Posts by Richard Lewis16

And hey, just for those of you who have only made one or three posts so far, no, it’s not that you guys are just here to spam or advertise... 🤣

Samuel Kim50 said:I don't know about all of you, but as someone who actually works in the hospitality industry, I can tell you firsthand that the entry-level kitchen staff—we're talking hourly wages, plus seniority and travel stipends—usually brings home somewhere around $1500. And then I have to listen to these old ladies complaining about low pay, when they clearly haven't considered what kind of salary they'd actually be pulling in if they were working as a head chef making $2000 per hour.🤔 What's a certainty in this business, though, is that you'll easily clock over 200 hours a week during the peak season, whereas in the winter, you're looking at an average of about 170.

Christian Miller14, if you're looking to land a gig with a top-tier private establishment, you won't find those openings posted on a job board. Most of the time, those positions are filled through word-of-mouth or personal connections; honestly, don't even bother looking for them in an ad. Besides, who actually hunts for work through classified ads these days?

they aren't leaving because they want to, they're leaving for better money...
because what's the point of staying in 124 miles when, well, if the pay elsewhere is double what you make now... 🤷
and even a chef making $6,000 in America should probably be thinking about moving on too...

It’s starting to happen... they've begun freezing people's accounts and just refusing to let them access their own damn money
you'll be next on the list

which is why, if you ask me, it’s better to keep an account outside of the US and just hold onto your cash in actual paper bills

neondriver5 said:Just give them a polite answer to everything and things will settle down. Stop complaining and trying to reinvent the wheel; everything will be just fine.

Yeah, honestly, even back in the day, people used to say the exact same thing, and then they'd just pivot whenever it suited them because they were just following orders... if you want to exaggerate a little, at least...

But, from what I can gather, the issue isn't really about the bank deciding to close an account or wanting to stop doing business with someone... the real headache is when they refuse to give you YOUR own money back so you can actually go somewhere else to bank.

And again, who's actually going to get worked up about someone opening an account overseas?
Since this was mentioned a few pages back, there's nothing illegal about heading over to Europe, signing up somewhere for a month, opening an account, and then just coming back home...
I mean, since we're part of the EU now, right...😉

The whole thing with Fact that I had to deal with at a Canadian bank was them asking whether I held US citizenship...
No, thanks, that's fine...
I didn't have a school, or a job, or even a local address to provide them with...
But anyway, I walked out with my card right then and there—which is basically San Francisco compared to American banks, though I have no idea why it takes so much longer here to get a simple card...

wiredlynx28 said:And then you have the people complaining about being asked if they have kids. Just wait until fingerprint-secured cards become the standard—technology that’s already being rolled out in the modern world where a client physically holds the card against a sensor during a transaction to authorize it. When that happens, they'll be the ones leading the revolution. 🤣

Or maybe they'll just pivot entirely, kind of like how things work over in Canada, where you just tap your card or your phone—I actually use my smartwatch for this all the time now—and there are zero questions, no extra prompts, and definitely no signatures required 😉

I mean, look, this is America, so you aren't even forced to have a bank account if you don't want one, and if you do decide to open one just to handle your paycheck, it's usually free, much like how you can manage everything through your phone or online nowadays...

ruggedfox28 said:Off the top of my head, it basically boils down to things like server maintenance—you know, paying to rent space on cloud servers to keep the whole Bank of America system and all its software running. Then there’s the massive payroll for an entire army of IT pros constantly updating banking apps or buying third-party software just so we don't lose our minds when using an ATM. Plus, there's the legal headache of sending out statements, whether that's printing them at a Chase branch, mailing them to your house, or hitting up your email or one of those hundreds of digital channels...

..those are just three examples, and there are plenty more depending on what the customer actually cares about... honestly, I feel like anyone with a high school diploma could figure out what "managing an account" entails in the 21st century... 😉

I mean, how is it that in Canada, where the fees are a little higher, it can be totally free🤷
and you get everything—internet banking, mobile apps—all for nothing, whereas at JPMorgan Chase it used to cost around $7.00 everything

granted, BMO only offers that for a single year before you need to maintain a balance of over $4,000, but tangerine offers it indefinitely

I think everyone else has conditions similar to BMO

Just taking it easy... I saw this video on Meta about some guy who had his account frozen, and honestly, you just know how it goes. People are going to start circling like sharks, then it hits the news cycle, followed by a few snarky comments and maybe four or five hit pieces in the papers naming names... and that’s pretty much how the whole thing plays out

Arthur Long5 said:You are mistaken on several points.
In Germany, they aren't opening accounts for Americans, and the same goes for Austria. They used to be more accommodating, but that window has closed...
I reached out to N26, but they informed me they still aren't accepting Americans—specifically those residing in the States.
As for UniCredit Austria, specifically Bank Austria, their website claims they allow EU citizens to open non-resident current accounts; furthermore, if one already holds an account within the UniCredit group, they can supposedly submit documentation through a local branch to receive a card.
I sent them an email requesting this service, making sure to specify that I wanted a response via email, as they offer that option.
Two days later, I received a call on Viber from an unknown number, only to find it was a representative from Bank Austria telling me it wasn't possible.

