Return-Path: Received: from v.ergo.cs.cmu.edu by K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa16014; 13 Sep 91 13:29:51 EDT Date: Fri, 13 Sep 91 13:29:02 EDT From: John.Greiner@V.ERGO.CS.CMU.EDU To: bovik@K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: banks -- posts from cmu-market 06-Sep-91 13:44 Kiumarse Zamanian Do NOT use Pittsburgh National Bank From: Kiumarse Zamanian Hi I am just posting this message to let the CMU community know that Pittsburgh National Bank is perhaps the most incompetent financial institution I have ever dealt with in my life! This bank not only has all sorts of hidden charges, but also tries to work against its clients in every way possible! One example, is that they send my renewd ATM card to my previous address and since I had moved and the postmaster is asked not to forward those cards, they labeled my card a "hot" card, of course without notifying me! Consequently, when I tried to use my not-yet expired ATM card while all this was happening, the machine ate my card and I had to run around town trying to figure out what happend. Finally, after about 3 hours (while my groceries sit in the store) I found out the storyabout my supposedly "hot" atm card. So they said they will send my new (and only card, since the old one was eaten by the machine) to my new address. Well,after about 2 months I called them again and they said, sorry they forgot! But of course, PNB never forgets to charge you for all sorts of additional services! Also, I should mention that in order to change the address on your account, you have to go into the bank and fill out special forms (and often stand in line). I changed my address on my credit cards and out-of-town banks simply by calling some 800 numbers! Hope this information is useful to some new incoming students and people trying to change their banks. Unfortunately, I can not recommend any bank in Pittsburgh that I liked! -- Kiumarse Zamanian voice: (412) CMU-5212 EDRC - CMU FAX: (412) CMU-5229 DISCLAIMER: "I never said that!" PGH, PA 15213-3890 computer: QMARS@EDRC.CMU.EDU 06-Sep-91 15:27 Christopher James Culver RE:Do NOT use Pittsburgh Nationa l Bank From: Christopher James Culver Not PNB!!!!---use Equibank(Superman theme in backround). The closest one I know of is on Walnut St. They have guaranteed free MAC usage until 1993(when it's re-voted on by the "board") and they give you a new card right there in the bank(they have a little machine that encodes your PIN). They also have a checking account with NO minimum balance, so you could have $0.02 and still have an active account. I found them VERY courteous and recommend them highly, especially since I have dealt with two other local banks(Mellon, Integra) and they pale in comparison. ____________________________________ | Christopher "ris" Culver }8^) | cc4c@andrew.cmu.edu | (412) 363-7439 (ans. machine) | Socrates' last words: "I drank what!?" 06-Sep-91 16:16 Kurt.Haverstock@sei.cmu.edu Re: PNB Actually, PNB has jumped through hoops for me on more than one occaision. Most recently, they came through for me on a loan that made the adoption of our son possible... On the subject of changing client or account information over the phone...if my bank compromised the security of my account by doing something like that over the phone, I'd change banks. "Yeah, my names Fred....uh...Tim...uh...Nelson, yeah, Nelson Rockefeller...that's the ticket." Kurt 06-Sep-91 16:16 Chiun-Zen Yang Bad Experiences - PNB From: Chiun-Zen Yang Hi, I thought I was the only unlucky guy who got bad experiences from Pittsburgh National Bank. I post this just to remind you of being careful if you are subjected to the "service charge" by Pittsburgh National Bank. As the matter of fact, I experienced their "service charge" for 3 times during the recent 3 months. The reason they told me was I didn't have enough amount of money in my checking account. I went to PNB located at Craig Street because I had never been charged even though there was less money in my checking account. (1) The first time, the consultant showed me their regulation which described the "Minimum balance/Exemptions to avoid Service Charge" for a "Regular Checking". She was so kind to read that for me: "Minimum balance 0f $400 or average monthly balance of $600" When I mentioned why I had never been charged since before, her answer was "You are lucky!". I was really embarrassed until I saw the following description (just behind what she read) on the regulation: "$1000 balance in any related savings: ...., Insured Money Fund,......." Unfortunately, I have the "Insured Money Fund" with at least $1000 balance "every day". Then, she checked my saving account and said she was sorry, and I got my $5.00 refund. I thought it simply happened by chance, and would be OK from then on. (2) The second time, the front-desk lady checked that for me and gave me the refund again. I asked her if it would happen again. She said she didn't know. I didn't close my checking account because I had not cleared my checks yet and would