Without going into a great deal of detail, let me just say that if you’re looking for a bank for a checking or savings account, or if you have a choice of banks for an auto loan or other type of loan avoid Fifth Third Bank if at all humanly possible.
Long story short: I’ve been fighting with Fifth Third Bank for a couple of months now about providing proof of insurance for my car between October and December of 2007. (Fifth Third has the loan on my car.)
In December of 2007, they sent me a letter saying that they had no proof of insurance (I’ve had State Farm since 1989, without a lapse in coverage since) and would be billing me retroactively for coverage during that period until I provide proof of insurance. They sent this to the wrong address because they failed to update my address after I went to a local branch of the bank and gave a teller the new information along with a payment.
Now, how it’s legal for a company to retroactively bill for insurance coverage, I have no idea — since I can obviously make no use of insurance for a period of time that has passed — but they’ve either claimed they did not receive proof of insurance from State Farm or refused to accept the form of proof from State Farm several times now. I’ve spent well over five hours of my time calling Fifth Third about this problem and have also no doubt wasted quite a lot of my insurance agent’s time.
With any luck, it will be resolved soon — but I will be looking to pay this loan off early or find another lender to allow me to get away from Fifth Third and warn as many people as possible to avoid doing any business with this bank.
What galls me most of all is that the bank acknowledges they’ve spoken to State Farm and have been told that, yes, I do and have had coverage — but they refuse to accept that as confirmation. They also accept no blame for failing to update my address, and no shame whatsoever about trying to charge me for insurance during a period of time that has already passed and can be of no use whatsoever except as a penalty for not assisting the bank with their shoddy recordkeeping.
Some of you who can’t even spell shouldn’t even have an account!! And all of you First Charter customers complaining about how good you had it before, why do you think First Charter no longer exists??????
I am a former employee of this extremely corrupt institution. I can tell you exactly how all of their fees are applied and they’re not right. Not only is this company an awful place to bank but it’s literally the most abusive company I have ever worked for. Even in a down economy, I’d rather starve than set foot another day at Fifth Third Bank. I spent 4 years too many watching employees come and go, papers get lost and fees getting worse. Stay far, far away from Fifth Third Bank.
I too went through the same problem not once but twice. I have Farm Bureau as a carrier, twice I walked into the branch office, gave them my proof of insurance for them to make a copy of and send into thier main office. I had to do this twice as the main office claimed they never received it from the branch. Apparently the left hand doesn’t talk to the right hand. The girls in the branch office were very nice to work with but the main office is a joke. After other eventS, in which it cost me dearly, I cancelled all accounts and changed banks.
I too went through the same problem not once but twice. I have Farm Bureau as a carrier, twice I walked into the branch office, gave them my proof of insurance for them to make a copy of and send into their main office. I had to do this twice as the main office claimed they never received it from the branch. Apparently the left hand doesn’t talk to the right hand. The girls in the branch office were very nice to work with but the main office is a joke. After other events, in which it cost me dearly, I cancelled all accounts and changed banks.
I will never ever deal with this bank again even if someone paid me to deal with them!!!
We have had a car load with 5/3 bank. Starting out with them, I would mail in my payments because they didn’t take any online payments. I mailed my payment in a week before the due date but some of the payments took longer than the 7 days to process resulting in a late fee.
During the first year we moved and I had sent in the address change that your receive in your loan book. I received a confirmation letter verifying the change of address.
Then about a year into the loan we received a letter from a collection agency regarding a late payment on the account from several months earlier. We were told that they send out several notices regrding this to us, just to find out that they sent it to the old address. After endless nights of talking with supervisors, having 3 way conversations with my bank and faxing in proof to them, they finally found that the payment was received and placed on another customer account. They said that they would take care of this with the collection agency fix my account and even take care of the other late fee from taking so long to process. They also double checked our address and made sure that it was correct.
Then a few years later we changed our insurance company. A few months after changing I started receiving phone calls from 5/3 telling me that I had paid my account late. I told her that was inpossible because I had my web banking set up to automatically pay 5/3 the same time every month and it would electronically get sent to the. After further investigation they didn’t get my new insurance information from my insurance ageny so they raised my monthly payment to cover insurance costs. Of course I never received any information regarding this. They said they sent me several notices in the mail on this. I asked again what address they sent it to and of course it was to our old address. Meanwhile earlier that same day I received a letter from 5/3 telling me about their home equity loans that they offer. We talked with their insurance department and they showed that they did have our new insurance information and that they would take care of the charges.
Now we are coming to the end of the loan. We made the second to last payment and called to see what the last payment would be and make sure that this nightmare would finally be done. Low and behold the payment would be almost double because of late fees that have been put on the account. We talked with a supervisor regarding this who was very rude and would not let us talk to her boss. Her response was that we had to deal with her and no one else. It would take her several days to read though all of our customer notes to get this straightened out and would call us back in 4 days. So now I get to sit and wait to hear what she has to say. My next step to to the attorney general regarding them. This is the worst experience I have ever had with a bank. I just can’t wait to see how long it takes to get our title. I wonder what address that will get sent to…..
