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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

PNC Bank Nightmares

Joe,

Not sure if you would be interested in posting this, just thought I would let you know about my dealings with PNC Bank.

I opened an account with them in late July of 2009.(reason im so sure of when I opened it is because my mother was in hospice when I went there) I had a savings account also that was linked to my checking for overdraft protection. If something came through they would transfer from my savings to my checking to cover the charge for a $10.00 fee. So say I end up $3.00 to the negative and I only have $10.00 in my savings they take the $10 from my savings to apply to checking to cover the $3.00 then charge me $10.00 for doing it which puts me back to $3.00 negative and I get a $36.00 over the limit fee....and lose my $10 in savings..They also hold my direct deposits until other stuff posts to make me negative and then add the direct deposit and take a couple more $36.00 charges...they have killed me in fees...over $800 in over draft fees since 12/23/09.

I have called and complained and actually got 7 of them refunded due to their error...DUE TO THEIR ERROR what the heck...they just hope people wont catch them. Now I have had them call to verify some charges on my account to make sure my card wasn't lost or stolen such as gas charge at wawa or McDonald's...stuff that I do all the time...last week when I had a $150.00 charge to my account for something over seas they didn't bother to call. So I disputed the item and they gave me a temporary credit so they could investigate. I also got the number of the company and they said they made a mistake and gave me the $150 back into my account. Now I'm trying to close my account and they tell me that it could take up to 90 days to solve the investigation. I ALREADY FIGURED IT OUT AND THE MONEY WAS REFUNDED they can charge me friggin $36.00 charges in the blink of an eye but they cant take the $150 back that they temporarily credited me so that I can close the account.

Now, in the midst of fighting them to close my account, they inform me that because I opened my account in November of 09 (not at least 180 days ago) that they are going to charge me an additional $25.00 fee. Any way they can get something out of you. I will never deal with this bank again and I know you "top notch" people will say don't go over the limit u wont get charged well duh i know that. But when 7 nsf fees are refunded because THEY made a mistake...that speaks volumes.

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Go to Shore Bank. I've never had a problem and the people are very nice.

Anonymous said...

sorry to hear that, but I have had a pnc banking accout since august of 2002, which i opened in pittsburgh and have NEVER had a problem with them. They even know me by name at the pnc I ususally go to (in the twilley center. I have had problemsw at both m&T and bank of America, but like i said NEVER pnc!

Anonymous said...

First paragraph state syou opened the account in late July of 2009. Last paragraph states you opened the account in November 2009. Did I miss something?

Anonymous said...

I loved them when they were Peninsula Bank. You could go in and talk to them and everyone was always helpful. I do feel bad for the employees - their hands our tied in how much they can help now. We have had similar situations where they have held deposits while other charges posted and then charged us overdraft fees.

We have started moving our accounts to other banks. Farmers Bank of Willards and Hebron Savings bank will have all our business in the next few months.

Anonymous said...

sorry...they said i opened it in november. It was opened in july. they trying to get $25.00 out of me saying it wasnt opened over 180 days.

Anonymous said...

I have had very similar issues with PNC and am also looking for another bank.

Anonymous said...

PNC - Predatory Nsf Charges.

Anonymous said...

PNC had this reputation long before they "took over" the local banks. I work in the accounting field and, trust me, PNC is NOT easy to deal with. My advice to anyone thinking of moving their money or opening a new account: DO NOT GO TO PNC! They will gouge you left and right.

Also, everyone should check his/her monthly bank statement each month. Just as this writer states, banks DO make mistakes and it can cost you money.

Anonymous said...

has anyone had some of the same issues and were they able to get anything done about it?

Anonymous said...

Go to Shore Bank. It's the best in town.

Anonymous said...

go to another bank.

Anonymous said...

PNC = Pretty Nasty Crew

that runs the place. The tellers are nice but the policies and management have driven me away forever.

Anonymous said...

BBT bank almost as bad with their fees,

Anonymous said...

This is NOTHING compared to what this Pittsburg Bank has done to cripple and/or close good and long standing businesses in our area. If the truth comes out of the extent of the damage they have caused, NO One on the shore should have one cent deposited with them!

