Potentially Millions left without access to their money

would probably go with Fidelity or Schwab over Merrill Lynch. Or one could go treasury direct. Pretty easy to do once you get your account setup.

 

BofA owns Merrill and transfers between investment and checking account are immediate. Purchased a new auto 6 weeks ago and was able to liquidate a T-bill in Merrill and transfer the proceeds into my BofA checking while sitting in the FI office. When they verified funds on my check, everything was good.

I agree on Fidelity as that is where we have the lion’s share of our investments. Also use Vanguard and Gabelli.

 

Their fraud watch is great until they decide to freeze your account for no reason for a month.

Their interest rates suck. Fees up the wazoo. Their autopay on their credit cards is by far the most complicated as it goes through bill and bill pay. You can get Zelle and remote deposit with any major bank.

My primary accounts are now with Capital One and so far the online experience and everything else is far superior.

 

Same, I switched my personal and business to a local credit union from BOA … for about two weeks … lol.

The credit union had ridiculous holds on deposits, six days in some cases even for small deposits. I literally had a conversation with the manager saying “why are you holding my deposits so long, at BOA my deposits were available the next day every time”… “we’re not BOA” was their only explanation… couldn’t deal with it.

 

Yep same thing.
BOA has my deposit available the next almost without regard to the amount.
Had an insurance check for almost 600k that they had a 3 day hold on otherwise invariably next day.

 

Never had them freeze and account for a month.
Had debit cards hacked like 7-8 times. They alert me before I know it.
I don’t auto pay CC so not an issue.

To each his own.

 

I went 25 years with BOA, never any real issues. Then they didn’t like a deposit and froze my account and all my autopays bounced. Fraud dept said it would take a month to investigate. I found some executive contact emails went over their heads and got it straightened out in a few days.

But according to others with big banks that stuff happens sometimes. But at that point I had no reason to rely on them because they are objectively inferior in many ways. I still have the account with small amount but keep it for occasional atm withdrawals or other boa card payments.

 

Understand. My concern with online banks is there isn’t anywhere you can actually go to raise hell when there is an issue like that.
I had a similar issue with my CU that I used for decades(had then since I became an “adult”). At least there I could go into the branch and raise hell with a human across the desk. They had a 6 day hold on a cashiers check from a 401k loan. Then they said the check didn’t clear and the account was fake. I was able to show them the actually money going to their account a week before from the 401k. It took a day or two but had I not been able to sit down with a human in person it would have been months I’m sure.
BOA then became my bank and I haven’t had any issues yet.
Seems like there can always be issues when tech and humans meet up…

 

I'm pretty sure *they* make more than the 25% the incest in those paper signs.

 

So the “middle man” absconded with the money? If they were a transaction processor, and the ability to process transfers just froze, not sure I understand why people’s balances would be gone? Wouldn’t it just be the particular transactions pending at the time - and even then frozen funds shouldn’t just disappear, they should be kicked back to the source. This sounds like another straight up financial theft to me.

Some person claimed to have lost their life savings of nearly $500,000. Crazy. It was obviously a mistake for these people to trust fintech and operate outside insured institutions. But they still need better recompense than “sorry, here’s $500 of your $500,000 life savings” back. If someone tried that bs with me the entire “executive team” of whatever company that was better have either fled the country or have 24/7 security. That’s the sort of scenario I’d be all for vigilante or mob justice just cutting to the chase.