~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL
It’s way past my bedtime and after a very busy weekend tending to my mother, just home from the hospital, I ran out of gas when it came to doing a post for today.
However, I’m still up and wired since I got off the phone with Wells Fargo Bank.
It all started when my mother and I set up a joint checking account, a sort of “just in case” account so I could pay bills, shop, etc. if she couldn’t get out on her own.
First paper statement comes, no problem.
I go online tonight to check this little account, as well as another account that is for an A-B trust we have. WELL……………I see that when I sign in to the checking account, there’s the info from the A-B Trust. Then I try my mother’s separate account and the little joint checking account is there, too. Well, that’s OK, but what’s freaky is that I don’t have the totals for each account separately. I get the info on the A-B trust, HER account (a living trust), each combined with the the info from the joint checking account (money which is outside the trusts) into one total.
In other words, each trust account doesn’t have its total separate…the totals both include the joint checking account. Not good!
So I call Wells Fargo. Around and around we go on the phone…it all has to do with Social Security numbers and since I’m a trustee of the A-B trust, well, that little checking account is joined to that. Same thing with my mother, whose SS on the joint checking account screws up her trust and the A-B trust. And I get linked to my mother’s trust, too! We’re all thrown in together. And I’m finally told that the checking account can be de-linked, but if I do that, I won’t be able to see the trust account I need to access online. WTF??? I’m supposed to straighten it out at the branch, but they are the ones who set it up to begin with…
I can sign onto an account at Schwab and find two accounts there, mine and a trust…but when I click on the one, I get that ONE account, not the money mixed together! At TDAmeritrade, I have a separate sign-in each for my account and the trust. NOTHING gets co-mingled there, either.
But not at Wells Fargo. The last question the guy on the phone asked me was, “Why would you not want them linked?” “Shit,” I thought… but said:
“Well, it’s useless to sign on to get a total on an account and instead get a number that combines another account in with it!! “
I finished with a flourish, telling the guy that now I understood how Wells Fargo could make a dumb deal and buy Wachovia and their mortgage mess. The same jackasses who did that deal created this nightmare with accounts being glombed together.
Now, they MAY be able to fix all this, but we’ve decided to close the little checking account and take it elsewhere if we can find a place that won’t freak over two accounts and combine them! I mean, a trust is treated as a separate individual and money outside of the trust, stays out of it!
I know this sounds boring but these people are taking our tax money to get “bailed out” and they can’t even set up a bunch of accounts correctly and according to the damned IRS rules.
I won’t bore you with this any longer. To reward you for your patience, I’m posting a few pictures. The banks are closed since it’s President’s Day so I can’t do anything to straighten out this mess…so I’ll enjoy the pictures and hope you do, too.
Slick in Stylish Off-the-Shoulder PJs
Tico with His Mealtime Dinner Bell Squeaker Toy
Tico squeaks toys when he wants to eat! This is his favorite…
Toro Trying on Some Threads, Which Went Back to the Store for Obvious Reasons
Awhile back, someone requested more pictures of sunsets, but I thought I’d go with a SUNRISE picture instead…
SUNRISE 1/23/09
Well, hope you enjoy your day today!
And my condolences to Lincoln and Washington who now have to share one lousy day. Washington who??
Filed under: Current Politics, Life | Tagged: A-B trust, Abraham Lincoln, bailout, Charles Schwab, dogs, George Washington, IRS, living trust, mortgage crisis, President's Day, sunrise, TARP, TD Ameritrade, trusts, Wachovia Bank, Wells Fargo Bank |
InsightAnalytical -- Watching Our World 
ROFL! I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing at Wells Fargo – trust me.A few years ago my Dad decided to refinance his mortgage at a lower rate to reduce his monthly payment. This was in the heat of the Sub Prime mortgage scam, mind you, and since Wells Fargo owned his current loan he called them to see what they had available. They set him up with a decent lower rate, charged him a $350 application fee and mailed him the paperwork – no muss, no fuss, right?