be inconvenient for me. (3) The third time (what a poor guy), another front-desk lady asked me why I didn't tell them before. I said I did and showed her the records of refund. She said I should have let "her" know, but how should I know who can handle such thing. I tried to close this account anyway, but she told me I could only close it on next Monday after she input the $5.00 refund (if I need that $5.00). I curiously asked her if there was anything wrong with their computer system. Her answer was "there won't be if you close the account". Anyway, I will close it asap. Yang, Chiun-Zen Grad. of Mech. Eng. - CMU (412) 268-2517 06-Sep-91 16:52 Ruthann Schmidt Banks From: Ruthann Schmidt What a coincidence. I was planning on asking readers for their opinions/nightmares/good experiences with local banks when someone started a thread about how bad Pgh National Bank is. I (& others I'm sure) would love to hear more about other local banks. I'm thinking of changing my bank. I've used First Seneca Bank for 12 years & never had any problems. There were some fees, but nothing terribly bad or inconvenient. UNTIL... Recently, First Seneca merged with some other small banks to form Integra Bank. What's one of the first changes? Integra will now charge 25 cents per withdrawal using a MAC card. That's bullshit. (The president of Integra should have gotten my letter by now, & is undoubtably working on his reply ;-\ ) I know other banks charge for MAC card usage, but I think it's unfair so I'm in search of a bank which doesn't charge. I heard good things about Equibank. Any other good banks? Any other really bad banks. Gee, I wonder which list will be longer. Thanx, Ruth Ann 06-Sep-91 17:43 Ian J Gardner Re: Banks From: Ian J Gardner Ruith: What the heck? You can't pay $.25 per usage? Or, better yet, you can't take the 15-20 minutes to walk down to the nearest bank? What, do you expect them to take your money (which they probably don't make a lot from investing), and not charge. Union Bank: MAC: $.25 per use Service: $2/month Check Charges: $.25 or $.50 over 10 This is the lowest type of service (I think). The next higher one up is $4/month service, when a balance of over $400is maintained. (No check charges). And yes, it's part of the Integra bank. 06-Sep-91 17:51 "Seth D. Kadesh" Re: Banks From: "Seth D. Kadesh" someone said that Mellon Bank is bad. I have to disagree. I have a student checking account at Mellon (5th and Craig). There is no minimum balance required, and the ATM card is free as long as you use Mellon ATM machines. You'd have to look pretty hard to find a place where there isn't a Mellon ATM machine, but I'm sure you would succeed if you really tried. But why bother? The only problem with the student checking account is that you get four free checks per month. After that, there's a service charge. But how many checks do you write a month? (I write three - one for a student loan, one for my credit card, and one for my rent). I don't think any of the banks here offer the "ideal account" that you're looking for. Pick the one that has the best advantages. -seth / everything seems so easy this way but I'm going under sk2f@andrew.cmu.edu / fast, I'm slipping away, am I so crazy? - Marillion 06-Sep-91 17:58 Christopher James Culver banks-Read This!! From: Christopher James Culver hey everyone- i posted this once before but people seemed to have missed it. here it is again. i will stop posting it after this one. Not PNB!!!!---use Equibank(Superman theme in backround). The closest one I know of is on Walnut St. They have guaranteed free MAC usage until 1993(when it's re-voted on by the "board") and they give you a new card right there in the bank(they have a little machine that encodes your PIN). They also have a checking account with NO minimum balance, so you could have $0.02 and still have an active account. I found them VERY courteous and recommend them highly, especially since I have dealt with two other local banks(Mellon, Integra) and they pale in comparison. 06-Sep-91 19:17 Mark Choi Re: Banks From: Mark Choi > Excerpts from cmu.market: 6-Sep-91 Re: Banks Ian J Gardner (543+0) > What the heck? You can't pay $.25 per usage? Or, better yet, you can't > take the 15-20 minutes to walk down to the nearest bank? What, do you > expect them to take your money (which they probably don't make a lot from investing), and not charge? As a matter of fact, why pay if you do not have to? that 25 cents adds up really quickly, like $60.00 a year. And you can't go to the nearest bank, if it is after 4:00, a holiday, or a weekend. And I do expect them to do just that. Equibank does. You are getting ripped off by integra. Period mark 06-Sep-91 20:55 Ian J Gardner Re: Banks From: Ian J Gardner From Mark Choi: (won't put all the fancy stuff here...) > As a matter of fact, why pay if you do not have to? that 25 cents adds > up really quickly, like $60.00 a year. And you can't go to the nearest > bank, if it is after 4:00, a holiday, or a weekend. And I do expect them > to do just