Wells Fargo Hit with $1B in Fines • Hacker News Board

Re: Wells Fargo Hit with $1B in Fines

#51

Post by blacksmith_tb » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 6:13 PM UTC

clairity wrote: post #20

aphextron wrote: post #4

Something has happened to big banks along the way, where they no longer actually provide banking services to their customers. When I walk into a Wells Fargo branch now and sit down with a "banker" to take care of my accounts, it consists of sitting next to them while they call 1-800-WELLSFARGO for me and talk to a call center. There simply is no service anymore. I walked into my local branch to open up an IRA last we…

yay! i hope more people come to this kind of realization that small banks & credit unions are soooo much better--better service, better rates, better products, more forgiving about penalties and fees, and so much better at treating you like a real live human. wells, chase, citi, BofA & the other big banks should be broken up into 100s of regional banks. lack of dignity and respect for customers follows from "too big…

My impression was that most credit unions and small banks had pretty limited online banking, headaches with ATMs (not that I use them as much these days), etc. They are too small develop those services in-house, so I imagine they buy them as SaaS? Are they good enough now? I have Wells accounts I'd be happy to jettison...

Re: Wells Fargo Hit with $1B in Fines

#52

Post by vinhboy » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 6:13 PM UTC

marshray wrote: post #24

vinhboy wrote: post #2

It's hard for me think of wellsfargo as an "evil" company, because every time I had to go into the branch, they have some of the nicest tellers and it's always a pleasant experience.

I have been a WF customer for many years and, to be fair, they have always done right by me. It used to be that my main complaint was they would ask me to sign up for a credit card every time I walked into a branch, but they've cut way back on that. I am, of course, disgusted by their fraudulent actions, and have several times considered closing my accounts in protest. But now I'm thinking that I probably couldn't fi…

> But now I'm thinking that I probably couldn't find a bank anywhere under closer and more intense scrutiny.

I thought that like 2 scandals ago... But they keep appearing on the news with more... Maybe they are not done airing out their dirty laundry.

Re: Wells Fargo Hit with $1B in Fines

#53

Post by Jweb_Guru » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 6:14 PM UTC

djschnei wrote: post #40

Jweb_Guru wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suppose you just consider it collateral damage that big banks will act just as irresponsibly as before when they are deregulated? The whole premise that deregulation is the answer is always that the regulation isn't accomplishing anything useful, but if it really weren't accomplishing anything useful you would think the big banks themselves wouldn't be so eager to get rid of it.

I was commenting on the lack of competition. Deregulating with the aim of making the barriers to entry into the marketplace smaller. Not deregulation to allow big banks to get away with more... Also, I would guess with more competition from smaller banks, megabanks might actually act more responsibly. [EDIT] but you are kind of proving my point, so thanks! I said "deregulation" so your mind is already made up on the…

On the contrary, deregulation (of banks and otherwise) is all the rage, and has been for some time (as another commentator noted, many 2008-era regulations are already being repealed). What I don't understand is how the deregulation is going to only improve things for small businesses, not allow large ones to be even more ruthlessly exploitative. Especially since the trend in many other industries (that aren't nearly as tightly regulated as banks) has been for large companies to absorb smaller ones.

Re: Wells Fargo Hit with $1B in Fines

#54

Post by djschnei » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 6:15 PM UTC

samstave wrote: post #45

djschnei wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was mostly a sarcastic question ;) This pattern can be seen everywhere... 1) politicians regulate an industry with the best intentions 2) industry becomes a safe haven for "the big fish" that can pay to play 3) Rinse and repeat for a while, creating bigger and bigger barriers to entry into the marketplace. Politicians are happy, mega banks are happy. 4) Megabank inevitably does something reprehensible 5) politicians…

Stop paying taxes.

Well, taxes go towards some stuff I appreciate... plus I would probably be thrown in jail. So not sure that is a solution :p

Re: Wells Fargo Hit with $1B in Fines

#55

Post by rm_-rf_slash » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 6:15 PM UTC

vinhboy wrote: post #2

It's hard for me think of wellsfargo as an "evil" company, because every time I had to go into the branch, they have some of the nicest tellers and it's always a pleasant experience.

My mother opened my first bank account at HSBC a long time ago. Then the recession happened and their regional branches got bought out by First Niagara, the shittiest and most customer-service-time-deaf corporation I ever had the displeasure of dealing with. (And then we learned through the news that HSBC actively assisted drug money laundering in South America, woohoo) Fortunately they were then bought out by KeyBank, although now I just use a local credit union.

