! Two realtors laughed at the comps she used, and verified my claim that our home is worth 100K more than Charter One claims. I am now interviewing firms to start a class action based on TILA violations. Anyone in a similar situation interested in learning more?

If you would like to express your hate for Charter One on the largest social network in the world, check out my facebook page I Hate Charter One. Share your stories so that it can reach the masses and we can embarrass this company!

Charter One was bought out in Indiana so they no longer exist. While opening a bank account for my father's estate it was discovered that Charter One reported that I had outstanding overdrafts with their bank. This prevented me from being on the bank account for the estate. I closed my bank account with Charter One in 2008 or 2009 (I don't remember). At that time I did not have any outstanding overdraft charges and did not use the account after it was closed. I have wasted many, many hours trying to talk to anyone from Charter One that will help me resolve this issue. I have sent emails to Charter One in other states but have received no reply.

This is damaging my credit record as well as preventing me to open a bank account due to these charges. I have exhausted all means to contact Charter One and need assistance in resolving this issue.

I'm looking for an attorney to commence a lawsuit against Charter One. They are pulling the same overdraft fee scheme like Bank of America. Charter One Bank charged my account with $355 fees. My account was in positive. Even after I charged the card 9 times as credit, my account was still in positive. And I had more than enough money to cover. The next morning, I woke up to see nine negative charges. I went to the bank. The manager told me he couldn't do anything. He told me to call customer service. They told me that the one check came after, but they processed the higher transactions first, then the lowest. So instead of bouncing 1 check, they let that go. It caused 9 transactions with $347 overdraft fees.

Today I found a fraudulent charge on my account. It was in the amount of $264.09. This charge is still pending, so I called the customer service department, so they could stop the charge. All the service representative could tell me was that they couldn't do anything until the charge went through. What the hell? I tell this people that there is a crime happening, and they don't care. I don't understand why they can't stop this charge from going through. Now I have to take off work; go to the bank to fill out a claim, and wait for ten business days before I can get my money back. All Charter One would have to do to help is to cancel the transaction. I guess they don't care about their customers.

After speaking with the Lathrup Village, MI, and Regional office on Thursday, April 14, 2011, it was indicated that Citizens/Charter One Bank indicated they have resolved all banking matters regarding my enclosed complaint. I am writing you today to advise they are a liar and I have further proof! I have a copy of the complaint originally filed and a copy of today's fax cover sheet, which provides Citizens/Charter One Bank with a copy of this exact documentation.

In addition, at this point we have entered into a state of retaliation from Charter One/Citizens Bank, which is also a federal offense punishable up to 100,000 and/or 5-year imprisonment because they are an organization with a federal contract. Furthermore, I have clearly identified myself to everyone I have spoken with to date as a Federal Contract Compliance Investigator. Therefore, it makes Charter One/Citizens Bank retaliation a federal offence because they have retaliated against a known federal employee. There are also emails and faxes to prove this, if needed. I don't care if this takes the next 20 years. I am only seeking justice and will monitor every aspect of Charter One/Citizens Bank until this case is resolved in full to my satisfaction!

This 25-page fax was sent to Brenda, who claimed to be the manager of Citizens/Charter One Bank recovery department, which our solicitor's office will be providing a full report on the chain of events surrounding today's actions, conversations, and communication. And the chain of events is as follows:

Today, April 20, 2011, at 2:50 PM, Sarah from BYL Collections called my phone at ** and left a message for Exavier **. While the message indicated not to listen to it if I was not Exavier **, I did because they should not have called my phone! They stated they called in efforts of collecting a debit on behalf of Charter One/Citizens Bank in the amount of $314.18. Sarah went on to provide a file number of **, her name and a call back number of 877-277-5958, ext. 8129 and requested a call back.

Today, April 20, 2011, at 2:57 PM, Sarah from BYL Collections called my phone at ** and left a message for Carol **. She stated they called in efforts of collecting a debit on behalf of Charter One/Citizens Bank in the amount of $314.18. Sarah went on to provide a file number of **, her name and a call back number of 877-277-5958, ext. 8129 and requested a call back.

