Posted: 6/20/2010 1:33:43 PM EDT
|
I've been banking with New Alliance Bank now since '03. Before they were New Alliance they were Tolland Bank and I was very happen with them. Now they absolutely suck. they nickel and dime you left and right and have dismal customer service.
Anyone happy with their bank? I'm lloking to switch over my business and personal check accounts. Right now I am considering Rockville Bank and TD Bank. |
|
It may not be local to you, and thus not a choice, but I love Chelsea Groton. I went for almost 7 years without having a bank account after growing sick of Fleet. I opened an account at Chelsea and have been basically happy, with only a few bumps.
I hate banks that have bank hours, ya know? |
|
Quoted:
Wacovia/Wells Fargo have done right by me. Walkoveryou can suck it. Glad someone likes em! I was with Ansonia Savings when I was about 13, Then went with them to First National, Then First Union then Wachoivia then Wachovia/Wells Fargo. With each buy out the customer service got shittier and shitter. I finally had when my wife came out of the branch in Watertown/Middlebury (next to the all the car dealers) almost in tears. Took every dime I had out and went to Newtown Savings in Southbury/Newtown. Fantastic bank. They remember my name! Have free coin cash in machines, got awesome rates on CDs. AND..... Werther's candy at the counter. |
| dont know what part of ct you are but Ridgefeild Bank (which is a part of Fairfleid County Bank) is pretty good, The company i work for uses it. And when ever i have to go there its great service. Judging by your name ive heard they are really good to builders in the area.I personally use Bank of America which is total crap and i have to switch over soon, the charges and the service is starting to getting on my nerves. |
|
Quoted: Another thing I want to check on is what kind of hassle they put non account holders though. If I write a check to someone and they have to cash it at my bank I'd rather not have them jump through hoops like BoA makes people do. That is a tough one. Not many banks will do that, as it puts them on the line until the check makes it's way through the FED clearing system. I can't think of any banks that will do that. SOME will do it for local banks, but local people still screw them and they stop doing it unless they know the person well. In many instances it becomes a case by case basis, but that is being clamped down on as well since banks are not supposed to give anyone preferential treatment (which makes zero sense, since it is the job of the bank to discriminate based on the golden rule). NewAlliance does suck. Ask me how I know  I used to work for them. They would rather spend several million dollars on some retarded new ad campaign of "do you thang" or whatever it is putting up meaningless slogans contradictory to their actual practices than lower fees for their account holders. I am also assuming that you are looking to use this for a business account? NAB's fee schedule for business accounts suck. But when it comes to business loans, financing, handling of cash reserves, (i.e. putting excess funds in overnight and short-term contracts), and merchant services, they are pretty good actually. For small business guys working out of a ledger and business check book, you will be better off elsewhere.Based on feedback from friends that own businesses and from when I was in banking, I'd take a look at Webster Bank for transactional business needs, but if you have any larger rolling capital for projects, you may want to consider sticking with NAB for that end of it. (i.e. pay your crews, supplies, and labor out of a transactional fund, but anything that has to be secured with capital can be written against the other bank). But generally, there is no reason that webster couldn't handle it. Just saying that they had some shakeyness a few years ago, so if you use any short term financing like lines of credit, etc, you may want to consider having an additional source from another bank. You'd be insured should webster crash, but you'd be frozen for a little bit otherwise. Rather this advice goes for anyone using a bank for business. Diversity is good and there is a free market with plenty of active and competing participants. Fuck the larger national banks like BOA, etc. |
|
Any of my business loans/funding comes from a seperate bank entirely. I would never want my business and personal accounts tied to the same banks that I have loans through. Someone very smart and very hiugh up in a very large company gave me this advice.
I'm looking for a bank for more day to day transactions. Basically writing checks out of without getting slammed with fees. I will look into webster too. And they did just open a Farmington bank in Glastonbury not to far from me. |
|
I use New Alliance, Webster, and CSE Credit Union.