that. Equibank does. You are getting ripped off by integra. Period. Well... If you'd like. Personally, I went to the first bank that I thought was couterious enough to see me. I stood there in line, waiting to see a service rep for PNB, and he passed OVER me for some guy who had his kid there, too (must have wanted to impress the parent). Yet, Union was there, and they just had two guys with pamphlets, who knew answers to all of my questions. There were no lines, and I certainly received prompt service. So, I went to their bank (it was ALSO a short block away). I happened to be the only one in the bank at the time, and was promptly serviced. Luckily, I got there when I did, for 5 minutes later, a crowd started to form outside of the customer service area. The rep there answered all of my questions (like, if it would make sense to upgrade my acct, if I began to write a large number of checks). As for the $.25 service charge adding up to $60 per year - I find that hard to believe. That's 240 transactions per year - Almost one a day. I think that you face a far larger problem of either: a) Not knowing how to manage yourself fiscally, or b) Having too much money given to you by mom and dad... Either way, you are wasting money. If you (in the generic sense) find a bank that makes you happy, so be it. As for me, I know that my usage of a MAC card is thought about. If I've got a few minutes, why not walk to the bank, and save money. Plus, the exercise is always good for you. But, rating a bank just because it costs $.25 to use an ATM card is ridiculous. I bet you spend more than that on high-fat meals during the day... 06-Sep-91 22:33 "Jennifer E. Swofford" Re: Banks From: "Jennifer E. Swofford" Please pardon my ignorance, but I didn't know that banking cards existed that had a service charge for *every* use. I come from the Chicagoland area, and the Cash Station cards there are like Mellon Bank MAC cards here - as long as you use the card in one of their machines, (which are always a block away in the city) there is no charge. To tell you all an amazing fact, I have never ever dealt with a real person while making a deposit, withdrawal, or transaction between any of my accounts. I got my first banking card when I was in the 8th grade, and the only thing I've talked to a teller or banking representative about has been 1) change of address, which I think should definitely be done by phone, with the use of your social security number or a code word such as MBNA uses, 2) opening accounts, 3) closing accounts, 4) cashing in large amounts of change. I find much more pleasure in using banking cards than standing in lines inside banks - which brings me to another issue - you're all talking about waiting in lines in banks. Considering the absurd open hours of ALL banks, lines are bound to be long in all banks most of the time. I don't think it has much to do with their service. I think that all bank teller-type personell are of the same degree of cluelessness and that lines probably don't really vary from one to the other. But, then again, I wouldn't know because I use banking cards regularly, right? Anyway, this whole discussion just proves the wide diversity of people and opinions associated with CMU... it really makes me think (ack.) Jennifer E. Swofford jsap@andrew.cmu.edu 07-Sep-91 10:20 June Diane Wicinas banks From: June Diane Wicinas Doesn't it all depend on what you prefer in a bank??? If you *like* walking to a bank for all of your transactions, that's cool. If you prefer using a Mac machine for convenience, that's cool too. Personally, I use Equibank for its free Mac. My account has unlimited free checking, free Mac, and I also have no minimum balance because I have direct deposit. They have always been very courteous to me, and they do encode new Mac cards right in the office. I had an account at First Federal until they started charging 25 cents for ATM transactions at machines other than their own, and they don't have anywhere near as many machines as Mellon does. Union National also charges for Mac transactions. To address the address question: I think it is much better to go to the bank to change your address so that they can positively ID you. I would not want my business mail being sent to Joe Schmoe who called to change my address just because I didn't want to spend 10 minutes in line at the bank. It's also a good idea to keep track of when your Mac card expires so that you don't lose your card in a machine. If you move, everything (statements, etc.) will be forwarded EXCEPT cards. 