After receiving the call, I immediately got my boss who got our legal department involved and requested that I call the bank immediately to address the matter with them presently, which I did and in my communication I informed Keith, Mike, and Brenda that I had the Federal legal department present as witnesses and for guidance. Keith had an issue and requested to transfer me, Mike attempted to argue with me and I pointed out to him that I had my legal defense there and the call was being recorded. At that time he indicated he was getting a supervisor. Communication with Charter One/Citizens Bank outlined below:

Today, April 20, 2011, at 3:21 PM, I called Charter One/Citizens Bank which I initially got Keith. After explaining who I had present on the call and that the call was recorded by the Federal Department of Labor, Keith requested to transfer my call to a supervisor. However, Keith transferred my call to Mike. I asked for clarification purposed if that he was a supervisor and Mike indicated he was not. I explained I would only speak with a supervisor or manager because in a court of law Mike could not be held accountable. Mike then indicated he needed to know the nature of my call. I explained everything that is in the attached letter to include today's chain of events and Mike proceeded to handle the call himself. I became irate and would not allow Mike a chance to speak to me and demanded either he put a member of leadership on the phone or I file a suit! Mike laughed and said good luck with that. Again, federal solicitors were present as witnesses (5 witnesses were present in total).

Shortly after Mike and mine's altercation, Mike got Brenda on the line who asked which charged off account was I referring to. I indicated that if there was another one they had not notified me and that I had just checked my accounts and they seem to be in good standing. Brenda further indicated that I had a charged off account joint with Eric that was recent. Per the attorneys present, I asked for the account number. Brenda could not render one. I moved on to address the issue I called about and Brenda indicated that the file number is incorrect. I advised her that I don't work for Charter One/Citizens Bank or BYL and that was given to me. So if was wrong, I pointed out that was another federal offense. I further advised her that I only contacted her to further build my case for a class action against them and she said that was fine. She went on to tell me that to date the charged off account still had not been paid, yet I have a receipt from ACS indicating the account was paid on January 18, 2011 at 8:43 PM and a printed off version of my account that Charter One/Citizens Bank took the funds from on March 7, 2011. Unauthorized, since I had already paid the account on January 18, 2011. I further explained and attempted to play the recording from Ms. ** indicating that the recovery department would not allow her to update my account with the provided information and that she was instructed not to resolve my issues under any circumstances!

Brenda dismissed the message, indicating Ms. ** did not work for them (Charter One/Citizens Bank). I further provided all of her numbers (fax and phone) and Brenda went on to say that Ms. ** was not acting with the authority of Charter One/Citizens Bank.

In addition, Brenda went on to indicate to me that I had filed several complaints with the branch manager, Ms. **, and if I had addressed this matter with so many people. Why didn't Ms. ** pick up the phone and call them to resolve the matter before it got to this point. I responded indicating that Penny of Ms. ** indicated they had, which was the result of Ms. **'s call. Brenda indicated that they have never heard from Ms. **, Penny, Ms. **, or Ms. **. I advised that I was faxing all letters, read receipts, and the proof of payment receipt that I have rendered to every individual listed to include 3 others on numerous occasions.

In closing, I also advised that I was launching a law suit against them and I was contacting the OCC to advise Charter One/Citizens Bank lied and to help them with a class action suit against them. Brenda indicated do what you wish, that is your right! Call was disconnected, fax was sent, and recorded conversations were pulled and will be sent to your office along with a memo of case proceedings, witness statements, documentation, and all receipts again.

And as stated to Brenda, to date I have not heard from not one individual from Charter One/Citizens Bank since my complaint. They lied in indicating they have contacted me and I was fine with the agreement. There is no agreement and at this point since the debit is still in collections as of today, I am not interested in an agreement. I would like to take legal action and I request that you please work with our solicitor's office in beginning legal proceedings. As a Contract Compliance Investigator, I have reviewed the case entirely to include pulling all of Charter One/Citizens Bank federal contracts and our documentation will show several federal violations in which your office must act on with our prejudice.

Thanking you in advance for your prompt attention and assistance in this matter.

Charter One is going fee-crazy. They want over $17 per month for management fees on checking account that is active and charge $3 per month for paper statements or you must go on "secure" internet site. Really! I am sure there will be fees this way, too. I have been with this bank for 30+ years. Stay away from Charter. This is a policy of the main headquarters in Scotland.

I called Charter to update my services about 15 weeks ago and was told I qualified for a $400 prepaid Visa card. After speaking to about six representatives and two prior supervisors, in all of which I had to submit a form to request the card, I was just told today by Jessica, a supervisor of Charter, that I did not qualify and would not receive a card because I did not place my order online.

Now I have already called the gift card line they gave me at 888-642-7710, ext. 1030 and was told my order was received and card was being mailed. That was about five weeks ago.

