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Live in California but have a Washington Mutual account from another state?

Jun 5th, 2009
by Ryan.





ChaseIf you live in California and are watching your Washington Mutual checking account transition to Chase bank, you feel my pain. I opened my account in Washington 5 years ago, and I’ve been banking in California for 4. Now that WaMu is Chase, I suddenly find that all deposits made to my account are unavailable for 4-5 business days. What the hell?!

According to their site, CA doesn’t transfer to Chase until October. They suggest continuing to use your local WaMu branch and to log into www.wamu.com like always.

Mmkay,

1) All of the branches I have seen are already Chase branches, and it’s only June.

2) If you try to log into www.wamu.com it just transfers you to Chase where you have to log in again.

How on earth could they think this acceptable? California is home to many transplants, and I’m not thinking they are going to wait 4-5 business days for their deposits from now until October.

So I’m asking you, “Which bank should I switch to?”

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  • ChaiG
    Not Bank of America! When I opened a BofA account in California and then later moved to Nevada (just a few miles away on the "other" side of Lake Tahoe mind you), I couldn't use my Bankcard inside the Nevada branch.

    Wait, I thought you were Bank of AMERICA, like the whole thing.

    They told me I had to close my original account and open a new account at their branch, which I did. I also changed all of my auto-bill pays over to the new account. But guess what? They didn't actually close my old account, and when one of my auto-bills didn't get switched over to the new account, they charged me an overdraft on the old account. and took the money out of the new account without my authorization!

    my advice? Find a credit union!
  • I think it's great actually. As one of the many transplants, I wasn't willing to move my checking account to an unfamiliar, and in this recession, unstable, bank just because I moved to California. Thanks to the quick changeover, I have ATMs I can use without fees and a bank I already know.

    If I was in your shoes, I'd talk to a banker about the switch and ask when you can expect deposits to go more smoothly or what you could do in the meantime.
  • Jon
    Hey Jesse, the answer to that question is apparently "October."
  • No, I've had no such problems.

    All the branches in CA now seem to be labelled chase, and I continue to use my normal branch with no problem.

    I can login in at wamu.com just as I normally do.

    I did have a deposit get delayed in my business account, but that's unfortunately standard policy for large checks. The expedited funds availability act http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedited_Funds_Av... explains the rules.

    In the past you complained about delays when you deposited money via the ATM, and I suggested you go in to the branch, because they will clear more quickly. That's part of EFAA as well. The banks have discretion as does your local branch manager. Once I got to know my branch manager and explained the situation (infrequent large deposits) they were much more helpful about clearing checks quickly. Now my branch manager moved to a new branch and I'm breaking in a new one.

    In any case, I don't think you should be having as much trouble with WAMU/Chase as you are. The transition has been relatively smooth for me so far.
  • Jon
    I can't speak too accurately on this because I didn't write the above post, but I know that the frustration began when Ryan was told that because he set up his account in Washington State, checks would take longer (up to 6 days) to clear due to the Chase takeover. They said this issue would be resolved by October.

    I'm a BOA guy. I have my own issues.
  • Ah, I didn't notice the fact that you opened the account in Washington State. That probably explains the difference.

    Have you considered going in to the local branch, asking for the branch manager, and seeing if they can transfer your account to be local?

    I know "Tellers have laser eyes" was your response to going in to a branch, :) but I suspect it would help.
  • Jon
    Yeah, again that was me. Maybe Chase has nicer tellers..
  • I've been using Wells Fargo for 20+ years and would recommend checking them out. The only trouble I had was when they integrated 1st Interstate but that was 10+ years ago.

    lots of locations in western states, quick clearance of checks, good website and tech on the ATMS (I love the envelope free deposits - not sure if other banks already do that). I know my ex had a lot of trouble with putting holds on everything if you had one of their all free checking accounts. WFB has their shit together. BofA is generally consider good for business account and horrible for personal.

    credit unions are good but I love having the network of WFB. My banking is pretty straightforward and I never have to go inside so your mileage might vary.
  • Ryan
    No, Chase just has more incompetent tellers.
  • Zaq
    I am just the opposite of you. Lived in CA my whole life and opened a WAMU account there. I moved to Washington state and now can not even access CASH I deposit because it has to be converted to a cashiers check at the branch and mailed to Kentucky to be deposited. Very strange.
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