07-Sep-91 11:10 Shvetank Shah Plug for Dollar Bank From: Shvetank Shah Dollar is the only bank I know of in the vicinity that has free checking--no minimum balance, no per check charge, no monthly charge etc etc. They DO charge for MAC usage, but if you keep $250 in your checking account, that fee is waived as well. The nearest branch is in East Liberty, in the Shady Hill Plaza. They also have an office in Squirrel Hill. 07-Sep-91 11:41 Charles Holden Winstead Re: Banks From: Charles Holden Winstead In article ig00+@andrew.cmu.edu (Ian J Gardn er) writes: >Ruith: What the heck? You can't pay $.25 per usage? Or, better yet, >you can't take the 15-20 minutes to walk down to the nearest bank? >What, do you expect them to take your money (which they probably don't >make a lot from investing), and not charge. > Union Bank: > MAC: $.25 per use > Service: $2/month > Check Charges: $.25 or $.50 over 10 > This is the lowest type of service (I think). > The next higher one up is $4/month service, when a balance of over > $400 is maintained. (No check charges). > And yes, it's part of the Integra bank. Is this supposed to be PRO Integra???? Compare with Equibank ... MAC: Free Service: Free Checking: Free Minimum Balance: notta, nil, zero,zip,zilch, ... (get the picture?) As long as you have direct deposit, they waive the minimum balance for free checking. As for service, I've never needed any, which says something in itself, but they have always been very courteous. -Chuck P.S. I have no connection to Equibank, except for being a happy customer. 07-Sep-91 12:00 "Marek J. Druzdzel" Re: Banks (EQUIBANK) From: "Marek J. Druzdzel" I'll try to write down the exact rules for Equibank' basic checking account. Free MAC card, guaranteed until 1993 (no annual fee, no per-transaction fee, you can use any MAC machine, not only Equibank's) No limit on the number of checks a month. A monthly fee of $4.-, which is however waived each month that you - either receive a direct deposit of your salary/stypend to this account - or maintain a minimum balance of $400 during this month For me this works very well on all counts: the office is located one block from where I live (Forbes/Murray), the folks are helpful, I use MAC a lot, I write a lot of checks, and my stypend is deposited directly to the account, which takes care of the fee. OTHER POSSIBILITIES that I know of at Equibank include: a "Value Plan" checking with a monthly fee of $6.- per month (not waived under any circumstances), all above benefits plus: a free safe deposit box ($25 a year otherwise), no fee when buying travellers checks (AAA does the same!), Equiphone (paying your bills by phone: I'd prefer to do it with my computer), free first supply of checks when you join the plan, first year's VISA fee waived (if they approve you). a Money Market account, about 6% interest on your money (variable), two free checks a month, a small fee for additional checks, I guess a free MAC card to access it, and a monthly fee of a few dollars (I don't remember how much) unless you maintain a minimum balance of $1000 or $2000 (I don't remember). I'm sorry for the fuzziness in the information on the latter two accounts. You can find out the exact data from Equibank: I just wanted to point out the possibilities. 07-Sep-91 13:21 "Bryan J. Ischo" Dollar Bank From: "Bryan J. Ischo" I would also like to recommend Dollar Bank. I have had a savings account at Dollar Bank since I was in 6th grade, and have never paid any kind of service charge, even for all of the withdrawals I make from my Youngstown, OH account using the money machines here in Pittsburgh. I still don't have a checking account (just because I'm too lazy to write checks) but I'm glad to know that I won't have any kind of monthly or per check charge when I do finally decide to get one. I, for one, believe that service charges are a ripoff. I think that most of the $.25 you pay each time you use your card is profit for the bank. It certainly must cost more to have a bank attendant take 5 minutes to process the paperwork for your withdrawal than for some computer to do it in a few nanoseconds. But the only important aspect of all of this is how much you, the user, has to pay. I pay nothing and would have it no other way. just sayin' -Bryan 07-Sep-91 18:26 Cushing Courtney Whitney Re: banks-Read This!! From: Cushing Courtney Whitney I second that opinion, I've never had a problem with Equibank in the three years i've had an account there..... Just my $.02 worth 08-Sep-91 08:53 M014MA13@vb.cc.cmu.edu re: Banks Another Equibank plug: I was a PNB customer for a couple of years, until I actually had to deal with their staff about some charges with which I didn't agree. I presented my case to the person at the front desk, and when she failed to resolve the issue for me I spoke to the branch manager. This guy made no effort to hear my side of the case, was unreasonably inflexible, and, what really made me furious, came up with no better justification for leaving the charges in place than that they were already in the computer and therefore couldn't be altered! What I don't need from a bank is to be lied to and have my intelligence insulted. I told him that any bank that couldn't program its computers in such a way that erroneous charges could be reimbursed to its clients certainly doesn't deserve my business. I closed my accounts there, moved to Equibank, and I've never looked back. Equibank's no fee MAC was probably the main reason for my moving there, but I've since found many other things