This is nothing but false advertisement to make money. I refuse to pay another $198/month for their services and they need to be investigated on how many more scams they have pulled.

Charter One bank has recently charged my account more than $800.00 in overdraft fees in five weeks without notifying me. They have my home phone, my cell phone, and my home address. I'm not without guilt but being charged $800.00 makes it very difficult for me to pay other bills.

I was charged over $1500.00 in bank fees due to Charter One's unethical bank policy to cash checks and debits from high to low instead of the order the transactions occurred. They are stealing our money by charging fees in a way that maximizes their profit. They do not have the consumer in mind, only their bottom line. I want my account reviewed and my $1500.00 in fees back.

My wife and checked out funds prior to leaving on vacation. I had $30 left in my "secondary" checking account just to keep the balance above zero. We left on vacation for two weeks overseas. What we came back to was a nightmare. While we were gone, a few transactions that had been held by outside vendors posted. That was a mistake for sure, but it happens. The total was about $90 with only $30 to cover. So, we got dinged $222 for insufficient funds! That is a Whopping $37 dollars per transactions folks. Okay, that stung. A lesson I'll be sure to never forget.

That was only the beginning. A short time later, Charter One opted to run each transaction through a second time! Not the vendors, folks. Charter One took it upon themselves to run the transactions through a second time, knowing full well that the money wasn't available. Apparently, the "system" is automated to do that in order to generate more fees for the bank. That's right. That is a direct quote from the bank manager, Kevin, was, "Mr. **, how else do you expect us to make money?"

I pleaded with him and Charter One customer service, on behalf of common decency, that over $400 in overdraft fees is well beyond a reasonable amount and that loan sharks have better rates. What did Charter One do for me while I was gone overseas? Why, they began charging me $6.99 each day. I didn't pay! Never mind, I was out of the country with no idea that this was happening! Did they relent with any compassion, whatsoever? Absolutely not! Instead, they assured me that they would continue to charge me every single day! For what? They called it a "service fee".

For what, I asked. The $400 plus dollars wasn't enough? As far as I am concerned, Charter One and the people that work for them have financially raped my account. Shame on me for ever lying in bed with this "economic harlot" that would feign responsible financial services. I will make it my life's ambition to see to it that no one I can dissuade will ever bank at that institution again. I have never heard of such callous business practice since the Chase Bank practices during the Second Great War with the Germans. Honestly, I would expect to be penalized. I just never thought I would have my legs symbolically broken.

I had a checking account with Charter One Bank. I accidentally overdrawn my account for $16.85. Charter One proceeded to charge me $214.83 for NSF and late fees. I tried repeatedly to talk to two different branch managers, three phone reps, two supervisor phone reps, and one supervisor's phone rep. I also tried to call Charter Ones collections department, and I talked to three phone reps, and one supervisor. None of these people were willing to rebate any of my fees or work with me at all.

At one time, a $39 fee was rebated by them, only to be replaced with a $35 fee. It is egregious that I would be charged over $198 in fees for overdrawing $16.85. The company has conducted themselves very poorly. "Donna" from collections was especially rude and confrontational and hung up on me twice. Charter One Bank has kicked me when I was down. I explained to Charter One several times that I was going through financial hardship and was willing to pay a fee, but they would not work with me at all. I would be more than willing to pay the $16.85 that I owe Charter One, plus one NSF fee of $39, but they refuse to even consider my offer.

In closing, Charter One has unethical business practices. They are unscrupulous in their fee-charging and business practices. Charter One is a company not concerned in the least with its customers, only its bottom line. I was more than willing to work with Charter One, but they only threatened me with collections and negative consequences. I have never in my life dealt with such a callous, malevolent, unfriendly, unprofessional, greedy, and careless entity in my life as Citizen's bank also known as Charter One. I now cannot have a bank account or savings account. Charter One is sending me to collections when I'm already reeling from the loss of my home due to losing my job. Charter one is harassing me and affecting my future. Charter One is trying hard to dupe me out of my hard earned money.

Charter One has been "my" bank since 2003 and they did not care about my relationship with their "community" friendly bank.

It saddens me that "my" bank does not truely care about their "citizens" whom are their "neighbors". I was profiled when I spoke to the bloomfield branch manager in Michigan, not offered any assistance and was told (before given a chance to speak and explain) there's nothing I can do for you. I was in and out of the branch in literally 4 mins including wait time.

