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The good, the bad, and the ugly - discover what customers are saying about Washington Mutual

Welcome to our customer reviews and complaints page for Washington Mutual. We understand that making informed decisions about where to invest your time and money can be challenging, which is why we've created this platform for our community to share their honest feedback about their experiences with Washington Mutual.

On this page, you'll find a comprehensive collection of reviews and complaints from real customers who have used Washington Mutual's products or services. Our reviews are authentic and unbiased, providing you with a complete picture of the company, its products or services, and their customer service.

Whether you're considering doing business with Washington Mutual, or you've already had an experience with them, our community's reviews and complaints will give you a valuable perspective on what to expect. Our goal is to help you make informed decisions about where to invest your time and money, and we hope that our platform will be a valuable resource for you.

Please feel free to browse our reviews and complaints and share your own experience with Washington Mutual. Your feedback is an important part of our community and will help others make informed decisions.

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5:19 pm EDT

Washington Mutual Unethical treatment of Wamu clients

WAMU/JP Morgan Chase has lied to me and not given me information that they were required to give me by LAW regarding my mortgage. It took 6 months for me to get a phone number from them that they were, by California law, required to give me from day one. I contacted them before I was even late on my mortgage. They refused to help. I contacted them for a second time when I was one payment behind. Not even a response. I have now been forced into a small sale. And, they are telling me it will take weeks for them to even look at the paperwork submitted AND they can foreclose on me at any time. WAMU/JP Morgan Chase not only treats it’s customers with contempt, they act unethically.

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DAVID WALKER
Dallas, US
Jan 26, 2009 10:17 am EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I HAVE BEEN RECENTLY LAYED OFF FROM MY JOB. I AM TRYING NEGOTIATE MY RATES DOWN ON MY CREDIT CARDS.I HAVE ALWAYS PAYED THIS CARD ON TIME, NOT ALWAYS IN FULL.THAT DON'T SEEM TO CARE AT ALL.MY RATE IS UP TO 34% THAT IS UNHEARD OF.JUST NEED SOME HELP DURING THESE TOUGH TIMES.THEY OFFER 0% TO NEW CUSTOMERS FOR 6 MONTHS, BUT ARE NOT ABLE TO HELP ME.

THANK
DAVID WALKER

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D. Howard
US
Jan 11, 2009 7:46 pm EST



HSBC Finance Auto Loan — hsbc killed my credit!



Paste these links and read what may help you. Take care of business. Be a Victim no more!

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ray costanzo
Oct 20, 2008 6:59 pm EDT

Wamu jumped my apr from 9.0 to 18.0 with only ONE written correspondence included with ONE monthly bill! they tried to tell me this is FAIR! HELP!

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Amy
Sep 29, 2008 6:31 am EDT

I have no business with this company, not even in the past. They call my cell phone 5-6 times a day every day. I have contacted them and asked them to remove my number from thier computer and they have not done so. This harrassement has been going on since April of 08.

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Denise Harns
Nov 09, 2007 12:00 am EST

WMu is a scrumbag mortgage company and the government should SHUT THEM DOWN! How much abuse and loss do consumers have to go through before the government step in and do their jobs!

As noted, some laws may get revisited by Xmas to mandate banks to clean-up the mess they've created. H-E-L-L-O, some people won't have a Xmas, i.e. out on the streets, because it takes too long for the government to do anything!

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Rojer
Sep 16, 2008 11:32 am EDT

A vendor wrongly charged my card $94.85 resulting in the card being over the limit. When the error was reported to WAMU and the offending vendor, the vendor refunded the wrong billing but WAMU would not refund the over limit fee of $35.00.

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Boris
Sep 15, 2008 9:48 am EDT

Washington Mutual is the biggest scam there is. Their card promises rebates up to 10 % but forget ever getting it. It took about 3 months and doxen of phone calls to just post it on the website, then 3 calls later and million excuses later I still did not get it.

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SciGrl
Texas , US
Mar 02, 2009 1:21 pm EST

I had a similar problem. I have been a costumer for over 3 years and always paid on time except for Hurricane Ike(no phones, mail, or internet service). I paid about 3 weeks in advance and then they tried to say I was late because they considered it to be a double payment I guess...Would never tell me. . They refunded my the late charge but my 7.99% increased to 20.74%. Let us say balance transfer...That is what I did after they lied and said there was nothing they could do and I asked for the ladies name and id number and she hung up on me. I am just going to stay with my bank of america. They always help me out!

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bewitch
Dayton, US
Feb 28, 2009 8:30 pm EST

yea u no i have a lot of credit cards and this is the only one i hate they wont lower my apr or raise my limit i have had them a a zero bal for a long time until they do something my creidt score isnt jperfect but better then what they have me at go with capital one i love them

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ah20147
Ashburn, US
Feb 24, 2009 3:42 pm EST

Washington Mutual is the biggest thief ever. They raised my apr from the low teens to over 21% and then increased my minumum payment by $100. Every single month, I make more than my minumum payment and I have NEVER once been late. I call ed them and they had no explanantion for it, but to tell me to read the letters that they sent. None of their supervisors can answer any questions, and I have been lied to by every representative that I have talked with the last 4 times. One told me that they were dropping my rate down to 12.99 in March - that was a lie. One of the supervisors said she would give me a courtesy credit of $70 - that was a lie. Today, another so called supervisor told me that there was no one higher up than her - another lie. The last supervisor was raising her voice at me and then telling me that she was sorry that I felt she was yelling, but that was her voice. I am so disgusted with this bank.

