All Business, Good & Bad

Sometimes, an awful consumer experience. Let's call them out. Okay, mostly. But sometimes awards. Yes? All the accounts are truthful. The names have been changed to protect the innocent and guilty alike. Email me with your stories and I'll include them.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Fifth Third: Still Raping!



I own a small business. This means I have a business banking account. That account is at 5/3 (Fifth Third) Bank. Overall, they're not any better or worse than any other bank. Basically, they'll try to turkey baster money out your rear any chance they get.

So in today's world of electronic files and internets and "Why not check your statements online?" it appears that this is yet another way to screw the customer. As it is past the end of the year, I was online downloading my banking records into Excel format to process the numbers more efficiently. But something weird was happening: I couldn't pull any numbers before July. Hrm?

Well, Fifth Third Bank only allows customers access to 6 months of records online. So I called customer service. What's their deal? Well, they can knock through 18 months over the phone no problem. But they'd be happy to print out and mail or fax the first six months of paper statements to me for the small fee of $8 per.

WTF?

So the rundown is: If you subscribe to the "green" method of checking your statements online and save Fifth Third a little extra moulah in materials and printing and postage, they will return the favor by making sure you have to pay them $50 at the end of the year. You're welcome!

Granted, you can just download or print out your information every month. But I didn't know that 6 months ago when the information would've helped.

No huge rage or surprise, just another way a bank can turn a little allotment that could increase service incredibly into a way to put a buck in their pocket and making you feel dirty.

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posted by Ricky Shambles @ 1:15 PM  

2 Comments:

  • At 6:24 AM, Blogger Cirze said…

    Thanks for the reporting, friend.

    And that, along with the disappearance of the concept of "float," defines bankstering today in the U.S.

    I complained to BB&T and said I wanted my money back when they charged me $35 for a bounced check on a charge that was made at past 6 PM on a Friday and was good on the Monday that it actually was processed due to a deposit made previously that day. They informed me that when I made the $5.50 purchase on my debit card at my local theater, and didn't have the money in the account right at that moment, that I had incurred an overdraft because "they had loaned the money to me" for the purchase which my account did not cover right at that moment.

    Lovin' it yet?

    Thanks for giving me the chance to share in your outrage. Feels much better now.

    I really like your site. May I blogroll you?

    S

    So the rundown is: If you subscribe to the "green" method of checking your statements online and save Fifth Third a little extra moulah in materials and printing and postage, they will return the favor by making sure you have to pay them $50 at the end of the year.

     

  • At 6:59 PM, Blogger Ricky Shambles said…

    Suzan - thanks so much for your comments. Check out my other posts here and blogroll away, though I don't really post here very often. Cheers!

     

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