This card is a gift card received on 8-12-09. On the card, it says it expires on 10-09. On the front of the card enclosure, it says it expires on 7-11. I have tried to reach Charter One Bank and can get nothing. Also, I can't get in touch a live person. They call me back and want me to do survey, wouldn't like what I say. This is the second card I have had problem with. I will cancel my gm card and will let everyone know what is going on with this company.

I did send a letter to the bank requesting to close this account and included a check

For $74.61.

My point here is if they tell the costumer its free checking account and they do advertise on their banners its free checking, well the reality its not, this for me is misleading the consumers.

Now all I am asking is to get my money back $74.61.

There were fraudulent ACH withdrawals on my account that put my account into a negative balance and numerous overdraft fees were charged. The customer service was terrible. One woman said they could not reverse the fees. I am unable to access my own money until Charter One completes their fraud investigation. I don't see why it should take so long. The check was cashed at a TCF bank with all the TCF account info on the back. Why can't they just contact that bank and pull up the account the person cashed it under and be all done with it. Why am I inconvenienced and have to wait for my own money?

My problem with charter one began two years ago. I kept a large balance at charter one and was talk into getting a line of credit. The bank rep told me once I got the line of credit I would need to activateit by using the line of credit for a few days. I could then write a check back to the bank and pay the interest for those days I used the loan. The rep told me he would open up a seperate account that would be used to pay interest. He told me it would be debited from this account automaticately. The problem was he was suppose to transfer money into this account from my other account (which had over $100,000 in it) but by mistake he did not transfer enough money. When the bank attempted to automatically debit the new account which was less than $50 there was no enough funds. The bank then began to send me late notices which I was not aware of. Once they sent me 3 notices they sent out a note to credit company. This caused my credit score to go down 200 point.

I contacted the costumer service rep and she told me to write a note explaining the situation and it should be fixed. I waited 2 months for them to send it to the commitee and was denied. I called the consumer service and they told me the commitee had decided they would not fix my credit. I ask if I could speak to someone on this secret commitee and was told their policy did not allow me to talk to them.

I explained that I check me online bank account on a weelly basis and there was no note or indication that I owed the bank money. The costumer service rep felt bad but it was out of his control. I went to my branch and was told the rep that origanlly help me was no longer there. Another rep told me he would help me out and write a note to costumer service telling them that the branch made an error. The costumer service still did not fix my credit. I have called the costumer service department multiple times each time speaking with a different rep. Each rep has tried to help me but they could not seem to convince the secret commitee that I am a innocent victim.

on 11/3/09 i attemped to resolve the possible -$65.03 negitive balance, that was left in my checking account and as stated on my online statements. i directly appeared to "Charter One Bank"at warrensville ctr. rd at around 12:pm-1:pm at the University Branch, and when't directly to "Valerie H." to share with her my disappointment of a-$65.03 balance.

now her tone and body languish told me that she wasn't receptive with any problem i might have. she ignored the -$65.03 balance and said, after a series of verble bank fee's and charge's that she claimed was being added to my account was total at (-$299.03). i immediately asked can these fee's be "WAIVED", and she said for me to contact another office or officer's concerning this matter. then i said to her, your bank have hidden fee's and charges that is unfair to me and your customers, and thank you for your time "FOR NOTHING"! I DO HAVE (ACTUAL) DOCUMENTATION OF THESE OUTRAGEOUS FEE'S AND CHARGES

NOW AS OF 11/5/09 MY ACCOUNT HAS A (-$459.) FOR WHAT? BILLS THAT I WOULD NORMALLY PAY ON TIME ARE NOW DELAYED AND THE ADDED COST TO GET A MONEY ORDER FROM WAL-MART OR ECT. emotional stress, headaches, psychological problems

Charged over $100.00 for overdraft "insufficient fees". I have a circle gold account which comes with free overdraft protection where money is pulled automatically from one of my other accounts. I asked specifically about this when I set up the account. Now I am told that I have to apply separately at the bank to "activate" that feature. I told customer service that I specifically requested that when I opened the account and he said he could do nothing. He would be happy to "activate" that free feature now, but would not wave the fees because he did not see this as a bank error. I also agree with your other posted complaints about smaller bills being posted late.

I called in a complaint to charter one last week that I was unable to see online banking status of bills submitted as much as three weeks earlier. They were not yet posted to my account but were not listed as pending either. That means I had outstanding more than $400.00 in bills submitted that were not posted from my account. Horribly deceiving. I guess when they are racking up these high fees there is no motivation to change it.