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10:36 pm EDT
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Washington Mutual Loan modification and incorrect credit report

When I was bedridden with twins, I called to see about refinancing. Washington Mutual offered me a loan consolidation, which took a couple months to go through. In November 2009, they called to tell us modification had been approved but to not make December payment. They told me it wouldn't affect my credit. I noticed their numbers were wrong as years two and on included escrow instead of just principal and interest when I got documents, but I was assured it wouldn't be a problem so I signed and returned.

I found out they reported my payment as overdue for December so called to remind them the only reason I didn't pay was because they told me not to. Then when I asked about them updating the numbers, I was told they'd rework it. After a couple of months (all along I was paying more than the amount listed on loan modification to pay), I got a call back saying the documents would need to be reworked. I was told the credit would be fixed.

In May I was denied for a car payment because WAMU was still reporting December payment as overdue and when I called WAMU, they told me I was $16, 000 overdue. Somehow the modified payments kicked back to the higher interest rate and payment. After speaking to a manager, they assured me it would be removed and a letter would be mailed to me confirming it had been done. When it wasn't removed from my credit report, I refuted it with the bureas directly. In the meantime, I got two letters confirming and apologizing for WAMUs mistake and was now being reported correctly to the credit bureas. As of July, the disputes were "updated" to now saying I am 61-90 days overdue and owing over $24, 000! When I called WAMU, they denied ever having a loan modification and told me I am at fault for all past due amounts since I assumed the loan mod would go through.

As a sidenote, I've been told for a month that the new loan mod was worked out to be lower than the last one and the new documents would be mailed to me. I've been given numerous names and numbers to speak to the supposed closer or am told they will have the closer call me. I have called weekly since May (sometimes twice a week) to get this matter resolved. I've been told the payments I was making have been placed aside in an escrow-type holding account awaiting to be allocated once the new loan modification was resolved.

So my credit is shot, no new loan modification documents are in sight, and WAMU is denying the existence of the first loan modification as well as that they would correct my credit. Of course, I have all originals (as well as a new statement with the reflected new payment after the original loan modification was finalized). Is there a class action lawsuit? I lost thousands of dollars of possible rebates for the car I couldn't purchase because of WAMU incorrectly reporting my credit. My biggest concern is the difference of thousands of dollars for January-July, the constant calls and mail of other home refinancers trying to "help me save my home." It's like getting harrassed by creditors, but for no reason! Please help!

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gmperez1979
Lynn, US
Jun 26, 2009 1:57 pm EDT

I lost my job on april 2008 and was still able to pay my mortgage automatically from my checking account with washington mutual until feb 2009 they told me not to pay 3 months because i would qualify for obama's economic reflief plan and it was simple; I would not pay them for 3 months, my credit would not be affected and then they would modified according to state guidelines. of course this didn't happen and then washington mutual told me they could not show me how the calculation was made and that they had to report me to the credit bureau. I have been calling them and they are giving me a closed door answer. please help me and let me know i was never late and i am a single mother; I had the loan for 5 years automatic payment and washington mutual lied to me so i could sign the modification. can someone tell me what i could

thank you,
GMPerez

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CoolGuy
US
Jan 10, 2009 12:20 pm EST

I made an appointment with Tiffany Wang in South Park Victoria Milpitas Branch
First, she was late.

Second, she was really rude. The first thing she asked was, do you have 20% down? in a very rude tone. Then, we were inquiring if you have the FHA. She said, "we don't do FHA, if you don't have 20% down, there is no reason for me to go further." She didn't even want to try or offer any options or at least act professional that WAMU doesn't do FHA. She basically discriminated us because we don't have 20% down.

We were just trying to inquire and we didn't deserve to be disrespected. Then we told her, we saw a sign in another branch and she was like, " I do all the consultation in here, i didnt put that in there, go read the sign, or go in there instead!" She was very disrespectful.

She basically threw us out in less than 5 mins and offered no help.

WAMU should not be discriminating whether a person has money or no money. People should not be treated this way just because they are inquiring.

I can give further statement if needed for this discriminating event. It happened today, at 9:45AM on 1/10/2009.

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Luhane
US
Jun 28, 2011 6:35 pm EDT

I relocated from California to Arkansas and found that there were no Washington Mutual branches in this state. Since I had some money in my WaMu checking account, I wanted to close it out and get my balance. First of all, the bank personnel told me that I would have to go into a branch (over 2000 miles from me) to close my account. This is ludicrous. So I decided just to write a check to myself for the balance of my account from my online checking. While out shopping that same day, I realized that I could have probably just have withdrawn the money from an ATM. I thought I'd give it a shot, since I figured if the check had already been recorded, they would simply decline the ATM transaction. If it went through, I'd cancel the check online. Well, I was able to withdraw the cash, but then WaMu charged me for an 'overdraft' due to the original check I had written, but I never cashed the check. Since the check had not been cashed, there was nothing to cover. I even told them I would return the un-cashed check to them. They refused, stating I had to pay for an overdraft. My points: 1) If the check was never cashed, there was no overdraft to cover. 2) If the check had been 'covered', then there should have been no balance available for me to withdraw from an ATM.

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MarC92
US
Jan 15, 2010 9:37 am EST

I recently made a mistake on my in money account i went over .02 cents and they chrged me $33.00 2 weeks later my mistake .03 cents same thing $33.00 overdraft i talked to them and they would not help me at all i am on a fixed income ssdi i think its sad when tey dont care about consumers at all after all with out us they wold not ge there so for a measly .005 cents it cost me $66.00 out of my social security check whitch everone knows is not enough to live on any way.