I could not agree more, this bank is abysmal in every sense of the word. the only consolation is they will not be around much longer
I have banked with 5/3 for years, and have had outstanding service. Had checks stolden and cashed for a few thousand dollars, and their fraud dept. had my money bank in my account in one business day. I got the best service I have ever had at any place of businness. Excellent friendly service is all I have ever experienced. Sounds like to me that lots of the problems some are having is trying to cover overdraws at last minute. It makes sence that transactions would be posted at the time of day and on the date they are done.
Was about to open a Safe Saver Account with about $200k at Fifth Third Bank since their interest rate of 2.25% looked decent in this market. After reading all of these comments I will look elsewhere.
Lousiest bank to deal with… I bank with a lot of banks; Chase, Natiional city, Charterone and Fifth third to name a few. I have gotten excellent customer services from all of them except Fifth Third. At Fifth Third, I get charged fees to make night drops. I get charged when they count the money dropped in the previous night. I get charged if I have deposits more than $25K in a month (ridiculous bank with ridiculous charges). On top of that pretty much everytime my drops are counted bad. They always call me saying they are missing $20 or $25 from a drop. I have repeatedly asked them to have cameras where their employees count cash. But no use, they keep saying this even when I have upto three employees counting cash at my end before turning cash to them – By the way I bank with Fishers, Indiana branch of Fifth Third. The bank manager – John and his deputy KK are the most unfriendly people to deal with. Even when I have such huge sums of cash deposited in this bank, they treat me like dirt. They always give me an impression that they are too busy with other stuff than dealing with me. I have come to a point that now, I will discontinue banking with them and move over to another bank – most probably Nat City. A couple of years ago, I was acquiring a business, the local Fifth Third business banker was behind me to get my business, he insisted that I get external evaluators to evaluate the business potential and that would be accepted by Fifth Third. I spent $3000 to get the perspective business evaluated – in the end they did not give me the loan; inspite of excellent credit history. They said someone in Cincinnati did not approve. To me that is complete BS, I eventually got loan from another good bank but I lost the $3000 that Fifth third made me spend and did not cover. Lousy bank, if there is a journalist or someone wanting to do an article on this bank, I am willing to give my testimony so people can know what kind of idiotic bank this is. Also this banks offices are always in the most effluent areas, prime real estate – all at the depositors expense. Hope some one in the Federal goverment reads this and investigate their spending….
I have recently bought my first car, and my auto loan is from this bank. The interest rate they gave me will have me paying almost $10,000 more on a car that was originally $10,500.
So far, I haven’t had any customer service problems, but I am trying to pay this loan off within the year to save myself from these interest rates.
Did anyone have any problems trying to refinance with another bank?
I’ve been with 5/3 for over three years. While I rarely had a problem that they should have been held responsible for, I still had two negative experiences. The first concerned an offer that THEY made to me to refinance an HE loan at a lower rate–the loan was with another bank. I had ro submit the “required” paperwork 3-times: twice in person and one sent electronically. Even though I was a regular customer in good standing, already HAD an approved loan somewhere else, and a high credit score on top of it all, they still denied the application. Why? They could not prove income. MY PAYCHECK IS DIRECT DEPOSITED TO 5/3!! Not to mention that they did get a pay stub and a W-2 with the paperwork. Incredible! The second incident concerned an overdraft on my checking account; the check was posted one day ahead of the written date on two checks ($400+ total), and went into overdraft (+fees). There is only a 3-day “grace” period, so I am screwed. The funny thing is that I was sure that I had transferred money to the account to cover the charges in the event that this might happen, but I can’t find any evidence that I did it. After reading all of the posts here, I don’t expect to get anything reversed in either case, so it’s off to the “shopping mall” of banks and transfer my money elsewhere. Does anyone have any good suggestions??
BTW: They also said that they could not prove my identity!! What a joke! LOL!
Have you ever heard of a drive-through window at a bank closing? Our drive-through at our Fifth Third Bank in Nortonville, KY has just closed its window. When questioning the tellers they have no answers. This is a total no brainer for elderly customers, customers who have sleeping children in the vehicle and a multitude of other needs for a drive-through. Please!!!!
All of the airheads that leave comments here either need a personal accountant (which customer service is not) or need to take Banking 101!! Its ludicrous that grown human beings can’t keep track of a checking account or don’t know how an installment loan works!! If you just knew how to keep a checkbook ledger………
Wow, I really am surprised at all the negative comments made on Fifth Third?? I read where one check was actually posted 2 days before the date on it!! Don’t you understand, it’s “upon presentation” that a bank pays and just because you thought you could get a couple days as in “the check is in the mail”, they will not hold it ’til you decide to put money in to cover it! DUH!