Webster - personal checking account. They are convenient for me to use since they have a branch located less than 1/4mile down the street from both locations I work at. No real issues with them other than you'd better hope you don't have a problem with your check card while the branch is closed! I was in Cali on a business trip for a long weekend and I made a personal purchase using my bank card. I later wound up in an emergency situation around 11pm on West Coast and went to use my card only to find out they had shut it off because of potential fraud since it had been used on the other side of the country. I found out the hard way that the 24hr number on the back of the card is not 24hr service for debit/check card holders. I got out of the jam because I pulled a CC number I use for the business out of thin air, but not everyone else may have been so lucky. New Alliance - small business w/ free checking. They handle our credit card processing and the funds are in our acct the next business day - none of that 2-5 day garbage using 3rd party banking. Our payroll checks are also drawn on New Alliance. They are also very convenient because they are located next door to both Webster Bank locations I use. I will not use New Alliance for personal banking due to issues I had with them back in '98 when they were Savings Bank of Manchester, and my wife recently had a terrible experience with them, too. CSE aka Connecticut State Employees Credit Union - checking/savings, linked. Free bank checks/money orders, and balance transfers can easily be done over the phone. A family member is CT employee so we were all able to open accounts with them. Higher interest/dividend rates than Webster and New Alliance. Going into the branch offices can be a pain, especially the Hartford branch on Wadsworth St (no weekend hours) but if you use direct deposit or mail in your paycheck it is great! |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
give Peoples a look. We've been happy with our local branch. I've been a member of People's bank since I was about 5 (almost 40 years ago) and you know what, it's still called People's bank. No it's not. It's People's United Bank now. As I recall, there is only two primary differences- 1. Peoples is publicly traded now 2. There is also a People's Bank Foundation (I forget the exact name) too. They are still based out of Bridgeport. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Another thing I want to check on is what kind of hassle they put non account holders though. If I write a check to someone and they have to cash it at my bank I'd rather not have them jump through hoops like BoA makes people do. That is a tough one. Not many banks will do that, as it puts them on the line until the check makes it's way through the FED clearing system. I can't think of any banks that will do that. SOME will do it for local banks, but local people still screw them and they stop doing it unless they know the person well. In many instances it becomes a case by case basis, but that is being clamped down on as well since banks are not supposed to give anyone preferential treatment (which makes zero sense, since it is the job of the bank to discriminate based on the golden rule). NewAlliance does suck. Ask me how I know I used to work for them. They would rather spend several million dollars on some retarded new ad campaign of "do you thang" or whatever it is putting up meaningless slogans contradictory to their actual practices than lower fees for their account holders. I am also assuming that you are looking to use this for a business account? NAB's fee schedule for business accounts suck. But when it comes to business loans, financing, handling of cash reserves, (i.e. putting excess funds in overnight and short-term contracts), and merchant services, they are pretty good actually. For small business guys working out of a ledger and business check book, you will be better off elsewhere.Based on feedback from friends that own businesses and from when I was in banking, I'd take a look at Webster Bank for transactional business needs, but if you have any larger rolling capital for projects, you may want to consider sticking with NAB for that end of it. (i.e. pay your crews, supplies, and labor out of a transactional fund, but anything that has to be secured with capital can be written against the other bank). But generally, there is no reason that webster couldn't handle it. Just saying that they had some shakeyness a few years ago, so if you use any short term financing like lines of credit, etc, you may want to consider having an additional source from another bank. You'd be insured should webster crash, but you'd be frozen for a little bit otherwise. Rather this advice goes for anyone using a bank for business. Diversity is good and there is a free market with plenty of active and competing participants. Fuck the larger national banks like BOA, etc. Every bank should cash checks drawn on their accounts. There is no real risk, since they can verify funds availability instantaniously. BOA just takes it to the next level, and not only verifies ID (as do all banks) but also takes the payee's fingerprint on the check. