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Chime has been suddenly closing accounts, not returning customers’ money

propublica.org

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Re: Chime has been suddenly closing accounts, not returning customers’ money

#41

Post by gruez »

wyager wrote: post #31
techsupporter wrote: post #14

> The sudden account closures have put financially vulnerable customers under stress. Of course they have. It's no accident that accounts like these are heavily marketed to people with terms like "faster access to YOUR money" and "virtually no fees" and "manage YOUR MONEY from anywhere, down to the penny!" These companies are targeting people for whom every single dollar is of vital importance. To then yank the accou…

With regard to “automated customer handling” (I.e. intentionally wasting customers’ time and energy in the hope they give up) - I can’t help but feel that society has lost a critical social regulatory mechanism, in the form of being able to physically beat up people who repeatedly exhibit scummy behavior. If some airline or bank puts you on hold for 4 hours, there’s no way to throw a few punches or whatever at the pe…

>I can’t help but feel that society has lost a critical social regulatory mechanism, in the form of being able to physically beat up people who repeatedly exhibit scummy behavior. If some airline or bank puts you on hold for 4 hours, there’s no way to throw a few punches or whatever at the people who are responsible.

Yes, beating up the low level, minimum wage employee who has zero power over your circumstances is definitely the right way to resolve disputes with a corporation.

edit: /s

Re: Chime has been suddenly closing accounts, not returning customers’ money

#42

Post by TillE »

ericlewis wrote: post #27
silisili wrote: post #9

I don't see how anyone can take Chime seriously. I have a habit of checking out most new free banking apps, looking for the best deals, UI, security, etc. Chime immediately started sending my phone notifications with tons of emojis in them. It felt completely childish and I couldn't believe this was a legitimate company that people would put tons of money into.

people weirdly enough really enjoy those, but marketing has gotten out of hand lately.

Do they? I mean, even if that's how someone talks to their friends, from some faceless company's mass communication it's at best inauthentic and try-hard.

Re: Chime has been suddenly closing accounts, not returning customers’ money

#43

Post by gruez »

otterley wrote: post #13

This is a good reminder that the best way to get your money back from an institution that is unfairly keeping it from you is either to file suit (in CA, you can sue for up to $10,000 in small-claims court), or hire an attorney. Self-help and complaining online rarely works. Phone calls work even less.

If all your money is parked in one bank account, you're probably too busy figuring out how to buy groceries or pay bills, and don't time for a daytrip to an attorney's office or courthouse.

Re: Chime has been suddenly closing accounts, not returning customers’ money

#44

Post by pm90 »

syshum wrote: post #39
techsupporter wrote: post #14

> The sudden account closures have put financially vulnerable customers under stress. Of course they have. It's no accident that accounts like these are heavily marketed to people with terms like "faster access to YOUR money" and "virtually no fees" and "manage YOUR MONEY from anywhere, down to the penny!" These companies are targeting people for whom every single dollar is of vital importance. To then yank the accou…

People like this should be using credit unions, not banks. Credit Unions where created to service customers that would not profitable for a normal bank, many decades ago I was one of those customers... Still today, even though my financial situation is far better, refuse to put any of my money in bank after the treatment I received from them. I have been with my current credit union for 20+ years, I love them, every…

Credit Unions don't take out splashy ads all over the place though (maybe they should).

I agree with your point. Credit Unions are pretty safe and tend to be rooted in the community in which they operate in.

Re: Chime has been suddenly closing accounts, not returning customers’ money

#45

Post by thoughtpalette »

I had an fraudulent account opened in Chime with my name/info (about a year ago). I contacted support when I received some weird marketing email for this service I never signed up for. I tried to talk to their support as it was obviously fraudulent and they wanted me to send in License/Docs proving my identity. Didn't trust them with a photo copy of my license since they were obviously terrible and just froze my credit.

Got the email today that the account was finally closed. Stay as far away from this company as you can.

Re: Chime has been suddenly closing accounts, not returning customers’ money

#46

Post by wyager »

gruez wrote: post #41
wyager wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With regard to “automated customer handling” (I.e. intentionally wasting customers’ time and energy in the hope they give up) - I can’t help but feel that society has lost a critical social regulatory mechanism, in the form of being able to physically beat up people who repeatedly exhibit scummy behavior. If some airline or bank puts you on hold for 4 hours, there’s no way to throw a few punches or whatever at the pe…

>I can’t help but feel that society has lost a critical social regulatory mechanism, in the form of being able to physically beat up people who repeatedly exhibit scummy behavior. If some airline or bank puts you on hold for 4 hours, there’s no way to throw a few punches or whatever at the people who are responsible. Yes, beating up the low level, minimum wage employee who has zero power over your circumstances is de…

My comment is precisely that the people who are actually responsible for your problems are shielded from repercussions by either minimum wage support reps or automated phone systems.