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jenycce
Miami, US
Jun 04, 2009 9:27 pm EDT

Message Sent: 06/04/2009 08:17 PM (Central Daylight Time)
Confirmation Number: K117830834A282BE2
Subject: About my my savings - 4626

I am extremely upset ihave had problems with wamu for over a year this has allbeen about a stolen card. The bank closed my checking account... I have had to pay the bank back the money thatwas stolen from my account as well as fees from the bank i was advised not to touch my savings account . I contacted the bank and was told that aslong as I kept 25 dollars in my account I would not have a problem I recieved a message in my email today saying that i had an overage in my account. I called the phone repimmediatly she was very rude and uninterested in my situation I asked her to speak to a manager and she transfered me to the mrnu prompts and then I received a message saying that the service was closed for the night to call back tomorrow this is very unprofessional I will make sure and let every and any one I know not to bank with wamu I opened another account while I waited for the situation tobe fixed with the idea that I would return with the bankI have been with for 9 years. I can't not believe that with the economic status we are all in this bank would take advantage. my email adress is jenycce008@hotmail.com and my phone number is [protected]

This is the message I sent out after the representative pertended totransfer me to the supervisor. This is the worst bank ever I cannot believe that they are so bad off that theymust steal my money from my account. I am making sure that everyone I know hears about it because I dont everwant anyone to go through this.

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marshall tape
Nov 03, 2008 5:08 pm EST

i open my account in august 2007 with 0%for 1 year on balance tranfers, then it was suppose to go to 9.9%. I have made my payments on time for the last year. My sept. statement i didnt receive, otherwise i would have sent it in. so on sept 18 i received a call saying my payment was late, it was due on the 16th, i paid it that day. instead of my interest rate being9.9%, it jumped to 28.74%. I dont think this is fair, since i didnt receive no statement for that month of september. so my interest rate should have never been jump up to 28.74% . I also paid a late fee of 39.00. So could you please look in to, and contract me as soon as possible, thank you

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BlackChris
US
Aug 14, 2009 7:12 pm EDT

Washington Mutual did a deferred payment and never told me that all of the monies would be due after six months. In my understanding of something being deferred you would start again from the next payment. Well that never happen that want all of the money. Another issue I have with them is the Loan Modification program it takes them months and months to work with the customer. They are fast to call you every single day to get their payments but when you need help forget it. Washington Mutual wanted the government hand out and their hands were out for money. If people just sit back and do nothing about the companies just wanting to help themselves nothing will change in this world.

Valerie
Valerie
US
Sep 09, 2008 12:00 pm EDT

I have a high balance on my wamu credit card and I am trying to pay it off by myself. I called and tried to make arrangements to pay them, but they want me to pay an amount that I just don't have.

I tell them what I can pay and they boost it higher than I have money for.

This leaves me no choice but to file so I can get them settled. I didn’t want to do this way but I have no way to resolve the debt other than filing soon as I can.

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IsaCas
US
Sep 25, 2009 1:54 pm EDT

I agree completely regarding the credit portion. WAMU said the same thing to us and when I checked our credit on line it said we were delinquent on our account as well. My husband called and they sent us a letter within a week apologizing. You have to keep calling them and bugging them that is what I did. I refused to pay an attorney to due battle with the mortgage lender. My husband had been layed off. I told them that they could choose to help or they could have the house back, because I didn't need more stress than I already had.

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Julie in Missouri
Kansas, US
Jul 13, 2009 12:11 pm EDT

I wanted to say that I think your "November 2009" date is incorrect. I don't want to the substance of the story to have any inaccuracies that can be used to discredit it.

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1:34 pm EST
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Washington Mutual Fraudulent charges

I want to share my story with anyone who is banking Washington Mutual. If you are like me, and like to be provided with decent customer service WAMU is not that bank. I understand that my situation had a bit of bad luck involved, but there was absolutely NO EXCUSE why they treated me the way they did. Hopefully, hearing my story will make you think twice.

Last summer, someone had hacked into my checking account. They spent my money at big chains like Best Buy, Wal-mart, fast food places, and gas stations just a few hours from where I lived. I noticed the unauthorized charges immediately since I check my account online daily. In one day, they managed to spend over $500.

Immediately, I called WAMU's customer service line to file a report. After waiting for a good half hour, I got a hold of an operator and explained my situation. She told me she was going to transfer me to another line so I can file my report.

I must have waited about 3 hours on the phone listening to some of the worst elevator music and then I heard a click. Yep, the phone got disconnected. I call the customer service line again and wait some more. When I finally got a hold of a operator, I told them I got disconnected when they tried to transfer me and I asked for the phone number directly. She told me that she was 'terribly sorry' and their phones sometimes disconnected people when they try to transfer.

The department she transfers me to must take care of some unusually large number of cases or they are very short-staffed. I waited another several hours to get an operator and was finally able to file the claim. I called WAMU after work around 7pm, and did not get off the phone until 2am. The whole time, I was worried that whoever had hacked my account was still using it! If I had found out while I was at work or school, there would have been no way for me to sit on the phone for that long.

Anyways, the lady told me that she was canceling my card and sending me a new one. She then told me that WAMU will be investigating my claim and it could take up to 60 days before the money gets credited into my account. I then ask her should I cancel my account and make a new one since my account was hacked? She told me not I didn't need to worry since they were only using my card number.

It did not take more than a week before I noticed another $300+ fradulent charges in my account. I started kicking myself for not listening to my gut and canceled my account.

I called WAMU again waited another several hours. When I finally reached the person I was suppose to talk to, she tells me that my card was NEVER CANCELED! Again, they are 'terribly sorry'. They are canceling my card right away and sending me a new one.

