Jill's story

I've been distracted in my search for a new bank that I want to do in light of the Fleet/Summit merger...since my first two choices (Unity and Commerce) don't have many offices in Morris County, NJ, where I work...though I think I might stay living in Edison, where I live, so...I'll keep that in mind as I look.

Yesterday I walked into Summit...I mean Fleet; they've changed all the signs and everything...to deposit my "tax relief" check.

I said to the teller, "Could you please put this tax refund check into available balance?" Summit had always done this for either a Summit check they could validate the balance on, or on a government (federal or NJ) check.

"No, we have to wait for it to pass."

"Excuse me? Summit always did that for me...and (I smiled) if the Feds aren't good for it, we're in more trouble than I thought!" (no smile/response from the teller) "So it will pass tomorrow, right?"

"Well, let's see, Austin, Texas..."

"It's a TAX REFUND check! The federal government!" (no response)

Sighing, I took the deposit slip and went to talk to one of the customer service people at the desks, whom I recognized as a Summit person. I asked her for information on closing out my account if there's a direct deposit going into it. she seemed concerned, but advised me just to have my new bank close it out, and talk to my employer about changing the direct deposit.

I further explained that I find Fleet's policies very odd, and not like the old Summit, with which I had had an account since I was a child, and "this isn't my bank; I'm a Summit customer...and Fleet apparently has the worst reputation for customer service in the industry!"

The customer service person looked at me understandably. "I hear you about their policies. We're losing a lot of Summit customers over it. We had the best customer service on the East Coast before this merger. Heck, an account that took us five minutes to open now takes us almost half an hour with all the stuff they need done!"

I asked her about the tax relief check, and she says Fleet's policy is to treat any check as negotiable and as something that's just paper until it passes. I said that makes sense in general, but a government check? She nodded in agreement that that was a wee bit unusual...

She said I could give Fleet a few months and see if they adjust to the transition, but I told her the bank's reputation precedes itself, and I probably wouldn't wait that long. Again, she totally understood and didn't try to talk me out of it. I think Summit employees are not happy with the merger.

So, the money I wanted for this weekend, for the Ren Faire, is not in as of today...and since it's an out of state check, I don't know *when* I'll get it. Argh. That is really messed up for a federal tax refund check, IMHO...it's an out of state check, so it could take up to a week to pass.

Time to get out. I think I'll go talk to Commerce first - I think they're more likely to expand branches up North, even if I've heard great things about Unity from people here and others...

Just needed to share/vent.

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