Posts by Charles Ramos7

bluesailor22 said:@Charles Ramos7
I can wrap my head around a delay of maybe a week—but telling someone a card will arrive in two or three weeks, and then having six weeks crawl by? That’s just unacceptable. At least in my book. To make matters worse, there isn't a single proactive update; nobody calls to explain the holdup. You end up having to physically trek down to the Bank of America branch every single time, only to sit there while they act completely clueless—giving you the runaround about sending an email or checking some internal system.

So, I finally called customer service, and the representative basically told me she had no idea why things were delayed, citing the holidays or issues at the USPS. Seriously? Are you telling me they're sending out debit cards via standard snail mail? Hello? Everything else is trackable these days. I even asked if there was any actual cause for concern—like whether my data had been compromised—and she assured me everything was fine. When I pressed her for a specific reason behind the delays, she just repeated that they didn't know, they were just late. Eff OFF.

I suggested that the bare minimum they could do to make up for the hassle would be to waive the card fee, but they flatly refused. It isn't about the few dollars; it's about the principle of the thing. I have no desire to pay for subpar service. If it becomes clear that they don't value my business, then I certainly don't see any reason to remain a loyal client.

@wiredlynx28
Thanks for the insight. Their rates seem pretty comparable to what I'm seeing at JPMorgan Chase. However, I’ve heard quite a few horror stories regarding Bank of America. I ended up opening an account with JPMorgan Chase because they are supposedly "the gold standard." It makes me wonder how much worse the other big banks actually are. :S Do you happen to know what Bank of America charges for incoming and outgoing international wire transfers or online bill pay?

It's all fine, really. If you aren't happy, you should definitely switch banks, but I'll say this: you might run into similar headaches elsewhere, especially with stuff that's out of the bank's direct control.
I've dealt with similar issues myself—one time it was actually just someone at the bank forgetting to file a form, and it dragged on for months before it got fixed. Even so, I didn't end up switching banks. 🤷

I’m not trying to defend them, but their card processing is probably handled by some third-party vendor, which explains the delay. Plus, things always seem to drag on right after the holidays.
You didn't mention what kind of card you're actually looking for, though you can find all the fees and fine print on any major bank's website.
Honestly, since the cost differences are pretty negligible, I usually just stick with the big players like JPMorgan Chase.

Ryan Carter52 said:I don't actually have a salary deposit there, I was just asking about their Mastercard options last month.
They were offering six months of free account management and online banking, but I ended up passing because they charge a fee to issue the debit card $6.75 so it doesn't really save me much in the end, I guess.

Anyway, what I meant to say is that they really try hard to win over new customers, and you can pretty much negotiate almost anything with them, which is something you'd probably never be able to pull off at a massive bank like JPMorgan Chase.

Honestly, the fact that they didn't ask for a pay stub doesn't seem like that big of a concession to me. By the way, speaking of the major players, I've never even had to send a payroll statement to Bank of America to get an American Express.

Ashley White said:This whole situation reminds me of when I was trying to sell my car and ran into those "we buy any car" shady dealers.
Let's say the car is worth $5,000—just as an example—and I could easily sell it for $4,500 if I just waited a month, yet this "expert" has the audacity to offer me a measly $1,500.
I mean, if you actually possess the expertise to value a vehicle, why on earth would you settle for a tiny profit margin that nobody is going to pay you, instead of just letting me sell it for $4,500 and walking away with an extra $500 in my pocket?
It’s the exact same nonsense you see with loan sharks; they aren't interested in making a reasonable buck a month without lifting a finger, they just want to bleed you dry for astronomical amounts. It's pathetic.

How can they not lift a finger if you consider they're taking on all the risk?

Ashley White said:And what if the lender suffers a stroke in the meantime?

Either way, he’s screwed.

Ashley White said:Think about the interest rates, the notary fees, and the fact that the car's value plummets by X% the moment you drive it off the lot; then there's the grace period for payments—if everything goes according to plan, the contract is cleared, but if someone misses their mark, the lender simply shows up, repossesses the vehicle, and sells it off. 🤷

But what happens if you sell the car, wreck it, or it breaks down before then?

Morgan Evans83 said:Borrowing money definitely comes with its own set of risks, but you're paying a massive premium in interest for that privilege. Of course, he wants to hedge his bets and protect himself, but he can't just offload all that liability onto me. For him, it’s a perfect win-win scenario—he either walks away with a hefty interest payout or he ends up with the house itself.

And how exactly is he supposed to take on any of that risk himself? 🤷

I don't think they're supposed to, but I've seen it happen over in Greece 🤷

urbanscout95 said:In all honesty, I find watching pornography quite tedious; my point is simply that a bank has no business projecting its own biases onto a customer's private life. Why should an institution interfere with personal matters based on such narrow-minded views?

If one seeks out primitive ignorance and outdated moralism, one can always visit a local Catholic church.

You really have to read the full sentence... "...contrary to morality and positive regulations of the United States." Basically, they're referring to illegal activities. It's just standard legal boilerplate banks use to cover their own backs.