A couple days later, while paying for groceries with a check since I didn't have my debit card, the check didn't go through. I was very confused since I had enough money in my account. I had sent out several checks to pay my bills which also bounced! It turned out that WAMU had put a hold on my account because I had filed a claim. I would have appreciated it, if they had inform me about this. To this day, WAMU has not reimbursed me for the bounced check fees.

The icing on the cake was when I received my card in the mail. They sent me a regular ATM card, without a Mastercard or Visa logo.

To make a really long story short, I spent the next couple of months calling WAMU when I can. I'm a full-time student and a full-time employee so it was hard to make time when you know filing a complaint takes outrageous amount of time. I ended up making the phone calls when I would go to sleep. I put my phone on speaker and slept with the phone next to my head and I would wake up when someone would go 'Can I have your first and last name?'

Their customer service staff has a lot they can improve on. Most of them have very thick accents so it is difficult to understand them. They do not know how to answer your questions because they are not trained well. They like to answer your with 'i believe so' or 'let me check with my supervisor' (don't let them check, they will put you on hold forever!). Not a definite YES or NO.

Once I asked where I can find my account number on my online account page and the operator when into a 5 minute tangent why they are not allowed to post your account number on your account page. A little bit of looking around on the page, my account number was easily found.

In the end, I eventually got my money back after several weeks. But those bounced checks resulted as late payments on my credit history. I later found out when I bought my Scion. Since I'm only 21 and only have 2 credit cards which I rarely use, I had to call my mom to fax over a sheet to co-sign... more embarrassment.

The manager gave me a number to a credit agency and he told me I can dispute those late payments, but happened to lost the number. Does anyone know more information about this?

And if anyone is curious, I closed my account as soon as my claim was closed. I bank with Wachovia now and used their customer service line a couple of times. I am satisfied with their wait times and seem to be better trained to answer your questions than WAMU.

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Washington Mutual Unauthorized billing

Four years ago I left Citibank to become a Washington Mutual customer. I am a struggling writer who is literally living check to check... and often times, I slip into the red. I went to WaMu because originally they were the 'Free Bank'... no hidden fees, free checking, free ATMS... all the things banks used to be before they all got too greedy.

Over the next four years, WaMu slowly, and very secretly, began raising their fees and taking away our services. When I signed up, anyone could use a WaMu ATM free of charge. Now it is $2.00 if you are not a WaMu customer, just like any other bank. Then the fees went up more and more, until sadly... WaMu became just like every other money hungry bank. Here is the final straw story which caused me to close my account yesterday...

On Monday, November 24, I stopped by the WaMu branch in Santa Monica on 4th Street, because I live only 5 blocks away has become my new banking home. As usually, I walk into the bank to see about seven people standing behind the teller counter, but only two teller windows open. The other five people may have been working... if they were able to work by staring off into space and walk around in circles gabbing with each other. So instead of waiting the 30 minutes in line, I filled out a deposit slip and dropped my $555 deposit in the Express Deposit Box, which said the deposit would be posted to my account by the end of the day.

The next day, I checked my balance online and found that my deposit of $555.00 was posted, and then reversed (the exact term on my statement was 'REVERSE CUSTOMER DEPOSIT'). I immediately called the 1-800 number and spoke to someone in the call center. I explained what happened. She said she had no information and would have to file an inquiry request, which would take 36-48 hours. That is not acceptable. This is my bank. I trust my bank with my money. For me to give them money, have them take it from me and then say it will take 36-48 hours for us to tell you what happened to your money is not right. So I went to the Santa Monica branch on 4th Street to see if they had any information.

I walk in to find another line, but was quickly greeted by a friendly finance advisor named Spozhmi. She was very nice and understanding. I explained what happened and she went to speak with the Assistant Manager to see if he knew anything. She came back and told me the checks were not deposited because the name on the account did not match the name on the checks. My name is Richard Aaron Semmel. I go by Aaron Semmel. And I sign my name Semmel, and my signature has not changed in over 10 years. The name on my account at WaMu is Richard A Semmel.

The checks were made payable to Aaron Semmel. So, even though the middle initial, last name, address and signature on the checks matched... the manager decided to reverse the deposit (please note, to reverse a deposit, the deposit had to be made... so the money was in my account, and then the Assistant Manager decided to remove the money from my account). And then to top it all off, instead of calling me to verify my name or ask me to come in to sort it out, the Assistant Manager put the two signed checks in an envelope and mailed them back to me.

This made me very upset. Because now, they could not deposit the money into my account until the checks came to me in the mail, and then I would have to go back to the bank. Normally, I would have just bit my lip and waited. But this was a timing issue. The checks did not show up in the mail the next day, Wednesday Nov. 26th. The following day was Thanksgiving (Nov. 27th), which meant no mail or banks.

The checks finally arrived at 5:00 PM on Friday, Nov. 28th. I had missed the entire Black Friday Holiday Shopping Fun I had planned with all my friends. I missed out on countless savings in special prices for that one day only, affecting my entire holiday season. And then to top this off, because the deposit was not put in my account, a transaction went through, putting my checking account in the red, which then drew from my savings account and I was charged a $12 over-draft fee.

So, on Friday, when I finally got the checks. I went to the WaMu branch in Santa Monica on 4th Street and waited in line. When I got to the teller I gave him a check for $75 to deposit and asked to speak to a manage about reversing the $12 fee. The Assistant Manager named Steven (the same Assistant Manager who reversed my deposit) instantly recognized me (please note, Steven could recognize me by name and sight, but would not deposit my checks) and said he would not reverse the $12 fee. He told me that there was nothing he could do.