Charter One Bank some how is holding bank transaction that are of lower value to allow the larger transactions to hit the bank account balance first. Even if the transactions was done on a different date or days apart. This allow the bank to charge you more than one overdraft fee when only one should have been issue. I may have been off balance before but.

When I call in for my balance it says one thing vs what the statment says. This must be stopped. There's must be a away to protect the consumer from this kind of privacy bank logging. We have no way of monitoring our money until after it had been processed by the banks. (How do we know when it the actual transaction is posted or how long they are holding it) Sometimes I have waited for days before I notice the transaction. Why did it take so lone to post.

I feel if they can monitor the ATM machines then we should be able to use our receipts to verify when transaction are done. Meaning When the date and time of the computer receipt is printed then that transaction must be posted according to the date and time. And must be processed within the 24hrs window. Just a suggestion we(consumer) need to fight this matter.

Where is our over draft fee being used for and why so much? I was told it was a processing fee. What to punch a button or watch the computer calculate it for you. One state fought and keep the fees down to $5.00. Some one help us put a stop to this or at least keep the fees down to a minimun like the other states have.

Not enough money to cover my in coming bills, mortgage and food. $278.00 is a lot of money at one time when in stead they paid out the large bill first and I had 5 little transactions I knew to be ahead of the large transaction. A 39.00 fee for each overdraft. What is it going to be next year $45.00-$50.00

I deposited a check on 9/9 and was told by the teller that it would take 24 hours for the check to clear and the funds to become available. I went online the following day and checked the balance, the funds were available that day. I transfered some of those funds from my checking into my savings that same day. Over the next 4 days I made some large purchases.

I left work early and went to the local bank branch where I spoke with the bank manager. She confirmed that the funds were available to me on 9/10 but that the bank decided to put the funds on hold to re-verify with the third-party bank. This I was told was done to protect me. She also asked why, after I received the letter did I not transfer some of the funds from my savings back into my checking account. When I looked perplexed and told her that the bank had put the funds on hold, she explained that the funds I transfered to my savings were not put on hold, just what I had in my checking account at the time. This baffled me, but when I asked for the fees to be reversed I was told that it wasn't a bank error that caused the "Innsufficient Funds" fees and that she would not refund my money.

I asked to file a customer complaint with the regional manager. The bank manager typed and emailed a customer care complaint to the regional manager (who is on vacation) and told me she would get in touch with me in about a weeks time. This has cost me over $350 (about a weeks salary for me).

My complaint with Charter One Bank began on 07/08 when I made my August payment two weeks early. I was unaware that you are not allowed to make your payments early. I called immediately when I noticed my payment went to principal and spoke to LaSHonda. After this phone call I had to make several more to fix this payment. After assuming this was fixed I went Charter Ones website to make an online payment of $200.00. I never received confirmation that this payment processed, so concerned I called and spoke with a gentleman at Charter One.

He stated there had been no payment made for September online or at all (payment was not due for another week). The following day I went to a branch and wrote a check for Septembers payment. Then to my surprise both payments cleared. I called Charter One to ask if they could back this extra payment off and send it back or apply it to my October payment. After speaking to several reps I spoke with a supervisor by the name of Pat. He stated he could issue a check or apply it to October. I assumed this was resolved. Approximately two weeks later I started getting Credit Counseling letters. I called everyday for a week and would get the same run around and would assume it was taken care of. Then I would have another credit letter in the mail. I would call once again. Not only was the undeserved letters humiliating I began to get phone calls at work. For one I was doing my part for something that was not my error and two then everyone knew my personal business.

Finally, I called the Regional Manager and listened once again how I cant make early payments. (Which I did not do. I was being responsible when I called and I am told there is NO RECORD of payment). This was finally properly backed off and corrected after three months of battling. My troubles began again on 04/22/09 when I went to my local Charter One to make a payment and was denied. I had NO NOTIFICATION that Charter One was changing to Old National nor that I could not make payments there anymore. I immediately called the number on my statement and spoke with Jack. He stated that I could make a payment with him on the phone and pay $12.50 or pay for a stamp and mail it. He did offer automatic deduction but never sent the paperwork. I chose to mail it. The following payments I used my own financial institutions Home Banking. My June payment was due on 06/23 and received on 06/22 and entire payment once again went to principal. On 07/13 I received my statement and noticed this error. I called and spoke with Cindy and she stated this was their error and would be corrected. On 07/14 I received a credit counseling letter.