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Another thing I want to check on is what kind of hassle they put non account holders though. If I write a check to someone and they have to cash it at my bank I'd rather not have them jump through hoops like BoA makes people do. That is a tough one. Not many banks will do that, as it puts them on the line until the check makes it's way through the FED clearing system. I can't think of any banks that will do that. SOME will do it for local banks, but local people still screw them and they stop doing it unless they know the person well. In many instances it becomes a case by case basis, but that is being clamped down on as well since banks are not supposed to give anyone preferential treatment (which makes zero sense, since it is the job of the bank to discriminate based on the golden rule). NewAlliance does suck. Ask me how I know I used to work for them. They would rather spend several million dollars on some retarded new ad campaign of "do you thang" or whatever it is putting up meaningless slogans contradictory to their actual practices than lower fees for their account holders. I am also assuming that you are looking to use this for a business account? NAB's fee schedule for business accounts suck. But when it comes to business loans, financing, handling of cash reserves, (i.e. putting excess funds in overnight and short-term contracts), and merchant services, they are pretty good actually. For small business guys working out of a ledger and business check book, you will be better off elsewhere.Based on feedback from friends that own businesses and from when I was in banking, I'd take a look at Webster Bank for transactional business needs, but if you have any larger rolling capital for projects, you may want to consider sticking with NAB for that end of it. (i.e. pay your crews, supplies, and labor out of a transactional fund, but anything that has to be secured with capital can be written against the other bank). But generally, there is no reason that webster couldn't handle it. Just saying that they had some shakeyness a few years ago, so if you use any short term financing like lines of credit, etc, you may want to consider having an additional source from another bank. You'd be insured should webster crash, but you'd be frozen for a little bit otherwise. Rather this advice goes for anyone using a bank for business. Diversity is good and there is a free market with plenty of active and competing participants. Fuck the larger national banks like BOA, etc. Every bank should cash checks drawn on their accounts. There is no real risk, since they can verify funds availability instantaniously. BOA just takes it to the next level, and not only verifies ID (as do all banks) but also takes the payee's fingerprint on the check. Fingerprints, will only issue $20 as the largest bill, won't let non-account holders use the drive through, no matter what. Some banks are charging people a fee to cash a check now. Some will only cahs checks under $1K. Basically I don't want any of this BS when I write a check to someone. I am in the construction business so some of the guys I pay need to cash checks, not deposit them an wait. Just the nature of the business. |
|
Quoted: Any of my business loans/funding comes from a seperate bank entirely. I would never want my business and personal accounts tied to the same banks that I have loans through. Someone very smart and very hiugh up in a very large company gave me this advice. I'm looking for a bank for more day to day transactions. Basically writing checks out of without getting slammed with fees. I will look into webster too. And they did just open a Farmington bank in Glastonbury not to far from me. You got good advice, but there is more to it. For personal banking, join a credit union. Screw banks for personal banking. You don't have to be in any specific organization to be a member of most FCU's now. Try American Eagle. They are UTC's credit union and I do some stuff through them. Only downside, is limited locations compared to banks and FCU's are not really set up for anything but personal banking. For your transactions, again, I'd try Webster first. Good spread of locations and an excellent small to medium business banking products. (if you are cutting checks to pay labor and crews, banks with grocery store branches are the best). Rockville has a good buzz too, but I don't have any direct experience with them. They have been pushing HARD to get customer share and their bank is VERY well positioned from a financial standpoint, which usually means that they don't have to resort to the fee-driven shenanigans you see other banks use to keep non-deposit income flowing. Any bank with a sizeable number of branches is going to be fee-driven. And furthermore, business accounts will always be fee driven. Some banks will obviously charge and hassle you and your remitters to a different degree than others. There will always be a transaction cost. But I'm sure you know by now what you need a bank to do for you, so you should be able to easily minimize your fees and hassles. One final note, did you talk to anyone at New Alliance? They honestly have too many products, and you just might be in the wrong one. It should be simpler, but if you talk to one of their better managers, you would be surprised what they may be able to offer. Of course the constraints are usually minimum deposit levels or maximum transactions before you bump into fees again. If you want to give them another shot, PM me and I can give you the names of a few folks there that could possibly put you in the right programs there. Again, I have no ties or sympathy for that bank, but I know good people that have been there from the SBM and Tolland Bank days that still know how to take care of people. But if you've had it with them, I would't blame you one bit. