A Letter to Bank of America

Dear Bank of America,

Based on a previous rant, you may be aware that I'm not the biggest fan of banking institutions.  That's why, when I received a notice that I'd overdrafted on my checking, I was prepared for a fight and, to be completely honest, to close my account.

Now, my balance on this account usually runs pretty low because it's a personal account I keep so JD and I can each have a little bit of our "own" spending money.  However, I'm always very organized about these types of things, and I knew that there was no way the overdraft was my fault.

When I checked my account balance online, I noticed a new "account maintenance fee" that had been charged to my account for July and August, along with a lovely $35 overdraft fee (potentially 3 whole lattes at Starbucks).  There was money in my savings account, which could have easily covered the overdraft, which irked me even more.

I pulled up one of the "chat with a customer service representative live" windows and asked about the new fee.  "Richard" (which I'm guessing isn't his real name based on his overly formalized yet broken English) was very polite and very helpful, and explained that there are new requirements for my type of account if you want to maintain a free account.  He also mentioned that I should have received a notice with my April payment.

Okay, so technically a little my fault, but I don't receive paper statements, and since I can see all my transactions in my account history online, why would I ever feel the need to look at my statement pdf?!  

Anyway, Rich told me that all I had to do to avoid fees in the future was have at least $250 direct deposited into my account every month.

Um, sorry buddy, ain't gonna happen.  I have bills and crap to pay out of my REAL checking account.

Then Rich told me I could simply change my account type to an e-account, which would be free if I signed up for paper statements and did all my banking online or through the ATM (as in, no tellers).  It just so happens this is perfect for me because I already do that anyway.

I was waiting for the catch, but Big Rich changed my account type for me without having to change my account number, and refunded both maintenance fees and my overdraft fee.

Wait... what?!  That was easy.  I didn't have to ask to speak to a manager or have JD call and complain for me.  I didn't have to steal money from our checking account so I didn't get charged another overdraft fee.  I didn't have to go all the way down there so I could quit the bank! (Sorry, Friends reference)

Way to go Bank of America.  You rocked my world today.

Thanks for your customer service done right (minus the whole changing the terms of my account, but I can look past that now).

Bank of America customer for life,

Jenny