Review: Chase Mortgage experience (poor)

Because this was my first time going through the mortgage process, I had decided to try a few lenders to compare different rates. This turned out to be such a huge hassle. I thought I could just get the rates that I wanted. To get those rates, I had to submit so many different forms.

There are some costs to go through the mortgage process. I was told that I didn't have to make a decision until it was closer to the closing date. But I was charged an application fee, $400+.

Eventually, I had decided to go with another lender more than a month prior to the closing. So, I asked if I could have the application fee refunded. I figured since they never got around to doing the appraisal for my place because it was still being built, I could recover some of that cost. I never received a response back.

Even thought I had notified the loan officer, the processor still contacted me on how the progress of the building was... so that was another awkward moment.

So sad to say that even though I have been a long time Chase customer since they acquired Bank One, this experience was quite disappointing. I even shared what I would have liked to see to help with my decision, but feel that it was completely ignored.

On a side note, I had also tried Wells Fargo. The loan officer there kept asking for the same information multiple times. The first time, I visited a branch and I provided my name, address, and other basic information. Then, he put me on the phone which I had to provide the same information. Then we scheduled a physical meeting. Before that, he had his processor call me and requested the same basic information. Then I met the officer, and he asked for my basic information again! At this point, I just easily eliminated them as an option.

Now, I kind of wish that I had tried TD Bank. I have found that their desk personnel are much more helpful and seem to be extra helpful with problems. Maybe it is different between branches, but sometimes that it is all it takes. She even mentioned that my credit score could be lowered due to multiple inquiries which I have confirmed because Chase had requested for my credit score twice.

I'll have another post after everything is completed on my recommendation on what to prepare for on a mortgage. I really took the hard way of doing things, but I want to wait till it is all over before I post so that I can evaluate the entire process.

Review: TD Bank - Remote Deposit

Error Message: "Exceeded Deposit Limit - You have exceeded the mobile deposit limit."
Options

• Deposit a Smaller Check
• Find a TD Bank or ATM
• Contact Us
• Main Menu

The cheapest option is to mail to the following address (check the link below for current address):

TD Bank, N.A.

ME2-001-033

P.O. Box Number 1190

Lewiston, Maine 04243

Another option suggested was to wire the check from another bank. I am not familiar with this process. I would imagine you would need an account with that bank.

Experience

I received a check while being out of town for a while. I figured I could deposit check from my phone not realizing there was a limit to the amount I can deposit through the mobile app. Then I realized that there are no branches in my area.

So I used the Contact Us option which dialed the number 888-751-9000. I waited about 6-8 minutes (the machine said it was around 4-6 minutes) on hold. Soon I was speaking with Roberta who was able to assist me immediately and provide the address quickly. I have a lot of experience waiting on call a long period of time and working with people who has too look up information for everything, but not with Roberta. She enunciated very well; I had no trouble understanding her. I did not chat at all but she seemed pleasant. The overall experience was very good.

The only unfortunate thing was having to mail the check which is not a problem as time is not a huge factor, but that I am always wary about mailing anything. Although greatly exaggerated, I feel like half the snail mail seem to get lost (except for spam mail). It is kind of a hassle to get 1 envelope and 1 stamp when out-of-town.

Although I had no problem with TD Bank service, I think this could have easily be resolved if they just had an option that gives me the address to mail the check to when the app realizes that I am depositing more than the daily limit. 

1/8/2014 - They deposited the check after the end of the year. I am little upset about that but not a huge deal... at least it worked. 17 total days, 12 business days, cross country mail.

Locations

Error Message: "There doesn't seem to be a TD Bank near where you are looking. Please try entering the info again."

One last thing was finding a branch very far from their region. I think it would still have been nice to return the closest branch even though it would have been several states away. The reason is I thought maybe I entered in the location incorrectly or maybe I had to look farther.

Reference

http://m.tdbank.com/faq/FAQAnswer.aspx?InterfaceID=16&QuestionID=2952

http://tdbank.intelliresponse.com/index.jsp?requestType=NormalRequest&source=6&id=1410&question=What+is+the+Bank+by+Mail+address

Life: TD Bank Debit Card expired and Dormant Bank Accounts

I was just checking out some features on the TD Bank website and TD Bank mobile app and ran into some problems. So, I went to a branch and inquired about it. I didn't have to wait long probably because it was a mid afternoon Friday.