When I explained that the over-draft would not have taken place if he would have deposited my checks on Monday, Nov. 24th he said it would have happened anyway because he put a five day hold on the checks (which was untrue - according to my statement, the checks were deposited and the funds were available, and then he reversed the deposit). When I asked why a five day hold was being placed on my checks, Steven told me WaMu can hold any check it wants to. Steven told me he would only reverse the $12 fee if it was caused by bank error.

Now I have been depositing my checks the same way for the last four and half years. 90% of my checks are and have been made payable to Aaron Semmel. The manager did not check my address or signature, instead he reversed my deposit, and I was charged money. I do not see this as my fault. I see this as bank error. I have done nothing wrong and I am being charged. I told Steven to close my accounts. I was done.

Believe it or not, after all this, Steven had the nerve to ask me why I was closing my accounts. When I got home I looked online and found that not only am I not alone in my frustration, but the Federal Government is trying to set new laws to stop banks from charging unfair fees and following unfair business practices (mostly regarding check holds and over-draft fees), just like the story I just told. The banks have become loan sharks that are protected by their federal lobbyists, charging 1000% interest. If banks had Italian names, they would be mistaken for the mob these days.

That is only one of my countless bank horror stories. On Monday, Dec. 1st I am going to open an account at a credit union. Credit Unions are non-profit and encourage lending between it's customers... as opposed to banks, which are all about profit (to the point of even setting up ways to take as much money from its customers, whenever they can). The major reason the economy is in such horrible shape right now is because of these big banks. I am done helping them screw us all. I hope more follow my lead.

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Washington Mutual How WAMU contributed to the mortgage meltdown

I had an adjustable rate mortgage for which the full principal and interest payment was automatically withdrawn from my account monthly. After 3 years, when the rate adjusted, without warning, they changed the repayment option I was in to the "minimum payment" which didn't even pay the full interest amount. Without realizing it, despite my monthly payment having increased by 50%, I was in a negative amortization situation--the amount of principal owed was getting LARGER each month. FRAUD!

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fracturedbones
US
Jul 23, 2009 4:37 pm EDT

Similar experience on a Wamu/Chase refinance which has been swirling the drain since January.

Had prior home loan and a re-fi with Wamu in past and they were great. Rates down and goal was from interest only to 30 yr. fixed, great rate offered. Application process quick and easy, appraisal done in 1 week, then downhill from there. Have at least 60% equity in home.

The short story: I performed all duties/provided all documents; they did not return calls or emails, they allowed the lock to expire on the rate, told me they would stand good by it (when I told them I saved my emails to them!), received a lterr of committment from them which they did not act on my reply, now on loan processor # 4 .

Phone calls/voice mails are either not answered or full (I have made at least 50 calls); emails not answered or they have given me wrong email; phone disconnects when general number called and ask to speak with real person!

Spoke with a live human from there yesterday, says my computer file states they contacted me July 15th, but did not say why or purpose of call. Checked cell and phone logs, called every number I didn't recognize, none of them Wamu/Chase.

I am frustrated, disappointed and disgusted with them. I'm working with a new lender, only after to read some bad comments about their practices, but hoping for the best. I'll be furious if Wamu tries to collect the $875 application fee...better go check to see if they already did!

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FuWaMu
Denver, US
Jul 21, 2009 5:43 pm EDT

I also had a extremely bad experience with WAMU with my mortgage.
I had inquired about my 5-year hybrid ballon/arm mortgage as I knew it was about to mature. I went to my local branch where a Mortgage Advisor looked up on her computer and said that my mortgage was automatically adjusted to a 30 year with a very low interest rate. This was not the case, and they didn't know about it until months later. I did everything my Mortgage Advisor instructed me to do to make payments and she said that she will take care of the issue for me for the payments that were rejected by WAMU. I also had her start a refinance for me.

The refinance has taken 7 months but never went through. I have a steady job, have almost 50% equity in my home, have significant assets, and a good credit rating, so I don't know why it took so long and was never approved.

My Mortgage Advisor eventually went AWOL and she never returned my messages for a month. I made many complaints, which I discovered that she was eventually fired, but I never got an apology nor admission of their negligence.
Communications at WAMU is extremely poor and it is unacceptable that they only have ONE toll free number to handle all of their customers. It is common to be on the phone for 15 minutes before talking to a person to direct your call.

To every avoid WAMU/Chase at all costs. It is not worth your time, money and sanity. WAMU should have died in the Banking crash, and Chase should be embarrassed to inheret such a bad company.

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11:00 am EST

Washington Mutual Scammers!

This bank is a rip-off! They withdrew $$'s from a working check account to cover another overdraft of $74 in another account without telling me (I had over $2000 in an attached Savings account that they should have taken from) and therefore threw my other 1 account into overdraft. Of course they immediately began charging me $34 OD fees. This is completely unreasonable and unethical in my opinion.

Anybody thinking about opening accounts with WAMU, should DEFINITELY RECONSIDER AND LOOK ELSEWHERE!

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10:45 am EDT
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Washington Mutual Fraud and scam

I am closing my Washington Mutual checking account today, which I should have done years ago, when this pattern began. What they claim is that customers who have a home equity line with them get free checking. What they actually do is give it free for a while, long enough for you to stop checking for bank fees. They they slip in a $20 monthly fee, and you're still not checking, since you have it in writing that you won't be charged. After a while, you get a notice that your account is overdrawn.

In this last case, it turns out they have been charging me for nine months. Guess how much they will refund? Three of those months. Their script goes that it's the customer's responsibility to check their statements for fees. My response is why do they expect customers to check for fees that, in writing, state will not be charged. I know one other person who left the bank for the same reason. I'd venture there are many, many people being ripped off. I've been shorted $120 that the bank is pocketing, and that is only what I know of. Chances are this has been going on for years without my catching it.