Anonymous said...

never heard of pittsburg bank

Anonymous said...

Farmers Bank of Willards is Great! We have been with them for 20 yrs. Just don't go to the branch by Dash In, in Willards. They don't have all of those fees the others do.

Anonymous said...

How bout you just don't spend money you don't have in your accoutn, and stop blaming other people for your incompetence!!!!

Anonymous said...

I have never had a single problem with PNC. I was originally with Penninsula and my accounts got transferred over to PNC when they sold out. Now I used to have these same problems with M&T, Shore Bank and Bank of America but as I have aged and matured I later discovered that it wasn't the bank's fault-it was MY FAULT! I was the one that didn't keep track of my account balances, I was the one that spent money that I didn't have, and I was the one that started the domino effect of fees. Blame it on the bank all you want, but you knew that these fees would be charged if you overdrew you accounts. You caused these problems for yourself-the bank just assessed the fees and penalties for your negligence.

You're angry at a bank because of your own ignorance and your own poor personal financial management so you write in to a blog anonymously to rag on and blemish the reputation of a financial institution because you made mistakes?? Sounds pretty childish to me.

I want you to go out and find 10 people who are very financially stable and ask them what bank they prefer-you'll probably get 6-8 different answers. Then ask them if they have had any problems with their bank and I guarantee that at least 9 or 10 will say "none." Now go out and find 10 financially unstable people and ask the same questions. I bet you'll get similar answers for the first question, but I bet they will say that they have had their fair share of problems and blame it on the banks too.

The point is, banks aren't out there to steal your money...in fact they already have your money-they actually want the interest that they can earn off your money. The majority of the fees that banks assess are automated and are triggered by certain transactions, transactions that YOU make. So the 7 NSF that were refunded were probably automatically accidently assessed because computers DO MAKE ERRORS. If you have had over $800 in fees assessed at $36 a pop (22 NSF) and you had 7 returned then who is at fault for the other 15 NSFs? "That speaks volumes!" If you are not responsible enough to manage your bank accounts then I suggest you become a cash only consumer.

Bottom line, you never would have had these problems had you expressed more financial responsibility.

By-the-way, if you have had fraudulent overseas charges and you didn't loose your card then chances are you are doing one of 2 things; making credit card purchases over the phone or on unsecured internet sites. You really need to learn how to responsibly use your check card!

Here's your first lesson...Don't take out more than you put in!

Anonymous said...

Go to Farmers Bank of Willards. Best around!

Anonymous said...

I agree that some of it comes down to personal responsibility when it comes to one's finances; however, PNC is a substantial downgrade from the Bank of Fruitland that originally inhabited the building.

Peninsula band was much better too. The only real thing PNC has going for it is that they have multiple branches all over the place -- for now.

I'm willing to bet that if you did a real "anonymous" survey of both employees and customers, you'd find that the overall attitude towards the PNC bank isn't all that favorable. Everyone is miserable, I'd guess.

Anonymous said...

This again?
Don't write checks if you don't have the money in the account. Period!
I don't care if you have "another account" that's supposed to CYA!
Just follow the rules like good people do and you won't have to write to a blog trashing a business and in the process get trashed yourself. Grow up and be responsible!

Anonymous said...

PNC is the worst bank around...the same thing happened to me and on top of everything else it took me 3 days to find out about the overdraft so they then billed my account $6.00 a day for everyday it was overdrawn....I would never bank at PNC again! I had direct deposit on my account with my pay going in on Friday but I couldn't use it til Saturday which caused the overdraft to begin with...Shore Bank-they care and are professional folks working at that bank and no time delay on any transaction! That my friends is worth its weight in gold!

Anonymous said...

GO TO FIRST SHORE FEDERAL!! They are the best bunch of ladies around especially at the Cedar Lane branch!!

Anonymous said...

Shore Bank is the one to deal with
All those girls are top notch
I used to bank at Peninsula Bank and had no issues until I wanted a loan - they only loaned to individuals that did not need a loan.
Went to Shore Bank and Bam - loan received and have been happily ever after for the last 9 years

Oh they could open a branch on the East side - would not hurt my feelings
But otherwise DownTown Shore Bank
thumbs up

Anonymous said...