I think you're one of the few people who actually bothers to read these documents through. 🙂

Sure thing. But honestly, how can you be certain you'll actually make all 24 payments when your job contract is only for 12 months?

Noah Wilson7 said:So, I’m looking to pick up a new PC on a payment plan... maybe like 12 to 24 months through Best Buy.
The thing is, I’ve never actually owned a credit card before.
Starting next year, I’ll be kicking off a job with a company on a one-year contract.
What I’m wondering is, once I start working there, can I actually ask them to set me up with a credit card through the company...
or is that something reserved strictly for people with permanent, full-time positions?
If I am eligible for a card, can I just grab it immediately, or do I have to wait until my first paycheck actually hits my bank account or whatever the deal is with that...?
And where do I even go within a company to request a card—like, which department or office handles that, and how long does the whole process usually take?
I’m expecting my pay to be around $1667... so I guess I’m curious about how they decide my credit limit and how much I'm actually allowed to spend.
Look, I’m a total newbie when it comes to this stuff, so please, don't tear me apart here on the forum...

Your employer doesn't actually issue the card. You just fill out an application at a bank (or online, depending on the card) and provide your pay stubs. But honestly, with those employment terms, it might be tough to get approved.

coastalharbor6 said:It wasn't even an online request; I handled everything right there at the bank branch. They didn't mention anything about it only becoming active next month or needing me to call them back because it wouldn't work initially.

But a whole month has passed since then, and it really should be working by now.

How is the money supposed to accumulate in my checking account? I have $0.00 in there.
My paycheck goes straight into my checking.
The teller was supposed to set up a recurring transfer—or something similar—so that whenever I
pay for something via PayPal online, the funds are automatically pulled from my checking account. That way, I never actually need to keep cash sitting in my savings.

When I
visited the RAND Corporation branch again, I asked if everything was activated. The clerk checked three different times and insisted it was all set, but as soon as I got home, it still wasn't working. :/

I've never heard of a setup like that.🤷 I honestly doubt it would even work because you first need the funds in the account for the card transaction to clear.

edit: In my experience, you'd always need some cushion in your checking account so the card doesn't bounce, then you could use an automatic transfer to move money over later.

Since you just set up your autopay recently, it might not actually kick in until next month. 🤷 I switched my utility bills over to automatic payments, but it took a little while for everything to sync up and start working smoothly.
I don't quite get it—if you're only making occasional purchases, won't the money just sit there in your checking account?

You don't need a network to run a side hustle; shared interests do all the heavy lifting for you. 😉

Leave it online; you’ll always get a better deal if you negotiate face-to-face.

Sam Ruiz60 said:I hear you. They sold off their Austrian branch to an Indian firm for next to nothing, so it makes you wonder—if they can't find a buyer for our local branches here in the States, what's the endgame?

I don't think that's really the issue—it's just a matter of haggling over the price.

Sam Ruiz60 said:Quincy:

Charles Ramos7 As requested: When you look at bank acquisitions, it isn’t really about chasing ghosts from the past. Why dwell on what happened years ago? It's all about the present reality—securing immediate access to a new market or instantly expanding a client base. That is where the true value lies.☕

What would you personally do if you were considering buying a bank that was currently under investigation? Personally, I wouldn't touch it.

Honestly, I don't care about the bank's name—I'd just rebrand it anyway. It’s the real estate and the client base that matter. Besides, who's going to remember Deutsche Bank ever existed in a few years?

Sam Ruiz60 said:But really, who would want to deal with a European Union branch that has such a murky history? These kinds of investigations and the resulting bad press certainly don't help their case.

People don't buy banks because of what happened years ago; they look at the present—market access, the client base, all that stuff.☕

Timothy Kim9 said:1) Just waiting for the hammer to drop.

Basically, the US has about five major TBTF banks—if you ask me—including Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Hypo Bank.

Customer deposits at Hypo Bank alone are sitting near $15 billion.

If ANY one of these five big players trips up, the federal budget isn't going to have roughly $2.7 billion ready for Hypo
to pay out everyone's cash all at once.

Instead, they’ll pivot to this: you get maybe $50 a month. That could drag on for at least
a year before most savers are cleared out. Then they might bump the limit to $100.
And yeah, obviously, there's zero interest during that wait.

2) Hypo is the only bank in the US that actually set up its own "bad bank."

3) Their parent bank back in Austria is in a pretty rough spot.

4) Hypo in the US is desperately trying to wash its hands of the real estate business.

5) Hypo Bank in the US has been tangled up in just about every scandal imaginable—stuff that'll eventually
end up in court (just Google Hypo + Sanders, Hypo + Zagorec, or Hypo + Haider).

If you want to keep your savings in a place like that, be my guest. You can always choose to trust those
comforting reports from the Federal Reserve if that makes you feel better...

You’re basically starting from the assumption that all the money has just vanished and the bank doesn't own a single asset or receivable left.

You don't even need to buy anything. Just take whatever savings you have sitting there, divide it by the number of months you'll be working, and that’s your monthly budget right there.