I like about them. The staff is courteous and helpful, their checking is free (as explained in previous posts), and they are also open on Saturdays, which I don't believe anyone else has mentioned. I also have made use of their Credit Express service, which is an open line of unsecured credit for which you pay a good deal less than credit card rates. As for the question of why not just swallow the per-use fees on MAC cards, my position is simple: the banks are already SAVING money by having their customers switch to automated banking. They invest in the system up front and then reap the profits by reducing the number of employees and branches. I read some time ago that the cost per transaction to a bank is almost twice as high when a teller handles it as when it's an ATM transaction. Besides, why throw the money away when there's a perfectly good bank around which allows you to conduct your business for free at any ATM machine? I don't know about Dollar or Union, but I'm happy where I am now, and don't mind putting in a good word here for Equibank. One more thing: for those people who occasionally forget to balance their checkbooks, Equibank also has overdraft protection, which you can ask for when you open both a checking and a savings account with them. It allows the bank to use money in your savings account to cover payments from checking for, I believe, $7.00, which is a good deal less than the 20 or 22 dollars penalty you'd pay if you didn't have this. 08-Sep-91 16:30 Todd Andrew Ferrante EQUIBANK service charges From: Todd Andrew Ferrante Let me share with you all a little experiance that happened last Christmas time. I had a Horizon Financial Checking account. Free MAC, free checking w/ direct deposit of paycheck. I had my CMU workstudy paychecks directly deposited so my checking was free. On the last pay period before Christmas the date when time cards were to be turned in was moved to Thursday instead of the usual Friday time. I found this out when I turned in the card on Friday, not having recieved notice of this change. I assumed that the card would be turned into the cashiers office next pay period. Having gone home for Christmas I got my last AT&T phone bill of the semester and waited until my pay check was directly deposited in my bank account before paying it. The next thing I know the check is bouncing from here to eternity. About $15 dollars in about 6 phone calls (I live in Ohio) got me this story: The secretary did not turn in the time card because by the time the next pay period came around she was "on Christmas vacation". Since I was one day late turning in the time card (not my fault in the first place) my pay was not directly deposited until a month later. From this point the computers took over. My check to AT&T bounced because of low funds ($15 service charge from AT&T) ($15 service charge from the bank). The banks computer sent me a letter and returned the check to AT&T. I recieve letter #1 and call AT&T to try and get them to hold the check until I can figure out what is going on. They tell me sorry, it is all done by computer there is nothing they can do. I try to use my MAC card to deposit funds to cover the check. I find that MAC cards cannot deposit money across state lines. The AT&T computer tries to cash it again ($15 service charge from AT&T) ($15 service charge from the bank). The bank sends me another letter along with the check (now covered with blank ink from numerous people stamping it). I end up paying in service charges and phone charges twice the amount of the original phone bill. I return to school and find a letter from the bank saying they are merging with another and there is now a charge for every time I use my MAC card and make out a check. At this point I closed out my account and got a MCI calling card. Todd Ferrante 08-Sep-91 17:38 Amy Jo Paynter Pittsburgh banks From: Amy Jo Paynter I have reached the conclusion that Pittsburgh banks SUCK. (I think it's to be expected in a city where any type of service industry sucks.) I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND EQUIBANK, FIRST FEDERAL, OR UNION NATIONAL!!! During my freshman year, I had a HORRIBLE experience with FIRST FEDERAL. To summarize, they kept having the wrong pin number put on my mac card and I had to keep getting new cards. (The process of getting a new card took 4-6 weeks.) I was told that there was no way that I could find out what pin number had actually been put on my card and that I would have to get a new card. Having an out-of-state driver's license, I couldn't write checks for purchases so to access my money, I had to pay the cashier's office to cash personal checks whenever I needed money (very inconvenient). Anyway, after going through three mac cards from First Federal, I wrote them a letter to express my anger and frustration. Instead of calling me to straighten out the situation, apologize, etc., they sent me a letter telling me that I needed to adjust to life in "the big city." (I guess I had told them how pleasant my bank in