Throughout all of that, my local tellers and bank staff remained. They are probably the friendliest and most helpful bank staff I ever encountered. It’s a shame they had to go through all of that. Probably more irate customers than I had to deal with them.

Re: Wells Fargo Hit with $1B in Fines

#56

Post by smacktoward » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 6:15 PM UTC

ellisv wrote: post #26

istorical wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a similar breaking point with Wells Fargo. I was about 20. Needed to get something notarized, someone mentioned that banks could do it. I googled and confirmed WF could do it for their customers so I went over to my nearest branch. Asked the front desk if I could get something notarized. They said sure and referred me to a banker at a desk. I walked over and sat down and told him I was looking to get something…

> A few months later walked by a branch and on a whim decided it was a good time to close my account. Walked in, ask to close it, they said I had to wait, I said oh OK that's alright I'll just withdraw all of it. Good riddance. Careful, if it's not actually closed they'll hit you with fees.

C'mon, this is Wells Fargo we're talking about! They'll hit you with the fees whether the account was closed or not.

Re: Wells Fargo Hit with $1B in Fines

#57

Post by hanklazard » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 6:15 PM UTC

aphextron wrote: post #4

Something has happened to big banks along the way, where they no longer actually provide banking services to their customers. When I walk into a Wells Fargo branch now and sit down with a "banker" to take care of my accounts, it consists of sitting next to them while they call 1-800-WELLSFARGO for me and talk to a call center. There simply is no service anymore. I walked into my local branch to open up an IRA last we…

Agreed. The only reason I have an account with a large bank (BofA) is for safe deposit box. Otherwise I use a local bank (Cambridge Savings Bank, MA) and have been very happy with their services.

Re: Wells Fargo Hit with $1B in Fines

#58

Post by marricks » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 6:16 PM UTC

I heard this discussed in NPR as a reasonable fine because “it hit their profits but they still made money that quarter” and “the CEO steppe down”.

How is that enough when so many people had their life totally screwed? It should decimate their profits and high ups should serve federal time.

Id executives don’t fear the government over something so egregious were opening the door to more of the same.

Re: Wells Fargo Hit with $1B in Fines

#59

Post by Someone1234 » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 6:16 PM UTC

heurist wrote: post #38

aphextron wrote: post #4

Something has happened to big banks along the way, where they no longer actually provide banking services to their customers. When I walk into a Wells Fargo branch now and sit down with a "banker" to take care of my accounts, it consists of sitting next to them while they call 1-800-WELLSFARGO for me and talk to a call center. There simply is no service anymore. I walked into my local branch to open up an IRA last we…

It's definitely an industry ripe for rebirth. For instance, I should be able to partition my money into several lightweight accounts - one for groceries, one for home expenses, investment, etc - and automatically have fractions of my deposits sent to those accounts so my budgeting and money management are handled without any effort on my part. I should have lightweight cards available for each of those accounts with…

> I should be able to partition my money into several lightweight accounts - one for groceries, one for home expenses, investment, etc

Heck not even real "Accounts" (in the traditional banking sense) but just "funds" or "virtual accounts." I should be able to put $5/month into a "waste of money" fund, and then flag specific transactions against that balance when I use it, or as you said have a virtual credit card that goes straight out of my virtual "waste of money" fund.

It really is surprising how little innovation occurs in the banking space. I want more tools to track expenditures and money usage, silo-ing money virtually is an obvious way to do that, but yet nobody really offers it!

Re: Wells Fargo Hit with $1B in Fines

#60

Post by madeofpalk » Fri, Apr 20, 2018, 6:16 PM UTC

heurist wrote: post #38

aphextron wrote: post #4

Something has happened to big banks along the way, where they no longer actually provide banking services to their customers. When I walk into a Wells Fargo branch now and sit down with a "banker" to take care of my accounts, it consists of sitting next to them while they call 1-800-WELLSFARGO for me and talk to a call center. There simply is no service anymore. I walked into my local branch to open up an IRA last we…

It's definitely an industry ripe for rebirth. For instance, I should be able to partition my money into several lightweight accounts - one for groceries, one for home expenses, investment, etc - and automatically have fractions of my deposits sent to those accounts so my budgeting and money management are handled without any effort on my part. I should have lightweight cards available for each of those accounts with…

The UK actually has a bunch of 'challenger banks' that are doing cool things like this.

I use Monzo which, a few month ago added support for 'Pots' - super lightweight mini bank accounts that let you partition up your money. Among others, I have a Holiday pot and a Savings pot. They even have this early stage feature where if you name a pot "Coin Jar" they'll automatically round up transactions to the nearest £ and transfer it to that pot.

Using something like Monzo is like night and day compared to the products from the big banks.