And f.y.i., the script issued to me on the phone by two different supervisors tips off the scam: Why would a bank, or any business, not correct their own errors that occurred more than 90 days earlier? Because they know they have a lot of people who actually believe they aren't being charged and they can run up the bills well past 90 days. What an unethical way to run a business.

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Janet
Oct 15, 2008 6:39 pm EDT

I have a new scam to report. I took out a loan from my 401K. When I went to deposit it at WAMU (where I've been banking for 13 years) they told me that 21.5% of it would be held for seven days and 78.5% of it would be held for FOURTEEN days! I have access to $100 of the $22, 800 that I deposited and they get to play with the rest of my money for two weeks.
When I pointed out that the check was written on them (JP Morgan) I was told, "We haven't gotten that far yet."
I hate banks.

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2:28 am EDT
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Washington Mutual Scam and fraud

My loan was sold to washington mutual Jan 2008, they took it upon themselves without my authorization to pay the taxes on my house in Feb.2008 when I still had plenty of time to pay them myself. Now they have increased my monthly payment from $1531.12 to almost $1900.00 per month to get there money back. I have never in my years of owning property ever had a 30 day late, well this company has caused me to have one. I made a call to wamu to please work out a payment plan to pay the taxes back, in the mean time they said it would be a couple of weeks I had to pay my mortgage for july which I did in plenty of time at the bank in the amount of $1531.12, the teller never said a word to me about the payment being to low. I received a call from wamu on or about August 5th saying I was $450 short on my payment, I was shocked, the man named either john james, or james john reassured me there would not be a late pay on my credit if I paid the shortage so I did and he lied, not only that but wamu never accepted my payment which was paid on the 12th of aug I have a 16 day grace period which has now caused me a 30 day late. I now cannot even refi my home with another company to get rid of wamu because of this. Please I need help I never told them to pay the taxes, not only that I do not escrow period not insurance, nor taxes. I have asked them to please take the 30 day off my credit and they refused I spoke the the supervisor named Theresa.

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6:40 pm EDT

Washington Mutual Harassing phone calls

They start calling at 8am and follow two more times- Mon- Sun- Very harassing and cannot understand English nor speak it- they are helpless when it comes to answering questions- I wish I had read about this company before ever getting a credit card from them- no other creditor is this difficult

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sensei_jim
San Ramon, US
Sep 08, 2009 2:52 pm EDT

Ignore the last comment. She obviously cant read (as you stated you were not late), and thinks this is myspace.

You are correct. They did all this to me. They call them a courtesy call to remind you to make a payment. This starts the day after your due date (note its not late for an additional 10 days). I too have a log of 7 calls on a Sunday, the first one at 8:30PM, the last one at 8:30 PM. This is the legally allowed period I believe, but they push it right to where the phone is ringing at the last minute. I have told them to stop. They dont. This is a mortgage, so I just cant pick up and move to another Mortgage company. I'll start my legal action and let you know how it goes.

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tanedra
Beverly Hills, US
Dec 23, 2008 12:18 pm EST

Maybe you should try paying your credit card on time, that would stop the calls altogether. Just a thought! hahahaah

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David Cremer
Dec 02, 2008 9:41 am EST

They (Washington Mutual) have been harassing my wife and I via phone calls for months now. They call daily, asking us to make a payment over the phone, and they began doing this even before we were late on a payment. I have kept a call log on them since October 30th, 2008, and in that time, they have called our house more than 70 times. One day, a Sunday, they called our house 7 times in one day. I have told them verbally several times to stop calling, that I would not make a payment over the phone. I have alse sent them a Federal Trade Commission letter telling them the same thing, but they are still calling. Evidently, Washington Mutual feels that they are above obeying the law when it comes to harassing phone calls.

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unname
Oct 04, 2008 4:36 am EDT

i cant even write the damage they did to me lies mistreatment giving them all my blood money. disrespect they destroyed my credit and racked up false charges late fees totally wrongful they do not care they intentionally give u the wrong imfo and destroy u. no one will contact u or rectafy any of the damage. Im telling u because of them i cant sleep at night and its the situation is distroying my kids. never believe anything they say ever.

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11:44 am EDT

Washington Mutual &Pre-approved& Offer Rejected

I'm sure everyone gets these "pre-approved" credit card offers once in awhile. We've received hundreds from Washington Mutual in the past couple years. We decided to "accept" the "offer" [note: we did NOT "apply"] because the terms were better than our other cards and our plan was to transfer the balances. We were rejected.

We have had a credit monitoring service since early 2006. It alerts us to ANY changes in our credit. So when WaMu stated in their rejection letter that the initial offer was made based upon a "preliminary review" of our credit, then went on to state that it was an issue on our credit that led them to reject our acceptance of their offer, we scratched our heads. Our credit score has done nothing but go UP in the last 2 years. We have had no derogatory info whatsoever posted since January 2006 when my score was about 615. as of May of this year, my score is 688, my husband's score even higher (the "offer" was in my name).

It's my humble conclusion that Washington Mutual is LYING. I think they send out scads of these "pre-approved" offers just to see who will bite. This actually violates Texas law [see link below] and there are dozens of pending complaints against WaMu for this deceptive practice.

http://www.oag.state.tx.us/alerts/alerts_view_alpha.php?id=78&type=2

If there had been no harm, I wouldn't complain. I just would never do business with WaMu again (and I won't!). But every time a creditor checks your credit report, a note is made. If the number of inquiries don't match the number of new accounts proportionately, that is a negative.

