alexist

One area where I will freely admit that America is behind is banking. And my bank is a prime example. I've banked with a local savings bank for years, because they're cheap--no maintenance fees. However:

1) I ordered new checks. When I called, I said I hadn't had new checks in several years; they said OK, you need to be transferred to the company that does them. So I was. I ordered. 3 weeks, no checks, no charge deducted. Call up. Order was cancelled, no explanation, need to call bank. I do. They say "oh, this is effectively a new order, you need to do it in branch". WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THIS 3 WEEKS AGO??

2) I ask for my BIC and IBAN codes so I can transfer money from the UK. They can't provide them. A little quizzing reveals that they can get money internationally--they do it through JP Morgan Chase--but I just need to give them my routing number and regular bank account number. She didn't seem to understand that NatWest won't know what the fuck to do with them--they need BIC/IBAN or SWIFT codes.

I said fuck it. I'm going over to HSBC later, because they can deal with international issues. I'll pay fees, at least for a bit (even basic checking is $3/mo with a transaction limit) but I don't care at this point. Only sucky thing will be that I'll be back down to starting at check #101. Not that this matters so much these days since I'm hardly ever in a position where I'm in a store and need to write a check, the usual situation where you hit a "check must be at least #300" situation. But still. I was looking forward to a new box of checks so I could start at 300 and be able to write in-store checks! Just the principle.

I am now an HSBC customer. Although I won't have my debit card, Internet banking details, or checks till next week.

At least I can transfer money from the UK and we can buy a car.

ETA: Although I discovered that BIC/IBAN is just an EU thing and I do have to use SWIFT, which may have been what confused the CS rep earlier (though she was also saying they don't do regular international transfers so who knows, I suspect it's not a common request. Searching for a SWIFT code [at the official SWIFT website] for my old bank gets no results). BUT, it's not so bad that I switched because our current account in the UK is with First Direct--and there's lower rates for transfers within HSBC Group. Only £10 instead of £25 (don't know about receiving fees; HSBC USA's website doesn't say. THe best I can do is the following FAQ:

"Is there a fee if my previous bank wires funds (my remaining balance) into my HSBC account?

Yes. You will be charged either $10 or $15, depending on your bank's location."

I'm not willing to take that as gospel because this is a large sum of money coming from overseas.)