Whoo hoo is probably not the best way to express the present sentiments of Washington Mutual's customers and employees. The troubled bank has been looking for a buyer all week and there's a possibility that WaMu could go under.
If your accounts with WaMu are worth less than $100,000 than the FDIC will insure that you don't lose a cent, so transferring your money to another bank wouldn't do much to protect your cash further. Do you bank with Washington Mutual?
I don't think there's anything to stress about, other than that people are stressing and moving their money around preemptively, potentially creating additional problems. I'll be keeping my account.
2
I'm waiting to see what happens, and who buys them. If things look bad I might switch to someone else, but for now I'm just seeing how things go.
3
No - I use to but I HATED their customer service! No wonder why this is happening. When I was banking with them I always had this feeling like they weren't going to last!
4
i've used WaMu for years, and i think they're great. i'm staying with them for now.
5
I used WaMu...they are the ONLY bank around here that you can actually bank with for free. I'm not too worried about the $200 I currently have in my account with though. Keep my savings at a credit union.
I'm curious though if the bank were to go under, do you get your money right away? It seems to me like it could be a while before the FDIC gets around to writing checks. If that is the case, then you could be in trouble if you don't have other money elsewhere.
6
wamu was the first bank i ever used, back when i got my first job at 16. i didn't like their customer service either, so i switched to wells fargo.
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As of about 3 or 4 weeks ago I'm with a credit union. It wasn't actually rumblings of failure that drove me to switch. It was one time too many of them switching times and dates on my transactions, dinging me for penalties, and then not showing their shenanigans in my transaction history. I went in and asked them why I was once again $70 short and (even though I couldn't see a thing in my online transaction history) she showed me the fees in hers. Called it a "bank error" and didn't offer to give my money back. Sorry lady, I can't afford for WaMu to keep stealing from me and hope I won't notice.
8
This sucks! I just got new checks from them too. Oh well. There isn't much money in the bank so I will just wait it out.
9
i don;t bank with wamu but my boss does and she's been talking about it a lot lately. it definitely is a bit scary when you think that a well known bank like that is having trouble. i don't know what i would do if my money were in the bank. probably take it out and switch, but i don't know for sure. at least there's the insurance thing with FDIC that will make you feel 'ok' about things.
10
I closed my accounts with WAMU three years ago because they insisted that I had withdrawn $40 from an ATM when in fact I had attempted to withdraw $20 twice unsuccessfully and then the third time, it finally worked. My mom used to work for a bank and told me to ask their customer service to check the videos, but the customer service agents said they couldn't and were unhelpful. So frustrating.
11
ive been with bank of america since high school.. and i figure it doesnt make sense to have more then one bank account anyway
12
"If your accounts with WaMu are worth less than $100,000 than the FDIC will insure that you don't lose a cent..."
Sorry to be picky but the second "than" should be "then." That's a pet peeve of mine...
13
well that is creepy.
14
I have an account with them, but I also happen to have a checking account with Wells Fargo that I haven't gotten around to closing. I may toss half of my account in there for now just to make sure I have enough money to pay bills and rent if something does happen.
15
I second MarinerMandy's comment- I bank with WaMu and I'd like to know what happens if it does go down as far as receiving your money from the FDIC? I have my only bank account at WaMu and if it took any more than a few days for me to get my money back I'd be royally screwed. Of course, I don't exactly want to pull my account and hide it under my mattress either. Any advice, Savvy?
16
Very interesting...I live in Orlando and the WaMu customer service is bend-over-backwards amazing! Best bank I've ever been with and I recommend the to everyone all the time:) I would be worried of them going under but thankfully I have my very large sums with the Bank of NY that is the sole account for my stock investing. I have a savings/checking and a joint savings/checking here with WaMu, but they remain below the 100K mark, so here's to those being still protected!
17
Yes I do, but it's not like I have my whole life savings in there. That's what safes are for! Besides, I usually spend my check before it gets to my bank. I only use my account for paying bills.
18
No, for some reason - I just never felt good or sure about the bank.
19
I love WaMu. I'm sad to see that they're in so much trouble. I have been banking with them for years and especially love their free checking accounts. But I'm swapping banks for any just in case. If they get bought out, great.
But if they go under, I would have to get an account elsewhere anyway, so why not start now? The feds are suppose to give your money back, but they won't keep WaMu open. Never gone through fed reimbruisments of funds, but knowing how feds go about doing things (i.e. passports processing, FEMA and natural disasters, etc.), I'm not going to wait around to see what happens to my money.
20
I used to bank with them, and I also used to work for them. I had been to a few different branches throughout my training, and they were all very sloooooooow. Very little customer flow at
all. The only reason I stopped banking with them is because they had no branches very close to my house. The closest one was about 20 minutes away, whereas my current bank is 5 minutes away.
I don't really think there's much to worry about, they're FDIC insured $100,000 per
accountholder per account.
I have three accounts.
One is at WAMU from when I first graduated college or I was still in high school. I kept it open with about $10 in it. Now it is for my daughter, but only has $296 in it...It's where her
b-day and Christmas money goes so that I don't accidentally spend it.
Oops.
Then I have a savings account at a credit union.
Then I have my regular account that I pay bills from and my paycheck gets deposited in to. That's at BofA.
23
Yes I bank with wamu and its pretty good no compliants. I wont be transfering my money to another bank anything soon.
24
I bank with Wamu, but I admit was nervous at first with talk of Wamu going under and considered withdrawing my funds and going to B of A but I guess I'll wait it out and see what develops.
25
I love the WAMU by my house. That's the only reason I got an account there, they are all so friendly. I always go to Tara the teller, and I'm like "Hey Tara" and she is like "Hey Sarah" and it's cool. Plus, I think it is cool that they have little podiums spread around instead of one big desk with a big glass window in front of it. Makes it feel more personal. But, I know other WAMU's aren't as new or cool.
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I go through a credit union which more and more I'm thankful for! My sister does though and she's stressing about it!
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