my hometown in Ohio had been.) In this letter, they also sent me a check for the balance of my account. They closed my account on me without any notice or waiting for my outstanding checks to clear and so on top of everything else, I had to take care of some bounced checks. I see that quite a few people have postings praising Equibank. Well, if I were getting ready to open a new account somewhere, I'd keep shopping. If you do decide to go with Equibank, beware: EQUIBANK wasn't as bad as First Federal. For a while, they were actually O.K. My first problem started when I opened a savings account with them. (I had already had a checking account with them for over a year.) When I opened the savings account, I specifically asked if there was a minimum balance requirement. The guy who opened my account for told me, "No." But when I got my first savings statement, I had service charges that amounted to more than the interest I was earning. At first I thought it was an error and just ignored it (it was a petty amount and wasn't worth doing anything about.) After two or three months, I finally called Equibank and asked them what was going on. That's when I found out about the $100 minimum balance requirement. The next day when I went to Oakland to close my savings account, I was asked why I was closing the account so I told the woman the story. I assumed that I wouldn't be able to recover the service charge amounts, but I at least thought that I would receive an apology. I was wrong! This made me a little bit upset, but I wasn't ready to deal with the hassle of finding another bank. Then I had another little problem with them again this summer while I was in Tennessee. (This one is a rather long story and if you want to hear about it, send me mail: ap28@andrew.) I corresponded with them during the summer about my problem and I found that even though they were mostly at fault for the problem, they were extremely uncooperative in helping me solve it. At the end of the summer, I just told them to take a hike. My boyfriend had a bad experience with UNION NATIONAL. He had a savings account with them for a year or so, but he had less than $50 in the account for a couple months. One day, he received a check from his parents for a couple thousand dollars and deposited it into his account. What he didn't know when he made the deposit is that Union National had closed his account a couple days before and a notice was in the mail. (They didn't even tell him when he made the deposit that his account had been closed by the bank!!!) The next day he received the notice telling him that his account had been closed. (His account didn't have a zero balance when they closed it and they didn't send him a check for the remaining balance. They charged him a service charge of the exact amount that was in the account to bring the balance to zero, and then closed it.) When he went to the bank to get them to reopen the account they told him that they couldn't reactivate his account right away and so he couldn't have access to any of the money that he deposited. Meanwhile, when the bank went to credit the check he deposited to his account, they realized that his account had been closed (it hadn't been reactivated yet) and so they returned the check! This cycle repeated itself a couple times before the timing was right and the situation was straightened out. It wasn't really a case of the people at Union National being rude (like at First Federal or Equibank) -- they were just a bunch of bumbling idiots. Personally, I wouldn't want a bunch of bumbling idiots in charge of my money but my boyfriend was content with sticking with Union National for a while after that incident. (I was with him most of the times that he went to the bank during this mess and I don't recall them apologizing for their mistakes either.) What ever happened to "The customer is always right" and all that stuff? Obviously, customer service is not valued in this city. ONLY 9 MORE MONTHS IN THIS GOD FORSAKEN CITY 09-Sep-91 01:29 Ben Smith IV Pitt Banks LACK From: Ben Smith IV I just came to CMU for Grad School. I came from silicon valley in California. The difference in the level of service and respect a student gets there and here is incredible. I find it easier to use my bank 3000 miles a way than to deal with Mellon three blocks away. I can do everything over the phone, they don't hold checks for 15 days, I can pay bills and check my account using my computer. I don't have to pay for terminal usage. I have a account here only to have a local check book. I send all my money to Ca. then zap some over the computer to my mellon account. Its not the money that matters as much as it is the quality and of service I want. I don't have time to argue with tellers. Pittsburgh banks have a lot to learn about service. Especially to students who may be poor today but won't be tommorrow. 