While they the representative was looking into it, she found also noticed that my debit card had expired because I haven't used it for a while. I found this odd because I thought they typically send a new card. Since I almost never use a debit card, I haven't actually bothered to check before.

At the same time, I have also learned that there is such a thing as dormant accounts where if the account is inactive for a period of time, the bank turns your money over to the state. I found the website that you can go to find unclaimed money by visiting missingmoney.com (link provided below). Some states may have their own site, so you may want to try that first. I found using the search term "Unclaimed Property" plus your state will find most state's site.

At first, I thought this practice was odd but I could see some value to this although I cannot really find the real reason online yet. Although I find 1-3 years to be too short but seems like the government has shortened this over a period of time. I am also not sure how long the funds can stay in the unclaimed funds for each state. One benefit is that it does protect you from the bank creating new policies that may "legally" take your money over a period of time since most banks have the open clause to change their policies at any time. I believe most policies take affect within a year. One of the policies could be to add fees due to inactivity. Then at some point additional fees below a minimum amount. If there was no minimum amount, the bank could also add a policy for that as well. Not great customer service policies but sounds legal. I'm not sure what other reason there could be.

If longer than that, the policy would also be good for long term inactivity. Perhaps your parents invested money in your account that you did not know about. Or you had an account that you forgot about because it had low funds. By turning the money to the state, you now have a centralized place to find your funds. Also I think this may also include retirement funds. So if you had a 401k from previous company and forgot to change your address, those funds may also go towards that (I am guessing at best).

Also, if the person has the bad fortune of getting into an accident with long term health problems, or death, or anything that prevents them from communicating their accounts, friends or family could see if the person had funds to be possibly used for bills or inheritance. I can see how the shortened period would help this case.

I'm not sure if this is true, but you may want to also check if CDs may fall under the inactivity rule. It sounds odd that CDs would fall under that but there was a site with complaints. I did not investigate farther if this was legitimate or not because I have not owned any CDs.

All in all, the experience was very nice at TD Bank. I did get my services enabled. I was in a hurry and didn't ask what caused the problem (although I should have), but my guess is that it may have been flagged as dormant. I had a small fund account sitting there for a couple years because it was for some charity. I would definitely give TD Bank more consideration in the future. The rep even mentioned about mortgages but did not "sell" their service and was more conversational which I actually do appreciate. I had poor experience with a branch with another bank in nyc that sells even another account every time I go in just to get a check. It was only that branch though because I did not have that problem in other states.


Reference
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5009248_what-happens-dormant-bank-accounts.html
http://www.whec.com/news/stories/s2964818.shtml
http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-jersey/21417-nj-will-confiscate-you-bank-accounts.html
In general - http://www.missingmoney.com
For California - https://ucpi.sco.ca.gov/UCP/Default.aspx

Interview: Have you ever stolen a pen from work?

Have you ever stolen a pen from work?

Just some fun thoughts that I wouldn't recommend using:

1. No. People either steal more than one pen or they do not steal at all. Who steals just one pen?
2. No. I've always been expected to work from home / remotely / always on-call.
3. No. Who uses a pen anymore? / Do you mean a stylus?
4. Did the company expense all items I buy for work?
5. Has the owner / CEO / President exploited company expenses / taxes for personal purchases?
6. How many TD Bank pens do you think your company has?

I would avoid saying yes / no:

1. I have plenty of pens at home thus I have no intentions to steal any pens.
2. I may have accidentally brought one home, but usually it also accidentally returns back to the office because I didn't realize that I accidentally brought it home.
3. I bring pens to work.

In reality, I typically bring my own pens to work because they are better than the cheap company pens. Decent gel pens have a nice consistency and less hassle than the ordinary ball-point pens. Avoid bad/cheap gel pens because they can cause a lot of smudges if the point breaks.


 Off topic - I see the green TD Bank pens all over the place, and I will admit that they work very well except a little too big for my taste. Very off topic - I missed a chance to get a free TD Bank umbrella. Those looked pretty awesome.














Reference:
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/career/glassdoors-top-25-oddball-interview-questions-for-2013/4783