I am not with a bank and pity the people that have to put up with all your ignorance. The economy sucks and you are looking for a punching bag……time to look at all the good things in life and start counting your blessings, instead of complaining about everything.
Fifth Third is the ____. I run a business that ranges in the six figures. I had one customer’s check bounce (a large sum) which called me to bounce some. I called the bank and the people who I bounced the checks. I paid back all the people and Fifth turd charged me $750 in bounce check charges. I made everything right with everyone I wrote checks to ie: covered any of thier bounce check charges etc. I closed my account and told them to sue me for the money for the bounce check charges. This happen six years ago and they won’t sue me but have black listed me from opening any other accounts in most banks.
This post is not intended to offend anyone….
I found this post checking Fith Thirds stock ratings for the day. Not doing very well
at the moment. I guess that $480,000,000 award to the owner wasn’t such a good idea, LOL. Anyway………
In regards to those who have been charged late fees and such…
I have been with Fifth Third for close to 25 years. I was late on my credit card payment by one day because I forgot to go online and pay it. I called them and they waived the fee because I NEVER missed a payment before. No Problems at all. I was however, several months later, late again because I was out of town and forgot to make my payment once again. This time they told me they can’t waive a fee twice within a 6 month period. I said “OK, no problem, thank you anyway, I understand”
Old Kent Bank was my original bank until Fifth Third acquired them. I know a lot of people do live week to week. I did at one point in my life also. But, this is the 21st century people.
I keep enough money in my checking account to cover 2 months worth of bills AND I PAY ALL of my payments ONLINE!
My auto loans are automatically deducted from my checking account via Ford Credit. No worries….. no hassles.
Fifth Third is like all banks, for that matter, like all businesses….. Their purpose is to MAKE MONEY, period…… Again, the same as any business. So, for those who do live week to week, watch your finances CLOSELY! For those who have enough money in their accounts to cover their bills for a few months, welcome to the 21 century and try online banking…… It makes paying bills so simple.
Create a spread sheet of your creditors and keep track of your balances and payments. When you pay online you get a payment reference #. If you have any disputes, which I have never had paying online, you have proof of payments made.
The 21 century isn’t doing very well at the moment, but get used to it and embrace it….. It isn’t going away any time soon……….
I am not pleased with the customer service I received when I was trying to resolve a matter. Mrs. Long at the bank on Albemarle Road in Charlotte, North Carolina was very rude. The mail system losed the mail that had my sons’ room and board money inside of it. I had a cashier’s check in the amount close to 3.000.00. I went to her about the matter at 4:00pm. Although I had been there twice to see if the cashier’s check had been cashed previously. The teller’s were very helpful. Mrs. Long snatched her phone receiver and squeezed it as she had to call headquarters I guess to find out the procedures for reimbursing a lost cashier’s check. I could tell she was angry the way she squeezed and snatched the phone handle. I was trying to read the fine print and she was asking me to sign while I was trying to read. She was not polite to the customer at all. What really bothers me about the whole situation is that they do not reimburse for a lost cashier’s check. I had to call an insurance company to pay for a bond, stop payment and to be able to be reimbursed. I also bank with State Employees Credit Union. I called them there immediately to see what their procedures are for lost cashier’s checks and I was told that you are immediately reimbursed as long as you have your receipt. I have all my receipts for all the transactions. Therefore being a member at Fifth/Third is not beneficial at all. They are not customer friendly.
This post is not intended to offend anyone….
I found this post checking Fith Thirds stock ratings for the day. Doing a bit better today. I guess that $480,000,000 award to the owner wasn’t such a good idea though, LOL. Anyway………
In regards to those who have been charged late fees and such…
I have been with Fifth Third for close to 25 years. I was late on my credit card payment by one day because I forgot to go online and pay it. You can set up auto payments for as many months as you want. I prefer to do it once per month on certain items. Anyway, I called them and they waived the fee because I NEVER missed a payment before. No Problems at all. I was however, several months later, late again because I was out of town and forgot to make my payment once again. This time they told me they can’t waive a fee twice within a 6 month period. I said “OK, no problem, thank you anyway, I understand”
Old Kent Bank was my original bank until Fifth Third acquired them. I know a lot of people do live week to week. I did at one point in my life also. But, this is the 21st century people.
I keep enough money in my checking account to cover 2 months worth of bills AND I PAY ALL of my payments ONLINE!
My auto loans are automatically deducted from my checking account via Ford Credit. No worries….. no hassles.
Fifth Third is like all banks, for that matter, like all businesses….. Their purpose is to MAKE MONEY, period…… Again, the same as any business. So, for those who do live week to week, watch your finances CLOSELY! For those who have enough money in their accounts to cover their bills for a few months, welcome to the 21st century and try online banking…… It makes paying bills so simple.
