I tried a credit union a few years back; besides lacking any convenient locations, they couldn’t handle my business accounts, they had a policy to “hold” all checks for a week (even those drawn on their bank, even if they cleared the check writers account immediately, etc) Plus, I guess due to lack of branches, they were always packed. I don’t want to wait 15 minutes for a teller or 45 minutes to talk to a banker.

Certainly Chase (and the others) could find employees with two brain cells to rub together. In this economy, with so many competent people out of work, they should have their pick of sharp minds – why don’t they hire some?

Incidentally, it is now February 4th and I have still not gotten confirmation of what is or is not happening to my account. I am guessing that after I left the voice mails explaining the OCC regulation, they just decided to pretend they had never called and alienated their customers in the first place.

The bank later explained, when I discovered the credit ding a few years later, that if I had not paid the collection agency (who, after all, had in good faith bought what they thought was a bad debt from the bank), then my credit would *not* have been wrecked. So stiff the collection agency, and fine – that’s their advice!

I also worked with someone who had previously worked for a big bank I don’t dare name. That person was present at a meeting where the staff was analyzing postal delivery times. The purpose: for each area where a cardholder lived, how to maximize the time to get the statement to them, and for the payment to come back, in order to create late fees which are a big source of profit for the banks. This is one reason your statement may come from one obscure city and have to be sent back to a different one.

Even though my credit has been fine for a few years now, I’m shifting my banking arrangements. It may be that a local bank or credit union (especially the latter) may make more sense. Local means: they have to care. Besides, after the way the banks participated in blowing up the world in 2008, I’m not real fond of big banks – even being the evil capitalist that I am.

We shall see.

Okay, probably better leave now before it gets much worse. In summary: WOW!

I also called the risk/loss prevention directly and was told there was no blemish or note in my account that would trigger a closure.

Just the misread OCC reg.