We support reforms to the financial marketplace to curb bad practices by banks and lenders.
Sick of your big bank fees and looking to move? Check out our How To Move Your Money video.
For consumers interested in switching their accounts, Consumers Union offers the following tips:
Open your new bank account with a small deposit – leaving the bulk of your funds with your old bank. Deposit just enough to avoid any fees you may be charged for maintaining a low balance.
Next make a list of all the automatic payments and deposits scheduled to go in and out of your old account each month. If you have direct deposit, ask your employer to reroute your paychecks to your new account. Find out what date the first deposit will occur. Once you know the date, reschedule each automatic payment or debit to come out of your new account and make sure to ask the company what date the change will apply.
Leave some cash in your old account for at least one month.
Once you are sure that all automatic payments and all direct deposits are coming and going from your new account, electronically transfer the final funds from your old account.
Once the transfer clears, follow the procedure laid out by your old bank to close your account. If you don’t close it, you might get hit with a monthly account maintenance fee even after you stop using it. And be sure to get written confirmation that the account is closed.
For more detailed information, see Consumers Union’s Move Your Money checklist of steps to take to ensure that all of your bills are paid on time and you avoid being charged overdraft fees.
This is great! Thanks so much for the info. Any easy resources to compare local credit unions and community banks? I would love to be able to compare monthly fees, online tools, and atm access.
GREAT VICTORY !!!
Now the banks and big corporations knows that “we the people” have the POWER and we will use them.
Please move the share buttons below the video.
The youtube flash player covers up the pop up options making the share portions unusable. Thanks
Great!!!!
This was truly a great victory. Electronic banking often makes it too difficult or hard to transfer banks…with so many automatic payments, debits, deposits, on line bill pay, transfering to another bank is often a huge headache..much as transfering your internet and e-mail accounts is too difficult when your current provider keeps raising its fees.
I never knew this. It must be the reason why payment verification takes so long, and why there are so many impediments to setting it up. I wanted Google to pay me via electronic, but they said it would take a month even though the medium itself takes mere seconds.
I’m beginning to feel as though people in the U.S. are fed up with the constant barraging of our pocketbooks. Now, we have to work on the insurance industry. I had a homeowners policy for 20 years and didn’t have one single claim. Then I had one claim that cost the insurance company (Horrace Mann) $2300.00 and when it came time for renewal, they didn’t increase our premiums, no,no–they dropped us! We had to look for another company to insure our house, and since we had a previous claim, the other companies considered us a risk and made us pay a higher premium. What’s wrong with this picture.
This is a great outcome! But Norma, you make it look easy to switch banks. It’s not, not when so many of us are already hooked up to the bank online, such as automatic bill pay and other “services.” It’s the totality of these hooks that make it so unpleasant to change, and the banks count on that. Someone should invent a truly quick and easy way to switch, or force the banks to do all the work!
Good for us, with your help. Thanks for that.
Credit unions are really co-ops run as non-profits and owned by the depositors (called shareholders).
The only problems with my CU are that:
– They put holds on deposited checks
– They don’t have Chase’s convenient ATM deposit with same-night-credit feature that includes copies of deposited checks on the receipt
.
I’ve been with Chase’s predecessors since 1984. I’d leave in a flash if my CU would give me immediate credit for deposits and allow me to deposit at the ATM < 8pm for credit the same night.
It is not just the Banks, it is most of the large corporations with share holders that are always looking for ways to take your money.
Look for another credit union. Mine is not linked to my employer in anyway and does not put holds on deposits. It also issues and administers it’s own credit card. Find a locally owned bank with an ATM deposit feature, checking, direct deposit and automatic debit features. I highly recommend that all of us use local banks and credit unions. My experience with them has been outstanding. They have even gone beyond what their duty was in order to solve a problem for me.
Great…..if only most of the 99% had funds to transfer! …and/or were able to maintain enough funds to avoid fees. To those Republican/Tea-publican candidates who shout to us to get a job: after you lose, I’ll be the first to shout the same to YOU!
Thanks for this great information. If only WE the people would stand together like this on more issues. It seems to me our country is being steered or run by these conglomerates. Speak up America in one voice and we will MAKE them give us a fair shake,,,
I am ashamed of CU. We used to be an organization that made recommendations to our members. We were never an organization that condemned any company or product. In fact, when asked by the Press, CU could also revert to the facts, not emotional or vindictive, saying that we just wanted to let consumers know about a product. I don not like the way this is going.
Far from being ashamed, I am proud of CU. With the democrats gone timid and with the republican/tea party now being a wholly owned subsidiary of the big banks, conglomerates, and fox “news,” we need strong and independent leadership to fill the void. CU is doing a great job of providing that leadership.
What gives Big Banks their position of power is the $$ we voluntarily give them
each payday. Take back the power and join the BBB (Boycott Big Banks) Movement. Take all of your $$ out of your Big Bank & put it in local credit unions & community banks. Then give them your mortgage & loan business. Then encourage your friends & family to do the same. Show those Shylocks the Power of the People!
Are you joking these small CUs and Banks will rip you apart.
Sir/Ms: I was wondering…”what does it take to START A BANK!!” a NON-PROFIT CITIZENS BANK!!! Tell me you ideas!!! Maybe we can!!!
This is great. My friend and I also put together a short song on how to move your money to a credit union:
Enjoy and please share!
Will closing a long long held savings & checking account adversely impact credit scores? Been with BoA since it was NCNB. Concerned closing accts will allow Credit Bureaus to impact my score. THX
Response to MRL, No. 13 above, posted 11/1.
MRL, you should be shouting HURRAH! that CU is being a venue for this instead of being ashamed. Be ashamed that we not only allow big oil, big insurance, big phamacutical, Wall St. interests, etc. as well as big banks to lead us around by the nose then also say ‘thank you’ to boot. Praise and support those who are trying to correct this. D. B. Neri
Kepp up the good work! Facts are facts. If big banks are acting like financial bullies, it’s high time we straightened them out. I’m not feeling at all vindictive or emotional, just plain factual and just.
that’s all fine and dandy. But what do we do when we already have a mortgage to pay off with BOFA? How do we move THAT to another bank. Because I would just love to! Having a mortgage with BOFA is truly one of my biggest regrets. They are the worst bank I ever imagined. How they get away with their practices is one of the 7 wonders.
[...] No matter where in the world you are, you need to make sure to take the appropriate steps necessary to protect yourself from unnecessary fees and charges that can be assessed when you change banks. Make sure to check out CU’s video and tips explaining how to safely move your money. [...]