I called once again and spoke with Brittany. She said give it 3-4 business days. On 07/15 I received another letter and this time a phone call expecting payment. I told Frank I had called twice already in two days. Which was not showing and wanted confirmation that my July payment which is due on 07/23 would be sent promptly? I feel I have been harassed by Charter One several times and I want it to stop. I totally believe that this will continue to happen since I have already had several instances. I have excellent credit and faithful payment history with all of my creditors, so I do not appreciate this type harrassement! I make my payments on time and over the amount. Somewhere in this situation fault needs to be found with Charter Ones ethic practices? This is causing me undue stress and time that should not be happening. I PAY MY BILLS.

Thank you for your time and please notify me if my situation has any legal merit.

A few months ago I got a letter in the mail offering a month free payment on my home equity loan if I send them a 35.00 fee. so I did that I thought they were giving people a break since the economy is so bad. since I had the free month I paid the next statement. so far no problem. when I got my next statement It showed that I had to pay 174.11 which is my normal payment but when I looked at the interest it showed I was paying 167.18 in interest and 6.93 was going towards principal. this is on a loan at 6.99%.

Now I feel they ripped me off the one month payment and 35.00. they basically got me for 200.00. they told me on the phone that that was business and they hung up on me. In my opinion this was a scam on there part to get free money out of there good standing customers. since banks are not doing well I feel that this was an attempt to get free money. If I knew that I was giving 200.00 of free money to miss one payment I would not have done that. they told me that was the interest that accumulated over the free payment month.

so basically it was not a free payment but a way for them to get free money out of there customers. I am not sure how many people did this, but it is probably thousands. but to me that is wrong on there part. I am not sure if this is fraud but it sounds to me like it is. please let me know if there is anything you can do. but in todays economy no wonder banks are getting a bad name.

lost 200.00 and it could be nation wide

While my wife was having twins in the hospital, Charter One Bank was secretly eliminating the equity in our HELOC. No payments have been missed, we owe no balances on revolving credit, and our credit score is stable. I'm assuming the reason is Charter One thinks there isn't equity in the home. Too bad they don't have any people in Claifornia to check out the reality of real estate. Some places have declined 50%, other places have not. Why no phone call or other communication the elimination of available credit? What if I had a check out and it bounced? Who makes the decision regarding equity in a home?

Since banks own politicians, I'm sure what they did was legal? Well, I'm not sure. From what I have read, banks can make geographic decisions they way CHartet One did. It looks as though they are comparing my home with homes not in my area, and since the interest rate was at 2.5%, they wanted to dump the loan for something better. Banks have their cake, eat it, and the rest of us too.

We have been Charter One customers for years, we have used the bank for many purposes, loans credit cards, etc. We believe that this shows bank loyalty. Over the past few years; we believe that we have been charged a huge amount of overdraft fees for charges that should have not been authorized if the account couldn't deduct the funds needed. We understand that if the account is low on funds we shouldnt place additional charges on the account. We have never intentionally used my debit/bank card to run ourselves into overdraft charges, they are expensive. Our issues is that an overdraft of $4 on our account should not run the account into a $220 (or higher) negative balance, no matter the situation.

We have been customers for 5 years and think that this is just a bad way to treat customers. Also, if the account is in overdraft status why does the bank approve additional purchases on the bank card? I think it is to rack up money from their customers! This should be illegal! Whatever the cause, as a loyal customer for years, I dont believe a $4 overdraft charge should rob us of hundreds of dollars from our checking account! On 5/29 we went to my Charter One branch and applied for credit overdraft protection, they approved us on the spot (so the banker told us).

One month later (6/26) our account went into a negative balance, the overdraft protection did not kick in. As of today I have another $507 of overdraft charges on my account. I called the bank today (6/27),and explained the situation and they stated that they dont do automatic applications; you have to fill out a paper application. The manager stated that there was no overdraft protection on this account! This is not true! Not only did the overdraft protection kick in the bank manager denied that they approved my overdraft protection!

I believe these charges in the month of June should be reversed. We have been charged $741 in overdraft charges in the past 2 months (not to mention thousands of fees in the past 4 years). I am done fighting with this bank and will consider changing banks if the charges on my account are not reversed!

Our checking account is not protected by any service that this bank offers. Due to our credit score and lack of any Savings Account, when a mistake happens were are at their mercy. We have paid almost $3,000.00 in one year. Maybe the time has come for us to not use a checking account anymore.