I was at the hospital with my children, so I didn't have the energy to argue or insist on an email response, and eventually, I just lost the will to try... frankly, to hell with them, I won't be begging.

I previously contacted Intesa as well, and they noted that each individual bank decides for itself whether or not to accept non-residents.

I should also correct you on one thing: JPMorgan Chase actually sent my wife's card to Canada.

Generally speaking, the situation within the banking sector has shifted.
A friend of mine works at a bank in Milan, and she mentions that clients with significant capital are becoming nothing but a headache.

Banks are sitting on massive amounts of liquidity, yet they lack quality investment opportunities, all while bureaucracy continues to swell...

There was a time when a bank would practically roll out the red carpet if you showed up with a large amount of legal cash, simply because they had plenty of ways to deploy it.

A colleague of mine who works in a bank in Canada tells me the same thing; they are drowning in deposits with no good way to invest them, which is creating its own set of problems.

On another note, Bank of Ireland does accept Americans; you just need to email them certified copies of your account statements to verify your address along with a copy of your passport.

Account maintenance fees are inexpensive and are billed quarterly, every three months...

For Chime, you need a German address—at least when I opened mine about two years ago—to where they can mail the card... I ended up using my niece's place.
As for Bank of America, I closed my account there once I withdrew my savings... that was back before the US joined the EU.

Speaking of fees...
BMO doesn't charge any fees for the first year for new customers, and after that, as long as you keep more than $4,000 in the account.
Savings are fee-free, and you get 1.6% monthly interest on savings if you bump up the deposit the following month.
Mobile and online banking are free.

Tangerine has better interest rates on savings right now, and since account maintenance is free indefinitely, I think I'll make the switch... plus I get a $50 referral bonus from a buddy (unfortunately not the full $100, since I get paid in checks rather than direct deposit).

neondriver5 said:I think it’s pretty hilarious how everyone on this forum acts so tough. If you actually head over to Bregana to open an account, do you think they’d ask for your shoe size too?

Do you honestly think people abroad are going to give you a pat on the back just because you have an account with them? Where on earth did you guys get these ideas?
If you go to Germany to open an account, they’ll tell you that you have to schedule an appointment far in advance. I don't know how anyone survives that kind of bureaucracy. Here in the States, you can practically walk into a branch whenever you feel like it.
To even open an account, that same person would have to answer a series of specific questions. Honestly, if answering those questions feels like too much work, you're better off keeping your cash under the mattress. It’s safer for you and everyone else.

Yeah, people in Mexico are incredibly polite, they barely ask anything, and they're super helpful...

In the States, the only question was whether I was a US citizen, and that was basically it—this was back when things were different, even before everything was fully integrated into the EU, just trying to handle some PayPal stuff...
Over at Bank Austria in Graz, they even have a section specifically for Slavic speakers so you don't have to struggle with German...
Same thing in Canada; you show up, open an account, get your card right then and there, and if you keep $4,000 in the account, there’s no fee for the first year...
Or you could just go to another bank where there aren't any fees at all...
And nobody asks those ridiculous questions, no need to schedule appointments or anything like that...

Personally, I’d recommend somewhere like Mexico for anyone receiving money from abroad, because there's no worry about debt collection or anything, and the locals aren't going to be leaking your account info... unless, of course, you're running a drug ring, which I suppose makes sense...

As for Germany, if you use N26, there are no fees, the currency conversion is great if you travel often, and everything is handled online, so you don't have to sit around waiting...

But here at home, you can't even get a card immediately, and you certainly can't have a new one mailed to you if you're out of the country...
Which is something every normal bank in the world does, but the customer support here is basically at a third-world level... so I guess I agree with whoever compared this place to Africa; they must have been dealing with some bureaucrats at the bank there...

Look, I’m just offering suggestions here, though I suppose you could always just say something completely idiotic on those application forms...
Personally, my bank didn't ask me those things, but then again, my account has been frozen for two years now, and it looks like it'll stay that way indefinitely...
I don't even know if I can request a replacement card since my old one expired, but I'm guessing the answer is no...
I know I'd have to resolve the freeze just to close the account, and that’s never going to happen, so... yeah, time flies, captain...

Look, I’m all for using those "primitive" methods—you know, the ones involving public scenes, viral clips online where everything is laid bare, and actual news coverage...
I mean, it really comes down to how much people actually pay attention to the world around them, because you can clearly see that once the stories start hitting the headlines and blowing up on social media, things finally begin to move in the right direction

Actually, if you ask me, it’s quite the opposite; it’s much more effective to make a scene and call people out by their full names rather than playing it safe
and just making sure to steer clear of Bank of America

Hey, what on earth happened over in Memphis? I saw some stuff popping up on Facebook, but I can't quite make sense of it... could someone give me the full rundown? Not that I need it myself, mind you, I'm just asking for a buddy of mine who works in journalism...