Create a spread sheet of your creditors and keep track of your balances and payments. When you pay online you get a payment reference #. If you have any disputes, which I have never had paying online, you have proof of payments made.
The 21st century isn’t doing very well at the moment, but get used to it and embrace it….. It isn’t going away any time soon……….
In the hope of finding a silver-lining in this global economic meltdown, I have been investigating mortgage refinancing options. My research, and an unsolicited call from Fifth-Third, who my wife has done business with, led me to enter into negotiations with this BUNK hoping to take advantage of their to-good-to-be true offer. After three weeks of dealing with 5th /3rd loan officer Jacqueline via email and phone I have come to the conclusion that they do in fact suck 5/3rd’s of the time. Each of Jacqueline’s requests for financial records has resulted in further requests resulting in still further requests. I have sent copious volumes of financial data to Jacqueline via email in PDF format. She informed me that she is not familiar with PDF files, can not open them, and the data needed to be sent via fax. Queries as to why she needed more data when she could not access the files she already had were blamed on requests from the Underwriters; who, based on the specifics of their requests, were obviously able to access the PDF “Portable Document Format†files. Pointing out this inconsistency led to the verbal final straw as Jackie baby laid down the law stating, “If you want to do business with this institution you will complyâ€. I said no thanks, and requested she email me the name and number of her supervisor, which she agreed to do. I am still waiting.
Apparently we cannot stand up to 5th/3rd’s meticulous vetting process and must continue our search for refinancing. Nonetheless, given the tenor in 90 percent of the previous posts, I somehow feel blessed; unless of course 5th turd bunk has replaced their sanctioned and defunct student loan division with a new identity theft division with Jackie in charge. The thing that still pisses me of is that Jackie and her cronies were clearly not interested in getting to know anything about us other than what they could glean from our financial records. My wife and I both have credit scores in the 790’s, have incomes in the low six-figures; our debt, other than mortgage, is less than 20 percent of our annual income, and about eight percent of gross income goes to our mortgage. My wife has had a thriving medical practice for the past 20 years and I am a tenured professor at a major public University and hold a PhD in economics. Our careers and future earnings are almost as secure as the career of a rude incompetent loan officer at 5th/3rd , apparently the only type that last. One might think a bank would want to have our business, but that does not seem to be the case. Perhaps to realize the silver-lining it will be necessary to take documents in hand and fax them to who knows where; or alternately just default on our current mortgage and we would probably be showered with loan offers. I have never been late with a mortgage payment, and haven’t bounced a check in 30 years, but it sounds like that might have come to an end if 5th/3rd representatives had not been so unbelievably nasty.
As to ‘Surge’s previous comments about airheads, he may want to take note of the whistling between his ears and retake Banking 101 where I am sure the basic concepts of Financial SERVICES are covered.
Update on 5/3 Bank. I have been in business for around 40 years. I have never seen such blatant stealing perpetrated by a bank before this month, either in Europe or the USA. Stealing – by generating fictitious situations so that they can create overdraft fees. Of course, bank employees would express the opposite point of view probably because they are ignorant of the behind the scenes changes. Realize that when 5/3 writes their own laws, they hide the delays in processing funds into client accounts, generate resultant overdraft fees and are accountable to no-one. What a wonderful American institution – see the resemblance to the snake oil salesmen of yesteryear?
My company has closed its account, will never again deal with clients who use 5/3 checks in payment and suggest small businesses walk away from this bank. The most obvious conclusion from my very recent dealings and the many other negative postings about this bank, together with the appalling stock price, is that they are going under and are scrabbling for as much short term operating cash as they can get.
I read through all of these comments posted on this site and have a few of my own to add. I work for a financial institution (not 5/3) and have to say that their “rules” concerning overdraft fees and business accounts are similar to those at other banks. Our bank charges $39 for each overdraft. Seems that you’ll save 2 bucks at 5/3. I would suggest that before you run into the bank claiming and accusing them of “stealing” your money that you take a look at the register that you don’t write in and grab the statement that you don’t balance. Here are some of my favorite questions from customers. “Can you please tell me the dollar amount of check number (blah blah) is? I forgot to write the dollar amount in my book and the check hasn’t cleared yet.” HELLO??? Do you think that I have a crystal ball? How am I supposed to know the dollar amounts of checks that you write…or better yet…when those checks are going to clear?? Favorite question #2… “What is the balance in my account? (insert current balance) Then…are you ready??? “does that balance include the checks that I mailed today??” ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? It’s no wonder that so many people have issues with their accounts and want to blame the banks. BTW, all banks charge non bank ATM fees (unless they are in a premier program). Bank employees are people too and face similar problems that customers do. We overdraw our accounts, we make late payments. BUT, as customers, it is our job to follow up and make sure that the problem is resolved to our satisfaction, whether the problem is with a bank, auto dealership, or insurance agency. In general, it seems that customer service has deteriorated significantly across all lines of business, not just banking. Ever try to return a burger made incorrectly at your local burger joint? I get the same grief and attitude there that you seem to get at your bank, only difference is the bank doesn’t have the opportunity to spit in your sandwich. Good luck, and remember the old saying….”you’ll catch more flies with honey”. Go introduce yourself to your banker. Say hello every time you make a deposit and remember them during the Holidays. I guarantee they will remember you.