Of the four banks Ive ever banked with, Charter One Bank is the WORST. I only bank with Charter One today because they are within walking distance. Im hoping these complaints will embarrass Charter One to act in a positive manner that will satisfy not only me but all their customers.

Note: Ive discussed all of these peeves NUMEROUS times with Charter Ones customer service personnel. None of my following complaints have been addressed.

1) Paint the parking lot so that customers know where to park. The parking lines have worn away. Everytime I park at the branch nearest to me (South Detroit and Glendale Avenues in Toledo, Ohio) its a guessing game as to where the parking lines are.

2) Reduce the number of transaction (transfer / withdrawal) slips to ONE. Numerous times Ive filled out the wrong

slip, and once a teller made me do it over using the correct slip, which really flamed my butt. Filling out only one slip makes it easier and faster.

3) After I make a transaction, printout my current BALANCE of that account. The current receipt only tells me is the date and amount of my transaction. It should display my current balance. One teller was nice enough to handwrite my new balance on my receipt. I didnt ask her to do that, which makes me believe even Charter One employees would like to have that service. Your system should do that AUTOMATICALLY. This is a no-brainer. All of my previous banks provided this service. Fix this one pronto.

4) Give your customers some privacy when they talk to the financial assistance inside the branch. I dont want my neighbors to hear and know my financial business. Put up some portable partitions. Once I had to whisper so that the next customer wouldnt hear what I told the assistant. Thats rediculous.

5) Combine my checking and money market account monthly statements in ONE mailing. Why use two envelopes and postage when one would do?

6) One my monthly statements, show my transactions from the first of the month to the end of the month. Because I opened my accounts in the middle of a month, my monthly statements show my transactions from the middle of one month to the middle of the next. The system is set up to allow business customer this service but not regular customers. Why the discrimination? None of my previous banks did this nor do I know of ANY other bank that does this. I was told the only way I MIGHT get this changed is to cancel my accounts and open them back up on the first of the month. I have direct deposit. I shouldnt have to cancel my accounts on one day and open new ones on the next. That is REDICULOUS.

Ref: www.charterone.com (web site)

Happened, and current:

Misrepresentation of Interest rates on all accounts at their bank. I have been with this bank since it was First Federal in 1990 and never thought that they would misrepresent as they do and have the rate on the internet..

I had siged up for checking in Toledo, and continued to use, upgrade, go to internet usage through the years only to find about a week ago that the rates showing on the internet do not apply to almost any account.

I just converted temporarily to a PRIVILEGE account showing a rate of 2.47% on the internet.. Guess what?

It is good to 1/6/05 only, then converts with the required balance of $ 10,000 to .75%. This is a fraud, misrepresentation, etc. There is no place on the web site to actually get the real rate of return, and they intentionally misrepresent to get customer.

I called on about a 1 year old account (Energized) and found they are paying 1% when the site showed 1.99% and has now changed to .75%.. I asked to have my interest restored at the 1.99% to 2.50% where it was when I opened it.

Obviously they refused.

After waiting 22 minutes, I got a particularly rude and brutish female on the line who proceeded to berate me. According to this cow, it was totally my fault that the branch hung up on me, and my fault that I kept being automatically transferred to the Cleveland Office. She knew, apparently by telepathy, that I was punching the wrong buttons on my phone. Because of this, she refused to give me a manager's name and then proceeded to hang up on me. All this time, my significant other has been listening to this conversation, as I hit my speaker button when he entered the room and let him listen in. His comment when I hung up, and I quote: "That black ***** should be reported. She's an embarrassment to me and my entire race." Yes, FYI, he is black as well. So, at his urging, I call the Cleveland office back again and again request to speak to a manager.

This time they transfer me to "Victoria". I tell her my story. Victoria tells me that since I'm not a customer, she can't do anything to track down the ignoramus who hung up on me. Basically, her attitude was "why should I care about you if you're not going to give us your money?" By now I'm beginning to think this bank must have a corporate culture that encourages people to be a--holes. Maybe they get points for it or something. But no, it gets better. Since I got nowhere with Victoria, the Manager of Cleveland's Crappy Customer Service, and at the urging of my significant other, I once again dial the Hoffman Estates branch and this time get a live human being. After repeating this sad tale yet again, she pretends to be so sorry about my treatment and urges me to come in and open an account. I basically tell her if this is a sample of their service, I'd rather have a root canal, and for the 100th time now, request a manager's name to write a complaint letter to. She gives me the number: 877-321-BANK and says this is the Corporate Office and I should ask for the Operations Manager. My significant other calls the number. He gets a recording with a breathy female voice telling him not to hang up. He hangs up. (BTW, he tried 3 times to be sure he wasn't misdialing. Miss Breathy Voice answered all 3 times.)