Just a bunch of losers, sitting there glued to their machines like it's some kind of joke...
They’re just burning through life, and honestly, they never seem to have anything worth celebrating over there...

I was just sitting here thinking... once you finally get your own agency up and running and start operating with this kind of style, you're going to absolutely clear the field and leave the competition in the dust

p.s. those classified sites haven't been free for quite a while now either

cosmicridge6 said:how many Belgraders do you have there?

easy for those Belgraders, but I'm wondering how many people from the desert towns you've got hanging around...
you got any of them, casualwolf48? 😬

Well, everything’s been wiped clean now, I see, and I even managed to snag a warning for my post... and that's after I went through the trouble of opening this thread myself 😁 but oh well
I’m hardly a moderator here, so I can't exactly track which of my posts were scrubbed, though I know there were more than just one since a friend from work was teasing me about it over coffee earlier
I definitely reported at least three posts, and if this happens again, I'll make sure to drop the links and include screenshots just to be safe
Anyway, the place has been tidied up, so thanks for that... I just hope we don't have to go through this again

So, I’m just going to vent here, because apparently filing reports doesn't actually accomplish anything... I mean, I try reporting posts, and when there's zero reaction, I'll just jump back into the thread to reply to the guy myself, but then my replies get wiped while his stay right where they are
It feels a bit rigged, honestly... anyway, this is more specifically about the whole Canada discussion...

That’s great, so what are you even doing hanging out on this American forum anyway? 🤷
I mean, honestly, being stuck here in Canada is killing me... this winter is strictly for the birds, it’s just not built for regular people...
And don't even get me started on the homeless situation around here; everyone I hang out with has come to the same conclusion—Latin America feels like a total paradise compared to the nightmare that is Canada, it's just awful.
Once I finish up my work, I'm heading straight back down to Latin America.

Nathan Morris3 said:The laws changed on July 1st, 2013, so you can't really do the cash thing anymore. She probably lost her grounds for the lawsuit because of that. Maybe she was just trying to chase down those old payments.

Ah, so it was actually allowed before 2013...
well, I'm pretty sure this happened after that, because if I recall correctly, when they were tearing down that specific regulation, it was around
I remember my accountant asking me ages ago whether I wanted to run payroll through the business account or just handle it via cash withdrawals, so I know for a fact it used to be an option back then...

hiddenviper13 said:"I tried getting my pay in cash as a representative, but it was a non-starter." Branimir Bunjac thinks it’d be about time we let Americans—regular folks and retirees alike—have the option to take their wages in cash. Basically, if a citizen wants to bypass the big banks entirely, they should be allowed to.

- 24sata.hr

Quote:Exactly how it should be.

Krkimir says: The second I started moving my money around, my personal banker over at JPMorgan Chase called me out of the blue—even though I never even asked for a dedicated rep—asking if I wanted to put those funds into a CD.😵 I mean, come on, don't be an idiot; if I'm moving the money, it's because I don't want it sitting there.☕ Then, every single time I stepped foot in a branch, it was the same old song and dance: "Hey, check out these service packages," or "How about some CDs?" or "Want to invest in mutual funds?" 🙂 If that's what I wanted, I would have asked for it in the first place., It just kept going until they started blowing up my phone constantly, demanding I come in to fill out these endless compliance forms for "anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering" efforts... Honestly, give me a break, you aren't the only bank in the country.

That's the way it ought to be.👍

Does anyone happen to know what happened with that legal case involving the judge who was pushing for the exact same thing—getting her salary paid in cash? I think it was a few years back, but I can't quite remember if the whole process actually wrapped up...

If my memory serves me right, there used to be a time when you could actually get your paycheck right at the teller window

That’s interesting... I don't recall being hit with questions like that when I was dealing with three different states back in the day.
Well, two of them didn't really ask much either, I guess.
Like Mexico—zero questions, zero forms... though I suppose that's just a neighboring country with its own way of handling banking regulations compared to the rest of Europe.
Then there's Bolivia, which everyone basically writes off as a narco-state anyway, so it's not exactly surprising they didn't care about paperwork.
But Canada? And specifically Scotiabank? Nobody asked a thing, no forms, nothing at all. 🤷

As for the US, I'm not even sure if Wells Fargo is the one holding my funds... honestly, my account's probably been frozen for a year by now, and they have no way of reaching me anyway.
I pretty much gave up on American banks because they are just so incredibly dense when it comes to rules and regulations... I mean, look at how an Australian or an Israeli or a Canadian handles things; if they lose their card or get it stolen while they're abroad, they can just make one quick phone call and have a new card shipped to their international address after answering a few security questions to prove who they are... meanwhile, at a place like Wells Fargo, they won't even give a statement to someone holding a power of attorney. They claimed the document wasn't specific enough because it didn't list every single tiny action, even though it clearly states that person XY can perform any and all transactions on my behalf... and that kind of general power of attorney works perfectly fine everywhere else in the world.
So, I finally decided there's just no point in stressing over that Wells Fargo account anymore...