Re: Chime has been suddenly closing accounts, not returning customers’ money

#47

Post by techsupporter »

syshum wrote: post #39
techsupporter wrote: post #14

> The sudden account closures have put financially vulnerable customers under stress. Of course they have. It's no accident that accounts like these are heavily marketed to people with terms like "faster access to YOUR money" and "virtually no fees" and "manage YOUR MONEY from anywhere, down to the penny!" These companies are targeting people for whom every single dollar is of vital importance. To then yank the accou…

People like this should be using credit unions, not banks. Credit Unions where created to service customers that would not profitable for a normal bank, many decades ago I was one of those customers... Still today, even though my financial situation is far better, refuse to put any of my money in bank after the treatment I received from them. I have been with my current credit union for 20+ years, I love them, every…

Sure, but consider the marketing. Opening an account at a credit union requires:

- Knowing the credit union exists and which ones someone can join (not all of them are "anyone in [region]")

- Going to the credit union during business hours (no mean feat; several of the credit unions around me have shorter hours on Friday and three hours on Saturday)

- Qualifying for an account, and not just membership. Lots of credit unions pull Chexsystems--credit reports for checking accounts--and a report from the traditional Big Three and having poor credit will be a bar to an account (something that the ProPublica article points out as a reason people use Chime).

Those steps even presuppose that you find a credit union that, itself, isn't abusive. I was a member of one that was outright terrible and had miserable fees, but I had to stick with them for a year longer than needed because of a bankruptcy. There's nothing endemic to a credit union that requires it to be a "nice" entity, just that their structure makes it more probable.

And it all comes down to how many of us on this site are financially savvy or at least have a better understanding of the pros/cons of how banks and credit unions and "fintech apps" work. The people being targeted by the marketing for Chime are less likely to have that same set of information, and are winding up abused as a result.

Re: Chime has been suddenly closing accounts, not returning customers’ money

#48

Post by im3w1l »

techsupporter wrote: post #14

> The sudden account closures have put financially vulnerable customers under stress. Of course they have. It's no accident that accounts like these are heavily marketed to people with terms like "faster access to YOUR money" and "virtually no fees" and "manage YOUR MONEY from anywhere, down to the penny!" These companies are targeting people for whom every single dollar is of vital importance. To then yank the accou…

In my ideal world this clause would be struck down as illegal, but not only that, the company would be fined for even trying to put that in the contract. Furthermore, the lawyers involved would receive formal warnings that they will be disbarred if they keep it up.

Re: Chime has been suddenly closing accounts, not returning customers’ money

#49

Post by kstrauser »

syshum wrote: post #39
techsupporter wrote: post #14

> The sudden account closures have put financially vulnerable customers under stress. Of course they have. It's no accident that accounts like these are heavily marketed to people with terms like "faster access to YOUR money" and "virtually no fees" and "manage YOUR MONEY from anywhere, down to the penny!" These companies are targeting people for whom every single dollar is of vital importance. To then yank the accou…

People like this should be using credit unions, not banks. Credit Unions where created to service customers that would not profitable for a normal bank, many decades ago I was one of those customers... Still today, even though my financial situation is far better, refuse to put any of my money in bank after the treatment I received from them. I have been with my current credit union for 20+ years, I love them, every…

I agree. I got started with a CU because their service is so much better than any bank I've dealt with. There are nearly no service charges for normal things. I have access to a cooperative no-charge ATM network with about 30,000 locations. I can get in-person service from credit unions I don't even belong to thanks to a large partnership network.

A few years ago, we needed to buy another car. I filled out the loan application on my CU's website. Someone from the CU called me an hour later to tell me the APR and maximum loan amount, and to recommend a list of local dealerships that other members had good experiences with. The car salesperson did the usual "let me see if we can get you a better financing deal!" sort of thing, and when we showed him our loan paperwork, he stopped: "I've never seen an interest rate that low. I can't beat it. That's amazing."

I love my credit union and I can't imagine a plausible scenario where I'd ever go back to using a bank.

Re: Chime has been suddenly closing accounts, not returning customers’ money

#50

Post by protomyth »

syshum wrote: post #39
techsupporter wrote: post #14

> The sudden account closures have put financially vulnerable customers under stress. Of course they have. It's no accident that accounts like these are heavily marketed to people with terms like "faster access to YOUR money" and "virtually no fees" and "manage YOUR MONEY from anywhere, down to the penny!" These companies are targeting people for whom every single dollar is of vital importance. To then yank the accou…

People like this should be using credit unions, not banks. Credit Unions where created to service customers that would not profitable for a normal bank, many decades ago I was one of those customers... Still today, even though my financial situation is far better, refuse to put any of my money in bank after the treatment I received from them. I have been with my current credit union for 20+ years, I love them, every…

Credit Unions (at least around here) have started being just as bad as banks to get any services from. I know a few people who got jobs and then "weren't a good fit" for the local credit union. They went the Walmart route.
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