I am another PNC victom. I was with Peninsula, then Mercantile, with 30 years of dedicated service. PNC came to town, cared less about service, called my line of credit (which wsas no big deal) and I have heard and seen NOTHING but bad faith from them. Listen close people, anyone that deals with PNC is setting themselves up to be screwed BIG TIME!

Anonymous said...

@Anon 10:46 - I've actually been fairly happy with BBT. They act like a local bank.

Anonymous said...

Those who are saying "dont take out more than you put in" are missing the point. Lemme give you an example. I go to the bank on Friday and deposit a check for $500. I assume my balance is $500, so I go out and buy dinner on my debit card, go to a movie, buy some gas, whatever. Alot of banks have the policy of processing debits before credits, so if I had started with a 0 balance, I would have gotten hit with NSF fees for every use of my card. Additionally, some banks dont process transactions in the order they are received, they process the largest ones first, so if you do overdraw your account with one large purchase, the smaller ones all get NSF fees instead of processing them in order, or the smallest first so the most get covered. Banks arent making squat right now on interest, the rate is simply too low. Fees are the banks' source of free income, and they are in the business of making money, so they will charge you whenever they feel they can get away with it.

Anonymous said...

A simple solution would be to stop overdrawing your checking account.

Anonymous said...

SECU!!! I love them and have gotten my brother to switch recently. They are very helpful and I don't have any of these problems with them. I don't deal in big money, either. Just a regualr person living paycheck to paycheck these days.

countrygirl@heart

Anonymous said...

I am so disgusted with banks. We bail them out and they rob us. Why doesn't the government charge them 29.99% of what they got from us/the government? Now there's an idea!

Unknown said...

"I am so disgusted with banks."

And I'm sure that there are a lot of American's who pay taxes so that those that can't/don't pay taxes get lots of free benefits and services. There is nothing magical about banks. You put money in and you take it out but it must be in the order in which you have money to take out. Yes banks can steam roll fees to the point you feel you have been overwhelmed but take the time to sit down with the bank to find a solution to this. Understand what overdraft protection is and what it protects you from. Take the time to apply for additional protection if necessary. Just don't assume too much and blame others (banks) because you assumed wrong.

In response to another note, SECU is one of the good alternatives but understand their terms just like any other bank before assuming too much.

Anonymous said...

http://www.pnc-sucks.com

Joe I found this while surfing a little while ago. Seems there are many people problems with PNC

Anonymous said...

Everybody keeps complaining that they deposit a check and then go spend the money that they just deposited but the debits go through before the deposit and they get charged fees. To my knowledge, its always been the practice of banks to 'hold' a check for a day a two before the funds are available. They are not doing this for evil reasons just to charge you fees. They do it to make sure the money the check is written for is available. If banks didn't do this they would have Joe Blow's writing bad checks to their friend Sally Sue, who would deposit it and then withdrawl it, just for the bank to find out after the fact that Joe Blow never had the money in his checking account to begin with. So now the bank is outta of the money cause Sally already took it. They hold checks to protects themselves from the people complaining about how they hold checks. And just so you know..I live paycheck to paycheck too..I just don't spend my paycheck before it post to my account.

Unknown said...

Why banks hold checks:

An elderly,(about 70), white-haired man walked into a jewelry store one Friday evening with a beautiful young blonde at his side.

He told the jeweler he was looking for a special ring for his girlfriend.

The jeweler looked through his stock and brought out a $5,000 ring. The old man said, "No, I'd like to see something more special."

At that statement, the jeweler went to his special stock and brought another ring over. "Here's a stunning ring at only $40,000," he said.

The young lady's eyes sparkled and her whole body trembled with excitement. The old man seeing this said, "We'll take it."

The jeweler asked how payment would be made and the old man stated, "By check. I know you need to make sure my check clears so I'll write it now, and you can call the bank on Monday morning to verify the funds and I'll pick the ring up on Monday afternoon," he said..

On Monday morning, the jeweler 'phoned the old man and said "Sir, there's no money in that account."
"I know," said the old man, "but let me tell you about my weekend!"

All Seniors Aren't Senile