I’ve banked with 5/3 for about 20-ish years. Frankly, I’m not convinced there are many banks out there that will treat you much differently. I have been frustrated with the overdraft charges at times – yes, I’ve had my fair share of them over the years. Some times they’ve been forgiven, sometimes not. I have endured similar problems with a simple change of address – they do seem pretty incompetent when it comes to basic admin operations.
12 years ago, a branch assistant manager actually explained to me the difference between using my Jeannie card as a debit vs credit card, and advised me to use as a credit card – to avoid the nickel/dime charges I would get from 5/3 for using my debit card more than a couple of times a month. Ever since, I am amazed at the number of people I see in the checkout line who pull out their Jeannie card, swipe it, and proceed to enter their PIN. I figure they must have lots and lots of money…
Luckily, I only finance cars through a couple of credit unions – mostly Teachers – and have by and large good experiences. I only have had one or two loans with any bank in the last 30 some years, the last of which was about 20 years ago, and was not a good experience then – and was not with 5/3.
All in all, for me, 5/3 has been acceptable. Not exceptionally good, not exceptionally bad.
I have been a 5/3 customer for a few years. I’ve had a couple of issues with them, but have been able to work them out. I’d like to share some advice from my experience. 1. Deal with your local branch as much as possible. You are much more likely to get a positive resolution when you are dealing with someone face-to-face, especially when that person recognizes you as a regular customer. 2. Be careful when applying for overdraft protection or a credit card with them. If you don’t qualify for a true 5/3 card, they will refer you to another company. The credit card that comes will still say 5/3 on it, even though it is not through 5/3. 3. Fifth Third offers online banking. USE IT! You can monitor the activity in your account on a daily basis. You can even get email alerts when your balance drops below a certain point. 4. If you have checking with them, open a savings account as well. If you are ever in overdraft, they will pull the money from your savings account to cover & will charge you a reduced fee.
On one occasion, they did charge me an overdraft fee, even though a deposit had posted BEFORE the debits. I called my local branch & they credited the fee back to my account.
And to Carol (and anyone else), who is making payments on a totaled vehicle, insurance only covers the retail value of the car. If you owe more than that, you have to pay the balance. Lesson- check the blue book value (at your bank or at http://www.kbb.com) before purchasing a vehicle. If you buy new, get gap insurance that covers you in this situation.
One more thing. If you’re having trouble with your payments being posted late, send them certified mail so that someone at the bank has to sign for them. Then you’ll get the little card back & have proof of when the payment arrived. Or make payments online.
Have had a car loan for years…I pay on time. Guess what?? No harrassing phone calls, no nasty letters, no payment posting mistakes. I suspect that if these complainers were with any other bank, we would still hear the same stories. Just take care of business, folks…
Have been a customer for several years at 5/3. This bank is in a small town in indiana. The people that are running it are all about them and there friends that work there. The bank manager is friends with his boss two other people that work there were in each others weddings and they get up out of there chairs to help you only if they cant find someone else to do it. This bank sucks and i hope some one else takes it over but get rid of the people working in there. we are a farm community and they pretty much have quite helping the farmers with any loans. Big Big Big mistake. Dont bank with 5/3 not a good bank.I could tell alot of stories but not worth the time. Just dont bank with 5/3
Yes i know personally about this bank and yes thay sux. IF YOU DONT LIKE MU+Y SPELLIN THEN DONT READ – YOU SO cRITICAL! It was exp;ained to me that banks give you ‘ a line of credit’ and charge for it calling it an overdraft – or in my case i deposited and had funds available, then charge fees. Totally unfair. I had been a teller for many years n fought the system inside. A family member works there now and they are doing cutbacks and sum jobs r in jeopardy. Maybe they r not stable after all? All others who r happy wit dat bank please stay there so u wont take up room in line at my fabulous bank.
I went into the Boca Raton branch to open an account, the branch manager was so rude I left. It looks like the bank is going out of business, not one customer. I would stay away from this Branch.
I am closing my account in the morning. I CAN’T stand another second. I beg all of the people who feel this way to make it known to everyone who asks. I moved and opened my account with 5/3 because consumer reports said they were a good choice. They couldn’t of been more wrong on this case…Tell them please so people are spared such a negative experience They ARE a FEE BASED bank and will “legally” steal your money any way they can!
Mien Got!!!! Und I vas tinking dat I vas der only victim of der money grubbin corporate fascists known as Fifth Third Reich !!