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Any of my business loans/funding comes from a seperate bank entirely. I would never want my business and personal accounts tied to the same banks that I have loans through. Someone very smart and very hiugh up in a very large company gave me this advice. I'm looking for a bank for more day to day transactions. Basically writing checks out of without getting slammed with fees. I will look into webster too. And they did just open a Farmington bank in Glastonbury not to far from me. You got good advice, but there is more to it. For personal banking, join a credit union. Screw banks for personal banking. You don't have to be in any specific organization to be a member of most FCU's now. Try American Eagle. They are UTC's credit union and I do some stuff through them. Only downside, is limited locations compared to banks and FCU's are not really set up for anything but personal banking. For your transactions, again, I'd try Webster first. Good spread of locations and an excellent small to medium business banking products. (if you are cutting checks to pay labor and crews, banks with grocery store branches are the best). Rockville has a good buzz too, but I don't have any direct experience with them. They have been pushing HARD to get customer share and their bank is VERY well positioned from a financial standpoint, which usually means that they don't have to resort to the fee-driven shenanigans you see other banks use to keep non-deposit income flowing. Any bank with a sizeable number of branches is going to be fee-driven. And furthermore, business accounts will always be fee driven. Some banks will obviously charge and hassle you and your remitters to a different degree than others. There will always be a transaction cost. But I'm sure you know by now what you need a bank to do for you, so you should be able to easily minimize your fees and hassles. One final note, did you talk to anyone at New Alliance? They honestly have too many products, and you just might be in the wrong one. It should be simpler, but if you talk to one of their better managers, you would be surprised what they may be able to offer. Of course the constraints are usually minimum deposit levels or maximum transactions before you bump into fees again. If you want to give them another shot, PM me and I can give you the names of a few folks there that could possibly put you in the right programs there. Again, I have no ties or sympathy for that bank, but I know good people that have been there from the SBM and Tolland Bank days that still know how to take care of people. But if you've had it with them, I would't blame you one bit. been with AE for a number of years as well as multiple members of my family no complaints also, after they opened to the public they seemed to get better- service never lacked, but now they have nice new branch locations, and more of them good choice if you are in central CT and they are a member of SUM, which gets you no charges at ATMs with a lot of other credit unions |
|
I have not been a member of a bank for over 10 years. I joined a credit union. No nickel and dime fees, $100 minimum balance, free checking, credit card with no late fees or overdraft nonsense. I will never go back to a bank, I hate them. i hate them , I hate them ...... infinity
|
|
I have not been a member of a bank for over 10 years. I joined a credit union. No nickel and dime fees, $100 minimum balance, free checking, credit card with no late fees or overdraft nonsense. I will never go back to a bank, I hate them. i hate them , I hate them ...... infinity
|
|
I used to do my banking with Bank of America. I have since switched to USAA now that they have an awesome iphone app. I can take a picture of a check and deposit it that way. The downside is that they have no actual branches to walk into. The only problem I can see is if you need to deposit a large amount of cash. Even then I still have my BOA account to deposit cash then wire the money to USAA.
Free checking, They refund all ATM fee's. 2% cashback on debit card purchases. There is really no reason not to use them. They also have the best customer service and when you call you instantly get a person on the line. |
|
Any updates on your shopping? I have been busy lately and have not had time to chime in much here. The question of "suggest a good bank" is similar to "suggest a good gun." The answer depends a lot on the user's needs. No bank is your friend. They are all thieves and will do their best to find a way to fee you. Some are better than others for personal/retail banking, others for commercial banking, lending, investing, and so on. If you're shopping simply for personal banking needs, it's more of a fee + hours + access issue than anything else. One question to ask your prospective bank which order they will they attempt to clear items in. In other words, if there are 4 checks that hit, will they go chronologically, small-to-large, or large-to-small? More often than not, they will go large-to-small because it gives them the best opportunity to charge you multiple NSF fees should you have an issue. In other words, the large check would exhaust funds (NSF), they'd get to charge you NSF fees on that one, plus the 3 smaller ones that would have cleared if they processed them first. Another thing is what is their overdraft policy? A lot of banks are moving away from overdraft programs between multiple accounts. Again, the idea here is to be able to let you go NSF to fee you. I will almost always recommend against Credit Unions. They are notorious for late clearing items. If you don't keep a checkbook current, many members find that 3 months down the road a check may have not cleared and that the person or company you wrote it to is now pursuing you for the debt. Still on Credit Unions, if you stay within an area where there are branches and don't travel much, it will not be a problem... but if you do travel and attempt to use your debit/check card, you could also have issues and/or higher fees and/or possible problems with limited ATM network coverage. I have heard a few specific horror stories. The only solid reason to consider a Credit Union is if they offer truly preferred programs for members in the way of other products. I can only think of a couple of examples. So, it goes back to how you're going to use the bank and their products and services. A bank that's good for me might be awful for someone else. |