Washington Mutual did damage to my credit. Take care that they don't do the same to you! I think it goes without saying that a business that conducts itself in such a way does not deserve ANY of your business.

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7:10 am EDT

Washington Mutual Customer service on payoff!

We paid off an equityline loan with WaMu and have proof of delivery of their receipt of two different pay off checks. They lost the first one and have still not applied the second to payoff and we are getting collection calls 3 times a day accusing us of having defaulted on the loan. When you speak to their customer service and collection departments they will not give you direct numbers or email addresses for follow up so every contact you make, you are starting over with a new person. Both departments have refused to let us speak to a manager. Their customer service is deplorable! We will get it resolved but it is very scary as these people are in positions where they can impact a customers credit score. Someone on an executive level at WaMu nees to be aware of how bad their customer service is and retool it.

On the other hand - kudos to IndyMac! Even though none of this is their fault, they have 3 people actively working with us to get a resolution with WaMu.

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Jeff
Three Lakes, US
Oct 06, 2008 7:53 am EDT

I definitely agree with you on WaMu. We also have a home equity line of credit, and while we got behind in payments, we've been vigorously working to get the account up-to-date - but without any assistance from WaMu.
Each time I call, I'm given a different name as to who my account manager is. Twice I called and was told by the person I was speaking to that they were my account manager; and then later told that someone else is my acct. manager.
If I call and speak with someone and make a payment, someone else will call that same day or the day after and say they've been trying to reach us with no success.
I set up a repayment plan with one individual, and the next time they state a different amount. While I'm on the phone with them, the amount changes several times.
Their mortgage offices are the same. Most speak English, but they don't seem to understand English... so you go round and round, and nothing is ever resolved to your satisfaction. The next time you call and ask what the notes are from the last conversation, they have little to do with the conversation you actually had with someone.
We didn't choose WaMu... our loan was sold to them. We will NOT be using WaMu in the future. It's really shameful that they operate in such an irresponsible manner - especially with issues as important as mortgages and lines of credit.

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3:35 pm EDT

Washington Mutual They stole my money!

Incident = On February 28, I requested two different stop payments from my WaMu checking account. These were stops on two different loan payments to two different companies(not WaMu), after I had refinanced the loans and changed the payment dates. Not only did WaMu NOT stop the payments, they still charged me the fees for the stop payments that they never did!

This caused a $1300 shortage in my checking account, which in turn caused 6 different other checks/drafts to bounce, including my March mortgage payment! To top it off, they have hit ME with 6 overdraft fees totaling $210.00 Add it all up and they have shafted me for $1574.41, leaving me more than $900.00 overdrawn, and they had the nerve enough to leave me a voice mail saying they needed to speak with me about my NSF activity!

I called their customer service 1-800 number and was led around in circles by customer service agent A.J. Zapata about how their computer system could not let them refund the money. I then called their corporate headquarters and was told by executive rep Eddie Ramirez that not only would they not refund my money, but that he was going to report me to WaMu's corporate security if I ever called again to harass HIM!

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12:00 am EST

Washington Mutual Overdraft charges!

Since Sept-06 when I found out I had become a victim of online internet identity theft from my bank Washington Mutual and it was going on for over 2 years never a clue and did not see my bank statements for 15 months in [protected] It was because the man i was seeing didn't want me to see them so he had them sent somewhere well I am prosecuting him but the bank should have seen all the activity going on from [protected] it wasn't till i got all my statements did I see why wamu didn't care cause they collected a lot of overdraft charges $4000.00 and also $2000.00 in all those extra fees they should have called me or closed my account froze my atm card cause that is what i use it would have sent me inside to talk to them and on top of that the bank statements i ordered for those 3 years I have to pay for even though its for a police report so it will get up to the DA office. They don't put their customers first and i always get different answers to the same question all they care about is making money and I think its wrong.

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Gary Dryson
Jan 31, 2008 5:21 pm EST

To everyone who is having problems with WAMU:

I have also had some problems and did some research. You can actually report them to the feds and they will investigate. Though it takes a little while - it WILL be helpful if everyone who has a complaint contacts them.

You should contact:

San Francisco Regional Office

Pacific Plaza
2001 Junipero Serra Boulevard, Suite 650
Daly City, California [protected]
Telephone: [protected]
Fax: [protected]

Mail: P.O. Box 7165
San Francisco, California [protected]

http://www.ots.treas.gov/pagehtml.cfm?catnumber=81

Good luck with your problems in getting them resolved!

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12:00 am EDT

Washington Mutual Unethical practices and buying out mortgages

I bought my house in 1999. I setup automatic payments well in excess of the required payments thru my online payment system at my local bank. In 2002 Washington Mutual bought out the loan, but my automatic payments kept getting cashed. In December 2005 WaMu decided to change the delivery address of the payments, even though they were being made electronically, they rejected payment and tried once to charge late fees. I called, complained and got it fixed. This July 12, 2007 my mortgage payment was once again rejected by WaMu, 4 days before the deadline. My bank tried to call WaMu and correct the error but WaMu has a policy of not talking to a "3rd party" . Clearly a ploy to avoid fixing the error in time to clear the payment. Both my bank and WaMu chose to send snail mail, neither calling nor e-mailing to notify me of the "mistake". WaMu claimed in writing, that I just plain did not pay this month. My bank claims, on paper, "the payment was refused by the payee" and "Payee would not speak to a third party" despite the whole system insisting on a phone number, mailing address, and account number to set it up. WaMu changed the account number by 2 digits, knew that was why the rejected it, and proceeded to make sure there was no way to correct for the problem in time! Clearly intentional negligence on their part. I talked to one Rebecca K. (she refused to give her last name, when I complained and she insisted that they were in the right, and the $36.11 late fee could not be waived because of "policy". Further she had the gall to insist I pay NOW, the evening their letter arrived, and only pay an extra $15 for telephone payment! Clearly policies designed to allow unethical practices skirting the law, and upping profit margins. These little dirty tricks, it seems have thru fine print and legal lobbying been made less than illegal. But I contend clearly remain unethical, especially for a company whose CEO and Chairman of the board, Kerry K. Killinger , was quoted only last April in Fortune as saying with regard to ethics ' I try to do the right thing and use the test of "Am I comfortable with having my mother read this in tomorrow's newspaper?" ' Hmnnn, this is not the Seatle Times, nor the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (I found two addresses for him) but it could be, and mom could be reading of it in the morning.