A few weeks later he gets a letter back from WF stating that he can’t refinance to a lower rate because he didn’t qualify for the payment, which was over $100 a month less than his current Wells Fargo mortgage, which they were perfectly contented to keep.
Needless to say, he no longer has a mortgage with Wells Fargo. I think you are wise to move everything to another institution.
We can’t really move everything at this point since my mother gets direct deposits…SO, we’re stuck. But the other checking goes ASAP!!!!!
My oh my – there is more to this story I think….let me get back to you on my findings….and yes, move whatever you can as fast as you can.
Thanks for the sunrise – I do not get to see those very often.
Grl I refinanced a couple of years ago just to get my mortgage out of Wells Fargo since they had become downright annoying with their constant attempts to get me to buy their damn insurance.
I also got a lower interest rate. Two months later the news mortgage holder sold our mortgage to, you guessed it, Wells Fargo. And they still send me at least three letters a month trying to sell me their damn insurance.
Thanks for sharing the photos of your Tico and Toro and Slick. I lost my dog Sammy over 12 years ago, and I am still tearing up thinking of him. I cannot bear to throw away his collar, the paperwork for when we got him from the animal shelter, and a little lock of his hair. My mom always said that my problem was I loved animals more than people. That’s not exactly true…but close!
Go find a local bank. Stay away from the bigger banks. I love the banks in Kansas they are great! They financed our house, our car and our motocycle while everyone was screaming about the large banks not financing anyone which is largely true. UBS refused to finance our car, we had an answer from our local bank in 5 mins….
We are moving our accounts out of Bank of America they can put their accounts where the sign don’t shine.
Social Security can change Direct Deposits in 2 weeks … they did that for me the year before last. Veterans Affairs a pain one month…
You can change Direct Deposits from Social Security online after requesting a password which is mailed to your home address. I don’t know if your Mom’s DD is SS but if it is I hope this helps.
By the way I hate Wells Fargo….bad company to get home loan from…most people can’t get refinanced by them unless they go through a broker. We know quite a few people this has happened to…
I hope you don’t have a credit card with Wells Fargo, also. And if so, I hope it never goes over the 30 days. On another blog I heard that if your credit card with Wells Fargo goes over, they take the whole she-bang amount on the card out of you checking or savings account whichever you have. Someone neglected to read the very fine print on their credit card agreement and wound up having their checking account completely depleted. The card holder had made an honest mistake and forgot for a few days, but that didn’t matter.
It seems that in these hard times and tight money they don’t want to take a chance that going over the 30 days might mean you are in financial trouble and they want theirs first – whether you eat or not.
Renaissance…we’ve been moving money out over the last month or so…All our money is out of Bank of America as the CDs have come due….
We’ve moved my mother’s Hartford Annuity out of there over to a mutual company that ties into our local, strong credit union.
I’ve investigated the other local bank I deal with and they are not taking TARP money and gave me their financial statements, no problem.
The FDIC limits are the problem…she has to split her accounts to be “insured.”
Finding enough decent local banks is the big issue now as she almost tops out the credit union.
And yes, we know how to change the direct deposits…but then where to go? And, with the mail service being slaughtered and possibly cut to no Saturday delivery…then there’s that worry if the payments come by mail!!!
BARB–I understand how you feel COMPLETELY. I still have tears over my guinea pigs Cuddles, Toastie, Creampuff, and Muffy. Creampuff died in my arms after coming home from the vet. Toastie…ah, little Toastie…oh, what a struggle to keep him alive…even my doctor pitched in with some Cipro for his infection. I remember the day I decided to let him go to the Bridge…the next morning I was up early to see him but he had passed during the night. Oh, I’m tearing up right now!~
Muffy passed overnight living to 8, but she bled in my lap the day before (had a history of problems right from when she was a baby). Cuddles, my first gp passed peacefully.