On two occasions they really put the screws to me the same way as others, over overdrafts! This case? They waited a week to mail the notice (due to an unfortunate 3 hour overlap in deposit/draft). Every bank I ever dealt with would call as a courtesy policy, in 40+ years of banking I’ve only had 4 O’drafts you’d think that I was a crook the way they talked to me. I’m getting too old for this world. I miss the old home town banks. P.s…. And we’re supposed to bail these lizzards out.
Dear Harry, I’m sure that everyone else on this blog can appreciate the fact that your anal retentive ways have paid off for you. As for me and the rest of the humans life happens and honest mistakes should not be an open door to be victimized by legal robbery and character assault when we seek redress fro a SERVICE oriented industry.
Forget these people trying to defend Fifth Third Bank, saying we are the problem. They are the worst I ever had to deal with. My mortgage was transfered to them, from that point on I have been having problems. They find ways to charge fees that I never had before they took over my mortgage. They have retards in their credit department and their customer service can care less about anything you want to know. If you can, NEVER use Fifth Third Bank for anything. I am looking at contacting our new government to go after this bank. They need to be investigated and fixed or closed. They are doing well because they rip off so many people that do not fight them, or even know they are getting screwed.
I have 3 accounts from 5/3 bank too late am reading this now, luckly I do not have any loans from this bank, once I had deposited $ 8000 in cash and next day I saw a $ 25 charge on my account, when asked the answer was “Coz I deposited cash” I tried my best to reverse that charge but of no vail. I was thinking to stop banking with them but after reading all those commentes I am going to stop using them.
My husband and I have a mtg and an installment loan through this horrible institution. We have had nothing but headaches for the last 2yrs. On an almost monthly basis, after their numerous harrassing phone calls, we have to prove to them that we HAVE made our payments on time, and also fight to have them take back late charges. It’s to the point we are seriously considering talking to a lawyer because as far as we are concerned we ARE doing our part, and it boils down to harrassment on their part. I wouldn’t wish this company on my worst enemy.
I just think it very interesting that the few that are defending 5th 3rd, happen to be posting in groups for the most part. Sounds like one or two people tops posting many posts with different names.
Also for those that have had a problem with 5th 3rd, your arguments are legit, whether or not you (and I’m not saying you have) missed payments now and then, the way that the bank is going about it is ridiculous and they are extremely rude in the process.
But those defending 5th 3rd, seem to be getting rude on the site as well. There is no need to attempt to put us down, when we have done nothing to you. Unless of course, you are 5th 3rd representatives, in which case, get as rude as you want, because it verifies our claims.
One more thing… Not everyone posting on sites complaining about 5th 3rd banks are morons. To make claims that we are all dumb, stupid, or otherwise mentally incapacitated, and/or have no financial willpower, is either naive and arrogant, or dumb, stupid, or otherwise mentally handicapped, themselves. Logically speaking, if there are this many people complaining about the same bank on many different services, including people that HAVE money and cannot be accused of living paycheck to paycheck, chances are there is a problem. This problem coming from so many different sources regarding so many different services, cannot logically or rightfully be blamed on the consumer (otherwise known as victim).
Overall, those blindly defending 5th 3rd Bank (not those who are real people and haven’t had a problem with 5th 3rd), could you please take your ignorance and condescending attitude, and find a place to put it where it will not offend anyone.
I had a truck leased thru 5/3 rd for three years, when my lease was up, I purchased my truck, thru payments. My wife recently was not working, causing our income to drop buy ALOT. So me being an American, started paying off loans. Two other banks that I had installment loans thru, I paid off, and it was very easy. When I went to 5/3rd in Northwood, they were $150.00 higher then my calculations. The guy I talked , after much discussion said he would do some checking, and get back to me that day. As of today I have not heard from him. So ater a week, I went to another branch in Perrysburg. They were very helpful, but later the next day the young lady called me and said, her regional mgr. checked, and they can’t wave the $150.00 EARLY PAYOFF FEE, because they would lose money on the deal. NO OTHER BANK THAT I PAID OFF EARLY, CHARGED ME A EARLY PAYOFF FEE!!!. I would move to Mexico or worst yet to FRANCE before ever going to 5/3rd for another DIME.
This is Steve from post 136 again.
My experience with 5th 3rd consisted of the following:
I was with them for 8 months. I was in the Marine Corps at the time on temporary assignment to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL. I kept my account in the green the entire time I had the account. When my temporary orders expired and I had to return to Camp Pendleton, CA, I closed my account due to the fact that I prefer having a local bank in case I need to talk to someone in person. In order to close an account, your account must be at $0.00. It was. This was back in 2005. I had no issues for quite a while. I wound up deploying in 2006 to Iraq. When I returned from Iraq and got out of the Marine Corps, I had a letter from 5th 3rd stating I owed 179.16, a letter from 5th 3rd stating my account had been turned over to a collection agency, and a letter from ChexSystems stating I had 30 days to challenge the debt or they would assume it was legitimate. Those letters had arrived 3 or 4 months before I laid eyes on them. Needless to say, I was a bit perturbed.