WaMu's instance of this scam aside, unethical practices in banking and credit cards seems to have become the standard or higher profits rather than the rope that hangs them. I've had similar issues thru assorted credit cards and the banks that bought out credit card accounts in the past. Generally I report them to BBB or States Attorney General in their base state then close the account and never do business with them again. My mortgage is clearly a bigger task, since I am forced to refinance and have no guarantee they won't simply buy out the mortgage again as they keep "expanding".

Wider than just my bank, I think my congressman, and yours, and everyones need to hear a few words about ethics and the lending industry from everyone with a mortgage, home loan, or a credit card. I found this site useful in locating and contacting my representatives: http://www.senate.gov/ just pick your state and detail address out and follow links until you find a means of contact that works for you.

It is also useful to find the state of incorporation for your problem bank, and either contact the Better Business Bureau in that state and/or the State Attorney General with your complaints. You'll find you are only one of many with similar issues. Companies that pull such trickery, seem to do it by policy not by mistake.

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Gary Dryson
Jan 31, 2008 5:22 pm EST

To everyone who is having problems with WAMU:

I have also had some problems and did some research. You can actually report them to the feds and they will investigate. Though it takes a little while - it WILL be helpful if everyone who has a complaint contacts them.

You should contact:

San Francisco Regional Office

Pacific Plaza
2001 Junipero Serra Boulevard, Suite 650
Daly City, California [protected]
Telephone: [protected]
Fax: [protected]

Mail: P.O. Box 7165
San Francisco, California [protected]

http://www.ots.treas.gov/pagehtml.cfm?catnumber=81

Good luck with your problems in getting them resolved!

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K
karen formman
Aug 10, 2007 2:16 pm EDT

WE had a 2nd home that was being rented out, we were scammed by the guy renting the home and then he didnt pay anymore and we evicted him. Due to the real estate market I called WAMU and let them know that I had the house up for sale as I am an Agent and that I wouldl like the paperwork for a short sale. I was told by their Customer Service that they would be sending this to me. After 1 month and numerous calls I still haven't received the paperwork. I now have an active buyer and I again call and ask letting them know I have a buyer and need the short sale paperwork... nothing... I called every day the next week which is last week in june only to be told to fax the contract to the customer service agent and they will look at it. So I do, and guess what nothing, I get a phone call from WAMU stating I am late on payments? I try to explain what I am doing as at this point I need to sell home, I have active buyer pre-approved no contingencies and they want house... The WAMU agent puts me on hold, comes back to the line about 7 minutes later only to call me a liar and that they have no record of me ever calling into WAMU and by the way... When am I paying this? Well we go back and forth with nothing resolved and no paper work and no knowledge of me calling and at this time, no contact was ever faxed either so they say... What a joke. The next day I get a letter from WAMU stating they are sending someone out if I don't contact them about the vacant house. They need to assure its safe? I call again letting them know yes the house is vacant its for sale the same story about short sale. Nothing... A couple days later I go by my rental property to show it to another potential client as now previous one is getting ready to pull the contract only to find out that WAMU sent in an independent company who drilled a whole in my back door of the home, left every door in the house unlocked and the door to the garage open with the air running for the last 3 days in 100 degree weather and now I am missing garage door openers, two TV and the surround sound stereo system. What a crock that is... Of course no one knows anything, but when I called into Customer Service and explain what happened and that they don't have a right to go into my home, I am called a liar again and that they can go into my house whenever they want its in the mortgage contract, by the way I am 2 months late now and no paperwork has been giving to me. So I explained again that they are holding me up its been days now with no response on the contract, the buyers are getting anxious, please make a decision. I again am told that I never sent them anything. While I was on the phone with Customer Service, I again fax over contract to WAMU.

I am told they will get back in touch with me "Shortley". Well were into August and I have lost my buyers, I have a hole in my back door, missing items from the house that was to be sold with it and no one can do anything about it. What A CROCK! I could go on and on but I think you see the crap going on.

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Howard
Jul 31, 2007 8:23 am EDT

It is YOUR responsibility to properly address automatic payments with your bank. When your loan was sold you were notified 30days in advance, you had plenty of time to make all the necessary adjustments. You were also advised that if you made a payment after or during the transfer process to the original loan underwriter would apply the payment with out penalty to you. This is required by law. So stop the BS. Quit looking for some one to handle your affairs and place blame.

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12:00 am EDT
Featured review
This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback.

On 09/18/2006 I noticed that a customer Withdrawal had been made from my joint account (my husband is on it also) for $471.65. Neither myself or my husband authorized any withdrawal from our account since all the money in there was for bills and gas till next payday. I called customer service and they said they couldn't help me, I had to go to the branch...

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