I’d like to share a story of truth about one of the biggest banks in Wisconsin. A 401k loan check had been deposited into an Associated Bank account. The customer had been a customer for 7 years. Employee 1 approved the transaction by phone. Employee 2 deposits the check on Monday. Employee 3 allows a withdrawal and says the remaining balance is available on Saturday. Employee 4 says the deposit has cleared but only a portion is available at a location 15 minutes away. Employee 5 puts the customer on hold at the teller counter for 45 minutes and says they will have to wait till Monday. After asking for the district manager, employee 5 lies to the customer and says they are there and to have a seat and wait for them. Employee 5 sends out employee 6 , who is the teller supervisor, to explain security has frozen the account and no funds can be released. Employee 6 was reluctant to even give the name of the district administrator. No phone number was given. Monday comes and the customer goes to the 1st location. Employee 7 says the account has been frozen and he says “it is what it is and I have no time for you.” The customer asked to speak to the manager who I’ll refer as employee 8. Employee 8 calls the home office and gave the same answer. However, employee 8 says he will call the customer back. The customer calls the 1-800 number and finally moves the ball along with Employee 9. The branch manager calls and leaves a number for the person responsible for placing the freeze on the account. The customer calls the person responsible for the hold. Ill refer to them as Employee 10. Employee 10 asks why would anyone need a large amount of money. After a 15 minute conversation with employee 9, they reluctantly release the funds. Employee 10 offered to fax a confirmation to the customer. Employee 8 never calls and Employee 8 never faxes the documentation. A call was made to Employee 8 to receive a confirmation. A message was left for Employee 8. No all was received. Upon arriving at the bank, the office was closed and the drive-through open. Employee 11 says they cannot complete a the transaction. However, the employee responds that they think the branch 20 minutes away is open late. Tuesday of the next week the withdrawal was made with Employee 12. Who happen to be curious why the customer would be draining their account to a zero balance. By the way, the fund were fully released to Associated Bank by Intrust Wealth Management on Day 2. 11 Employees it took to complete an honest American’s transaction. This customer is in the process of closing his accounts to move to a smaller bank. One in which they know his name and where his money is located.
A patriot who works hard for a living was given this much trouble to take out a loan to buy two vehicles to support his family. See, the bank actually was structured in such a way to keep everyone confused long enough to collect interest on a substantial amount of money. Regardless of the validity of the transaction, they were set up in a way to distract from the true goal. Hang on to every dollar as long as possible. I have heard stories of transfers that never were submitted taking place and over drafting customers accounts. I have also personally seen transactions disappearing until a credit transaction had taken place to over draft the account. My sister has a story in which she had received a $20 fee without notification. This fee was applied because she had not used her ATM card at least 5 times in a month. Another story is that Associated Bank put a direct deposit on hold. Is that even possible? This is not isolated to Associated Bank. All banks work your money for them. Chase in Illinois is experimenting with $5 ATM fees. If they are successful with their turnout, chances are that all banks will do the same. Do not support these actions. You are never truly established with a bank. You are established with your credit. If a bank treats you badly or leaves you ill-informed, express your concern. If the concern is not addressed, then leave.
Your money counts! So place it where you place your trust!
Right Freedom 