09-Sep-91 10:15 Autumn Farole the bank thing From: Autumn Farole a few good points about Mellon Bank: Because I have direct deposit, there are no checking fees or minimum balance charges. Also, the cover my checks when there are insufficient funds, and this has nothing to do with a savings account (I don't have one with them). So they still charge me $20 for NFS, but they pay whoever I wrote the check to (so, for instance, I don't get a $20 returned check fee from Citibank). Then I have 5 working days to set my account straight to avoid another $20 fee. This is a great feature if your accounting skills are as weak as mine. --Autumn 09-Sep-91 10:42 Esther Filderman Re: Pitt Banks LACK From: Esther Filderman Oh, please, not another round of "i hate pittsburgh because" ! As to banks holding checks, there's either a state or federal law as to how long banks may do so. As to being able to use your computer to do banking, I'd hardly call that a measure of "service". Different banks offer different levels of banking communications. I've heard there is at least one that let's you do so, many others offer ways of doing banking by a touch-tone phone. Besides, expecting Pittsburgh to be as computer-everywhere as Silicon Valley is like expecting to find lobsters in the Ohio river. And, as to bank's service: I went thru Mellon back when they had the only banking box on campus (and, as a friend once said about them, "They don't just bounce checks, they dribble them.") and then Dollar Bank, which used to be a nice, small, friendly bank that got too big for it's britches (I left them because no two branches could tell me the same thing about their regulations. I'm now with Equibank, for over 4 years. When I opened my account with the Squill office I told them why I had left my previous banks. They told me if I ever had any problems to come and tell them and they would work with me. I had one problem that took 1/2 hour and the manager to fix (details upon request, if you wish) and in the end they were a bit worn but apologetic. What it boils down to, in my opinion, is that you must get to know your branch office. Any bank worth knowing will get to know you and help you whether you are student or staph. 09-Sep-91 11:23 Gretchen Miller Re: Banks From: Gretchen Miller One more bad thing to note about Integra banks: You can only make ATM deposits at an Integra machine. That's right. Despite the fact that their machines are on a network, and despite the fact that when Integra was Seneca&Union National&etc you could make a deposit at ANY Mac machine, you can't any more. My boyfriend (who got burned by this...it wasn't in the literature that the banks sent out when they merged) called and asked about this. He was told "Oh, yes, we'll probably let you deposit in other bank's machines someday, but we have no idea when that day will come." Jeez........Integra, service for you...........rrrrright....... Gretchen 09-Sep-91 12:33 Eric Gardner Re: Banks From: Eric Gardner I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Culver. Equibank has the ideal setup. I also moved from Mellon to Horizon then to Equibank when Union National (Integra) took over Horizon. The only thing I should add to Chris' summary of Equibank's free checking is that to get this service you must have direct deposit and it must get deposited to the checking account. This shouldn't be a problem for anyone around here since CMU has direct deposit even for student paychecks. The fact that Mellon has free MAC as long as you use one of their MAC machines is bullshit. I go out of town many times each year and I have only found one Mellon MAC machine anywhere outside of the Pittsburgh area (Boulder CO). Besides, banks have had to hire far fewer tellers since the advent of the banking card and most of them have shortened their bank ours at least somewhat. It is a money saving venture for them. The Equibank on Walnut also has Saturday hours which is convenient for many people and very few banks still have them. I also want to reemphasize the convenience of getting a new MAC card on the spot. Twice in the last month I have been unfortunate enought to lose my MAC card to a hungry machine (once was my fault the other wasn't). If I was banking almost anywhere else I would have been without a bank card for over a month. .esg. 10-Sep-91 13:23 Dennis Royse Banking Post Frenzy From: Dennis Royse What's all the fuss about banking terms in Pittsburgh? If you guys had thoroughly shopped around, you would have found out that 'Peoples Bank of Unity' has a no fee direct deposit checking account with really 'free' MAC card that can be used for deposits and/or withdrawls at any CIRRUS MAC machine.But the best part is that this account pays 5.5% interest monthly on your average balance (or was that daily?). This is a better rate than many money accounts. 10-Sep-91 23:18 Ken Zuroski Re:Do NOT use Pittsburgh National Bank From: Ken Zuroski I have had very good luck with Colony Savings Bank. The only problem is that their offices are not all that accessable; there's one in Monroeville, a couple in the North Hills. It's a small bank--no screw ups yet, and personal attention & politeness (usually). Ken Zuroski