I sometimes lie in bed at night thinking of how I would feel if I lost one of my dogs, as they are all over 7…Toro is 10…and damned if I don’t start crying at the mere thought of it…
Hi there IAGrl – it is a funny coincidence that this experience with Wells Fargo is what you found yourself writing about today. I’ve been saying for the past 24 hours that modern life – the paperwork, the systems that supposedly make things easier but actually make them harder, the regs that overburden everything one tries to do unless one is so rich that one can just ignore them and then be contrite when caught – all of it is just overwhelming me.
I thought it was just me. Helps to know I’m not alone.
It scares me to hear about all the problems with WF. I have my mortgage with them as my lender sold my loan to them a few years ago. In December, my automatic mortgage payment had not been received and I was notified by WF when they offered me an “opportunity” to initiate a new payment plan. (Or find myself in mortgage hell, I suppose)
It took a few hours, but I contacted my bank (India, of course) after having spoken with a WF person (Canada, I think). Later I spoke with someone in Wisconsin and then Texas, but we did straighten things out. And my bank, (citibank I am ashamed to say) had to do some work on their end as they were the ones who made the mistake. WF now has me on their email list and their insurance mailing lists, as well. Not a day goes by without hearing from them. But my mortgage is still intact and I’m not going to play around with it – especially after hearing all your stories…..
thanks for the beautiful pictures.
i hope you get the bank mess straightned out ok.
May I suggest a smaller state-wide or local credit union or savings & loan? Deposits are also insured. You might be able to qualify for New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union–not EXCLUSIVELY for teachers or some other one. I can’t remember the New Mexico bank that is not part of a giant. I want to say Community Bank or First Bank of New Mexico. I think it changed its name from one to the other, but I don’t remember which is the former name.
EA…yes, we’re getting the ABQ Journal now and have seen NMEFCU…
We’re using what used to be called the Ft. Bliss Credit Union now called First LIght…. They are really great!
New Mexico Savings is independent and sound. Another changed it’s name to American Bank, but I think it’s in trouble.
We’re on top of things…but this fall and hospital bit has really made things harder to deal with…
Don’t want to forget to send my best to Insight Mama.
Been thinking about her and hope she is feeling better.
No bank should charge a fee to do online banking with them either. Each time you make a payment online, they now pocket $6.95 to use as bail out money and/or use it to get their money back from buying out Wachovia.
Chase doesn’t charge for online banking. After banking with Wells Fargo for over 20 years, I am taking my business else where.
So glad to find this blog. We are retired and in our 70s, and have watched our nest egg go down the hatch (Oh, that’s a pun!) about 20-30%. We have a 6.00 percent loan with WF and a home equity loan. Last year, my husband was approached to re-finance with NO CLOSING COSTS and get a 5.35 rate.
We filled out all the paperwork, including sending in tax documents.showing that we receive $XXX in Social Security payments monthly, and that we withdraw money from our IRA accounts at Fidelity Investments to cover other expenses.
We didn’t hear from then for months. Finally, in early February, we learned that we were deemed INELIGIBLE for the lower rate because of the way we withdraw money. It looked to them as if we were taking a lump sum disbursement. So the whole thing has gone away, and my husband is fuming.
We’ve checked with other banks around our area in Portland, Oregon — besides that, it would cost us thousands of dollars in closing fees to move our business to their institution. I think we’re stuck for right now… and I wish someone would give us some advice. If we could find other seniors who are in this predicament, would we have the basis for a class action suit for age discrimination? After all, we ARE already customers — but in this instance, we have found out that the WAY we access our own money isn’t acceptable to the bank. It’s really a holier-than-thou situation in which we find ourselves. Perhaps you or someone else has an answer.
Thanks for reading,
Ellen Kimball
Sorry, but I didn’t say that the 6.00 % interest was on a 30-year-mortgage for a few dollars less than $100,000 on a ten year old home. We are NOT upside down in our situation. We just wanted to be able to reduce our monthly payment and save over a thousand dollars a year.
EK