I contacted 5th 3rd, and they informed me that they couldn’t access my account and I needed to call the head office. When I called the head office, they said I needed to call ChexSystems to get the issue resolved because “it was out of their hands” . When I called ChexSystems, I was already slightly annoyed, but I sat there and talked with them for quite a while without losing my cool. I was told at that time, that they would send me paperwork I needed to dispute the claim. I never received it. I didn’t need to worry about getting it cleared up for a while, due to the fact that I didn’t need a new checking account. I am now in need of a checking account, so 3 weeks ago, I called ChexSystems, who told me they have nothing to do with clearing up the mess. They said that all they do is clear my name in their system once 5th 3rd tells them it’s settled. More than a bit confused, I call 5th 3rd. They then inform me that I need to call Arrow Financial, because they are the collections agency holding my account. When I called Arrow Financial, I go through 3 different numbers trying to talk to someone. When I finally do reach a person, they inform me I need to talk to someone at Financial Managament Services because they are the ones holding my account. After I finally get through to a person there, he listens to my story, and begins telling me all about his problems with 5th 3rd in the past, that tons of people have similar stories, how this shouldn’t have happened, and how to pay for the debt. I told him again that I did not want to pay for a debt that was not my fault due to the fact that my account was at $0.00 when I closed it. He again said it happens all the time but there was nothing he could do. He told me I would have to fill out the paperwork to dispute it. The problem is, it would take months to dispute, and I have a job that pays via direct deposit ONLY. Since I don’t have an account and can’t get one without paying them, they have me trapped. And one thing about collections and such, is that you can dispute it while it is a debt. It is tons harder to dispute when you paid it. Paying it is kind of like admitting it was your debt.
Anyway, I paid it, just to find out that it’s going to take a month to get through the systems of Financial Management Systems and Arrow Financial, before it gets to 5th 3rd. Then 5th 3rd has to tell ChexSystems that it is paid before they will clear my name from the black list. I have no faith whatsoever in 5th 3rd, so this whole idea of hoping my name gets cleared is driving me nuts. There will be at least one paycheck that will be delayed a month because of their BS. Now, I dont know about any else on here, but in the current state of the economy, the majority of America cannot afford to be without a paycheck for a month.
I guess that about covers my horror story. $180.00 gone because of their greed.
FIfth third Bank is the worst relationship I have had in my 42 years of doing business with car lenders. They harassed us about providing proof of insurance in the 18 months we had the loan. Then when I traded the car in I had fiananced with them they harassed us about the last payment which would be included with the payoff. The payment is late after the 12th and then a late fee is assessed. Do you beleive they started calling before the 12th and even after telling them I traded the car in on the 28th of the previous month and they should get a pay off within the next week the called our home 4 times a day. Can they understand english, maybe not!!!!!!! I am so glad to be out of fifth thrid bank, the reason I traded was to get out from them also. I got a great deal and a better interest rate. AVOID FIFTH THRID BANK AT ANY COST.
Do not lease a vehicle with fifth third bank. I returned a car in good condition on a 4 year lease with brand new tires, no dents or scratches or any major problems. They want to charge me $1000 for excessive wear and tear. What the hell is this?? I never had a problem with leasing cars until I leased with this company.
Yes, I had the same problem with them saying I wasn’t insured when I was and every month for 5 months I received that letter and had to call them.
This is the kind of company that is bringing America down. Greedy, Scam artists who could care less about your business.
i had an overdraft- discovered it on sunday- was at the bank when it opened to make a deposit and settle fees. lady was very nice and said it was all taken care. she even cut half of the fees. i was pleased. well then i check my balance and there is another fee of $100! pissed i call debbie and ask about the fee. she says- well you deposited $300 but only $100 was available in your account so the account overdrafted when they took money from the account
I find it strange that people who are on here claiming they have no problem w/ 5/3 are on a 5/3 bank sucks website. I don’t normally seek out a negative website on something I don’t have a problem with. In regards to the people who are so insistent that we are all idiots who have no idea how to pay our bills, consider this: Our installment loan payment is due on the 20th. It was paid on the 19th (last thursday). Guess what? Saturday morning at about 8:05 our phone starts ringing…..it’s 5/3 bank telling us our payment was late! Even after giving them the reference # on the payment receipt, we are still getting phone calls as of today (march 24) . ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!
I have to agree with an above comment. Everyone should do their homework on the bank they choose to do business with. I work at a financial industry myself and I have to say that in this “fast food” pace world today people are very impatient and don’t want to take the extra time to sit down with a banker and actually discuss what accounts they are getting themselves into. I can count numerous times where people are on their cell phones, talking to each other or telling me they have only five minutes…now work miracles. I find that it is not only the banker’s assistance for the customer that is needed in order to place each customer in the right account, but it is also up to each individual to balance their own checkbook and be responsible for their own overdrafts and accounts. We are adults, not babies. We all can’t be held by our hands and told how to manage our own money. If the money is not there, then you shouldn’t be using it. Simple as that, no matter where you bank.