The representative, Tony, told this writer that they are a billion dollar cooporation and my complaint won't make a difference. She told this writer to call consumer affairs and it won't matter. She said no one else has complained about their fee like I was.

I am disappointed that I am banking with them as I was also mislead on another issue. I was told during my initial consultation with a representative in the lockport, Ny branch that the mega rewards debit card would not have a monthly fee. I read in the fine print online at Charterone.com that I am going to owe $25 each year to have a debit card through the bank. I wasn't given another option but to have the megarewards card. I feel disgusted with this bank.

They advertise that they have the best banking yet they have the same options as other banks plus fees that are not offered as information needed to know when opening an account. I have never double paid when using other banks' atms just paid the fee charged that you agree to, and I have Never had to pay to have a debit card. Now I have to wait 120 days before closing the account as listed in the fine print that is online.

My wife and I closed out our account. My wife had to pay pending fees of approximately $200 to close out the account. This was at a branch at 22 mile road and van dyke in Shelby Twp, MI. Then, we got threatening phone calls from them saying that they were going to blacklist us if we don't pay fees. We already payed the fees and referred them to the local branch. Now, I cannot open a new bank account because they placed my name on a blaclist, even though we payed the fees, zeroed out the account, and closed it out. This was two years ago.

I didn't realize anything was wrong until I received an email on April 24 stating that my payments could not be completed and I should check the online payment activity to determine the cause. When I checked my accounts I saw what had happened. The bank had payed five of the seven requested payments out of the smaller account. They appeared to have charged them in no particular order. The first they paid caused an overdraft (but was not the largest of our bills). They paid four more, smaller bills before stopping and charging us a whopping $210 in overdraft fees. I immediately called customer service. The first person I spoke to said they could only take $60 of the charge off. When I argued, they said they would remove $105 (50% of the charge).

I kept climbing the ladder through 3 more people and a different number for the consumer affairs department but to no avail. I was told this was not a bank error, it was my fault and the most they would deduct would be $105. No one could sufficiently answer my questions about why they didn't stop with the first overdraft and why they stopped when they did or in what order the selected bills were paid. I was simply told that "it was up to the computer to decide" and "the charges were listed on page 13 of the rules and regulations book."

This bank allows this company to debit my checking account $3.00 every month. I did not authorize this charge. They will not tell us the name of the company only the phone number. We called several times they just tell stories and do nothing. The bank surprisingly disrespectful said that can't stop this company from charging us. These 2 are affiliated The bank and the scam compay.

I opened what was supposed to be a totally free checking account. I was amazed to find a month later that I was charged a $11 non-activity fee and $3 for atm cards that I did not request or use. These fees were not disclosed in the promotion for this account, or at best in small print somewhere that could not be easily found.

I asked several times to have these fees reversed asap and my account closed and the balance sent to me immediately. However, Charter One refused to even close my account and send me the balance, and has ignored all of my emails and letters. They have continued to charge my account with a monthly fee to a point now, where they have taken all the money from my account.

This practice is wrong and unfair. I would appreciate any help you can give me in remedying this.

I filed another Research Request Form (2nd Request) on January 22, 2002 and was assured by the bank that because so much time as elapsed, there was nothing more they could do. I tried to help the bank with this issue by filing a police report for financial identity theft. I also submitted a Forgery Affidavit Questionnaire and an Affidavit of Forgery to Charter One Bank on February 4, 2002, but was still told there was nothing that could be done.

My problem with the bank is False Advertising as Free Checking. They are charging me fees for returned checks and something new as certain amount balance. I do not like their lies. Totally Free Checking is Lies. Iwould like something done to these Banks. I can Not afford these lies as well as their fees. I am retired. Please do something.

I was just recently told that when I run out of deposit slips from the back of my check book that I will get the first 50 free and then after that they will cost $4.95 per 50. No more generic deposit slips. They are also now charging you for the call in # to check your account. You get 5 calls free per month and then it will cost .25 per call there after. Talk about the many ways banks make money off their customers. For now the internet checking of accounts is free but I am sure they will figure out a way to start charging for that also.