If there was any bank I would DEFINATLEY LOOK OUT FOR IT WOULD BE TCF THEY HAVE TO BE THE WORST BANK IN THE USA PREWARNING DO NOT OPEN A ACCOUNT WITH THEM UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES GET MONEY ORDERS GO TO THE CURRENCY JUST AVOID TCF
I’ve had it with this bank. Been a customer for over 25 yrs and run about 1.5 million dollars and about 15 loans through their bank right now. But that is in the process of changing. I am currently moving every account to another bank. Without going into details, I’ve had it with the way they treat me, try to take advantage of me. They charge for every little thing you do. They are in the business of banking so why charge a fee for doing the job you’re in business to do? If customers didn’t come in and do transactions you’d have no business, its like getting paid twice to do the job. They sent me a letter stating my home value had dropped and they were reducing my home equity line, when i called them they told me it was based on a national avg and if i wanted to change it i would have to pay for an appraisal through them (which they didn’t get when they lowered my line). It was obvious all they were after was my appraisal fee. Then, when i decided to just close the acct they charged me a fee to close it, the same amount as an appraisal, so they planned on getting my money coming and going. They are all about taking your money for no service. Heed all the warning, go elsewhere or you’ll truly be sorry.
Some years back, I applied for a home equity loan at Fifth Third. Waited and waited, but never heard from them. Never got a denial, nothing. Finally got a an equity line of credit at another bank and guess who bought that bank; you guessed it Fifth Third. I have checking at two banks and the interest paid on the checking account at Fifth Third is half that of the other bank, even though the amounts on deposit average about the same.
Sooo i have had nothing but problems with 5/3… It is the only bank in my little city so i had to open through them… Well the day i turn 18 i get an offer to open a CC with 0% for 12… So ill take it… I payed it off on my 19th bday… And closed the account. Well 2 months later i get a bill from the cc company saying i owe like 7 dollars. I went to my local branch and payed it and asked them very descriptively if the account was gone. They said yes it is gone now and completly closed. Well i recieve a phone call from a collections agengy asking for all kinds of info and i tell them what is this for. It was fees from my birthday that just kept multiplying and muliplying. I told them straight up that there is no way im paying any amount of money for a CC that i closed more than 6 months ago so i got those fees waved and again they said the account was closed. Well that whole ordeal screwed my credit over and i have to send a letter to someone to get my credit fixed.
just today i get a call from my local branch which is full of nice people saying that my account is over-drawn and i need to call this lady. I call her and she says im over drawn 340 dollars. I start laughing and ask how that is possible. She said when i deposited my check on friday i took out 100 dollars to pay for this tux i had to pick up and i payed my installment loan. When that happened it actually left me with a negative charge that took away from the money that i had in the account because my payroll checks, which are through a major company, are held for “up to one day”… So i put some small charges on the card. All less than 8 dollars thinking i should have an “available balance” of 100 dollars when i deposited my check.. Well all those added up to over 200 dollars in fees.. which just keep mulitplying even on day the bank isn’t open which i find funny. What i dont understand and what boggles my mind is that the money is in the banks hands and lets just say i went over my “avialble balance”, why dock my for going over if the next day the money is there?? Hell hit my with penalties if the payroll check bounces but don’t screw me if the money is there.. OO what else i find funny is i can cash my check fully, get all the money in my hand and then right another deposit slip and deposit all that money into my account no problem.. WEIRD. I don’t knwo why they are like that.. There is no way im paying that money and they have no collateral on me so if it comes down to it they have to hit my credit and i will take a huge hit.. Its to the point in our economy that it seems like the better thing to do…
Well
We have had a car loan with 5th 3rd for three months and even tho the payments are made on time they call constantly. Every 1&1/2 hours. Please hold for an important call from 5th 3rd. I don’t hold and I won’t take their calls. They add fees and financing til it is absolutely ridiculous. Do NOT deal with thes scum bags at all.
Interesting that I happened on this site! I would never ever do business with this bank after they way they took advantage of my daughter…same as other posts I just read. She had one check which would have overdrawn her account…and several smaller checks…and of course they ran the large check through first which overdrew her account and racked up several overdraft fees for themselves…$250.00! What jerks! That $250.00 would have bought a lot of groceries to feed her kids, but do they care? NO! Another example of screwing over the “little guy”
Regarding my earlier post, after contacting the bank and asking why they didn’t run the smaller checks through first, my daughter was told to “read the by-laws” … “the bank has the right to process checks in whatever order they choose” … and then they offered to withdraw ONE of the overdraft charges…how VERY understanding of them!